Development planning
for an international manufacturing company
“We tried the top Gantt chart tools and GanttPRO was the most intuitive and user-friendly.”
A story about how Pacvac turns early design briefs into major product launches using GanttPRO’s custom columns, virtual resources, and Jira integration
Company overview
Company: Pacvac
Role interviewed: Adam Hirsk, Head of Product and R&D
Project types: full-cycle product development projects – from early design briefs and testing through manufacturing to launch promotions
External pressures: high planning complexity across many stages and functions, large task volumes (up to 140 tasks per project), international manufacturing and distribution context
Problems hinted at: need to handle detailed planning for in-house development, flexible cross-functional tracking, and department-level planning before assigning specific owners
Summary
Company Background
What does your company focus on?
Here at Pacvac, we design and manufacture backpack vacuum cleaners. We design very convenient and modern models and pay close attention to its ergonomic configuration.
Wearing a backpack vacuum is a very efficient way for commercial cleaners to do their vacuuming tasks, making it easy to clean offices, trains, cinemas, hotels, schools and similar public spaces.
We were the original pioneers of backpack vacuum cleaners, starting in Australia over 40 years ago, we now produce for the UK and Europe as well. These are much younger markets and we have helped to educate people about the idea of backpack vacuum cleaners, as not everyone is familiar with this concept. We distribute to France, Norway, Germany, Ireland, Iceland, and other European countries.
"Currently, we use GanttPRO as a product development project tool: for the initial design briefs, for the quality tests, and right the way to launch events and promotions. This means we use it for all stages of our projects."
Solution
How do use GanttPRO now?
Currently, we use GanttPRO as a product development project tool: for the initial design briefs, for the quality tests, and right the way to launch events and promotions. This means we use it for all stages of our projects.
What I personally use GanttPRO for is to display early details of project level tasks for various kinds of plans. For example, now I am working on a project that has around 140 tasks and the detail is well handled by GanntPRO.
“We tried top recommended 5-6 Gantt chart planners and GanttPRO was the one that seemed the most intuitive with good UI, which is the main reason I selected it.”
I also liked the custom columns feature, this actually makes a big difference when compared to other solutions.
Favorite features
The best feature for me is the custom columns. It allows me to generate my own headings which means it fits with our business goals and allows me to filter the tasks by different columns, making it more flexible cross-functionally.
I like using Virtual resources. I set them up as departments to give a broader view without specific assignees - this can come later. The virtual resources allow another good level of customisation and are really useful for filtering your views of the Gantt Chart.
My colleague appreciates integration with Jira as well. He seems to be fairly happy with this feature. *Read more about Jira integration here.
