Calculating a project status based on remaining open tasks was most valuable. Ability to create and save custom project templates, workflows, and reporting dashboards was also valuable.
IT Project Manager at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Reduced the time to complete projects & Improved collaboration with a user friendly interface.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
Reduced the time to complete projects. Improved collaboration with a user friendly interface.
What needs improvement?
Quicker turnaround of new ideas posted by users.
For how long have I used the solution?
Administered for 4 years.
Buyer's Guide
Adobe Workfront
December 2024
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What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
Any issues were quickly resolved using standard out of the box configuration functionality. An example would be if a user was unable to edit or view a specific task or field.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Yes, we experienced brief downtime on a few occasions but it became a rarity.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We did not experience scalability issues.
How are customer service and support?
Customer Service:
5/10 - No issues with customer service.
Technical Support:5/10. Great technical support -- Assisted to develop complex reporting.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Yes, we switched from an existing solution to save monthly expenses.
How was the initial setup?
Initial set up was straightforward as our existing workflow templates were created in AtTask.
What about the implementation team?
Initial set up was straightforward as our existing workflow templates were created in AtTask.
What was our ROI?
Reduced license costs plus reduced overall project timelines.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Original set up costs were low, required 1 resource to implement, customize and support. Day to Day: Monthly subscription price based on the number of licenses.
What other advice do I have?
Take the administration classes offered by AtTask.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Workfront (AtTask) System Administrator at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Our compliance team has a way to see what work they have and what work is coming, without everyone having to resort to updating spreadsheets. But, the document review needs to be streamlined.
What is most valuable?
Customizable reports - we use reports for everything. Early on our users indicated that some of the canned views that Workfront provided were not adequate for our needs, so now the work that they have been assigned is provided to them in a form that they're able to better digest.
How has it helped my organization?
Our Compliance department loves Workfront. They finally have an easy way to see what work they have, and what work is coming, without everyone having to resort to updating spreadsheets on their own time.
What needs improvement?
Workfront still has a lot of growing to do in the proofing and review areas of the application. We love proofHQ but certain functions are broken for us right now and it's difficult to say when a fix is coming. Additionally, the document review process is way too clunky and needs to be streamlined.
For how long have I used the solution?
Our team launched Workfront in April 2015
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
We deployed with the help of a consultant, and he was very helpful in getting us to align all our processes within Workfront. I don't think we would have been able to do as well if we were doing it by ourselves.
Additionally, we bought into a certain number of consultant hours with Workfront, and this was crucial for us as it allowed us to iron out a few wrinkles in our processes as well as creating additional reports.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
There was one huge issue where for some reason, proofHQ went down one day. It took a week for us to fix it, and in the process we lost a couple of documents. Normally we don't have any problems although during certain times of the day, the website appears to be a little slow.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We are in the process of adding additional teams to Workfront and we don't anticipate it will be a problem. Workfront's ability to segregate work based on permissions and different teams and companies is helpful in this regard.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
Customer service is pretty good. Our customer service rep is very responsive. I log into the workshops and classes on a regular basis and staff is friendly and knowledgeable.
Technical Support:Initial response is stellar and so long as the problem is easily fixable, the resolution is almost immediate. Where Workfront tends to fail is during problems that have a longer life - anything that is "submitted to product" or "submitted to development" tends to fall into silence and we don't see any update until it's been implemented.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I don't believe we had a different solution before Workfront. We were limping along with a combination of sharepoint, excel spreadsheets, email, and a documentation system that was very clunky and hard to customize. Nobody really knew what was going on, and as time went on and we started growing our work, we knew we needed to find a solution that would address these issues.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup seemed to be pretty straightforward, and our IT department had very few issues. We needed additional meetings surrounding SSO, and email functionality never really got straightened out, and it's difficult to put a finger on why, since our company tends to be pretty security-conscious.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented through a third party recommended to us by Workfront. They seemed pretty expert at the time, considering that we were very beginner-level. It's really helpful to stress that anyone coming in have some experience with the kind of work that you do, because an understanding of your process is really key to making sure that Workfront works for you.
What was our ROI?
I can't speak about ROI except in the broadest terms. The reports are live and update themselves based on what's going on within each project, and this is a huge timesaver for us. Various departments that we have to collaborate with, have indicated that they are much more efficient with their work because they are able to see exactly where everything is and what's coming.
Our workers are more able to allocate their time in a meaningful way because of our transparent prioritization levels. Our PMs have indicated that several large projects would not have been able to go through as quickly as they did, without the level of collaboration in document review that is now available to us.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Really evaluate your needs and understand your process. The different license types allow different levels of access into Workfront, and although in the beginning, everyone in my team felt that they needed the highest level of access, this hasn't really been the case.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated everything we could find in the Gartner Magic Quadrant. Specifically, we asked 8 vendors to come in for demos, and narrowed down to two.
What other advice do I have?
What I consistently hear from Workfront is that Workfront is not going to fix your process, and I certainly believe it. By putting our processes into Workfront we've been able to shed a light on where our problem areas are, and this has been instrumental in getting team members to be more accountable about what's going on in their area.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Adobe Workfront
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Adobe Workfront. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
VP Marketing at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
A complete system that solves several pain points around projects, communication, and quality.
What is most valuable?
Building reports and dashboards is simple. Building custom workflows and input forms is fast and provides better control over our business.
How has it helped my organization?
Some workflows that were heavy in tasks are now centralized in one project. This provides optics on our current workload, what is late, and who is the primary owner. Reports used to take weeks to build. Our users can build them on their own in a 30 minutes or less.
What needs improvement?
It would be nice to have a different price plan for users that are not using the system except for a few times each month.
For how long have I used the solution?
Almost 1 year.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
The deployment was very impressive. A two week engagement is a big time commitment, however, you have actually a working system and reporting by the time you are done. Well worth the investment.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
None
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It does require a full time resource for the first 2 - 4 months if you want a enterprise wide fast adoption. Other than that it requires buy-in from all levels to make the transition smooth.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
The customer service is great once you get the right person on the phone. Sometimes the person can't resolve the challenge because it's more about custom workflow. It's sometimes best to use their professional services to solve complex workflow challenges.
Technical Support:We haven't had too many challenges. The only issue we had was around enterprise Outlook and Active Directory set up issues. They didn't get fixed as fast as we wanted but they were resolved.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used Central Desktop, SharePoint, and MSProject. All of them have some strengths, but Workfront is the system that has the most comprehensive solution and the best support. They have a higher price point but you end up getting better user adoption and a better solution. Workforce is also much more innovative and faster at putting our releases because of their SaaS model. Their client base is much more creative which in turn helps everyone.
How was the initial setup?
Setup was great. The person that came on sight listened and delivered solutions. We are starting to use some of Workfront's best practices for our client set ups.
What about the implementation team?
We used Workfront's resources to implement. They were great.
What was our ROI?
We had a 6 month ROI. We continue to add licenses. It must be worth it if we are buying more.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The costs are a bit expensive in terms of licenses and adding an internal FTE to administer the system. We get our money back in better service levels and improved moral for employees to track wins in their department.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Central Desktop, MS Project, and Sharepoint.
What other advice do I have?
Invest in an business administrator. It's worth it.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Director of Project Management at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Increased productivity, complete transparency and full accountability
What is most valuable?
Project Tracking
Timesheets
Reporting
How has it helped my organization?
Previous to Workfront, all projects were tracked in Excel Spreadsheets. Updates were only received when a projects became critical. This lead to daily fire alarms and those who screamed the loudest god the work done. Now, all projects are tracked and prioritized based on several criteria. Resources know their schedule over a month out and are not having to shift focus several times throughout the day.
What needs improvement?
Agile methodology- When a task is assigned to an agile team the date associated with the task becomes null and void because is is scheduled in an iteration. The PM then does not have the ability to update the date and often will throw off the project schedule and show as behind.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Workfront (AtTask) for two years now
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
None
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
None
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
With the new security levels the Administrative overhead increased.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
Excellent, very timely attention to urgent issues.
Technical Support:Excellent, always had the answer I needed even though sometimes it required escalation to level 2.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Excel and project
How was the initial setup?
The setup was very straight forward and it was simple enough to get my PMO team trained and efficient using it within only a couple of weeks.
What was our ROI?
Less than 6 months
What other advice do I have?
This has been a great solution for us. We are integrating with TFS and ZenDesk so that each department can work within their own application. Work happens much more efficiently and the transparency throughout the organization is immeasurable as the majority of all executive reporting is happening within the tool.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: I previously worked for Workfront as a consultant
Senior Manager of IT at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
AtTask is a powerful and flexible web-based project and portfolio management solution.
What is most valuable?
Work Management, Reporting and System Administration.
How has it helped my organization?
We are finding that AtTask is continuously breaking down the silos and facilitating cross-collaboration between groups and teams. In addition, it is giving us visibility into what our users are working on, and what customers they are working for.
What needs improvement?
As with any software, some bugs exist. However, they are usually fixed quickly.
For how long have I used the solution?
1.5 Years
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
Yes, but the problems are mostly organizational and not problems with the software. The release of a new, very powerful access level model has been challenging to adapt to, but it gives a high level of granularity in access to objects within the application.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Very infrequently. We have the occasional slow days where the application seems to respond somewhat slower than normal. These slow periods usually resolve shortly.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service: Excellent. AtTask makes sure that customers have multiple methods of obtaining support, from custom success consultants, requests with support, post-implementation consulting hours, and web-based training with facilitators.Technical Support: Excellent. AtTask makes sure that customers have multiple methods of obtaining support, from custom success consultants, requests with support, post-implementation consulting hours, and web-based training with facilitators.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Yes, our organization used a variety of solutions that were all consolidated into one single project management solution.
How was the initial setup?
It was straight-forward from a technical perspective. From an organizational perspective, it was challenging to setup for a large, diverse organization.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented with a combination of a vendor delivery consultant and an in-house team.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Owner with 51-200 employees
I love the custom forms but agile dashboards need to be improved.
What is most valuable?
- Project templates
- Reports
- Dashboards
- I love the custom forms - the custom forms have fulfilled every need for data needs within Workfront, and the flexibility to integrate custom form fields into any report, view, filter or grouping has been wonderful
How has it helped my organization?
- Implemented as an enterprise service desk solution (metrics, resource management, customer satisfaction communication workflow)
- Implemented as the PMO project management solution (dashboards, metrics, resource management, project management lifecycle)
- Greatly improved enterprise workflow through the entire project management lifecycle as well as help desk functionality.
What needs improvement?
Although the reporting will get the bare basic metrics to present, Executives now want more. The ability to show high level summaries with the ease of drilling down to details within one report. With limitations in the grouping/charting functionalities - multiple charts reports are often needed for one summary presentation. Agile dashboards need improving, and they need to improve the branding on the business cases.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using it for four years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
I have not had any issues with deployment.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I did not have any issues with stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have not had any issues with scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
5/10 - it is sometimes tough to get an advanced technician to review tickets. I find I am more advanced than some of the support team and the more advanced tickets are then deemed suitable for the "contracted support" team - which costs money. The functionality I have asked them to review is pretty basic and core to a standard PM workflow so this can be frustrating.
Technical Support:5/10 - no further issues with technical support than otherwise noted above.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
No, the organization did not use any solution prior to Workflow.
How was the initial setup?
straightforward, organizations just need to plan ahead and think of how you would like to create the structure so it meets all your needs 5 years down the line. Allow for growth in the organization
What about the implementation team?
We implemented it in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's worth the money it costs.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Process Analyst at a venture capital & private equity firm with 501-1,000 employees
Good - but could be better
Valuable Features
I like being able to update the status of my projects so everyone can have visibiltity to what I am working and its status.
Improvements to My Organization
So far, we have yet to get to a point where Workfront is improving things rather than causing more work but we see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Room for Improvement
Workfront works well if you are just trying to use out of the box functionality but once you try and get specific to your own business needs, it lacks in flexibility
Reporting - Workfront really lacks in the reporting department. It takes a significant amount of effort just to resize columns on reports and then even more effort if you want them to print or export correctly. After a year of trying, we still haven't perfected this.
Bugs - Everytime I submit a ticket, either the feature does not exist so I am asked to submit the idea to their product developement team or they blame it on a bug which takes time to resolve.
Calendars - Cannot print calendar or even export them
Outloog plug-in - Inconsistencies between Requests through the website versus the plug-in
Limited Flexibility - Cannot set up reminder or notifications on custom fields, only on their select few out of the box fields. If you have a calculated date object, you cannot set automatic reminders on it. This is one of those things you wouldn't believe a product like this would lack.
HTML - not simple enough. Why not allow users to create reminders without the need of HTML in order to make them dynamic.
Use of Solution
1 Year
Deployment Issues
The consultants we were provided were set in their ways and were unable to think outside the box.
Stability Issues
Over the past year, we have encountered several 'bugs' in the system using out of the box feature. We have reported these and Workfront usually works to update the system, although it is not always timely.
Customer Service and Technical Support
Customer Service:
The customer service is very good. A lot of the time, the help desk is willing to help but the product does have it's limitations.
Technical Support:Very good.
Initial Setup
Complex. Consultants expected us to know what we wanted before even using the product. We went through three different consultants for a pretty straightforward implementation.
Implementation Team
We implemented through consultants that Workfront provided, the experience was not pleasant.
Other Solutions Considered
Yes, Clarizen.
Other Advice
Be weary of what their salesforce is promising you, it may not be what you expect.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Specialist, Planning & Integration at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Workfront is a tool that promotes operational discipline and project governance.
What is most valuable?
Workfront's most valuable features include the ability for users to:
- Add comments to work projects
- Document risks and issues on specific projects
- Add a URL (for companies that keep project documents in a secure repository)
- Create easy reports to meet stewardship needs of executives
- Insert custom templates for common types of projects
How has it helped my organization?
As per a user survey, 90% of respondents believe that Workfront has increased operational discipline.
What needs improvement?
Areas for improvement are related to how users could leverage the tool for operational work to track responsibilities and to assist with succession planning.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used Workfront for about three years in a learning department to manage learning projects, operational work and consultations as a specialist.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
Deployment was very successful with the help of a consultation package to ensure adequate change management activities were in place.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In a large corporation, it is not easy to upgrade to the most current browser. We have experienced multiple problems as a result. Ensure you have access to current browsers, if you are going to purchase this SAAS.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Our team choose Workfront, knowing that there are many features we will grow into as we mature as an organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
Level of customer service is excellent.
Technical Support:Level of technical support is excellent.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
The previous solutions included ad-hoc use of Excel, Outlook, One Note and PPT reports.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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