Project Place PM Software and Training

Project Place offers a range of services from webinars, a blog, to PM software.  They offer quite a bit of services and is free for small projects - but also have enterprise opportunities.
I have been looking for an opportunity to use it for a small scale project and try it out. Implementing technology to a project team is always an interesting and challenging circumstance.  You need folks to buy in and use the software.  You can only test out a piece of collaboration software by yourself to a certain extent.  But all software packages have good points and bad, some may be able to work out - sometimes you may need to test other solutions - but care needs to be taken as multiple changes in technology can be even more difficult to manage.

At any rate, I like the information this company provides, I think that helps adoption, and knowing if it is a good fit for your environment in the first place.  Further, even without adoption there is a wealth of knowledge that is useful in terms of PM techniques that are worth exploring.

Watchout Software - Projection Design

I was reading and old issue of Live Design and caught a reference to a piece of software called Watchout. I have not used it, but it looks like it would be cool - and a great tool for doing projections.  Its geared towards multi-screen productions & 3D mapping, something that is increasing in popularity.

Media and technology behind it are here to stay - at lease in the foreseeable future. What I have learned in my recent projects is that there are in and outs to the process behind creating digital designs that don't directly transfer to the way that we typically design in theatre.

RGB Light Matching

On a project last year we installed RGB lighting within a visitor experience center.  The client wanted the lighting to reflect the colors in their logo.  It actually turned out to be a fairly simple things to do.  We used this site: pantone-to-rgb  and used the numerical number supplied to create the color.  The colors were a close (enough) match!

Lab Theatre

Traditionally, when talking about a lab theatre, one might think about a black box space. Now however, we can test some technical ideas out in a model theatre, allowing experimentation before time is limited during tech week.
Yeagerlabs includes scaled softgoods and lighting packages.
Lightbox also has a scaled model of a theatre. I have seen this in use at USITT, but have also seen it in development at Syracuse University. This website seems to be out of date, so I am not sure if they are still in existence or not.
Both of these instruments seem to be primarily effective for lighting experimentation – still leaving room for future development for scenic automation experimentation.

Free Online Photo Editor - Pic Monkey

While browsing some sites related to things to do with my daughter I came across this photo site. While it is obviously geared more to casual users (those that don't need photo shop, it is somewhat amazing how the development of smart phones has lead to a subsequent explosion of low cost or free services, one genre of which is photo editing. Leave a comment & let me know what your favorite is.

File Transfering Services

Last week, under the gun to get out of the office, I was faced with an issue that routinely comes up at my office; how to send someone a large file. This seems like a fairly simple issue, yet is an ongoing problem. My work email is limited to 10MB (basically nothing in today’s data world). Online accounts may go up to 20 MG if you use your personal mail, but my file was about half a gig. We have an FTP site, which doesn’t well, and I have dealt with other companies trying to send info that also have unreliable ftp sites. In a world where we stream video, where music sharing is so easy it is illegal, while is sending a work file so complicated? So while the work crunch has ended, I thought it may be time to look up a few options to have on hand next time something comes up. www.box.com free trial, large sizes. Personal use is 5 gigs free, you can keep docs online. Has solutions for business and enterprise, but I didn’t see prices listed. www.yousendit.com was the place I was about to go when I found a solution elsewhere. Seems like you can send 50MB for free and you have 2 GB of storage. They also have pro, proplus, workstream and a pay as you go option. www.sendyourfiles.com has a variety of sized plans available starting at 5 GB sent per month, with 25GB storage with 1 user. It starts at about 10 bucks per month. www.sendthisfile has a free option for 2GB transfers, but does not include storage. It has 5 additional plans, going up to $600 a month for unlimited users, unlimited file sizes, business customization and many more options. www.sendpace.com has a free plan with 300 MD file sizes, and includes ads. They have two other options, but neither alow business customization the way that some of the above does. I have also been using Dropbox - it has been nice to be able to easily transfer files from one device to another without using a thumb drive - and the files also go to my phone and IPod. It has an option to share a folder / file as well. It starts with 2 gigs free, but you can gain memory space in a variety of ways or purchase a plan with more storage. Obviously this is a partial list – but one that would make my next file much easier to send. The bigger issue really is that in the age of technology, file sharing is a pretty typical work function & one that should be addressed, easily, by the technology employed within your job. I don’t work in a company that has a tight IT policy, but there are many business that do, and sidestepping their IT policy to use an outside service might not go over very well.

Collaborative Technology Links

I am wrapping up the course I am taking in collaboration technologies and have gathered some more links to share. The course was interesting. Less about specific technologies that I expected, but much broader than I expected. I do wish that we would ahve used more of the different types of software available, yet understand that as technology changes so quickly that in the long run, that may be a limited view. I was surprised by some of the topics in teh class - for instance the last week included generational differences in technolgy use. So to the links: Hippo Center has a PM blog that has some interesting posts. I stumbled upon it looking for software evaluation criteria, but read other posts on the site as well. This is a Wiki comparison of project management software. There is really alot out there so determining what your needs are and narrowing down your options to just a couple that can be tested is an inportant step to choosing technology. Once you move out of the realm of email and Google Docs, you start being out of the comfort range of some - and into a wide range of options that can be tricky to navagate. While this wikiisn't comprehnsive, it is a good palce to start. Bright Hub is a bit random - the blog covers a huge amount of different types of articles. However it does cover project management topics and a variety of other topics that kept me occupied for a while.

Virtual Team Links

This quarter I have been taking a class on using technology for leading teams. While in theatre most of the team tends to be in the same location - there is always a part of the team, the designer, or director prior to the rehearsal period that is not usually local. Thus the blending between an in house team and a virtual "show" team is an interesting topic to me. It has been interesting so far, and I am sure it will be the fodder for a series of blog posts. However, since there is a lot of information that I am locating out there on the internet, I thought I might do a list of links for further reading for now. Work 3.0 is the class blog. Since participation is a requirement it is fairly active. Leading Virtually has alot of information. The particular link I noted was about virtual worlds and building commitment. I never really got into second life - mostly because I thought I might like it too much. It seems like from what I have been reading that it isn't "as cool" as it used to be, but it does seem like an interesting concept. Regardless, many of the points they discuss are easily transferable to other virtual communication and teamwork. Ganthead.com is more of a project management resource, but does have some information on the subject. The specific blog linked to is actually about the Mann Gulch Incident, something not exactly related to virtual teams, but roles within a team & something that merits further exploration in its own right. Collaborative Strategies is a commercial site, but they do have some interesting information out there & a blog list of their own. Of course there are also lists of collaboration tools and technologies - from Basecamp to Podio to Google docs and much more out there as well. Its a large topic with a lot of different points of view. From an IT standpoint, or an outsource view point, this type of collaboration has been happening for year. For other, even though we may be meeting by phone and trading email for years, we aren't really using all of the technological options out there very effectively. Finally when you start looking at how all of this affects the team, group dynamics, trust and leadership, there is much more information out there.

Google Wave

I recently heard about Google Wave, and its a site worth referring. It reminds me of the software I used to use for shows from basecamp - that allowed all of the project members on the team to upload documents, make revisions, look at the schedule and to-do lists and generally see the status of the project. This is a little more involved, in that it also allows conversation - more like instant messaging, and thus a little more fluid.

Note that to best use the sight, you need to use google chrome for your internet browser.

What I am using currently is Newforma Project Center. It is great for organizing lots of jobs and indexing and searching information about the jobs. It also works nicely for both incoming and outgoing file transfers and rfi's. It does have some scheduling capacity, but nothing that quite compares to either of the aforementioned to-do lists. Also, conversation is the same as email, but it works nicely for managing a large number of projects at one time.

Electronic Signatures

While it isn't an every day occurrence when a TD needs something officially signed. However, in freelance situations, it would be nice to have. There have been a few times when I would have used this technology in the past for small freelance TD jobs.

There are a couple options out there that will help you get those signatures. once company is Docusign, and the other is Echo Sign.

Of the two, I have only personally used EchoSign. It was easy to use, economical, and saves your documents (amount depends on your pricing plan). I used it for sign rental contracts and the rental agreement, but it could be used for a variety of contracts.

Games

Its been a while since I have posted any good physics games.
World of Goo is probably my favorite. It is available as wiiware, and is simple and intuitive to operate, but has a pleasing complexity. Generally you move around bits of goo that build towers, cantilevers, bridges, and so forth. Some goo can be reused, other types can catch on fire or be used as fuses.

Tiki Towers is also available on wiiware. The idea is similar to World of Goo - building structures to get to point a to b. Here you are saving the monkeys, and possibly rescuing a few as well. In this game you are using bamboo to build with, and you have a few additional capabilities (reinforcing joints for instance) However, you got a baddie that can catch a segment on fire or turn it into rubber. The game is a little more difficult to control, and a little more challenging than Goo.

If you have a few minutes to burn while you are sitting at the computer check out this site. There are many games to play, straight from your browser.

Rastor to Vector Image Software

Arbor Image has two products that are interesting for drafting; Draftsman Cutting Shop and Draftsman 2002. These programs take rastor images (like a photograph or scanned in drawing) and covert it to vector art. Vector art can be used for cnc cutting. With the listed prices, you would need to see how much you would use it before it would be cost effective, but it sure would beat importing and image and "tracing" over it, which I have often done in the past for scenic units such as ground rows, proscenium edges and other decorative cut pieces (both for hand cutting and cnc work).

Cut List Programs

I was browsing Toolcrib this evening and found a blog entry about cut list programs (see link below). I thought it was worthwhile for a couple of reasons. First, while probably too time consuming for general shop use, it could be useful when using critical resources. Like for special prop piece that needs a $100 a sheet material.... Second it reminded me of our cnc machine that does this automatically (I learned this after I spent several hours arranging an entire job into 4x8 squares since the machines I had used in the past didn't have that feature). Third, it is actually an interesting thought process, both in the thought required to layout the materials in order to reduce scrap, and in cutting the material. For instance in the article I refer to below, there is a definite order in which you would want to cut the materials to ensure straight cuts.

Two concerns - one, which is compensated for within the program, is cutting thickness. Secondly, in critical applications I would be concerned about grain orientation. While this wouldn't matter in some situations, it can be critical in others.

http://www.toolcrib.com/blog/2008/11/15/2-free-cutlist-programs-that-minimize-scrap-for-woodworkers/

Inkscape

Every year at USITT there is a session on great free / open source software. This should make the list for 2009. I came across it while researching Ponoko -Inkscape is a vector based program similar to adobe illustrator or corel draw.

Automation Videos

Automation Direct has a variety of learning options on its website. You can find it at:
http://learn.automationdirect.com/

They offer video options for learning about PLC’s, Operator Interfaces, Software, Sensors, Motor Controls, Drive / Motors, and More. The “More” category mostly talks about Automation Direct as a company. They offer a significant amount of content, that is definitely worth checking out!

Designing a Ladder Program

Automation Direct’s recent issue of Automation Notebook has an article on designing a Ladder Logic program. It is an interesting article with many good points. It seems as though I have found many basic programs thrown together for one show. This show becomes the basis for the next show, and 10 years later you have the same program that has been altered 40 times, and which has pieces of code no longer valid or integral, because there wasn’t an overall design to the program. While it is often hard to do in the crunch of an individual production, planning for future incarnations of the program when it is first written will make the process easier in the future.

You can take a look at the article at:
http://www.automationnotebook.com/2008_issue_12/techthread_issue12_2008.html

Software

I was a bit under the weather last week, and wasn't able to post.

Now that I'm feeling better and back into service, I thought I would pass on the following website / service: http://www.callsteward.com/

The site allows you to schedule calls, and get confirmations back from those called. You can get a free demo on the site. I could see a use for this in a variety of situation, above and beyond union calls. Check it out!

Library Thing

I have playing around with cataloging my books at work on Library Thing. Its pretty easy to enter books, either by title, author, or ISBN. You can also enter books that aren’t located through searches on the site. You can enter 200 books for free, or spend 25 for a lifetime membership. Since most of my collection resides at home, I thought I would only do my work books to take it for a test run. It does seem like you can import and export (handy if I decided to upload my collection in entirety) as well. You can also share your library with others – my library is here. I also like that you can keep a list on your phone – cause I hate being at a used book store and not being able to remember exactly what I have when I see an interesting book. Lastly, I think its fun to look at your tags - they use a weighted word list, so that the more tags you have in one category the larger the font is for that tag. It makes it easy to see at a glance where your strong and weak points are in your collection.

Fly Pen

I have been playing around with a product called Fly Fusion & with the Fly Pen. Essentially it is a pen with a camera and limited memory that connects to your computer and works with specially purchased notebooks. It is made by Leapfrog and is the market is aimed for kids for homework help. Mine came with a Spanish calculator and basic math functions, a mp3 player and some elementary sound capacity.

Its cool, I like it. You can write text in the book and then import it into word. It does fairly well – but I would definitely proof read anything critical. You can save anything you put on paper as a word document or an image. This is where I think its an interesting too for TD’s. During a meeting, or even when budgeting, you could sketch out a quick idea on paper, and then quickly transfer that to a computer without needing to scan anything.

You do have to buy special paper for it – pads seem to run between 6 and 8 bucks each.

And I’ll tell you – there has already been a time I could have used it – I did a quick step unit a week or so ago and gave the carpenter my only copy. Now, it would have been nice to look at that paper once again to confirm what was on it, but of course it’s gone. Had I used my pen, I would have had a digital copy!

Tiny URL

Tiny URL is a website where you can make a long url shorter so that you don't have to worry about it wrapping and destroying the link.

http://tinyurl.com/

I like it - but wish that it allowed for a better reference of the original link.

You can also add it to your browser for easy use.