Paid for a fancy project management app for 6 months before trying a whiteboard on the wall

Had a crew of 8 on a 3-month renovation in Denver and the app just complicated everything with all these check-in pings. Switched to a simple whiteboard with color-coded magnets for each phase and my foreman actually started updating it on his own.

3 comments

3 Comments

emmag402mo ago

The 14 status updates I got from the app each day told me exactly nothing useful, but the red magnet creeping across the whiteboard meant the drywall crew was finally done with taping. That physical board gave my guys a reason to walk past and see what the next guy was doing, which fixed more scheduling holes than any automated reminder ever could. Sometimes the best tool is the one that stays out of the way and lets people think for themselves.

patricia_kelly2mo agoMost Upvoted

Does that app do anything useful besides making you feel productive, @emmag40?

jakeperry5d ago

400 bucks a month for that app and my guys still walked past the whiteboard on the way to the coffee machine. The red magnet cost me 7 dollars at a hardware store and it actually got people talking about who needed help next. How many times did that app tell you a crew was behind schedule before someone actually walked over and asked the drywall foreman what was up?