Effective Communication
Collaboration has been a buzz word for some time now and although I still maintain that there for some things there is no substitute for face-to-face communication, the right collaboration tools are as important as ever.
If you have ever had any trouble with a client on a project, I bet that 9 times out of 10, it was down to poor communication - even if it’s bad news, people just want to know what is going on.
This post explores our favourite tools, software and otherwise, that help keep pebble {code} communicating efficiently.
Basecamp, (37Signals)
Online, no nonsense, project management tool allowing us to track tasks and milestones easily as well as discuss project topics. We use basecamp to manage client projects, internal projects and our strategy. The design is simple and it is very easy to use.
We actually use both the New Basecamp and Basecamp Classic, and love them both!
Pivotal Tracker, (Pivotal Labs)
Online, sprint-orientated, feature/chore/bug tracker for software development. We use Pivotal Tracker for all our software projects - it is perfect for helping us get through feature requests efficiently and in the right order. Each feature can be assigned effort estimates leading to a more accurate sprint based delivery schedule. Perfect for agile projects, which is how we work.
Campfire, (37signals)
Another 37signals product, but this time offering online group chat. Campfire is perfect for remote teams to discuss coding issues and update progress. You can easily tune out if you are in the middle of something and then come back to it later and catchup.
Google Docs, (Google)
Online document creation and collaboration. Perfect for simultaneous document authoring as well as simple sharing without the need to email attachments around, internally or externally.
The organisation of files is ‘different’ to the traditional file sharing but if you are happy to search for what’s needed, Google Docs won’t let you down.
Daily Catchups
This is the one process that I wanted to mention that is physical because it is pretty much the most effective tool at making sure that everyone is on the same page and fired up for the day. They very rarely take more than 10 minutes per team and a very worth while exercise.
Also, once every 2 weeks, on a Friday, we also have lightning catchups, which are designed to keep everyone in the loop with all the projects going on in the business. Everyone gets a chance to update everyone else on what they have been working on and what they are learning. Seems like a small thing, but has been a really great tool for keeping lines of communication open and ideas flowing.
Cloud Working
Having the majority of our systems and processes in the cloud means that we can work remotely very effectively and feel secure knowing that the information that we rely on everyday is safe and secure.
(For reference, other systems that we use and love are: GitHub (for code repositories), Freeagent Central (for accounting) and Highrise (our CRM).
