LiquidPlanner

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LiquidPlanner, Inc.
Type Privately-held
Industry Software
Founded 2006
Headquarters Bellevue, WA
Products Project management software
Website www.liquidplanner.com

LiquidPlanner, Inc. is a project management software company based in Washington. The firm was founded in 2006 and launched their first release to a public beta in 2008.

LiquidPlanner is a platform-independent, web-based project management system which uses ranged estimates (e.g. 3–5 days) to express the uncertainty in the estimate for performing a given task.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

LiquidPlanner was founded by Charles Seybold and Jason Carlson, both former senior managers of Expedia. The company employs alumni of Microsoft, Expedia, and Intel.[2] LiquidPlanner launched a public beta at the DEMO 08 conference.[3]

[edit] Software

Built using Ruby on Rails, LiquidPlanner claims to be the first software as a service (SaaS) based project management solution to allow users to express uncertainty in their task estimates using ranges. It then uses a probabilistic scheduling engine that is claimed to build more accurate schedules.[4]

Several authors have noted that estimating in ranges (e.g. 3–4 days, 1–3 hours) is preferable to single point estimates (e.g. 1 hour, 2 days).[5][6] Steve McConnell states "simplistic single-point estimates are meaningless because they don't include any indication of the probability associated with the single-point."[6] Project management and scheduling methodologies such as Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) generate best-case/worst-case ranges. However the preponderance of popular project management software does not readily accept ranges as inputs for estimates.

LiquidPlanner accepts ranges as estimates and infers a probability distribution from that range.[7] It then uses the distributions and the relationships between tasks and people to calculate a distribution for the project as a whole.[7] By exposing the uncertainty in estimates the developers of LiquidPlanner claim that the uncertainty can then be managed.[8] It then tracks the evolution of these estimates over time.[9] From these uncertainty measures over time it can plot the history of the project estimates. This type of plot is often referred to as the Cone of Uncertainty.

Some feel that while the service is fairly comprehensive, that comes at the cost of complexity and a busy interface.[9] Though this is disputed by others.[10][11]

Project managers create workspaces and invite users to participate in a way similar to LinkedIn or Facebook. The workspace can contain multiple projects and keeps a running narrative of tasks, comments, documents, and other project collateral.[3][9]

In September 2011, LiquidPlanner introduced their free mobile app that connects the LiquidPlanner online project management workspace to the Apple iPhone and iPad. This app is available through the Apple iTunes Store.[12]

The LiquidPlanner application programming interface (API) enables project managers to programmatically interact with their LiquidPlanner workspace. With the API, most of the LiquidPlanner project management actions can be automated. For example, you can create a task and then post comments, track time against it, and mark the task done when completed.[13]

While LiquidPlanner is a licensed software, the company offers a 50% discount on each seat for approved 501(c)(3) non-profits and 15 free seats for educational use.[14]

[edit] Growth

LiquidPlanner was founded in 2006,[15] released to the public in 2008,[16] and has gone through multiple upgrades since.

[edit] Devices

LiquidPlanner is web-based software, and as such runs on any Internet-enabled computer. The Apple iTunes Store offers the free LiquidPlanner app compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. This app requires iOS 4.0 or later, and users must have a paid or trial LiquidPlanner account. Support for mobile devices using Android and other non-iOS-based operating systems is expected in the latter half of 2011.

[edit] LiquidPlanner 2.0

In February 2009, LiquidPlanner announced version 2.0 of its online project management software.[17] Professional time sheets were the biggest feature to be introduced during this release. The idea of “social project management” was expanded upon with the Workspace Chatter feature (now known as “Comment Streams”). Every project and task in the system was automatically enabled for communication between team members. Comment Streams were modeled after social networks like Twitter, except in a more professional setting. Enhanced customization was also highlighted in this release.

[edit] LiquidPlanner 3.0

LiquidPlanner 3.0 was released on June 4, 2011,[18] and included a complete redesign of the user interface (new menus, pickers and controls, navigation, dashboard, etc). LiquidPlanner introduced Packages, a new way to build and manage a multi-project schedule by dragging and dropping projects in the right priority order. Other software improvements included: improved search, timesheet usability enhancements, and the ability to drag and drop multiple files for upload.

[edit] Funding

LiquidPlanner was the first recipient of capital from the Seattle-based Alliance of Angels seed fund in June 2009.[19] In May 2011, the Alliance of Angels named LiquidPlanner as the start-up Company of the Year.[20]

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Software project management tool clarifies project uncertainty". SearchSoftwareQuality.com. February 21, 2008. http://searchsoftwarequality.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid92_gci1299733,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-27. 
  2. ^ Ephraim Schwartz (January 28, 2008). "DEMO: Presenters Bet on Predictive Capabilities". PCWorld. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,141949-c,sites/article.html. Retrieved 2008-02-27. 
  3. ^ a b Clint Boulton (February 3, 2008). "Project Management Startup Could Be a Fit for Google". eWeek. http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Messaging-and-Collaboration/Project-Management-Startup-Could-Fit-The-Bill-For-Google/. Retrieved 2008-02-27. 
  4. ^ Chris Kanaracus (January 28, 2008). "LiquidPlanner adds probability to project planning". NetworkWorld. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/012808-liquidplanner-adds-probability-to-project.html. Retrieved 2008-02-27. 
  5. ^ David Daly (September 12, 2007). "Accurate Estimates". Outside of the Triangle. http://outofthetriangle.wordpress.com/2007/09/12/accurate-estimates/. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  6. ^ a b McConnell, Steve (2006). Software Estimation. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press. pp. 6–9. ISBN 978-0-7356-0535-0. 
  7. ^ a b David Daly (February 20, 2008). "PM Interviews: Bruce P. Henry". Outside of the Triangle. http://outofthetriangle.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/pm-interviews-bruce-p-henry/. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  8. ^ "LiquidPlanner Redefines Project Management" (Press release). LiquidPlanner, Inc.. January 28, 2008. http://www.liquidplanner.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=89&Itemid=54. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  9. ^ a b c Mike Gunderloy (February 28, 2008). "LiquidPlanner: Sophisticated Online Project Management". Web Worker Daily. http://webworkerdaily.com/2008/02/28/liquidplanner-sophisticated-online-project-management/. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  10. ^ David Daly (February 6, 2008). "LiquidPlanner: A Revolution in Managing Uncertainty?". Outside of the Triangle. http://outofthetriangle.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/liquidplanner-a-revolution-in-managing-uncertainty/. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  11. ^ Don Dodge (January 30, 2008). "Liquid Planner and Huddle at DEMO". The Next Big Thing. http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/2008/01/liquid-planner.html. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
  12. ^ "LiquidPlanner - Project Management, Scheduling, Collaboration". September 20, 2011. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id337842859. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
  13. ^ "LiquidPlanner API". http://www.programmableweb.com/api/liquidplanner. Retrieved 2011-01-03. 
  14. ^ "LiquidPlanner". August 30, 2010. http://www.isoftwarereviews.com/liquidplanner/. Retrieved 2011-07-01. 
  15. ^ "LiquidPlanner, Inc.". http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=36660754. Retrieved 2011-07-01. 
  16. ^ "LiquidPlanner Manages the Unknown: Official Release". 2008-06-11. http://mashable.com/2008/06/11/liquidplanner-official-releas/. Retrieved 2011-07-01. 
  17. ^ "LiquidPlanner: Now with Tailored Views". 2009-09-03. http://www.pmtoolbox.com/project-management-news/liquidplanner-now-with-tailored-views.html. Retrieved 2011-07-01. 
  18. ^ John D'Entremont (June 29, 2011). "Tool Shop: LiquidPlanner 3.0". http://www.projectsatwork.com/article.cfm?ID=265814. Retrieved 2011-07-01. 
  19. ^ "LiquidPlanner raises cash". http://www.acbj.com/.+2009-06-19. http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2009/06/LiquidPlanner_raises_cash_48627827.html. Retrieved 2011-07-01. 
  20. ^ "Alliance of Angels Chooses LiquidPlanner as Startup Company of the Year". http://www.geekwire.com/about-geekwire.+2011-05-10. http://www.geekwire.com/2011/alliance-angels-picks-liquidplanner-company-year. Retrieved 2011-07-01. 

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