GanttProjectAutomator is an automated communication utility for users of Gantt Project - the free desktop project scheduling application.
It was conceived from years of project management experience to make team communication of task status just a little bit easier. Using email and a scheduler, it alerts assignees of project tasks and also updates the GanttProject file based on assignees' email replies.
Project task assignments can now easily be viewed and updates provided via mobile phones, freeing task assignees from having to interact with the PM or the Gantt Project file directly.
- Automates visibility of tasks in a GanttProject file by emailing assignees as the task start date arrives (and at configurable intervals if completion remains 0%)
- Automates status updates on GanttProject file from assignees by handling email replies on progress
- Generates overall project summary
- Active tasks (start date <= today <= end date) with zero completion
- In flight tasks (0 < completion < 100 %)
- Upcoming tasks
- Completed tasks
- Generates summary reminder for an individual
- Developed as a command line application in Java by David Richardson
- Has a fully-fledged DOM in-memory model to represent the GanttProject XML file
- Requires access to a sending and receiving email account
- The application will send emails on behalf of this email account to project team members
- The application will also read emails in this email account looking for responses or requests from project team members
- Is stateless
- Uses the GanttProject file to define project state and drive actions
- Also uses emails to identify triggers to act and also for markers to know what's been processed before
- Intended for use in a scheduled environment (for example, using "cron" or "taskschd") to look for and notify new tasks starting each day and to handle responses and requests.
- Includes reserved word tokens in sent emails to uniquely identify the Gantt Project and also the specific task. In this way, the application can be used in a multi-project environment using a single email address
- Build includes a rich suite of tests to verify behaviour
| Schedule | Command | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 08:00 daily | runGPA_notify.sh or runGPA_notify.bat | Uses a configured sender email address to notify all assignees of tasks due to start that day. Also sends repeat notifications for tasks with past start date and zero progress |
| Every 10 minutes, 24x7 | runGPA_all.sh or runGPA_all.bat | Reads the sender email inbox looking for task updates (eg "I'm 50% complete"), or requests (eg help, remind, summarise or notify) |
| 08:00 Sunday | runGPA_summarise.sh or runGPA_summarise.bat | Sends a project summary to the configured project manager |
- Developed and tested with Gmail accounts only
- Other email accounts should work, but it has not been tested
- If using Gmail, then set up an App password for the account:
- See Sign in using App Passwords for instructions
- Copy the sample yml file to a folder. You could co-locate it with the project GAN file
- Modify the yml file and change the 10 lines that reference CHANGEME
- XML Path to GAN project file
- Username for email sending account
- Password for email sending account
- Notifier title
- Email signature - add Project Name
- Backups folder
- Alerts receiver email address
- Project Manager (for project summary)
- Download JAR file to an install folder
- Download run scripts to the install folder
- The scripts will need modifying to reference the install folder and also the yml file
- Decide on scheduling strategy. Recommended scheduling as described in Typical Use above
The YML file has settings for the following features of the program:
- notify - (Finds tasks that start "today" or in the past with no progress and email notifies the assignees)
- update - (Based on the response of an assignee to a notification email, update the progress accoridingly)
- remind - (Generate a summary of tasks (not started, in progress, upcoming) in response to an email request)
- help - (Send a summary of capabilities that GanttProjectAutomator can support)
- summarise - (Generate a summary of tasks (not started, in progress, upcoming) for the PM to view)