Daniel Raymond, Author at AceProject

New interface skin preview

A new default skin will be introducted in our next version (4.8). All users who are currently set with the "Classic Blue" skin (the default right now) will see the new skin as soon as they get upgraded.

Michel, our graphic designer, has been working hard on that skin for quite a while. The skin is still under development, but should pretty much look like this:

The header tabs look more modern, as they have no rounded corners. We also added a touch of our logo to the skin. Actually, Michel decided to use the circled arrow's red for the "Print the Main Page" button.

Furthermore, the skin uses our upcoming new website's colors.

Feedback is always appreciated!

By Daniel Raymond|2010-03-15T18:37:00-04:002010-03-15|

Good news – Private accounts for everyone!

We are proud to announce that all paid accounts will have their own private SQL Server database from now on. Previously, only the Hosted Gold package and the grandfathered Hosted Pro used to have a private database.

As a result, Hosted Standard and Hosted Advanced accounts will get the following benefits:

FTP access for downloading your database backups (*.bak files) and project/task documents.
The ability to query your SQL Server database remotely in real-time and generate custom reports using tools like SAP Crystal Reports or Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
All branding options (including application rename and logo/header background upload).
Get your sub-domain (new for all packages), that is, AccountID.aceproject.com. No more generic login page URLs.
Performance is better in a private environment than in a shared one.

Do not hesitate to contact us should you have any inquiries in this matter.

By Daniel Raymond|2010-02-08T15:40:00-05:002010-02-08|

Irritants are important, too

When selling a product or service, we tend to focus on the attractive traits of the product. Having the best features. Meeting the bestest, newest requirements on the market. Making the prospective customer's eye twinkle when they see our product.

That's very important, because if there is no seduction, no twinkling in the eyes, there is no sale. The product has to be attractive.

However, once the client has been won over, we have to keep her interested in the product. If the product is aggravating to use, all the seduction in the world won't keep the client using the product.

You see, it's like dating

On the first date, we're on our best behavior. We're dressed in our best and we make every effort to shine a positive light on ourselves. As the weeks go, we become more comfortable and that's when we find out if we can tolerate the other's quirks. That's when light sleepers find out if their new love snores, and when neat freaks figure out that they're dating a slob.

Don't let your clients be […]

By Daniel Raymond|2010-02-01T18:55:00-05:002010-02-01|

eBook review: Coaching Practices for Managers

Project management is, in my opinion, much more about soft skills than processes and forms.

In this short ebook published by the government of Canada, we get valuable advice and techniques to improve our leadership.

Coaching Practices for Managers is a handbook to learn how to understand beyond what the person is really saying. It's built to make the reader think about their own acts and their own situation, so it makes it less theory and more practice.

For example, the book teaches us how to see the hidden request and commitments on complaints. If someone is complaining that it takes too long to receive approvals, we can see that this person is committed to delivering on time, and that she is looking for ways to speed up the approval process.

None of what's in Coaching Practices for Managers is rocket science. It's simple stuff that we can take away and use to improve how we manage our project teams.

Something I especially likes about the ebook: it can be […]

By Daniel Raymond|2010-01-19T16:00:00-05:002010-01-19|

How to get technophobes into the online groove: project management tools

Ah, Seth Godin. If you're involved with marketing, branding, or life online, his blog is required reading. Seth has a very inspiring, no-nonsense way to think and express ideas.

In an interview he gave for the Spark 97 podcast, he was talking about how to get from living life offline to getting on the bandwagon and become present online. His point of view was quite interesting: being online is now required. Period. No ifs. No buts.

Then he said this: "Online project management tools force people to use the tools. Because
if you don’t, then you don’t know how to do your part of the project."

The challenge of moving to a collaborative project management system is also its strength

If you and your team choose to use an online project management system like AceProject, be prepared for the culture switch. The team goes from depending on the project management to know what they need to do, to sharing the responsibility of communicating with the rest of the team. Project […]

By Daniel Raymond|2010-01-11T13:52:00-05:002010-01-11|

Smarter structure for the new year

Structure is good. Structure helps us make sense of our projects. Structure guides us.

But does structure have to be so darn inflexible?

Nouveau Variation from Syntopia

I vow that in 2010, we put some smarts on our structure. That we walk away from rigidity and embrace a more intelligent way to structure our projects.

Let us be open to suggestions from others, even if they know nothing about project management.
Let us be open-minded about changing the way things are done now.
Let us walk away from "just because" as a reason to do things a certain way
Let us examine our processes and structure with a fresh, open mind
Let us have the guts to change something, even if it means walking away from tradition.

What are your resolutions for the new year?

Have you made a list? Chosen just one? Or already abandoned them all? 🙂

By Daniel Raymond|2010-01-05T15:45:00-05:002010-01-05|

Happy holidays from the AceProject team!

It's that time of year again: most of us are getting ready to a well-deserved break from projects and business.

On behalf of the whole team, I would like to give you my warmest wishes for the holiday season and the coming year.

AceProject Team

Yes, we're taking a break too!

We would like to inform you that the AceProject team is taking a break
during the holidays. Our offices will be closed from December 24nd,
reopening January 5th.

If you encounter an emergency during this period, please send an email support@aceproject.com. We will keep an eye on our inbox during that period.

Note that our servers will remain online during this period. There will be no interruption of service for Hosted accounts.

Thank you for using AceProject

AceProject would not be the success it is today without you. We would like to thank you for using AceProject.

By Daniel Raymond|2009-12-22T12:16:00-05:002009-12-22|

Technology happens

Software bugs by FlapJack

Last week we held our Q&A webinars. The idea was simple: we wanted to answer everyone's questions about AceProject. Also, we had put together a little surprise for our attendees: screen shots of the upcoming cost tracking features.

The first webinar went well and people we really happy with it! We were delighted at were looking forward to the second one.

And that's when technology happened.

As people were logging in the second webinar, we lost audio. Not just some attendees. Audio was down for everyone. It was bad enough that after 15 minutes, I gave up an rescheduled the webinar for this week (December 16, 2pm EST). I felt awful about having to strand everyone who showed up to get their questions answered. After all 60+ people showed up for the webinar, and I couldn't get it to work!

I was pleasantly surprised to see how supportive the messages were during my failed troubleshooting. People told me not to worry about, that technology happens, and […]

By Daniel Raymond|2009-12-14T14:08:00-05:002009-12-14|

A workaround for recurring tasks

Recurring tasks is one of the most requested features on our wishlist. Since this feature is rather complex to implement, and we have a lot on our plate, we have decided at this time to invest our energy on other enhancements like cost tracking. Recurring tasks will be added to AceProject someday, but not in the near future.

That being said, there is actually a workaround for creating recurring tasks in AceProject, thanks to the "Move/copy a task" feature. If you're willing to repeat the process periodically, you'll get recurring tasks without too much trouble. Here's how to:

Step 1 – Open the task that reoccurs and click the "Move/Copy" link at the upper right.

Step 2 – Select the "Copy this task within the same project" option.

* You may also select items to copy (comments, task documents and/or user assignments.)

* When you're done, click the "Go to Step 2" button.

Step 3 – Set the new task's dates (i.e. the next occurrence)

Step 4 – […]

By Daniel Raymond|2009-12-09T14:32:00-05:002009-12-09|

AceProject Q&A webinar is tomorrow!

This is a friendly reminder to register for the AceProject Q&A webinar, which is on tomorrow! The webinar is not a sales pitch or a scripted demo. It's a simple
chat with between our users and us, about our project management system.

Register for the webinar here:

There is also a webinar in French on December 10, 2009 at 9h30 Eastern Time.

I look forward to chatting with you and answering all your questions!

By Daniel Raymond|2009-12-08T15:00:00-05:002009-12-08|

About Daniel Raymond