I am happily married to LiquidPlanner.

We first met soon after LP was released in 2008. As a teacher of project management at Marlboro College Graduate School, I needed a good software tool to teach project scheduling concepts. After many years with Microsoft Project, I started looking for friendlier online alternatives.

Our relationship began with respect. I noted that Steve McConnell, scheduling guru and author of “Software Estimation: Demystifying the Black Art,” was on their board of advisors. Steve’s book had changed my own attitude toward estimation, and I was thrilled to see a tool that supported his unbiased, analytical techniques.

That first semester, my affection for LiquidPlanner grew. My students were comfortable with it after watching only a few short online videos. Thus, I could concentrate on teaching a philosophy of scheduling, rather than being bogged down showing them where to click. But I wasn’t ready to commit to LiquidPlanner in my own business. I was tied to MS Project and I felt that I didn’t have the choice to leave.

By 2009, when consulting with clients, I found myself telling them about LiquidPlanner. It seemed to me that LP would be better suited to their needs than the industry-standard MS Project. It was like I was having an affair on the side and couldn’t resist talking about the new project management software in my life.

My misery with Microsoft Project worsened. It pained me to see Project’s rigidity, when I knew LiquidPlanner would not only be more flexible but also more realistic.

I decided on a trial separation — I would use LiquidPlanner to manage my projects, in my own business.

This led to the full blossoming of my adoration for LiquidPlanner. As we started to spend every day together, never for very long, but always with useful results, I became convinced that LiquidPlanner was the scheduler for me. I learned to accurately predict my workload. I could measure the time I spent in various activities, both work-related and as a volunteer. Suddenly, LiquidPlanner was indispensable both in business and at home. Moreover, because I was now “walking the talk,” I could confidently recommend LiquidPlanner to customers. I knew I had made the right choice when one of my customers, the online manager for a large hospital, said,

“I had wanted to write to say that we had a successful launch of our web site – one week ahead of schedule! The launch was very smooth, despite all of the tasks that needed to be accomplished. We are officially in love with LiquidPlanner.”

I am now fully committed. I’m well past the honeymoon stage, and my love for LiquidPlanner continues to grow every day.

With over 20 years of project management experience, Lisa Sieverts specializes in improving organizational project success rates. She owns and manages Facilitated Change, an independent project management consulting firm based in Harrisville, NH.  Lisa teaches project management at the Masters degree level at Marlboro College Graduate School andNortheastern University College of Professional Studies. Since 2001, she has been certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute (PMI), a global leader in the development of standards for the practice of project management. Previously, she worked for Hewlett-Packard in California and Idaho as a project manager in the HP Services division.