What's the difference between a Case and a Project?

[appltech]

I'm having a hard time understanding the difference between a Case and a Project. They both seem to aggregate tasks. It seems to me that a Case could spawn a Project, yet I see no built-in capability to do that. I'm thinking about creating a relationship (One-To-Many) between a Case and a Project. But before I do, wanted to verify/clarify my understanding of the two, before I go a botch things up with a modification!

I would be interested in hearing how others use one/both of these.

Thanks,

Chuck

[sugarcane]

Hi Chuck,

Cases are generally used to track and manage any issues with your products and services reported by your clients, vendors, users etc. This module is often used by Customer Support. If a case is logged and there is a defect with your service (ie: if you sell software and there is a bug in the system), then a bug can be created which is linked to this case.

Projects are generally used to manage projects within your organization. They can be linked to Contacts, Users, Opportunities, or Cases/

Although these modules were designed with the above in mind, they can be rep-urposed or used in any manner that best fits your business needs.

[appltech]

Thanks for the quick reply. I have a follow up question. Why am I not able to see Project Tasks in the My Tasks dashlet? I understand the the Task and the Project Task may be "different beasts". But, if I have a task to do, it doesn't make a difference whether it's a Project-based task or a Case-based Task.

[sugarcane]

Hello,

Why am I not able to see Project Tasks in the My Tasks dashlet?

There is a separate 'My Project Tasks' dashlet that can be added to the home page which will display your project tasks

I understand the the Task and the Project Task may be "different beasts". But, if I have a task to do, it doesn't make a difference whether it's a Project-based task or a Case-based Task.

You are correct in that tasks are tasks. However, within Sugar, they are considered 2 separate types of activities (similar to call vs meeting vs task).

[appltech]

sugarcane, thanks for the reply.

[kirvent4]

Is my understanding correct? SugarCRM separates a "task" from a "project task" because of the tasks' context (i.e. one is for an internal project while a regular task is often associated to generating revenue via a lead, opportunity, and/or account). Thanks!

Hello,


There is a separate 'My Project Tasks' dashlet that can be added to the home page which will display your project tasks


You are correct in that tasks are tasks. However, within Sugar, they are considered 2 separate types of activities (similar to call vs meeting vs task).

[salesagility]

The differentiation is:

A Task - is a stand-alone activity such as "Write a Proposal" or "Update a spreadsheet"

A Project Task - is a Task that is related to other tasks within a Project.

So, you may have:

Project - Organise Exhibition (this needs a number of tasks to be completed)

Project Tasks - Created within the Organise Exhibition project

Book venue
Design stand
Mail customers
Build stand
Attend exhibition

Project Tasks are related to each other ... you can't attend the exhibition until you have built the stand or booked the venue.

Tasks are not elated to each other - you can update the spreadsheet without writing the proposal

[HirenHPatel]

I understand the difference between Case & Project.But i can't understand the difference between Case & Bug Tracker Module. Please differentiate them according to their functions.

[rkopacz]

I would like to know what is better for a client project. In other words, I build websites for clients, and I would like to track the process related to it. The project would be related to an Account, but it wouldn't be included as a Project resource. It seems as though Projects are meant for internal projects related to some company operation (like getting ready for an exhibition, as described above), not necessarily the performance of a service on behalf of a client (like designing / developing a website).

So: should I use Project for this type of client work? Or Case? Looking for practical suggestions.