I sent out 2 surveys to the Chandler Users list, some LPFI folks and some of you sent them on to friends and family.

• http://lists.osafoundation.org/pipermail/chandler-users/2007-June/000304.html
• http://lists.osafoundation.org/pipermail/chandler-users/2007-June/000315.html

Below, I have compiled responses from non-OSAF staff, including Chandler-Users list posts and survey Katie and I sent to LPFI, family and friends.

The pool of respondents is comprised of mostly non-developers and non-software industry people.

Caveat When responding to surveys, it's always difficult to separate your gut, emotional reaction to the tagline from evaluating the tagline itself. So I did some interpretation as it were. Most commonly, people might report that they reacted negatively to something, but from their comments, it seemed like they were personally neutral or positive about a concept, but were worried about how other people might react. Or, someone might react poorly to the word 'open source' but like the main part of the tagline. Anyhow, the survey was not conducted in a very rigorous manner, so these results are mostly informational rather than conclusive.

Summary

• It takes a village - Ack Hilary Clinton!
• For ther rest of us - Really resonates with a lot of people, even people who were confused by the term project manager or had negative associations with project manager liked this one.
• The Attention Manager - Perhaps the most divisive tagline. People either really liked it or hated it. The people who hated it felt like Chandler would be intrusive and controlling, managing your attention whether you wanted it managed or not.
• A task manager for realists, not idealists - Well-liked.
• The little project manager that could - Evenly split. 7 likes, 6 dislikes, 1 neutral. Cute factor turned people off.
• The lowercase-p project manager - Mystified most people. As a result it had 10 neutrals out of 12.
• Mind like water mystified a lot of people too.

Re: Project Manager

There appears to be somewhat of a generational / industry gap with regards to the term 'Project Manager'

• Gen-X + Software = Dilbert-like association with Project Manager, which is negative. Constraining and top-heavy.
• Gen-X + Non-Software associate Project Manager with the Person
• Gen-Y + Software and Non-Software associate Project Manager with the Person

While associations with Project Manager, the Software were almost all completely negative, people had anywhere between unqualified enthusiasm for Project Manager, the Person and deep-seeded ambivalence, which makes sense given that Project Management can be a great thing or a pain in the neck depending on the person doing the managing.

Most importantly, for the people that don't associate Project Manager with software, in particular, constraining, top-heavy software, the attempts to soften or counter that association (e.g. 'Make it up as you go' OR 'Fly by the seat of your pants' didn't make any sense. People just interpreted that as bad project management.) However, the people who did get the underlying tension between top-down Project Management and bottom-up Chandler-style project management liked 'Fly by the seat of the pants' better than 'Make it up as you go.'

Re: Open Source

• Felt superfluous to a lot of people. Why do I care it's open source?
• Some people were actively intimidated by it. It made them feel like they weren't smart enough to use the product.

---

1. Do you have positive, negative, or neutral reactions to the following product taglines?
2. Do you identify with any of the following taglines?

The make-it-up-as-you-go open source project manager.

• Andre: Neutral to slightly Negative. If this is meant to be similar to a "minimally necessary, but sufficient" approach to PM, something like 37Signals' Getting Real, then Positive.
• Dan: Negative (could be interpreted as Chandler is "make it up as you go")
• William: (why do I care if it is open source?)
• Rob-b: neg
• Jim: neutral
• Rob: Positive.
• Stefanie: Negative
• Rachel: Negative
• Maria: poor rhythm
• Jeff: Negative. Yuck. Sorry, but "open" naturally clumps with "up as you go" to make a really muddy sentence.
• Greg: Negative (for me, personally [see note below about “flying by the seat of one’s pants”]), although I can certainly see why the Open Source Community would embrace this tagline.
• Esther: negative - sounds like one doesn't know what he/she's doing
• XXX: NEG. Sounds intimidating. I can’t make anything up as I go with software.
• Diane: Neutral to slightly negative. Makes me nervous, like I'm going to have to do too much thinking and planning.

The fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants open source project manager.

• Andre: Positive, more positive when combined with "smart" and something like 37Signals' Getting Real.
• Dan: Mentioning open source just distracts from the message. I like "The fly by the seat of your pants project manager" better, though I think the statement is too long and complicated for a branding message.
• William: (take a chance, try my product?)
• Zane: i think fly by the seat of your pants has good conotations. i like that because you get that it's supposed to be light and quick.
• Rob-b: neg
• Jim: neg.any association with flying makes me think of cramped seats.
• Rob: Positive. I like this one better, but its long
• Stefanie: Negative.
• Rachel: Negative
• Maria: no
• Jeff: Negative. Better, but probably not wise to put "pants" next to "open".
• Greg: Negative: When someone flies by the seat of his/her pants, s/he is not competent, etc.
• Esther: negative - sounds like one doesn't know what he/she's doing
• XXX: NEG. Sounds unorganized
• Becca: Sounds a little shoddy
• Diane: Negative, connotation that you're not really in control, as in "barely hanging in there".

The little project manager that could.

• Andre: Negative...evokes 80/20 odds of failure.
• Dan: Positive (short, sweet, and positive). This is my second favorite.
• William: ok
• Rob-b: neg
• Jim: positive. who can't laugh when you go back to childhood stories?
• Rob: Positive
• Stefanie: Positive. Positive.
• Rachel: Negative
• Maria: no. you want to sound big and strong!
• Jeff: Negative. Cute, and plucky. Is that what you want it to be?
• Greg: Positive: There is a warm, fuzzy, childhood connection with “the little engine that could.” This also has a David vs. Goliath feel for me.
• Esther: neutral/negative - seems a little silly
• XXX: POS. Sounds cute but what does that mean?
• Diane: Slightly positive, but feel that this reaction might be negative in people who hate cutesy things.

The lowercase-p project manager.

• Andre: Neutral to confusing...wondering if this is this meant to cover managers of workstreams, initiatives, the garage sale, etc.
• Dan: Negative (many won't get this)
• William: ok, i guess
• Zane: i don't like this one
• Rob-b: neutral
• Jim: neutral
• Rob: Negative. Huh?
• Rachel: Negative
• Maria: don't get it.
• Jeff: Negative. Too self-denigrating.
• Greg: Neutral. Concern: Can a lowercase p handle my big projects?
• Esther: neutral - not sure what this means
• XXX: NEU. Don’t really understand. What is a capital P Project manager
• Becca: Gotta read it twice to understand. still don't quite get it.
• Diane: Neutral, the full meaning takes a while to process.
• Kim: Like this one the best, for saying out loud to people.

The mind-like-water project manager.

• Andre: Strongly positive.
• Dan: Negative (many won't get this)
• William: What?
• Rob-b: pos (favorite one)
• Jim: neg. very ghost dog: way of the warrior and i'm sure even forrest whitaker wants to forget that film.
• Rob: negative
• Stefanie: Negative. Too metaphysical for my tastes.
• Rachel: Negative
• Maria: huh?
• Jeff: Negative. Doesn't offend me, but I am not sure that it means.
• Greg: Neutral. Concern: Anyone who hasn’t been exposed to Buddhist teachings will be confused.
• Esther: positive, but it sounds a little "hippy-dippy" -- it's my personal favorite one out of all of the taglines here
• XXX: NEU. Don’t understand
• Diane: Neutral, again takes a while to process.

The go-with-the-flow project manager.

• Andre: Positive.
• Dan: Neutral
• William: I think I can still remember that part of the 70s
• Rob: Positive. Pretty good
• Jim: neutral
• Stefanie: ok
• Rachel: Negative
• Maria: kinda like, sounds a little lazy
• Jeff: Postivie. I kinda like this one, but I am not sure what it means.
• Greg: Neutral. Concern: If someone is trying to manage projects, s/he wants order, structure, timelines, etc. This is the opposite of “going with the flow.”
• Esther: neutral - doesn't really sound organized, "go with the flow" and "manager" seem kind of opposite
• XXX: POS. Don’t really understand. Are you implying ‘work flow?’ sounds nice even though I don’t get it.
• Diane: Positive, though what do you think that it's a cliche?

The get-on-the-same-page project manager.

• Andre: Positive.
• Dan: Negative (cheesy)
• William: better
• Rob-b: pos
• Jim: neutral
• Rob: negative
• Stefanie: Negative. variation: The project manager for keeping teams on the same page.
• Rachel: Negative
• Maria: nope.
• Jeff: Positive.
• Greg: Neutral
• Esther: positive -- my second favorite
• XXX: NEU. Don’t understand
• Diane: Positive, though sounds like a bossy project manager.

The it-takes-a-village project manager.

• Andre: Neutral. Makes me want to replace this with something like "many hands make for less work" or something like that. Also, this just makes me think of the book and candidate in a mixed bag of emotional responses. My preference is New York Mayor Bloomberg's "bull-pen" collaborative team approach and style. (Not a political statement.)
• Dan: Negative (many won't get this)
• William: better, but it sound a little like a fault.
• Rob-b: neg (and reminds me of hillary)
• Jim: neg. would you play the sopranos theme song on the commercial?
• Rob: Ugh. negative
• Stefanie: Negative.
• Rachel: Negative
• Maria: funny, but no
• Jeff: Neutral.
• Greg: Negative: The phrase is overused.
• Esther: neutral
• XXX: NEG. Don’t understand
• Diane: What if you hate Hillary?

The project manager for the rest of us.

• Andre: Neutral. I don't get it.
• Dan: Positive. This is my favorite. Many people are frustrated with other project managers and they'll be able to identify with this statement.
• William: much better - project managers are notoriously hard to use and data intensive.
• Rob-b: pos (but oft used)
• Jim: positive. darn it, i just want to belong to a collective.
• Rob: Positive. That's me! I'm part of the rest of us.
• Stefanie: Positive.
• Rache: Positive
• Maria: kinda like, implies open source
• Jeff: Negative. I didn't even know I needed a task manager! Cool!
• Greg: Positive: Regardless of the issue, there is always pride in belonging to the group called “the rest of us.”
• Esther: neutral/negative - implies (to me) that there's something better/cooler/hipper/more professional out there that i'm not "qualified" to use
• XXX: POS. Who’s us? Who’s them? There might be something here cuz you’re addressing your audience a little – appealing to their potentially non techiness.
• Becca: Especially, if you changed the last part into some other group, i think it

could work well

• Diane: Neutral

More muscle than a task list, less fat than a project manager.

• Andre: Neutral to positive if you mean project manager "tool".
• Dan: Negative (too complicated)
• William: not so bad - could help
• Zane: Positive. i think this one may not be politically correct enough - but it depends on the audience. i like this one, but it's not really direct. i think i like this one because 'task list' means something and i get that it's more than that, which is good. it's like a positive PLUS.
• Rob-b: neutral
• Jim: neutral
• Rob: Positive. Sounds lean.
• Stefanie. Positive.
• Rachel: Negative
• Maria: like the description, but seems a little wordy
• Jeff: Negative. All that great task list flavor, without all the project manager calories.
• Greg: Negative: Seems too long. Feels like a copy of Miller Lite’s “tastes great--less filling.”
• Esther: negative - sounds too much like an ad
• XXX: NEU. – Don’t understand the fat part, I think I understand the muscle part, but not sure.
• Becca: Funny!
• Diane: Heh, I like this one.
• Kim: Strangely drawn to this one, but maybe not if you had to say it out loud to people.

The Attention Manager.

• William: sounds like ADD
• Rob-b: ooh. I like the first one a lot. pos and i identify.
• Jim: neg. i have a short attention span and am proud of it.
• Stefanie: Positive.
• Rachel: Negative
• Maria: like
• Jeff: Negative. Eek! Sounds like a control freak.
• Diane: Positive. I love this one, it's playful without being too cute, yet it gives off a sense of effectiveness ("manager"), like it means business.
• Grace: I like this one the best.

Tasks + Calendar + Flow

• William: obscure?
• Rob-b: neg
• Jim: neg for tagline, prob ok for some other press release.
• Stefanie: Not crazy about the word flow - [The rest has been removed by censors...]
• Rachel: Negative
• Maria: should it be = flow? kinda like.
• Jeff: Negative. Sorry. The word "flow" just underscores it's lack thereof.
• Diane: Negative. Too many plus signs, and takes me too long to process what the title is trying to say.

For Tasks that are really Projects

• William: ok, but selective audience
• Rob-b: neg
• Jim: neutral
• Stefanie: Positive.
• Rachel: Positive
• Maria: no, sounds like a lot of work
• Jeff: Negative. What!? There is an inference that Chandler turns the tasks into projects.
• Diane: Negative. Sounds like the program is trying to turn the idea of work, "tasks", into a positive thing by renaming it "projects".

From to-do to done and everything in between.

• William: too abstract
• Jim: neutral.
• Rachel. Positive. Positive.
• Maria: too many to's
• Jeff: Neutral. Better. But no. Too close to Doo-doo.

A task manager for the realist, no the idealist.

• William: better (best?)
• Jim: neutral
• Stefanie: Positive.
• Rachel: Positive.
• Maria: like
• Jeff: Negative. Also better, but you cut those who see themselves as idealists out of your

market.

• • Task manager for the realist.
  • Ideal task management for the real world.
  • Task management for the real world.

What associations do you have with the term 'project manager.'

Zane i think of a project manager as a person

Greg Order, structure, timelines, action item lists

Esther microsoft project - which I've heard isn't so good as far as applications go...

XXX I think of a project manager as a person (not a program) that manages all aspects of a particular project. S/he makes timelines/deadlines, sets tasks, and generally orchestrates and makes sure everything gets completed in the most efficient and effective manner for the best results.

Even though I don’t fully understand it, ‘The project manager for the rest of us’ appeals to me most because it’s referring to its users rather than trying to describe a ‘positive’ attribute of project manager software, a term I don’t understand and understand less the negative attributes other project manager programs have.

Becca Confused. to me a project manager is a person with a lot of knowledge. I'm not sure how this relates to the use you're putting it to.

Diane I think of some middle manager whose job it is to communicate among disparate team members so that something tangible can be accomplished.

Grace Project manager makes me think of Dilbert. You know what I mean?

Kim slightly negative (primarily in association with the word "manager"). But I've always been kind of resistant to (too much) structure and routine in my life...as I've gotten older I've learned the value of it - it frees you up from some things so that you can attend to other things - but I used to really fight it...I used to associate "routine" with "rut." I still associate "manager" with "control/controlling" (as you'll see below), though another part of my brain acknowledges that that sort of overgeneralization is irrational.

Associations - this depends on whether I'm thinking about "project manager" as a Thing or a Person...not sure which one you're asking for, so here are two lists:

Thing:

• control
• organized
• categorization/categorized
• orderly
• structure
• tasks
• to-dos
• necessary evil
• helpful

Person:

• boss
• in control
• in charge
• details
• getting things done
• tasks and to-dos
• delegation
• oversight
• bossy
• herding cats

This may be waaay more than you asked for, but since you started it... Interestingly, just thought I'd mention that I have fewer negative associations with the word "management" than with "manager." While they both carry the sense of "imposition of structure onto" for me, I think of the former as something necessary to Make Things Go - but I think of the latter as "the one doing the imposing" and that taps right into my resistance.

Having now spent so much time parsing the phrases separately, putting them together as "open source project manager" creates almost an oxymoron for me. However, if you had asked me at the beginning (which you didn't) how I felt or what associations I had with the term "open source project manager" - I would have had a basically neutral reaction...I respond to the Person as someone in an organization responsible for making something happen, and the Thing as a tool that might be useful for a person or a group of people trying to make something happen.

Have you ever used software called a 'project manager'?

Rob-b wouldn't microsoft project be in that category?

Greg Despite the fact that I have managed projects, I’ve never used any project manager software.

Esther don't think so/not that i know of :P

XXX I imagine I may have used some, but didn’t know that that is their technical name.

Diane Don't know. If I did, it wasn't done consciously.

How do you feel about the term: Open Source

Zane i feel like saying open source is pigeon-holey for the laypeople (ie: me) scary - does it work - i probably aren't smart enough to use it' ahahha i aren't smart enough!

Becca Hood. Like I should be using it. But also, like clean energy, like it's a little beyond me.

Grace "Open source" makes me happy!

Kim Mostly neutral, though positively inclined

Associations - these are all in the context of "computers/software" (at the moment I can't come up with another context in which I think of these words):

• free (as in "no cost")
• free (as in "fluid, open, not restricted")
• yay for the underdog, the little guy, "David" (of David and Goliath)
• alternative (not mainstream - in a good way, as in "versus evil empire")
• community
• collective (as in "the collective," not monolithic)
• convoluted? (as in "too many cooks...")
• daylight (as opposed to "in the dark")
• hip
• progressive
• not static (always evolving) - this made me wonder if I associated open source with being (more) "unstable" than a thing that wasn't open source, but i don't think so. it does make me feel more tolerant of/patient with "bugs" in the system, since my tendency is to assume that someone else knows there's a problem and will fix it soon enough. I suppose I should also say at this point that my fundamental orientation is to NOT be cynical about people (e.g. thinking most people are stupid) and to believe in the "wisdom of the collective" (over time). [However, don't ask me to reconcile this orientation with the current state of government in this country. My brain might explode.]

Other suggestions

• Task manager for the realist.
• Ideal task management for the real world.
• Task management for the real world.
• The project manager for keeping teams on the same page.
• The adaptable project manager.
• Your work, your way
• Your stuff, your way
• Orchestrate your work
• Master your work
• Zen and the art of project management
• Zen and the art of organization
• A project manager that does not demand managing you!
• Project manager software for people who want to manage the project, not play with the computer.
• Project manager for the whole team, not just the IT guy.
• Would you like to use some project management software but you do not have time for a week of training?
• Sharing Knowledge
• Distributed Knowledge
• An unexpectedly cool little project manager
• The project manager for the 21st century.
• Project management for the 21st century.
• power in plans
• put your stamp on it
• now and later: done!
• liberate your schedule.
• a new agenda (yes, I'm making a corny reference, but also an anticorporate bit)
• humanity before technology
• more done, less manage (heh taste great, less filling)

-- MimiYin - 22 Jun 2007