Bringing teams together via the Web has become a crucial part of managing projects across an enterprise. Web collaboration in some cases is the only method for keeping projects on schedule.
Welcom's WelcomHome 1.0 project portal provides a collaborative environment for users of Microsoft Corp. Project, Welcom's Open Plan, and the cost management product Cobra. WelcomHome can also operate as a stand-alone Web-based project management solution. With WelcomHome, you can increase the efficiency of your projects by avoiding the delays inherent in client-specific and location-specific teams. With the increased flexibility of browser access to project data, your staff can more rapidly operate in a distributed atmosphere.
This customizable portal environment gives team members access to project-related information such as status, notices, issues, and assignments, as well as to project-related documents. With access to current project information, teams can collaborate and improve their productivity through threaded discussions, track issues, and stay on plan by following industry-standard processes. Project teams can easily customize their work through a standard HTML editor such as FrontPage, and they can enjoy complex integration with external systems (completed by a developer) through Welcom's Data Aware Components (DACs).
Several competing Web-based project management tools are on the market. WelcomHome's chief competitor is Primavera Systems Inc., the market leader for managing large complex projects. Others include Inovie Software Inc.'s TeamCenter, Noviet's WebProject, and Framework Technologies Corp.'s ActiveProject. All of these products, including WelcomHome, allow project members to share information and work together with varying degrees of collaboration and project management functions. WelcomHome has a price similar to those of the other Web-based project-management solutions.
Geared for Web and database administrators to install and configure, WelcomHome can be set to integrate with third-party tools such as Oracle Corp. Financials or with Welcom's Open Plan for bringing project-related information from many sources into one project portal. Project managers set up projects and team members can easily access this information from a Web browser to track important project-related items and assignments.
We created a typical installation to test WelcomHome. We defined our users with the security module and set their permissions by groups and roles. To configure the server for accessing a project scheduler such as Microsoft Project or any other external system, you'll need a system administrator or developer. WelcomHome provides what it calls DACs for integrating with other systems; this pertinent information can be displayed and accessed through the project portal.
Operating as project managers, we set up projects by selecting from the many available templates, such as product development or construction. We also could have created our own or copied an existing project through WelcomHome's point-and-click interface. To ensure that our team members would stay on track we used one of the built-in processes -- similar to what you'll find in Primavera's Team Play. Process templates guide project members through a series of steps to ensure that you meet your organization's highest standards. WelcomHome ships with about four industry-standard process templates that can be used as is or modified.
We further enhanced our project by editing our home page using Microsoft FrontPage. Welcom says a future release of WelcomHome will include an imbedded editor to ease the HTML editing process.
Users can access their projects through Microsoft Internet Explorer; Netscape will be supported next year, according to Welcom. Each project has many aspects for obtaining and collaborating, including a home page for project status and summary, project notices, and open items that need action. Users and project managers can add and track items by assigning them to specific individuals.
WelcomHome has a couple of drawbacks compared with the competition: Unlike in Bricsnet's Project Center, with WelcomHome when you add items you must manually notify team members. And unlike WebProject, with WelcomHome you must send out alerts when dates are missed. You can get around these limitations by implementing Welcom's expensive ($30,000) Welcom Watch, an event manager. With it you can set up triggers to send automatic e-mail notification.
WelcomHome's primary function is to bring team members together for collaborating online. It does this through its online forums and chat rooms. Users can post items to a forum for threaded discussion or chat in real time. An icon next to each user name easily identifies users in the same chat room. Users can also post project-related documents that can be viewed but not be modified by other members. In the next release document management features such as version control will be added, according to Welcom.
Project management and collaboration join together for mutual benefit in WelcomHome. This project management portal integrates with project schedulers and other external sources. The many out-of-the-box features allow project members to share information, track issues, and follow "best practices" procedures to increase their project productivity and success. Attractive future enhancements include time reporting, document management, and a built-in editor. This newly released product could justifiably become an integral part of managing your projects.
Senior Analyst Lori Mitchell covers Web collaboration tools, auctions, and portals. Her e-mail address is lori_mitchell@infoworld.com.
THE BOTTOM LINE: GOOD
WelcomHome 1.0
Business Case: Web portal WelcomHome provides access to project information via a Web browser. With this universal access, users of Microsoft Project or Welcom's Open Plan can greatly enhance their collaboration efforts.
Technology Case: WelcomHome's value is highest when working with another application for a thorough management experience. You'll need a developer for extending its integration to external systems.
Pros:
+ Web-based access to project management+ Integrates with external systems via Data Aware Components+ Role-based securityCons:
- Supports only Internet Explorer Web browser- Works with limited number of applications- No automatic e-mail alertsCost: $15,000 for 25 usersPlatform(s): Windows NT, Windows 2000, Unix, Database support: Microsoft SQL, Oracle, Microsoft Access. Web server: Microsoft Internet Information Server or Apache. Application server: Cold Fusion. Web browser (client): Internet ExplorerWST Corp.'s Welcom, Houston; (281) 558-0514; www.wst.com