Correctly organizing information and workflows in project management is a best solution to manage heavy work that we cannot escape and there is no other option if we want a project to succeed. For this reason, implementing a project management system like Redmine in our company is the best solution.
Redmine includes different functionalities: Incident tracking, errors, activity calendar, Gantt charts to visually represent the timeline of projects, wiki, role-based control, email integration and a long list of features that will be very useful for us. Furthermore, Redmine can be installed in just a few clicks from Arsys Cloud Servers, providing an efficient 100% Cloud work environment.
Redmine is an open source application and developed with the Ruby on Rails framework, while the database supports both MySQL and PosgreSQL or SQLite. As a project manager, you have the advantage of being able to have all the information associated with one and delimited within the same project. In addition to allowing us to control it through a simple and very practical web interface.
Redmine main features
Redmine is a very flexible tool and it is possible to adapt it to different realities, from the single developer, to the small company, to installations with many projects and users.
Redmine supports different types of projects and depending on the system of permissions that we apply, the users that access will have different functions according to the assigned role, whether as user, project manager, administrator, etc. Each project can have associated documents, files or news. In addition, an email notification system is established for users either because they have been assigned a task or because a part of the project has changed or been updated.
Another thing that we can associate with each project is a Wiki, allowing us to generate content quickly, being able to edit and manage it cooperatively.
A forum for each of the projects is another element that we can count on, which not only reduces the number of emails we receive, but is also a system that contributes to improving communication between project members.
We will have the possibility of reflecting the development of the project through Gantt charts, a good visual tool that will help us to monitor its progress.
As a completely free and open source software, Redmine has significant basic characteristics through which it is possible to complete the entire life cycle of a given project. Nonetheless, the implementation of Redmine is possible through the integration of Redmine plugins and updates that are fully compatible at least with the most recent versions of the software.
Initial steps with Redmine
As usual, when we have Redmine already installed, what we must do is start the back office work and register the users, applying different roles and permissions, project managers, developers, etc. Although they could also register themselves through the interface, once the administrator has approved their access.
The next step will be to register a project and assign the figure of the person in charge or Chief, and then establish milestones and stages.
Adding forecasts to each task in time, we will get a Gantt chart for each milestone. Each task will be assigned to a team member, so that when they connect to the project page, they will see the assigned ones.
Every project has an adjustment phase, where small errors are discovered that can be corrected, so that once collected, we can assign them to a member of the project to manage them.
Conclusions
Redmine can help us to a great extent to manage in an agile way all the projects of our company, the associated documentation, the files that we attach and all this, controlling at all times the execution of the same. Despite all the functionalities, it is relatively easy to manage, it allows defining workflows without having to permanently answer questions that can be answered through a forum or that are already documented.