We often have the request to
integrate ProjeQtOr data into standard calendars (Outlook, Google Calendar or any other).
Our answer is that ProjeQtOr can only "send meeting invites".
This means that on a meeting, you can send an iCal email to all attendees on the meeting.
That's all.
Also note that ProjeQtOr does not manage answers to the invites. This could be done but does not exist yet.
Now, what about "the rest".
Well,
what is the rest ?
What do you really expect to retreive in your calendar ?
When we require specifications, we usually get no answer, and when we get some, we get opposites requests from different users...
- Planned Work
OK, but do you need one event in the calendar for the activity or one for each planned day ?
- Activities
OK, at which dates ? validates dates, planned dates, other ?
And to who ? assigned resources ? responsible ? project leader ? any user who sees the activity ?
- Tickets
OK, at which date ? initial target date ? actual target date ?
- Actions
OK, at which date ? initial target date ? actual target date ?
- Ohters ? What should be sent ? Risks, Decisions, Test sessions, Poker Sessions,
There are so many objects in ProjeQtOr ...
Then come technical requirements, for
How to to send the information ?
- Simple iCal email send ?
OK, simple, but may not cover all requirements, and may be quite heavy for high sollicitation databases
- Specific interface using specific API ?
Thie means heavy development for each target... some not especially well documented and possibly not free ...
Our small team would have to spend great efforts that will reduce what can be done on other subjects
- Any other means ? (file transfer, other tier intergration like Zapier, ...)
Possible, at what cost ? are the targets free ?
.... and
When to send it ?
- On creation
Easy !
- On each modification
Heavy !
- On some modifications
Which ?
- Every hour ? Once a day ?
Then what ? Creations ? Updates ? Which updates ?
But the most important,
what happens if event is changed on the calendar side ?
- Nothing
OK, easy, except that changes in ProjeQtOr could then easily erase what was changed
- Changes is pushed back to ProjeQtOr
Heuheu ...
How ?
What side effect if item what also changed on ProjeQtOr side ? Management of conflicts is a real mess...
How to return errors ? The change could be rejected in ProjeQtOr because of some internal rule.
This is a first quick view of what this kind of interface is.
So now comes the real question,
why do you need ProjeQtOr data in your calendar ?
- Just to have a global view in your calendar
You can get it directly in ProjeQtOr
- To keep using the tools you are used to
Is a calendar a good tool to manage projects ?
- To please some users who don't want to change
Is that really a good reason ?
But is fact none of these reason we push us to invest into such interface.
So we won't do it until someone is ready to precisely specify the need and pay for it.