So in my last post, I talked about how email is featured so people don't get overwhelmed.

Well, now it's even better.

The latest version of Tap on the Shoulder adds a new feature that gives project managers a choice:

• Send email once a day before the task starts.
• Send email ONCE per task. Period.

I'm hoping that relieves some concerns about email overload. Yes? No? Send me mail at info@tapontheshoulder.com

May all your projects go smoothly.

There is a lot of email flying around our world. A lot.

So naturally, one of the big concerns about a product like Tap on the Shoulder is that it will generate even more. Maybe even too much.

We thought of that.

Here's how Tap on the Shoulder is currently designed around this question:

• - No one gets more than one email a day for any single task.
• - The default notification time is 3 days before a task begins or ends.
• - A project manager can reduce this value (1 is a good number) if people ever feel like they're getting too much email.

Why is it set up this way? Because our priorities are:

1. Get the job done.
2. Get out of the way.

Still, I'd like to know how you feel about this. In your experience, is this still too much? What's a good level of email reminders so that nothing gets dropped, but no one feels like they're being nagged? We want to make the most helpful product possible.

I would love to hear from you about this, either on this blog, or by email: info@TapOnTheShoulder.com

Go ahead. Fill my inbox. That would be a bit of irony, wouldn't it?

May all your projects go smoothly.

Happy New Year, everyone. I'm starting out mine by realizing that the Contact Us page on this web site hasn't been working. I've told the technical people, and they're on it.

So if you've asked a question, or made a suggestion, and you haven't heard from me, my apologies. You can always write to me directly at 

info@tapontheshoulder.com

I try to respond to everyone.

My apologies!

May all your projects go smoothly.

When I was at Microsoft, I heard a lot about Value Propositions. It was a buzzword (okay, two words), but the term did have some, um, value. It's always a valid question to ask if a purchase, or an action, or an entire project will benefit you and your organization. It's not just Microsoft that needs a good bottom line. We all need a positive bottom line to survive.

So what's the value proposition of Tap on the Shoulder?

Some points of comparison:

Microsoft Project Standard 2010 costs $476 on Amazon.com, marked down from the $599 list price.

Microsoft Project Professional 2010 lists for $999, but you can get it for $749.

Microsoft Project Server? That's where there are reminder functions already built in, and you wouldn't need Tap on the Shoulder. But it'll cost you over $4,000, just for the software. The heavy-duty hardware is extra.

But if you've already invested in a normal, client-level version of Project, the further investment of $49 isn't much to get the maximum value out of your software.

In fact, the words "dirt cheap" and "no brainer" leap to mind.

Perhaps the more direct point of comparison is something like this:

How does the cost of Tap on the Shoulder compare to the cost of a missed deadline? 

Or multiple missed deadlines? 

Or even just a project manager's time, if he or she has to be the gadfly of the team to keep deadlines on track?

Again, dirt cheap.

I've even had customers tell me they were able to buy fewer copies of Microsoft Project because now, only their project manager really needed it. All the workers in the field just get email reminders, and they have all the information they need.

I'd say that's some compelling math.

May all your projects go smoothly.

Maintenant, Tap on the Shoulder est en francais aussi.

And that's all the French I shall attempt here. But yes, the latest version of Tap on the Shoulder has French text embedded into the UI, so if you're using a French version of Windows and Project, you will see French in Tap on the Shoulder. There is not a separate program file to download; the same one will work in French version automatically.

The email will be in French, and the Full version can be customized into your own French, just like the English version.

So for those of you in Francophone places, enjoy!

May all your projects go smoothly.

The deed is done. You wanted it, you've got it.

If you have the new Full Version of Tap on the Shoulder, you can now customize the mail that gets sent at the beginning and ending of every task. 

Not only that, but there's a new feature that you can use at the beginning of any project: mass mailing. This sends a list of every team members tasks for the entire project to that team member.

You are most likely to do this at the beginning of a project, but you can do it at any point. If you do it in the middle, it will only list the remaining tasks on the schedule. This is another example of a great idea from a user.

If you already have a Full license, the new download is free. 

May all your projects go smoothly.

Last time, I was talking about listening to customers, and how they often use Tap on the Shoulder differently than I would. One theme seems to keep cropping up in the feedback I read: the ability to customize the email that you send to your team.

I had resisted this at first because I was afraid it would be too easy to delete data fields by accident and actually hurt the task notification process.

But as I discussed the design options with my lead programmer, Victor, I believe we found a solution so simple, I now bonk myself on the head for even hesitating. We'll just make a Restore Default Mail button, so if anything gets messy, you can have a clean start with one click.

So the bottom line is, this feature is coming to the Full version of the program. 

As always, if you've already purchased Tap on the Shoulder, you can just download the new version for free, and install it right over your current version. No muss, no fuss. I hope you like the new feature; it should be ready in the next week.

May all your projects go smoothly.

When you make something new that you think is useful, you start out by making it for yourself. 

When I designed Tap on the Shoulder, I had in mind how I use Microsoft Project, and what I wanted it to do.

But it turns out, different people use it in different ways, in a variety of different situations, and it's thanks to those people, who have talked to me directly, that the product had grown into something even better. 

For example, I had a man in England who is running a large contracting organization, who has massive schedules with Project with a lot of repeating, generic task names. The words "Place Order" happen dozens of times in a single schedule. Now, they could change the way the write entries into their schedules, but the point of software is to do less work, not more. So the emails that get generated by Tap on the Shoulder began referring to a specific UID for the task, so if there was any question which "Place Order" the reminder was referring to, a quick check would give the exact context.

Another time, an Australian steel manufacturer had a lot of people out in the field with no access to the schedule at all. They didn't have copies of Microsoft Project on their laptops. (And why should they? It's expensive.) So to give them the information they needed, we began including the Notes field and the complete Resources field as footnotes to the generated email. These options can now be selected in the Settings box in Tap on the Shoulder.

There will be more variations on how this inexpensive add-in can grow and help people manage their projects the way they work. I'm always open to hearing your suggestions. They help me improve Tap on the Shoulder. Write to me at info@tapontheshoulder.com any time.

May all your projects go smoothly.

In an ideal world, after you've gone to all the work to break down all the tasks, figure out how they're related, assign them to the appropriate team members, you really should be able to focus on just doing your real work.

So what if your schedule talked to you? You know, instead of just sitting there on a server, staring blankly as deadlines fly by, what if it cleared its throat and said, "Hey, you know you're supposed to start your first draft of the design spec in three days, right?"

Now, all creepy anthropomorphizing aside, that's what Tap on the Shoulder is supposed to do. Sure, it talks to you in email, but that's how we all talk to each other these days, don't we? (I confess that in my Microsoft days, I emailed my office mate while he was sitting right in the room with me.) And that's way less creepy than HAL from 2001.

Tap on the Shoulder doesn't nag you. It's polite. But it keeps project managers from spending their days nagging everyone else. Really, for some things, it's easier when a machine tells you. You don't want anyone (or anything) telling you this constantly. Just when you need to know it. That's why the project manager can set the number of days the team members will be reminded in advance of any task that's about to start, or a deadline that's about to be due.

Makes things more relaxing all around, don't you think?

May all your projects go smoothly.

So what is this Tap on the Shoulder thing?

Good question. Tap on the Shoulder was born from my frustration of using Microsoft Project while I was an employee at Microsoft. Now, Project is a wonderful product, in many ways. Being able to see the consequences of moving one task on the whole project is critical. It's like you move a brick in the middle of a building, and the whole building moves. Or, in the worst cases, the building falls down.

Good to know in advance.

The trouble is, the program is so feature-rich, it can't help but be complex, so people don't look at it. 

If you're a project manager, it's your job to look at it, to master it.

But if you're not, then... Well, you just don't. You've got other jobs to do.

This all sets up a dynamic between project managers and the rest of the team, where the project manager spends her time bugging everyone about deadlines. This does not make the project manager popular.

But I sympathize with the team. They want to do their jobs. They're good at their jobs. They only want to know two things:

1. What do I need to do?

2. When do I need to do it?

Simple enough. That's why I invented Tap on the Shoulder. It tells everyone on the team exactly that.

Try it. Tell me what you think.

May all your projects go smoothly.