Use Project Collaboration Software
We use BaseCamp here for managing projects. It is extremely popular, so I am not going to go into a detailed tutorial of its benefits. It has really made keeping track of projects and their status a breeze. We even use the API to run custom reports that fit our needs.
When first proposed, I was resistant to using a new piece of software for fear it would slow us down, and ‘cramp our style’. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This software keeps everyone updated and reduces the need to remind individuals of their responsibilities and upcoming due dates. We use it for all groups on a project, not only the tech team. You can even invite users and clients outside your company to participate on specific projects. So far we have received very good response from both internal and outside groups. I suggest you try BaseCamp or something similar. BaseCamp is by no means the only software of this type out there. This space is growing more and more as web development moves towards a more agile and iterative style.
Don’t get me wrong, BaseCamp is not perfect. Sometimes it is too simple, even though this is by design. It is meant solely to assist and not get in the way of a project. Some people might prefer software that does a little more, or has more reports and graphs. I personally find status graphs/charts useless and often ignored, and any additional reporting needed is easily customized by using their API.
Does anyone have a favorite of theirs, or better yet, have you tried BaseCamp and another project collaboration product and would like to share your comparison? If so, feel free to discuss with us in the comments.
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5 Responses to “Use Project Collaboration Software”
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Hey Bill,
Nice post. I have been using Basecamp for so long on a daily basis I think I forget to promote it, or appreciate how good it is!
After each project I always send out a feedback questionnaire to clients, with one question being related to how they found using Basecamp – everytime the feedback is very positive!
Being able to search all the comments and files made / uploaded by everyone on the project is amazing and something I realise, on reading your post, I now take for granted…
Wow, in one post I’m loving it all over again.
But love can be dangerous, I do get a little annoyed when people on my team post messages and files under the wrong category when it’s right there in a dropdown to be chosen in 1 second! Grrrrr, but hey, that’s probably why I’m a PM and theyre not right?
I really would be interested to see what kind of data you are pulling from Basecamp through their API though. I can only assume its all to do with timesheeting? It’s not something I utilise right now, because we dont use it for tracking time, and because we just wouldnt have the time to create anything – I think there are many that would be interested in a post on this.
Love Twitter, has helped me hook up with so many other digital managers I never thought I would
keep posting.
Thanks for the feedback. This was one of my first posts, and it might be a good time to revisit the BaseCamp topic with details of how I utilized the API. I will add it to my publishing queue. Thanks for the idea.
-bill
I have never heard of BaseCamp before, but it looks very interesting. At my company we use AccuRev as our project collaboration software, but it is more for managing the software code in all our projects. We have been moving toward with Agile Software Development , so we have also been using Rally Software as our agile project management tool. The two tools work great separately, but it would be nice if we had one tool that could manage our agile stories and tasks as well as defect tracking and version controlling our code.
@katieg BaseCamp does not have source control or bug tracking. At my company we use a product called lighthouse for bug reporting. 37signals uses GIT for version control in their in-house development on the actual BaseCamp product. Good luck with your move towards Agile development. I have a few other posts on the site regarding Agile/iterative development and about BaseCamp, take a look around and welcome to the site!
Thats cool. I was not aware of the basecamp one and I read thru your post on using basecamp and I can have some clear idea regarding it. I also found a automatic project management tool at http://www.planningforce.com/ which can be helpful in scheduling and planning projects. You can have a look at that.