Critical Mass is a service company. We don’t produce anything physical that we can sell — it’s all time. We build websites, yes, but it’s the time it takes us to make them that counts.
Shortly before I started at Critical Mass, along came TimeTracker. This was the tool used to keep track of the time we were spending. And not in in almost eight years was there a single person who liked it.
Tracking time is a necessary evil in service-based organisations. You have to do it. It’s how you go about it that determines the level of griping you’re bound to get. TimeTracker (“TT” for short) had such a level of complaint to virtually anyone who would listen (I’ve not only been a recipient, but a detractor as well) that I’m amazed it lasted as long as it did.
But today, it is dead. Today, it is no longer being used. Yes, former denizens of CM, your arch-nemesis, long-forgotten for some (but still a sore point in your memory) has finally been slain in favour of a better solution. We call it “Footprint”. I’m not sure if we’re allowed to talk about the actual software in use, so I’ll just stick to its nickname.
I can say that it’s a lot better. At least we don’t have to log weekend time (“0” for most people) anymore. And it’s easier to request vacation time. And it’s providing a single sheet for entering time rather than having to dig through hundreds of categories looking for the one you need.
TimeTracker is finally dead. Long live Footprint!
