The latest review I have to offer is for a software product by TeamDirection. I had done a review for their product before, titled
The Right Direction for Team Collaboration. TeamDirection has been kind enough to request a review from me and in return is giving away two free licenses. Read the review below and if you are interested, post in the comments for your interest in entering the giveaway.

Overview

TeamDirection simplifies communication offerings via their product IntelliGantt Plus. Features that make IntelliGantt unique offering and stay ahead of the competition are:

• View all projects in one timeline which helps in gauging your resource allocation: current and future
• Online visibility, budget analysis, schedule tracking, invitation tracking
• Merge project changes by everyone once online, and be assured of seeing the most up-to-date information every time they log on
• Collobration made easy with Sharepoint, Groove or Internet Work Space

Version Comparison

TeamDirection provides two different versions for your needs:

• IntelliGantt allows you to share your projects with anyone in the world - all you need to collaborate with other IntelliGantt users is an e-mail address!
• IntelliGantt Plus connects your business apps with your talented people - you can instantly collaborate with SharePoint and Groove including being able to leverage planning tools you already own - MS Project and MindManager!

Installation and First Impressions

TeamDirection can be easily downloaded and installed without any problems. Make sure you install the application while logged into the same account as you used to install SharePoint 2007. If you don’t, the software is smart enough to notify you before installation.

Overall, I like the product. It provides collaboration features that would otherwise cost your corporation purchasing MS Project Professional, Project Server and Client Access Licenses. Its not a full fledged replacement for MS Project as IntelliGantt doesnt have the highly complex features like resource levelling. Therefore, I wouldn’t consider it a replacement for MS Project; however, you could combine both MS Project and IntelliGannt together for a solution that you can’t live without! From using the product for the last week, the limitations are the basic SharePoint task list limitations: no task hierarchy, no dependencies, no scheduling, no multiple resource assignments, etc

Support and Documentation

I was not highly impressed with the documentation that TeamDirection provided for IntelliGantt (including Plus). However, after viewing the rest of their site, I was happy to see that TeamDirection has done a good job with providing screencasts. Here is a run down of the screencasts that they have provided:

• Introducing IntelliGantt - a good overview of the power of Project view and IntelliGantt’s interface. There are additional filters for type of tasks and who they are assigned to…features that any employee would appreciate
• Tour Project Features - here’s a beginner introduction on the project features that can replace MS Project in many organizations
• Internet Workgroup - learn how to share a project with the Internet Workgroup, add members to the project (including the email template sent to each invitee) and assign tasks to team members
• MS Project Integration - walks you through sharing tasks within SharePoint task list that team members can update. Updates can be synced with MS Project files and SharePoint task list allowing you to use IntelliGantt Plus to manage the collaboration process
• Syncing with SharePoint - a quick tutorial on how to create a new project, schedule it, assign roles, share it with SharePoint 2007 and get updates
• Templates and Roles - create custom project templates that save you time and and effort for streamlined project creation
• MindManager Integration - learn how to add structuring, scheduling and sharing to MindManager maps

The support forum is not as active as expected but then again this could be because IntelliGantt is very easy to use.

Pricing and Promotional Offer

TeamDirection is offering a new pricing plan that will be of interest to everyone:

• IntelliGantt: $29 (3 months), $49 (6 months), $89 (1 year), $149 (Unlimited)
• IntelliGantt Plus: $69 (3 months), $119 (6 months), $219 (1 year), $399 (Unlimited)
• MS Project Add In: $49 (3 months), $79 (6 months), $139 (1 year), $239 (Unlimited)

With these prices, a project manager could outfit a group of 10 for less than $300 dollars, run the project for 3 months or less, and move on to the next project with a different group of people. Check out their 15 day trial download offer and if you like the product, TeamDirection has a promotion running to provide all SharePoint Buzz visitors FREE support using priority pode TDFREESPT. Customers have the option to enter the priority code when they purchase on our website.

Disclaimer: For this review I am recieving three full licenses to IntelliGantt Plus; two licenses will be given away during a raffle.

If you have any questions, feel free to call TeamDirection 1 (425) 284-2760 at any time for more information.