A big thanks to MeisterTask for sponsoring BrettTerpstra.com this week! I recently posted about their latest feature Agenda — a.k.a. “one board to rule them all.” This week is focused on the launch of their most requested feature of all time: Timeline, MeisterTask’s very own version of a Gantt chart.
If you’ve never heard of MeisterTask before, here’s a short description: MeisterTask is a Kanban-based task and project management tool that allows you to work productively in an all digital space. It enables you to create customized workflows on sleek, beautiful-looking Kanban boards, which can be populated with all your work in the form of individual tasks. This helps teams and individuals looking to up their productivity follow work’s progress visually from start to finish. Plus it’s easy to use!
One of MeisterTask’s USPs are its features built to help teams collaborate online. Given the situation that most companies find themselves in at the moment — working remotely — they provide key infrastructure to facilitate this in the most effective way. Teams can use MeisterTask to set up projects and organize and manage their work in a customizable environment that perfectly adapts to their needs, and all they really need to get started is five minutes and an internet connection. MeisterTask also comes readily integrated with other great tools such as: Slack, Google Calendar, GitHub, Zapier, G Suite, Confluence, Bitbucket and more.
One of the key features for project management aficionados is a Gantt chart. The ability to visualize a task’s duration, from start to completion, on a calendar for easier coordination. This adds a completely new dimension to how you view your project’s progress on the whole. MeisterTask has integrated these core functionalities into their latest feature — Timeline.
A few benefits that Timeline offers, aside from a project overview, are that:
- It gives an overview of your team’s workload (Who’s got too much on their plate? Where does work need to be reallocated/reassigned?)
- It displays a tasks duration (How long will it take to complete a task? How long until one task is finished before the next one can begin?)
- It highlights dependencies (Know which tasks need to be completed before the next task can begin and conversely, know exactly which task is blocking the next phase in your project)
- It gives you the ability monitor deadlines (Know ahead of time which deadlines will or won’t be met)
- It facilitates better planning and coordination (Takes the guesswork out of how long something will take by visualizing timings)
- It facilitates transparency and open communication (With all tasks visible to all stakeholders, everyone stays in loop)
What’s more, MeisterTask’s Timeline is completely interactive: tasks can be dragged and dropped directly from a project into a timeline. Tasks’ timeframes in the timeline can be adjusted directly in the timeline to suit changing circumstances (e.g. extend the duration of a task that’s taking longer than anticipated to complete). All that and more in a pretty color-coded package!
True productivity involves forethought and planning — Timeline is the feature that helps you visually and accurately plan your project from conception to completion, while still giving you the freedom to remain agile and make changes if and when necessary. It’s available on the MeisterTask Business plan for $20.75 per month. Sign up using the code BRETT15 to get 15% off your first year with the annual pricing plan! MeisterTask also offers a feature packed free plan which doesn’t have Timeline but is definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for a simple, nice looking task manager. Check out this page for more information about Timeline.
