The Arena Newsletter: Issue 15

The Arena Newsletter

Issue 15 | May 16, 2019

"The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team."

– Phil Jackson

Welcome to The Arena Newsletter

In this issue, we're taking a look at how The Arena App stacks up against competitors' features.

In the Arena

While developing Arena, we took a look at other software already in the marketplace. The features we considered include: effective project management; effective task management; intuitive prioritization; calendar overlay; productivity insights; and accomplishment insights. Below is an in-depth look at how competitors’ features stack up against The Arena App.

Task Software

In their 2019 Guide to Task Management Software, Capterra found and rated 241 different options to help you manage to-do lists by creating, assigning, prioritizing, scheduling, and tracking tasks. Some software is only for individuals; others are meant for teams. While each offers their version of a simple display, most are just fancy lists. Sometimes very, very fancy lists. While users can see who is working on what, they often don’t know what most needs their attention and focus. That’s because the visuals don’t lead to intuitive prioritization and don’t help users understand WHEN they must complete their work. Knowing the deadline is NOT the same as allocating the appropriate time to get the job done. And, there are no insights about productivity or accomplishments.

Project Software

If you thought there were a lot of options for task software, Capterra found even more for Project Management Software – 761! Project management software is often used to keep projects under budget, in scope, and on time. It often includes file sharing, time tracking, and billing features, in addition to task management. That’s a lot happening in a single software package! One of Arena’s earliest testers used this type software in his logistics-centric position for a major pharmaceutical company. He said, “My company made a major investment in project management software and it requires so much time and attention to keep it up-to-date that it feels like I work for the software. The software definitely doesn’t work for me!” This is typical for this kind of software. It can provide an overall view of a project (very helpful to managers and corporate executives) but it’s not helping anyone actually get their work done.

Communication Software

Among managers and corporate executives, there’s a fervent belief that more communication between team members will result in greater productivity. Indeed, a 2012 McKinsey study estimates a 20-25% increase in productivity for the companies that use communication software and that number is certainly higher now. A Harvard Business Review article in 2017 found that communication software helps employees be more engaged with their global companies, do a better job of communicating and sharing skills and knowledge, and collaborate and innovate more effectively. What communication software doesn’t do is intuitively prioritize projects and tasks or give you insights about productivity or accomplishments. Said simply, talking about work isn’t the same as getting work done.

The Arena App

Offers effective project and task management tools (checklists, points)
Offers intuitive prioritization (Must, Should, and Could distinction for projects, as well as bubble sizes based on task importance)
Offers good productivity and accomplishment insights (built-in Insights function shows you your most productive day, as well as your accomplishments for the week)

About Thrivner Software

The Arena App: Daily Planner, developed by Thrivner Software, combines best practices for #productivity, #timemanagement, and a life well-lived so you have a better day, every day!