FogBugz

June 11, 2008 in 5 out of 5 stars, A piece of software, Hosted software, Issue trackers, Project management

What is it?

FogBugz: They say it's project management software, which it is — but its real strength (and reputation) is issue/bug tracking. They have hosted, and installable versions of the software. I use their hosted version (dubbed FogBugz on Demand).

Who makes it?

Fog Creek Software

Why is it the killerest?

I like and use Basecamp, but on a current large project I found myself heavily using Basecamp's ToDo lists for issue tracking, and they weren't sufficient. So several months ago I signed up for FogBugz.

FogBugz didn't give me that instant love-at-first-site experience I've had with other software. But as I've begun to use it heavily, I have grown to adore this software, and I now completely rely on it to manage my projects.

Its genius is in its maturity. It is mature, seasoned, and polished software that makes tracking multiple issues with difficult sticky elements not just easy, but enjoyable. You know software is great if you still love it, and use it heavily after several months. Now I can't live without it.

It allows me to constantly keep on top of the hundreds of issues currently at play with my project, tracking them by sub-project, by team member, priority, and time. I have to say, it has also trained me to work more efficiently in managing my projects.

Because it is easy to use, we use it comprehensively, and because of that, it has helped us improve the quality of our software.

There are only four of us on our team, I'm sure it would really come into its own with much larger teams, and still be helpful for even smaller teams.

What could be improved?

My only real complaint is that it's packed with additional features, but they aren't real approachable. The usability, once you get the hang of the features you need, is solid, and even claravoiyant, but beyond that, the other features and capabilities of the software requires some hunting, digging and experimenting to get rolling.

How much does it cost?

Hosted: free for 2 users, or $25/user, per month

Installed: $199/user or less

Rating?

Reviewed by Carson McComas

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They also have a free Students & Startup Edition of FogBugz on Demand for two users.