Smart & Classic projects comparision

Hi Olaf,

It would seem to me that this comparison is not completely updated. Can you let me know if that is the case? And if it is not updated, any chance someone can provide an update?

Thanks,

Jaime

I agree. It's not fully updated. Also, this is written more for marketing purposes, not end-users that are trying to make decisions. It would be nice to have a real-world practical comparison of features.

Hi,

Bumping this thread as it would be great if we could get an updated comparison between Classic and Smart projects.

Thanks,

Jaime

Hi all,

this is the very simple list, but contains every difference. No description, fact, but I am curious how could we expand it? What else would you like to have in here? 

We'll have internal meeting regarding that topic in few weeks, so it should produce some article or presentation we'll be happy to share with you. But every feedback until so is highly appreciated.

Hi Olaf,

I am not really looking for you to expand it, I was just inquiring if it was up-to-date. That is, if everything that is listed is still actually the case.

I am looking to make a business case for switching from Classic to Smart and knowing that the list is up-to-date really helps.

thanks,

Jaime

We're still with classic, due to some missing features in how more complex projects can be handled.
A prospective end user doesn't just need to know what's better with Smart Projects, but also be aware of the trade-offs regarding missing features.

I agree with Jan's point. I was brought in to XTRF with Smart Projects and told it was our solution. We know are feeling the limitations and need to consider training on Classic as well. If we had been told the differences and trade offs up front, we would have been able to plan for our transition better, and make a better informed decision on how to use XTRF. And not to nitpick, but items like, "Customer Portal “Request a quote / Launch a project” button behavior" doesn't mean anything. Or "Built in new technologies" doesn't help me make a decision. 

I do want to point out the difficulties in maintaining two separate systems, Smart projects and Classic projects. If they both have to be maintained it would require a huge amount of developing effort. There should be some fast transition that would make the Smart projects more upfront and used.

We have chosen to use the Smart projects because of the easy to understand look and feel and has expandable features. Also we have been told that everybody within no-time would use Smart projects so that all the developers could work on new features for this. 

Hi! We are thinking about switching to Smart Projects. The pros are simple enough to find but I am now scouring this forum for the cons, and I see some of you found that Smart Projects aren't suited for every project. That was two years ago, so maybe something has improved? Did you end up using Classic as well, @mark? What did you end up with, @Jaime and @Jan?

Any help with letting me know what the cons, trade-offs and limitations of Smart Projects are would be greatly appreciated. 

We ended up sticking with Smart Projects, despite the limitations. The biggest limitations as compared to classic projects for us is the lack of multiple source languages projects and the confusing nature of file uploads in complex projects. About once every two months we say, 'we need to start using classic projects' but we never do. I have very resistant to have to train our PMs on what would essentially be a completely new tool. Having said that, smart projects is generally working for us. But my gut is the biggest benefit of Smart over Classic is that it's much easier to jump in and get started for new people - particularly for less complex projects. So if your shop is already using Classic and using it well, I don't know if you'd benefit much from switching. Maybe others disagree?? 

I will say that @Sancho posted his solution to group multiple projects together in Smart Projects and it's pretty useful. So maybe find that post (Sorry, but I couldn't find it...) and see if that's helpful for limitations that you see. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply, Mark. Very interesting insights!

We are looking into making a simultaneous jump to using the memoQ integration to automate everything as much as possible, so that's another reason why we are looking at Smart.

If anything else pops into mind, I would be grateful!