Smartsheet

Comentarios: I hated it a few years back when I first started using it. The thing that won me over and made me a power user was the interface refresh about a year ago. I then took the Smartsheet training to be certified and that opened my eyes to the power of the tool (and also to the fact that the sheets I hated were users in our company using it very, very WRONG). Anyway, while we do love it, there are a few antiquated things like concurrent editing that are truly broken (Google sheets can do this just fine!) and the recent price increase for our contract means that we are probably moving to another tool.

Puntos a favor: --You can easily switch between different views of the same data, e.g. grid vs. Kanban
--Dashboards and reporting are both powerful
--Growing number of integrations
--Commenting per-row is excellent
--Can be used as a simple spreadsheet
--Security/permissions are robust and intuitive
--Excellent training and certs available
--Forms feature is pretty complete for basic stuff
--Very extensive formula capabilities, almost like Excel
--The "business" pricing tier would actually be quite adequate for my group's needs, vs. the enterprise plan
--Nesting/hierarchy of rows can be useful

Contras: --No in-cell formatting
--Awkward multi-user editing, no auto-save, other users keep resetting views
--Reporting is difficult, meaning that you have to create separate complex reports instead of just saved views
--Not a true database or app builder
--Notifications system is wonky, delayed, and hard for new users to tame
--Very easy to abuse and misuse, even worse than Excel because you can add in the nesting/hierarchy (we have one user in particular that makes the most gawdawful sheets you've ever seen, partly because of the inherent Smartsheet interface)
--Attachments are pretty rough, not easily visible or visual, and no desktop app integrations (e.g. save a file from Word to SmartSheet)
--No concept of a "document" or app, only the spreadsheet motif; can't do notes or instructions very easily, for example, so people overload rows for this and that makes reporting even harder when you have to manually select rows
--Forms feature not embeddable or graphically complete with formatting to make it look nice
--Not clear how you combine formulas and forms without overwriting formulas at the bottom--I haven't figured this out yet even after years of using it
--Enterprise pricing is now forcing us to consider alternatives, including lower tiers of Smartsheet

Comentarios: We have a global team of collaborators often working on the same document. SmartSheet, being a web-based collaborative tool makes it effortless to delegate and track tasks, allocate resources, and oversee budget in a concise form. The transparency in this tool is exemplary as one can view activity logs and track changes. Unlike its main competitor MS Project, SmartSheet is capable of tracking real-time workflow wherein changes made by one individual can be reflected across the entire team in an instant.
It functions spectacularly on a range of operating systems (I use it on iOS as well) and has proven to be a cohesive platform to visualize project data in real time, all in one place for all relevant team members to view and work on. I would highly recommend SmartSheet for teams who are looking for project management software that requires minimum training with maximum output.

Puntos a favor: SmartSheet is a cloud-based tool that helps Project Managers better align their resources, cost and time. Being a part of a virtual team responsible for collaborating whilst managing critical projects, Smartsheet has been indispensable in helping us track project timeline through interactive Gantt charts, establish critical paths, manage team resources, analyze budget and costs, in addition, to document sharing through OneDrive, Skype and even the app.
It is definitely reliable, has a simple user interface, flexibility in function, offers real-time data tracking through dashboards and training additional collaborators is uncomplicated. I love how SmartSheet offers a powerful conditional formatting feature, visualization of data that is editable and printable for presentations and has a spreadsheet-like interface (like Excel) yet is straightforward, unlike its counterparts.
Another thumbs up feature is that SmartSheet offers a 30-day trial wherein full functionality can be tested and project plans produced before actually investing in the software!

Contras: Our firm works from Sunday to Thursday (unlike the USA) and though they are advised well ahead, maintenance windows don't always align with our schedule, and we have to work around that. One attribute that can definitely be improved is the option of turning on auto-save, instead of manually saving the document. Often the development of a comprehensive project plan across several collaborators is quite intense and even if one of them fails to manually save the document, it is quite a hassle.

Comentarios: I work for a small construction company who used to keep all their information "in their heads, or on the back of a fag packet"!!! This has revolutionised the way they work and not only stopped them from forgetting things but also given them the ability to look at live costs and income. They now have a dashboard to see the 'big picture', individual Reports to show their own specific projects, an automated transfer of information to accounts when they mark a job as complete, reminders, comments so they can stay up to date with any info added by other people, and so many other little 'life hacks' that make their lives easier. Smartsheet has changed the way we all work immeasurably for the better. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

Puntos a favor: I love the Smartsheet Community who will help you find ways to adapt Smartsheet to suit each individual need you may have. I've been using the software for years and every time I've wanted to use it for something new we've found a way! Sometimes there have been delays due to the capacity not being there YET, but it's easy to submit a Product Enhancement Request. There are updates and innovations ALL THE TIME and while they're not shoved down your throat, there's plenty of support out there if you want it, not only from the Community but also videos and webinars (live or recorded). If you've got the motivation and imagination then I think the possibilities are unlimited, without needing to be a programmer or have any coding knowledge.

Contras: There's not much I can say that's bad about Smartsheet. I find it slightly difficult that it's very US based and I'm in the UK, but that's true of most comparable software. I'm also not keen on the Learning Centre as it sometimes assumes a level of knowledge that is beyond me and I find it incomprehensible! It's not a problem though as I can easily turn to the Community!

Comentarios: Disconnected - we use InfusionSoft and despite the software being hard to use sometimes and changes happen constantly, they have mitigated risk of leaving by investing in human contact and support. I posted something to the Smartsheet community and hear nothing.

Puntos a favor: Collaboration
Action features
How to tutorials/onboarding is good
Webforms

Contras: Lack of a chat support system or ticketing system
The upsell on functions - have free collaborators now having to pay to do things they could of done prior even though they had been using the system for years. Understand if certain features are now paid to commercialise the product, however I think it is unfair to penalise historic users. If you looked at a micro level with us you will see a 200% growth in our subscription over its lifetime and I feel this short term and automated upsell could and has damaged perceptions of the overall product. 18 months ago I would of been a 10 regarding recommedations and now it is less.

Comentarios: One of my team members was able to create a content calendar for a broad editorial group within the platform and it worked great and had excellent adoption from a cross-functional team. Vet it carefully for your particular needs before making an investment -- SS has a lot to offer for the right projects.

Puntos a favor: SmartSheet provides a lot of great features: easy-to-use "card view", quick Gantt charts and easy entry of tasks. I really like the simplicity of the tool as it feels very much like Excel at first blush. The two levels of access -- one for power users and one for light editors -- helps keep the tool in a very affordable price range. I absolutely love the ability to create a web intake form within minutes that can be published live for use without a login to the system. The form is highly configurable and is a great way to grab structured feedback or details from individuals.

Contras: SmartSheet is not a fantastic project management tool for software development. While the web-based intake form is decent for reporting bugs and it is a relatively simplistic tool, tracking items from beginning to end and creating validation loops should be easy but is not. Granted, we were using the tool for something it wasn't technically designed for, but much of the functionality is available within the platform for "light" development teams. Unfortunately, the implementation of specific task-driven items simply wasn't where it needed to be.