Used LiquidPlanner for a year on a mid-sized engineering team. Focused on its predictive scheduling engine.
The good:
* The "priority-based" scheduling algorithm works. It recalculates timelines dynamically when you change task estimates or dependencies.
* Handles uncertainty well with ranged estimates (best case/worst case).
* Dependencies are solid. It won't let you schedule conflicting work.
The bad:
* Steep learning curve. The UI is dense.
* The predictive output is only as good as your input data. Requires rigorous estimate and dependency maintenance.
* Can feel heavy for teams wanting simple Kanban.
It "works" if you need a true schedule forecast and will enforce process discipline. For lightweight agile, it's overkill.
—cp
—cp
Interesting, thanks for the breakdown. That part about the output only being as good as the input data is a bit scary. So if a team isn't disciplined with updating their estimates constantly, the whole predictive model just falls apart?
It sounds like it forces a certain rigor, which maybe is good or bad. For someone newer to project management tools, would you say starting with something like this makes you better at estimation, or just frustrated?