looking for I owe you / you owe me follow up system

Are you using any kind of project management software already? (MS Project, FastTrack, etc)

If you need something open source, take a look at: [url]http://openproj.org/?q=node/21[/url]

But I suspect TomW's point is that anything somebody owes should be on the schedule (at the appropriate rollup level) as a deliverable, with a delivery date. If the next task is waiting on that deliverable, there should be a link. Then anybody looking at the Gannt chart should be able to tell who owes what by when, and (when it matters) to whom.

I've done some coordination efforts (not really project management) where I had nothing but zero-duration deliverables with must-finish-on dates and links. That let me see the linkage between deliveries, but nothing about duration or the likelihood that things would happen on time.

tc>

Jaxnd,

I suggest a very simple approach based on the "Getting Things Done" book.

Keep a "Waiting For" list. Four columns:[list]Open Date (When did the request start?)
Due Date (When is the response due?)
Who (The [u]name[/u] of the person who is to get back to you.)
What (A brief summary of what they're to deliver.)[/list:u]

This can be on a piece of paper, in Excel, or wherever. You just have to capture [u]every[/u] time somebody owes you something back.

As part of my daily routine, I scan down to see which items are not crossed off that are due and then follow-up.

Project management software is okay for tracking deliverables, but is really intended to help forcasting budget and schedule. If your projects have a lot of dependencies and you want to be able to keep track of what happens when someone doesn't delver, then it is very appropriate. Otherwise, it seems like it's not going to be "easy" and "fast" for you.

CC

P.S. As an added bonus, I've noticed that since I started doing this, I've had to follow-up with the same people less because they have learned that I'm keeping track of due dates.

CC

I'll second cc's suggestion for GTD. I don't think it much matters what system you use, as long as you use it. Every time. Every day. Once people get that you're on it, they'll be on it too.

[quote="ccleveland"]
This can be on a piece of paper, in Excel, or wherever. You just have to capture [u]every[/u] time somebody owes you something back.
[/quote]

Oh, duh. Sorry, my technology button was pushed this morning.

One of my project managers has a whiteboard outside his office. Things in blue are what he owes other people (with a name and due date). Things in green are what other people owe him. When something is overdue, the date is rewritten in red with the new estimate. Reds really stand out.

Our HR recruiting person has a whiteboard with every open req, the hiring manager, and the status (approved, ads out, interviews, offers, acceptance, start date, depending on where she is in the process). When a hiring manager asked for it on a web page, our HR manager offered to take a cellphone picture each morning and post the picture on an internal page. I suggested pointing a cheap webcam at the board, so people could download the very latest status any time they wanted it.

That assumes you want to share. Otherwise, paper, or a spreadsheet, or even one of those desk blotter calendars. KISS.

(Recall the parable of the object-oriented toaster!)

tc>