Function Point Productivity Software Inc. is releasing a new Gantt view and grid as the initial step in progressing towards a more visual approach to its workflow management software for creative agencies. The addition of the Gantt view to the scheduling and tasking module of the system is the first piece in making the planning of work easier and faster for clients.
“Gantt is really about being able to visualize and make adjustments to items on a project or a schedule that relate to one another,” said Tate Lillies, VP of Product.
Unlike a list view of a schedule of deadlines—which is hard to understand quickly—the Gantt view gives an easy-to-grasp visual snapshot of a timeline. For instance, bottlenecks show up instantly in the graphic representation. The Function Point product development team will deliver incremental releases of new features of the visual tool. Cheryl Chung, UX Designer, said, “We really value our clients’ feedback, and an important part of each release is to have our users test new features and share their feedback.”
While the Gantt view will help simplify data entry and provide the status of a project visually, the ultimate goal is to support Function Point’s unique “finance first” product vision of connecting agencies’ financial components to project and resource management.
“One of the problems we find in the agency world is that the estimating process and the planning process tend to be separate,” said Lillies. “You might have an account executive saying ‘this is going to cost the customer $20,000,’ and that’s not the same as what the planning process is telling you it’s actually going to cost the agency to provide.”
Function Point’s goal is to solve the problem through seamless integration of an agency’s project workflow management and financial components, so that when one set of data is entered, it can be sliced in several ways, or looked at through different lenses. Using the same information, one lens might be used to provide information to the planning side of the agency, and another, to provide a client-facing quote.
Future iterations of the Gantt view include building new task types and features that have adjustability and interactivity, such as predecessor dependencies, recurring tasks, meeting tasks and milestones.
“From talking to our clients we know that things change rapidly on projects, tasks may be moved around, added, or canceled,” said Chung. “From a user perspective, especially a project manager, they need to be able to see at a glance what the status of a project is, and that’s why we’re focusing so much on this visual piece.”
“We’re taking an aggressive approach to what our customers are telling us,” said Chris Wilson, President & CEO of Function Point. “We’ve gone from six or seven people on our development team to 17, and so our ability to deliver on this promise is accelerating, and our customers are just starting to see what we’ve been working on for the last 18 months. Every corner we turn we’ll see something new.”
With each release, Function Point clients can expect a more streamlined integration of project management tools with the financial components of the software system, enabling creative agencies to be more productive and profitable.
About Function Point Productivity Software Inc.
Function Point Productivity Software is the leading all-in-one project management solution specially designed for ad agencies, design studios and internal marketing departments who are looking to streamline their business. Our integrated software combines project management, time tracking, CRM, financial, and business reporting tools in one convenient cloud based system. Easy, effective, and efficient — do more with Function Point.
