Project management beyond email

Marty and Eric provide ideas and resources for your consideration is using project management software

Why move past email?

Email buries decisions/files in long threads.

Slack (real-time chat + threads) + a project manager (kanban/tasks/timelines) make work visible, searchable, and faster.

Slack is already common in higher ed for communication and collaborative learning; pairing it with a project manager levels up coordination.

30-minute starter kit

Create a Slack workspace; invite your class/research team with university emails.

Channels (starter set): #announcements, #general-questions, #project-alpha, #helpdesk, #random.

Norms (pin these in #announcements): use threads, tag with @, add short TL;DRs, react for quick status.

Project manager: Set up a board with lists/columns → Backlog → To Do → Doing → Review → Done.

Task template: Goal, owner, due date, checklist, attachments, link to reading/IRB doc.

Connect Slack ↔ project manager: enable the integration so task updates post to the right channel.

Teaching use cases

Team projects: each team gets a Slack channel + its own board; require weekly “Done” screenshots.

Office hours: scheduled Slack huddles; post a recap thread.

Peer feedback: students comment on tasks; instructor summarizes in Slack.

Late-work transparency: a Blocked list with reason + next step.

Research use cases

Protocol to practice: one task per milestone (IRB, recruitment, analysis, manuscript).

R&Rs: a “Review → Revise → Resubmit” lane with checklists for each reviewer note.

Data hygiene: Slack for coordination only; store data in approved drives; link rather than upload.

Accessibility & equity

Encourage asynchronous participation; clear headings, short paragraphs, alt text for images.

Prefer threads to reduce noise; summarize meetings in a single recap post.

Privacy, policy, ethics (esp. counseling/education)

No PHI/PII or client details in Slack or the project manager; share links to secured storage instead.

Align with FERPA and IRB guidance; pin a “What NOT to post” note.

Set channel/board permissions; remove access at term/project end; export/archive if required.

Adoption playbook (4 weeks)

Week 0: Announce tools + 5 rules (threads, TL;DRs, owners, due dates, recap posts).

Week 1: Move announcements to Slack; first sprint (one deliverable on the board).

Week 2: Turn on Slack↔PM automations; introduce the Blocked ritual.

Week 3–4: Gather feedback; prune channels/labels; codify norms.

Asana   Asana.com 

Free 10 members 3 projects

Monday   Monday.com

OpenProject — https://www.openproject.org/ 

Pros: Full suite (Gantt, Agile boards, time tracking); mature docs; robust Community Edition. Cons: Heavier to administer; some advanced features gated to Enterprise. 

Taiga — https://taiga.io/ 

Pros: Clean Scrum/Kanban workflow; easy start; open source. Cons: Best fit for agile use—fewer “classic PM” features than larger suites. 

Redmine — https://www.redmine.org/ 

Pros: Very mature; flexible trackers/wiki; huge plugin ecosystem. Cons: Dated UI; Ruby stack setup can be fiddly. 

Leantime — https://leantime.io/ 

Pros: Designed for “non-project managers” (inclusive UX); simple boards/roadmaps; self-host downloads. Cons: Smaller ecosystem than Redmine/OpenProject. 

WeKan — https://wekan.fi/ 

Pros: Trello-style Kanban; easy install options (e.g., Snap); MIT-licensed. Cons: Kanban-only; limited built-in reporting. 

Kanboard — https://kanboard.org/ 

Pros: Ultra-light, minimal Kanban; quick self-host; solid docs. Cons: Project is in “maintenance mode”; fewer advanced features. 

Plane (Community Edition) — https://plane.so/ 

Pros: Modern UI; issues/sprints/roadmaps; AGPLv3 CE. Cons: Still evolving; smaller academic user base. 

Nextcloud Deck — https://apps.nextcloud.com/apps/deck 

Pros: Kanban tightly integrated with Nextcloud Files/Calendar; mobile apps available. Cons: Requires a Nextcloud instance; not a full PM suite.

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