The problem

Communication

Software development is a complex process. Anything but the most trivial applications are developed by multiple people. These people may be geographically separated. Even if they are not, usually they don't use a common information repository and share their thoughts through email or phone calls or napkins and the like. As a result most of the information is inaccessible to other team members and is difficult to share with them. As everybody knows that the more efficient the information sharing, the higher the likelihood of project success.

Bug/Task Tracking

Parts of the application development process are steps like testing, bug tracking and documentation. Because of tight deadlines these are often neglected, sometimes postponed to after the actual application is ready. Different companies use different methods for bug tracking: while most developers use some version of the plain old text files, some even write on sheets of paper. A lack of a centralized knowledge base also means that several bug fixes or workarounds have to be re-solved as the original solution is lost or deleted - or simply forgot. All this causes redundancy and inconsistency in documentation, often resulting in significant delays.

Collaboration with other companies

Companies get around these problems by using project management systems or developing their own solutions. Some of these work really well, but they have a common problem: they are unique to the company using them. This means that if two companies work on a larger project, they use different bug tracking and documentation methods - again resulting in inconsistency or redundancy. Also, communication between parties (i.e. referring to a given task etc.) is difficult thanks to their different project management systems.

The solution

That is when Menturio^TM comes into view. Menturio^TM uses its own Menturio^TM Enterprise Server (MES) to provide a central shared data and file repository. As it is centralized, there is no redundancy or inconsistency. It also provides all the functions of the top project management systems (milestones, bug tracking features, even message boards for communication between parties). It also has a powerful reporting engine enabling you to get an instant review of the project status and deadlines. On top of all that there are two user interfaces: The Menturio^TM/GUI and the Menturio^TM/Web Interface; by using the GUI executable version you can work offline and synchronize with the MES anytime you like. Using Menturio^TM benefits not only you but your partners as well: you can provide them with up to date information about your project - all you need to do is set some data access privileges.

Introduction - What is Menturio^TM?

Menturio^TM is a project tracking and collaboration system that allows project stakeholders to collect, file, share, and discuss virtually any type of information, whether it is news, a thought, task, idea, document or report. Menturio^TM is well-organized, efficient and easy to use, letting you send and receive up-to-date project data anytime, anywhere.

Menturio^TM provides a Web user interface (Menturio^TM/WEB) for instant information sharing, project administration and anytime, anywhere availability and a Windows user interface application (Menturio^TM/GUI) for powerful, fast, one-click tracking. Both interfaces connect to the Menturio^TM Enterprise Server, which provides information integrity, version management and centralized security.

Menturio^TM acts as a searchable central information repository and archive over the whole project life cycle. By enhancing communication and collaboration among stakeholders and by storing fine-grained project information Menturio^TM allows increased team productivity and project manageability. Easily configurable reporting capabilities let users retrieve specific data from the system, including project progress and time expenditure reports.

Menturio^TM is designed to make massive amounts of information manageable. It is fast, easy to use and flexible, giving users a powerful framework allowing them to focus on their own problem-solving decisions.

Menturio^TM/GUI (the Windows application) is a powerful tool that is easy to use. It can arrange large groups of information in an enormous number of ways, but quickly find a single item within the groups. It allows users to view multiple projects at a glance or concentrate on specific details in one location. The user interface is well organized and free of clutter with a wide array of features at the users' disposal. M#GUI is an off-line program, giving users total independence from the Internet. You can work on the plane, on the beach or in your client's office and count on one-click synchronization at the end of the day when you connect with the Menturio^TM Enterprise Server. Menturio^TM/GUI integrates with Borland Delphi and Borland C++ Builder.

Menturio^TM/WEB lets users instantly get information from the Menturio^TM Enterprise Server in a well designed, comfortable, portal-like web interface. You can immediately use the online form of Menturio^TM by entering the location into the address line of a web browser without any installation or maintenance.

Menturio^TM/WEB includes a highly customizable, user-friendly reporting engine. It allows users to create their own time reports, as well as project progress reports for management purposes. Menturio^TM/WEB offers a project calendar for overviewing the past, present and future situation of the project.

Tunneling the communication among stakeholders through the discussion board system of Menturio^TM/WEB creates a documented and searchable repository of conversations.

Product Tour

Guided Tour

We have created a guided tour of the Web interface for your convenience. Click here to start the tour (it will open in a separate window). You need Macromedia Flash Player 5 (or later) to see this tour.

Menturio/WEB

You can also test the Web interface by using the demo account. You will actually be using the real thing, but you don't have to worry about doing something wrong: we reset the Demo project regularly (this means that you may not see the items you have added to this project in an earlier session, but this is normal:-). To log in to the Demo project, enter in the LOGIN TO Menturio^TM box the following:

User name:	demo
Password:	demo

Menturio/GUI

You can also test-drive Menturio^TM/GUI, our off-line Windows front-end - just click here to start the download. Here you can read information about the installation. You can use the demo/demo account to log in to Menturio^TM/GUI as well. Please note that for demo user the synchronization with the server is disabled.