Manage Time, Tasks & Projects On iPhone With iTimeSheet

by Craik Pyke on 08/03/10 at 5:00 am

Craik Pyke is telecommunications architect and software developer specializing in mobile applications and an editor for iPhoneCTO.

Whether you’re a consultant who works across multiple projects, or you work in an organization that requires time tracking, you know that keeping an accurate record of how time is spent is critical to your business.

The goal of iTimeSheet

is to provide a tool to simplify the tracking of your daily tasks. The primary use the designer has envisioned is to integrate iTimeSheet into your daily workflow, such that you are tracking tasks as you begin and end each one. This is of course one of the reason the iPhone makes such an ideal platform for such applications; you have the method and ability to track tasks irrespective of whether on not you have your laptop with you, and whether or not you’re connected to a corporate network at the time.

iTimeSheet functions best when you use it in the designed manner. Moreover, to make truly effective use of the application, you need to take some time to initially set up your list of clients, projects, and tasks. The amount of time will depend on the number of projects, clients and tasks one has.

Upon launching iTimeSheet, you are greeted with a relatively simple interface. Initially, the user will be interested IMG 0219 200x3001 Manage Time, Tasks & Projects On iPhone With iTimeSheet

IMG 0219 200x3001 Manage Time, Tasks & Projects On iPhone With iTimeSheet

in either the “Calendar” section, the “Clients/Projects & Tasks” section, or both. It’s from within these sections that the data is populated for the items you’d like to track. Entering the data, using the “Clients/Project & Tasks” section is straight forward. On initially selecting the option, the user is presented with a blank screen; selecting edit allows you to create a new Client (and enter the hourly rate).

After creating a client, the user selects the client name (after exiting edit mode), and is presented with the same style screen for Projects. Tasks are created as a child of projects in the same manner as Projects to clients. It is straight forward to create the necessary data. I’d have preferred if there was a manner to import the data, but I recognize the complexity of getting the data into the application. Also, I must admit that while the interface looks fine, I found my fingers fumbling a bit as I tried to populate each section; I really wanted the ‘add entry’ field to be there without going to the edit button each time first.

Once the data is in, each subsequent launch of the application takes you directly into the calendar. From here, you can select from the clients, projects, tasks you’ve previously created (or add new ones on the fly), set a start time, end time, whether or not the time was chargeable, and even the hourly rate for the specific task (if different from the default you entered for the client).

Here’s where one reaches the crux. If you’re disciplined and you can integrate this application into your workflow as you complete each task, you’ll have an accurate record of all aspects of your day. If you’re not disciplined, you can always fill out the tasks later (hours, days, weeks later) but obviously you lose the accuracy of the data. Again here, the application interface is fine, if not slightly crowded, yet it is functional. My only significant aesthetic compliant is that if you enter the time of the start or end of the task manually (instead of using the “now” button), the selector specifies the words “hours” and “minutes” after the respective digits. It left me always wondering if I had accidentally entered the “duration” field instead of a time-of-day field.

IMG 0222 200x3001 Manage Time, Tasks & Projects On iPhone With iTimeSheet

As you would expect, the application gives a few different means to report your time usage. There is the ability to email a CSV file for a given date range to any address specified. There are also chart outputs such as the one shown here.

The application also provides a backup mechanism, so that the user can ensure their data is secure. Sadly, the data can only be backed-up to an FTP server. I’d have thought a WebDAV server, including MobileMe, was the typical standard now.

Overall, there are only a couple of minor “cons” to the application as it presently stands. Namely there are some user experience issues that are largely pedantic behavioral items and there’s the limited options for backing up the data.

On the positive side, I find the application good for exactly what it’s advertised for, time tracking. It takes a well structured mind to be able to integrate such an application into your workflow, but I suspect that’s the target audience. This application is not going to help a user develop the discipline to track their time appropriately; it’s a tool to ease the recording and reporting the data the user is already in the habit of collecting.