February 14, 2013 at 15:51Winsana - client for Asana task management service on your Windows Phone
Our team has tried many project management tools. Almost all of them had a serious drawback - they were too complex and bulky. As a result, even the simple operation of creating a task and appointing an executor caused irritation and any unwillingness to use the tool in the future. Agree that the main task of any tool is to make life easier, not to complicate it.
About six months ago, I met with the Asana service. At first I began to use it for personal purposes, but in the end I came to the conclusion that it is better to use a single tool, including at work.
We use cloud-based TFS as a source code repository; accordingly, we manage project management in the same place. But for us it was too cumbersome. Yes, and customers, when they saw what they have to face every day, offered to use Google Docs or Excel and not complicate their lives.
We safely moved to Asana and were very pleased. But it has one small drawback - the service is not available through IE and Opera. If the lack of Opera support did not upset us much, then the situation with IE was more critical - access to tasks on a Windows Phone device was difficult. You could either play with the user agent or use third-party browsers. In addition, for personal use, I just wanted the native application - this is the most convenient option.
Those who are not familiar with Asana can get acquainted with a detailed overview of the service - http://habrahabr.ru/post/151162
I reviewed the clients for Android and iPhone / iPad. It turned out to be just wrappers for the mobile version of the site - not impressed. Asana has an API for third-party developers, so it was decided to develop its own client. Development was carried out in free time, therefore, for the first version, it was decided to cut the functionality as much as possible. Still, I wanted to start using it myself, collect user feedback in order to understand the direction of further development. It took about two months to develop. The application supports Windows Phone version 7.5 and higher (i.e. all existing devices on Windows Phone) and it is free.
The application turned out simple and concise, just in the style of Windows Phone. Honestly, when I saw some task managers for WP, I was in a panic: how could such a simple idea be spoiled - a list of tasks. True, it was easier for us - this is a client for an existing service, so the imagination was limited by the capabilities of the API.
What is Winsana and what functionality does it offer:
Problems and disadvantages of the application:
Plans for the next version:
Consider the main screens of the application:
1. Start screen
Available: a list of workspaces, tasks for today (expired and with a date until today), my tasks and the list of users. Also, the user can quickly create a new task.
2. The user goes to a specific workshop.
List of projects and tags.
3. Project details The project
objectives are divided into 3 groups: active, completed and all.
4. Details of the task
All the necessary information about the task and comments on it are presented.
5. Editing / Creating a task
6. Application settings
What is available:
You can download the application from the link: http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appId=c7fcb385-4fec-4356-9a9a-12c03e41aea4
Our team will be glad to any feedback and suggestions - support@devrain.com .
In the meantime, the application was certified, we prepared a small update. It will be available soon in the Windows Phone Store.
About six months ago, I met with the Asana service. At first I began to use it for personal purposes, but in the end I came to the conclusion that it is better to use a single tool, including at work.
We use cloud-based TFS as a source code repository; accordingly, we manage project management in the same place. But for us it was too cumbersome. Yes, and customers, when they saw what they have to face every day, offered to use Google Docs or Excel and not complicate their lives.
We safely moved to Asana and were very pleased. But it has one small drawback - the service is not available through IE and Opera. If the lack of Opera support did not upset us much, then the situation with IE was more critical - access to tasks on a Windows Phone device was difficult. You could either play with the user agent or use third-party browsers. In addition, for personal use, I just wanted the native application - this is the most convenient option.
Those who are not familiar with Asana can get acquainted with a detailed overview of the service - http://habrahabr.ru/post/151162
I reviewed the clients for Android and iPhone / iPad. It turned out to be just wrappers for the mobile version of the site - not impressed. Asana has an API for third-party developers, so it was decided to develop its own client. Development was carried out in free time, therefore, for the first version, it was decided to cut the functionality as much as possible. Still, I wanted to start using it myself, collect user feedback in order to understand the direction of further development. It took about two months to develop. The application supports Windows Phone version 7.5 and higher (i.e. all existing devices on Windows Phone) and it is free.
The application turned out simple and concise, just in the style of Windows Phone. Honestly, when I saw some task managers for WP, I was in a panic: how could such a simple idea be spoiled - a list of tasks. True, it was easier for us - this is a client for an existing service, so the imagination was limited by the capabilities of the API.
What is Winsana and what functionality does it offer:
- Workspace management, projects and tasks.
- Offline mode: all data is stored on the device.
- Creating tasks offline and further synchronization when the network appears.
- Simple and concise UI.
Problems and disadvantages of the application:
- Login using API key (guide-like string) - API does not yet support other options. An Asana spokesman said OAuth is planned, but there is no exact deadline yet.
- No entity deletion - API limitation.
- Performance problems when interacting with the service - recently there have often been delays on the part of the service and we end up with a timeout error (limitation - 10 seconds).
Plans for the next version:
- OAuth (if the API allows).
- Removing entities (if the API allows).
- Nested Tasks.
- Attach to Start Screen function for workshops, projects and users.
- Live tile: important information immediately on the start screen.
- Tag management.
- Integration with the calendar - create reminders at the request of the user.
- Adding comments to the task.
- Optimization :)
Consider the main screens of the application:
1. Start screen
Available: a list of workspaces, tasks for today (expired and with a date until today), my tasks and the list of users. Also, the user can quickly create a new task.
2. The user goes to a specific workshop.
List of projects and tags.
3. Project details The project
objectives are divided into 3 groups: active, completed and all.
4. Details of the task
All the necessary information about the task and comments on it are presented.
5. Editing / Creating a task
6. Application settings
What is available:
- Workspace by default - will be used to quickly create a task from the start screen
- User for My Tasks
- Clear local storage
- Exit: clear local data and return to the login screen
You can download the application from the link: http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appId=c7fcb385-4fec-4356-9a9a-12c03e41aea4
Our team will be glad to any feedback and suggestions - support@devrain.com .
In the meantime, the application was certified, we prepared a small update. It will be available soon in the Windows Phone Store.