Bespoke project planning tools for car builds/mods?
Discussion
Hi folks,
Gauging interest for a bespoke project planning tool to track cost, schedule & outputs for any of your ongoing car projects.
I'm about to embark on my own journey to restore/upgrade an '04 MX-5 NB and will be looking to utilise some kind of project planning software to keep track... I have a tendency toward mission-creep and get pretty trigger happy with spending so my partner is keen costs don't spiral...
Figured the best way to prove to her that I'm being at least partially sensible would be to use automated reporting for easy reference, as well as a schedule that's tied to this. That way I can forecast when the project will be more costly & time consuming - which, in turn, should allow me to provide some guarantee that we might just about manage to have Xmas this year...
Is anyone else out there interested in using something similar?
Interested to hear views/recommendations
Gauging interest for a bespoke project planning tool to track cost, schedule & outputs for any of your ongoing car projects.
I'm about to embark on my own journey to restore/upgrade an '04 MX-5 NB and will be looking to utilise some kind of project planning software to keep track... I have a tendency toward mission-creep and get pretty trigger happy with spending so my partner is keen costs don't spiral...
Figured the best way to prove to her that I'm being at least partially sensible would be to use automated reporting for easy reference, as well as a schedule that's tied to this. That way I can forecast when the project will be more costly & time consuming - which, in turn, should allow me to provide some guarantee that we might just about manage to have Xmas this year...
Is anyone else out there interested in using something similar?
Interested to hear views/recommendations
Don't do it!!! Automated reporting to one's missus about home projects?! If word gets out that one chap is doing it the rest of us are doomed.
Personally, I just use Google Keep notes and make a tick list. At most I'll work out the critical path (in terms of the necessary order of activities rather than the durations and proper PERT analysis). If you really want you can share that with your OH and she can give it a good ignoring as you tick things off.
In my opinion a home car project is not complex enough to warrant proper planning tools, and life can stop any such project running to schedule. It is of course sensible to plan the work you want to do and costs for the various materials, for four purposes: 1) satisfaction at ticking things off 2) at dark points being able to marvel at how much you've done and how little there is to go 3) stop the cost creeping too much. 4) to put a nice Gantt chart and cost breakdown on the "howeediddit" card if you ever display it at a show.
However... If you do, then keep a log of how you do it so you can add it to your CV or professional logbook for any sort of accreditation you go for. That's genuine, if I have two otherwise identical candidates and one has a clear drive towards on time/cost/quality then I'll prefer them.
Personally, I just use Google Keep notes and make a tick list. At most I'll work out the critical path (in terms of the necessary order of activities rather than the durations and proper PERT analysis). If you really want you can share that with your OH and she can give it a good ignoring as you tick things off.
In my opinion a home car project is not complex enough to warrant proper planning tools, and life can stop any such project running to schedule. It is of course sensible to plan the work you want to do and costs for the various materials, for four purposes: 1) satisfaction at ticking things off 2) at dark points being able to marvel at how much you've done and how little there is to go 3) stop the cost creeping too much. 4) to put a nice Gantt chart and cost breakdown on the "howeediddit" card if you ever display it at a show.
However... If you do, then keep a log of how you do it so you can add it to your CV or professional logbook for any sort of accreditation you go for. That's genuine, if I have two otherwise identical candidates and one has a clear drive towards on time/cost/quality then I'll prefer them.
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