Distributed app development team works
on tasks and schedules
relying on the critical path
“GanttPRO has been a great help, making teamwork smoother, as now everyone knows exactly what they’re responsible for.”
A story about BlackBook planning a travel app launch, keeping team aligned, and staying on schedule by tracking dependencies with GanttPRO.
Company overview
Company: BlackBook
Role interviewed: Iqbal Jumabhoy, Founder
Project types: travel app development and launch planning
External pressures: team members are located across multiple countries and time zones, dependency-driven work where delays cascade, launch deadlines
Problems hinted at: hard to coordinate work asynchronously across time zones, lack of critical path, nee of clear dependencies and ownership to avoid last-minute catch-up work
Summary
Company Background
What does your company focus on?
We develop BlackBook, an all-in-one travel app built for maximum convenience. Our goal is to make it easier for travelers to discover, book, and plan their trips.
Our team is led by an expert in hospitality who owned and led various hospitality businesses.
"The problem for us is that we are not in a single location. We have people in several different countries, in 6 different locations. GanttPRO helps us a lot even taken that we are a small team."
Struggle
How did your approach look before GanttPRO?
The problem for us is that we are not in a single location. We have people in several different countries, in 6 different locations. GanttPRO helps us a lot even taken that we are a small team. Because everyone got their tasks.
If you are a distributed team in different time zones, it is important to have such a tool. Because it’s not just that you can turn around to a colleague and say something about a task. You actually sometimes have 12 or even 24 hours before you can talk to that person again. So you need such a tool even more.
But even if you are sitting in one office, you still need a PM tool. You need to track tasks, make sure you actually captured all the tasks that have to be done, and you still need to make sure that all the people are on time.
Meanwhile, we stay on track for the planned dates and stick to the schedule. I always tell the guys that they can’t change the critical path. You can’t change your tasks until we approve it. Otherwise, you have to work overnight and bring us back on schedule. And only if we approve it, you can move your tasks in case somebody is late.
Also, GanttPRO allows us to collaborate inside the team. Someone can say: “Hey, I am finishing earlier, so you have 2 extra days for your tasks.”
Favorite features
We heavily rely on the critical path. In our weekly meetings, we look through the critical path and we know exactly what is behind and who is behind it. This is very important when you are launching a new product.
I like how notifications work in GanttPRO. You always receive them saying that you are behind the schedule or here is your new task. I like that.
This is one of the key features we initially were looking for in the project management software. In this context, GanttPRO gives everything we need.
We can sequence all the tasks. We place them on a timeline with the dependencies in place.
Impact
What does your work look like now with GanttPRO?
We start by summarizing our activities. Then, we break them down into different categories. Some of the categories are within the area of technology. Another part is marketing. Then, user experience and customer support guy has got all of his tasks. And then we have a bunch of other stuff, such as legal, compliance, license issues, etc.
“All activities we place on a timeline with dependencies. We create dependencies because they show us the consequence. For example, to start a new task, you need someone else to complete their tasks. So we have it all with the dependencies in place. Once that is done, we create a critical path.”