Group schedulers are uniformly easy to use, but they vary widely in their features, output, and compatibility with existing E-mail systems
David Seachrist
If you've never had to coordinate meeting schedules for a group of busy professionals, consider yourself blessed. Finding open time slots for a large group and shuffling schedules to make it all happen can frustrate even the most level-headed organizer. Group Schedulers automate the tedious task by sharing individual schedules, finding common open times, and securing commitments via E-mail confirmations.
NSTL evaluates seven of the most popular group schedulers for Windows. Dedicated tools for maintaining personal and shared calendars, these schedulers run on Novell Netware 4.1, and integrate meeting notifications and confirmat
ions across a proprietary messaging system or through third-party E-mail architecture.
The Cream
Although most of the programs presented here handle group scheduling with relative aplomb,
Microsystems CaLANdar
earns NSTL's
top ranking
. It scored highest in both ease of learning and versatility, high in ease of use, near perfect in concurrency (a measure of how well a program avoids file-sharing violations during schedule updating), and above average in overall quality.
If your company plans to simultaneously deploy both an E-mail system and group scheduling,
GroupWise
is clearly the product of choice. Both its scheduling and E-mail capabilities are well integrated, and GroupWise takes good advantage of the Windows interface.
For existing cc:Mail or Lotus Notes installations,
Lotus Organizer
makes sense. With an intuitive interface that helps manage personal information, it caters to the scheduling needs of individu
als. But it lacks a robust, integrated group module that would make it a better scheduler for large groups.
Do you have a large installed base of Macintoshes?
Meeting Maker XP
is the only group scheduler that runs both the client and server
on a Macintosh.
Of E-Mail and Networks
All seven schedulers support Novell NetWare, Banyan Vines, LANtastic, IBM PC LAN, and Microsoft LAN Manager networks. CaLANdar, Meeting Maker XP, Microsoft Schedule+, and GroupWise also support AppleShare networks. All seven provide some WAN support, although they may require additional modules or special versions of the program in order to do so.
Both Futurus Team Combo and GroupWise bundle their own E-mail components, but gateway modules are available for transporting messages through a variety of other E-mail systems. For instance, GroupWise has nine E-mail gateways, while Team Combo offers only two.
Campbell Services OnTime, Version 1.54
OnTime's interface is not as slick as some of the other schedulers, but its screen design is logical, and its documentation well-designed. With its handy drag-and-drop and dialog box support, OnTime handles reschedulings intelligently. Every change you enter sends a new meeting notice; responding to the final notice accepts all earlier versions of the notice. While this technique has the potential to increase mailbox clutter, it also serves to minimize confusion, since the recipient does not need to respond to multiple meeting invitations for one meeting.
OnTime is the only program here that lacks a dedicated resource-handling option to schedule rooms and equipment. You can work around this limitation by setting up resources as separate user accounts. OnTime offers basic to-do list functions, but it doesn't address the management of group tasks very well. Along with cumbersome data exchange between the to-do list and calendar, the program does not support right-click access to shortcu
t menus.
OnTime comes equipped with a strong administration feature set, but its task management and querying features are weak. Network support is substandard in comparison to some of the other schedulers. While it's short of comprehensive utilities and group applets features, OnTime generates informative, well formatted reports.
Futurus Team Combo, Version 3.52
Futurus Team Combo displays appointments, a monthly calendar, and a to-do list in separate movable windows. You can resize the to-do list, but not the appointment calendar window. Oddly, the monthly calendar occupies a disproportionately large area of the screen, and only resizes larger, not smaller. Team Combo provides program buttons and context-sensitive menus activated by the right mouse button, but no drag-and-drop capabilities within the scheduler. It's also the only program here that uses spin-dial fields instead of a graphical time line, so we couldn't set time parameters by simply dragging the mouse.
Team Combo's interface attempts to tie various applications together but falls short. Accessing the application from within one another isn't as smooth as the other schedulers. NSTL testers experienced trouble trying to change an appointment. The manual suggests a cut-and-paste procedure, but it failed to work.
Team Combo provides good support for E-mail, security, utilities, and group applets (chat, group address book, in/out boards, phone message, and group notepad), but only average support for administration, remote, and network features. Because it offers no provisions for a group report with side-by-side user information (such as a report with free/busy times), presentation quality could only muster an average rating in most of Team Combo's reports. Weak data interchange is the product's greatest shortcoming.
In spite of the many improvements that Futurus has made to Team Combo since NSTL last evaluated it, the scheduler still doesn't manage to stand up very well against the competiti
on.
Lotus Organizer, Version 2.0
Lotus Organizer simplifies
scheduling with a three-ring binder metaphor. Tabs provide access to different program modules (calendar, planner, to-do list, addresses, and so on).
To mark tasks complete, just click the box next to an item on the to-do list. Category and cost coding help tie tasks to projects. You can drag-and-drop tasks between to-do lists and the calendar, and a show-through option allows the to-do items to appear in the daily calendar.
Organizer also makes it easy to respond to meetings. You can set the program to automatically process certain types of events, either as a chairperson or as an attendee. To implement this functionality, Organizer requires either cc:Mail or Lotus Notes.
Lotus Organizer produces stunning reports and delivers a full complement of report-enhancement options. The reports stand out for their informational content and presentation quality. The program's superior
quality score would have been even higher, if it weren't for a couple of problems. It does not offer substantial group report capabilities, and you can't present side-by-side user information on a single page.
Shortcomings aside, Lotus Organizer is a solid scheduler, and it remains our first choice for personal scheduling.
Microsoft Schedule +, Version 1.0
Schedule+ easily schedules recurring personal meetings, but it is the only program presented here that does not allow the scheduling of recurring group meetings. With excellent tools for scheduling both groups and resources for meetings, Schedule+ also offers both drag-and-drop and dialog boxes for rescheduling. On the downside, drag-and-drop only works between different times, not between different days.
Schedule+ is easy to use for personal tasks, but group tasks require setting up a shared calendar, which is not as convenient as having the ability to send tasks. Although you can't drag-and-drop tasks between
the to-do list and calendar, you can copy them. Right-mouse-button menus are also noticeably absent.
For remote access, Schedule+ relies on remote connection services provided by a network server, for example, Microsoft's RAS (Remote Access Services). Just like its rival, Meeting Maker XP, Schedule+ supports automatic synchronization of files.
Schedule+ produces excellent presentation quality in its daily, weekly, and monthly reports, but it is the only scheduler here that can't generate trifold reports. Nor does it create a group report with side-by-side user information. And it offers minimal font options.
Schedule+ shows its age
in this evaluation. Microsoft hasn't offered a major upgrade in three years, but the new Windows 95 version is due out in the early fall.
Microsystems Software CaLANdar, Version 3
CaLANdar is NSTL's top choice overall. It scored well in all the test categories, and highest in both ease of learning and ver
satility. CaLANdar lays out its display in a logical manner, with the appointment calendar on the left, tasks in the upper right-hand corner, and two monthly calendars in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Its screen design also assists in performing routine scheduling tasks. Although the program lacks the rule-based scheduling mechanism available in GroupWise and Organizer, testers performed all tasks in the usability scenario with ease.
Along with bubble help and excellent documentation, the wealth of features found in CaLANdar also set it apart. It earned outstanding marks in task management, remote support, network support, security, and data interchange. The product's only weak spot is its querying features.
CaLANdar generates the best all-around group report, but limited font options lowered its output scores. Microsystems also offers remote software as an add-on module and a file-synchronization routine that you run manually.
GroupWise, Version 4.1
A solid integrated scheduler with excellent screen design,
GroupWise provides
a consistent interface and a universal inbox that receives E-mail, faxes, and meeting notices. It also offers convenient options that make it easy to change an appointment, manage to-do lists, and respond to group meetings.
GroupWise is the easiest to use when responding to meetings, letting you respond to notices from either the inbox or the calendar. The program also offers the most complete set of rules for the automatic processing of incoming messages. For example, you could decline all meeting invitations scheduled during your vacation. You also have the choice of responding to all instances or to just a single instance of recurring meetings.
GroupWise supports both drag-and-drop and dialog boxes for rescheduling appointments. During the rescheduling process, you can retract the original message to avoid a pile-up of notifications that concern the same meeting. GroupWise supports right-
click shortcut menus and is the only program presented here that offers interactive help. Called Coaches, these items step you through procedures as you perform them.
GroupWise generates sharp, informative reports, with excellent presentation quality. However, options for enhancing output are limited in comparison to Organizer, Meeting Maker XP, and OnTime. Novell bundles a phone-message applet and group notepad with GroupWise.
The GroupWise client software supports a direct dial-up connection via a modem, but requires a dedicated message server and either GroupWise's Async or X.25 Gateway. You can choose which types of items are updated and deleted as part of a remote-session synchronization.
GroupWise performed strongest in the areas of group meetings and E-mail support features. It displays powerful task management, administration, network support, and data interchange. Query and reporting features are not GroupWise's strong suits.
On Technology Meeting Maker XP, Version
2.5
Meeting Maker XP's server software runs either as an NLM (NetWare Loadable Module) or on a Windows client. We didn't like Meeting Maker's default screen, but it was easy to position windows and to create a customized environment. The program lacks the handy context-sensitive menus activated through a right-mouse click, and provides only sparse drag-and-drop editing.
Meeting Maker XP shines with good support for group meetings, strong remote features, and average support for querying and task management. It lags behind in reporting features. By comparison, the other programs here presented more detailed information in their reports. For example, all the other programs print a miniature monthly calendar in their daily reports.
Meeting Maker's to-do list is a mixed bag of impressive features and a few shortcomings. The program notifies you when an assistant adds tasks to your to-do list, but it doesn't highlight overdue tasks. Meeting Maker intelligently processes appointment
rescheduling, providing both drag-and-drop and dialog boxes for the task. The program only sends one meeting notice. Each additional change or reschedule entry updates the original notice, cutting down on mail clutter. Icons alongside the received message alert invitees of schedule changes.
Meeting Maker XP has the strongest support for Mac sites. With a native (as opposed to retrofitted) Macintosh interface, it's the only scheduler reviewed here that runs both the client and the server on a Mac.
PRODUCT INFORMATION
CaLANdar 3.00.06 $495*
Microsystems Software Inc.
Framingham, MA
(508) 879-9000
GroupWise 4.1 $695
Novell Inc.
Orem, UT
(801) 226-6000
Meeting Maker XP 2.5 $790*
ON Technology Corp.
Cambridge, MA
(617) 374-1400
OnTime 1.54 $828*
Campbell Services Inc.
Southfield, MI
(810) 559-5955
Lotus Organizer 2.0 $495
Lotus Development Corp.
Cambridge, MA
(617) 577-8500
(800) 343-5414
Microsoft Schedule+ 1.0 $495
Microsoft Corp.
Redmond, WA
(206) 882-8080
Team Combo 3.53 $649
Futurus Corp.
Norcross, GA
(404) 242-7797
* 10-user price. All other prices are for 5 users.
OVERVIEW
EASE OF
VER
SION PERFORMANCE VERSATILITY LEARNING
CaLANdar 3.0a X X X
GroupWise 4.1 O X X
Lotus Organizer 3.0 O X O
Meeting Maker XP 4.1 O X X
OnTime 3.0 O X O
Microsoft Schedule+ 4.1 O X X
Futurus Team Combo 3.0 O X O
VERSION EASE OF USE REQUIRED MEMORY PRICE
CaLANdar 3.0a O 8 MB $495*
GroupWise 4.1 X 4 MB $695
Lotus Organizer 3.0 O 4 MB $495
Meeting Maker XP 4.1 X 4 MB $790*
OnTime 3.0 O 4 MB $828*
Microsoft Schedule+ 4.1
X 4 MB $495
Futurus Team Combo 3.0 O 4 MB $649
* 10-user price. All other prices are for 5 users.
KEY
X Good
O Fair
# Unacceptable
Schedule+ for Windows 95 addresses many of the shortcomings of the
current version, including:
-- Right-mouse-click shortcut menus
-- Tool bar, tool tips, and drag-and-drop capabilities
between tasks and appointments
-- Address module for tracking contact data
-- Expanded print options, including trifold reports
-- Direct integration with Timex Data Link watch for downloading
appointments by holding the watch in front of your computer monitor
SCHEDULING AND MESSAGING FEATURES
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COMMUNICATION AND DATA INTERCHANGE FEATURES
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A rich feature set makes
CaLANdar NSTL's top-rated group scheduler.
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Lotus Organizer's intuitive interface simplifies scheduling.
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Meeting Maker XP has strong remote features and is the be
st choice for Macintosh sites.
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GroupWise delivers a consistent interface, a universal inbox, and an integrated E-mail system.
Work-Free Workgroup Schedulers
