I was wondering whether there are plans for or plugins available for PM tools like Gantt Charts, Ticketing, Budgeting, Grouping tasks by sub groups, Reports, Charts etc.. I do not want to get another online tool to do this so please advise.

rajac,

Some of what you might be looking for can be found here: http://www.basecamphq.com/extras

I asked about Gantt charts before enrolling in BC. The responses I received made it pretty clear that 37S does not subscribe to the use of Gantt charts for project management. I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for them.

No Gantt charts in Basecamp, sorry.

Milestones are great, but I really could use a slightly more sophisticated project planning tool. If there are no Gantt chart capabilities coming for Basecamp, perhaps you could encourage one of the simpler Project Management software companies (like Easy Project) to develop a plug-in that would integrate their product with Basecamp. In fact, I think I’ll copy them on this myself. Does anyone else have a SIMPLE product that they like? (MS Project Manager is way too sophisticated.)

I made this one night a year ago and never finished it… but we still use it all the time.

http://sourcevisible.com/hacks/basecamp-overview.php

I keep meaning to post the source code—Someone with time might make it useful.

Yes. A Gantt chart would really be useful. Especially for tracking if the people involved in several projects are being overloaded with work.

I totally agree with Adrian on this one. The issue of determining availability and see where various project milestones overlap has been a huge challenge using Basecamp.

How are other people doing this while using Basecamp as the main tool?

True. That is an issue for me as well.

Hi Stefan and Scott,

Just curious, what kind of projects do you work on? My company is using it for management of post-production projects.

I don’t use them for my consulting company, but a seismic data processing company I work with basically processes seismic data and then interprets it to figure out if there is oil and gas in the ground. They need a solution like Basecamp except with Gantt charts. It’s pretty much a requirement, not an option for them, since their clients specifically ask for Gantt charts. It’s expected in their industry.

They plan on designing their own project management system, but I am trying to get them to use Basecamp instead. But Gantt chart support is a major issue.

Since Basecamp is so good, I would hate for them to basically make their own version of Basecamp just so they get Gantt charts and a few other features they want. But it may happen that way.

For my consulting company I don’t need Gantt charts as much, but a ticketing system that integrates with Basecamp would be ideal.

Another option for your client might be for them to look at building a Gantt chart add-on for Basecamp, as an idea. Might be easier in the long-run since you can push & pull quite a bit out of the system right now.

How about the folks at 37S partnering with this client to help them recoup some of their development cost on a Gantt chart add-on, by selling the feature as an account add-on?

The rest of the world uses gantt charts, even if 37S doesn’t. Why not look to partner in this way, if you don’t want to develop this feature within Basecamp? Turn it into a revenue stream for the developer and for 37S.