We are ProjectWizards

A good tool is the sum of a thousand small decisions. That is why we would rather do one thing thoroughly than many by halves. This stubbornness sits in every detail of our software: in how an activity behaves when you move it, just as much as in how a chart prints. We have zoomed in on a Gantt bar a thousand times over, just to argue about its shadow.

We believe in an open, democratic society. In the free exchange of arguments. In the willingness to change your mind when the better reasons speak against it. And in treating one another fairly, even when we disagree. Without these values, no collaboration works, not in the small within our team and not in the large within society. We do not take them for granted, and that is why we say so.

Our team works decentralized, from home offices in several places. And it has for more than 20 years. It saves daily commutes, and everyone sits where the work goes best.

We travel little, because most of it can be done online. When a trip does make sense, say a client meeting that only works on site or a conference, we take the train as far as possible instead of the car or the plane.

We use Apple devices. They last a long time, and the largest ecological footprint of a computer comes from making it anyway, not from running it.

In our team meetings we debate openly. Good results come only this way: putting things honestly on the table, questioning them, sometimes clashing over them. We distrust the quick consensus.

One rule stands above all: the argument is always about the matter, never against the person. You can attack an idea hard and still respect the person behind it. This separation is demanding, but it moves us all forward, and the results speak for themselves.

We practice project management ourselves, and risk management is part of it. Frank Blome sides with Tom DeMarco: "Risk management is project management for adults." Or, as he likes to put it: never leave the house without a plan B.

In 2016, our billing provider at the time, Kagi, went bankrupt and nearly took us down with it. We made it through because we had calculated conservatively and had a plan B. That same thinking sits in our software: buffers, clear dependencies, the critical path. With them you plan dates that hold.

Our software is a tool. We do not decide what it is used for, whether someone plans a hospital with it or something we ourselves would not endorse. No maker of planning software can sort through its customers' projects. That would be neither enforceable nor honest.

What we can do is smaller and more concrete: good planning reduces waste. Less idle time, less rework, less material that no one ends up needing. In construction, one of our most important fields of use and one of the most emissions-heavy sectors of all, that is a real lever. Not because our software is green, but simply because clean planning wastes less. That is what we provide, as well as we can. We promise nothing more.

Merlin Project runs entirely locally on your Mac or iPad. There is no ProjectWizards server that processes your project data. Anyone who wants to collaborate in a team syncs through the service of their choice: iCloud, Dropbox or practically any common cloud storage. But you do not have to. You alone decide where your data lives.

This matters to us because it is a question of self-determination. Many tools today only work if you hand over your data. We consider that the wrong path. Your project plan must not depend on whether a vendor keeps its servers running.

We build software that carries for the long haul. Native on Apple devices, local on your machine, with no forced move to the cloud.

Merlin has been around since 2004, and we keep developing it steadily. This staying power matters more to us than the quick trend. You should work with a tool that still does its job in five years, rather than tying you to someone else's infrastructure.