SLACK is Where It's At!
There are three primary obstacles with project management Communication, Resource Sharing and Organization. These are the vital organs of that keep a project moving. Until recently we solved these issues using an array of solutions.
SLACK fell into my lap about nine months ago. A client insisted we use it as a primary communication platform for a project.
In the current digital age the jungle of software tools available for project management has become quite confusing. The subscriptions start to pile up and before you know it, resources are all over the place. How do we find the best solution or solutions surrounded by all this noise?
After littering our desktops with GotoMeeting, Skype, WebX, Evernote, Dropbox and G Suite tools, adding any more to the arsenal seemed insane. I went along with the request none the less. All our web design and development projects were scattered all over the place on different platforms.
About 2 weeks after I purchased 3 seats / slack licenses at $8 a month things started running smoother. we experienced an immense improvement with our collaboration and productivity stream. Just about all the tools we could not live without previously where nicely rolled up into a ball and streamlined. This socially influenced environment did not take long to catch on. Tools that we just had to hang on to, like Adobe CC and G Suite could plug right into it making the transition far from painful.
SLACK was a fun transition for our team
Overnight the folders became channels and resources became posts. The project process had a life of its own. SLACK also forced our staff to be connected and engaged socially in the process. If you really needed someone from outside of your team to take part, SLACK allows you to have 1 channel guests without a license. SLACK also appears to have relatively limitless file and data storage for those of you worrying about quotas. It’s honestly something that needs to be experienced rather than blogged about.
All I know is one day there was SLACK the next I didn’t think we could move forward without it. SLACK’s bots and integrations seem to be added to and upgraded constantly. Sharing / moving resources from Google Drive, Dropbox and our file server was not a problem. Everything is dynamically searchable. If you are used to using Evernote, how you find information is very similar but with a real-time collaborative twist.
The SLACK mobile application keeps our team updated in real-time on the go. This gives everyone involved a sense of where everyone is with a projects problems and milestones. Calendars, reminders and appointments are also built in to keep the team on point. Previewing video, web designs and other media types have gotten implemented as well. Yes, you could say I am a SLACKER at this point. I give SLACK 5 stars for one of the best tools that have improved our business this year. Like all software, it has its pros and cons but I would really recommend giving it a shot. Try out the trial, especially if your business depends on strong collaboration. I would have jumped on this sooner if I was properly motivated.
SLACK away people!
