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 I work with quite a small property software company and we use Basecamp as our project management tool with some success. 

Just wondering if anyone else uses Basecamp and how effective they find this software for their needs?

GlennR's picture

I have been using Basecamp since 2006 and love it. Because we don't need to get down into the weeds of tracking budget, the software works well. It is Apple-like in its simplicity. I especially love the writeboards where we can edit new docs without firing emails back and forth.

However, our culture is not tech. I find that the Bell curve rules. If I create a new project, about a third will actively use Basecamp, one third will participate sporadically, and one third will never log on. This is also true of a team of 14 Millennials I put together. They wanted to use email rather than Basecamp. I finally talked them into Google Drive.

So, if you work in a computer-related profession, or if your organization fully embraces tech, then Basecamp is a great tool at a very reasonable price.

Good luck, I'm envious.

Glenn

mike_bruns_99's picture
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We use Wrike.   http://www.wrike.com/     and like Glenn, have been moderately successful.

Like most workflow and project management tools, the technology is a small part of the implementation (and success).  People and processes are much more important.  

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Has anyone used both Wrike & Basecamp to compare them?

hashbrown's picture

Glenn- 

I share your experience with regards to working with contractors/suppliers outside of the company. Not many fully embrace Basecamp, and we still have to communicate by email. Do you integrate your usage of Basecamp with Google Drive and Calendar? I find Basecamp has been a bit slow with this as I have seen many other project management softwares which integrates between the two. 

 

Mike-

Yes I definitely agree with regards to the importance people and process in a project. I think that's one of the main reasons why Basecamp has been some success, rather than being a full success in the projects I work in. 

 

I've checked out Wrike based on your recommendation - it looks really good and I think it provides better features for the same price as Basecamp. I'll put it in my Delta folder to action on when our current project is due to be completed in March. I've learnt in the past that if I introduce 'unnecessary' change in the middle of something, it gets dropped and never revisited again.

---------

www.sarahhaigbrown.com

GlennR's picture

We're a Microsoft shop here so Google Drive is an alternative to Basecamp. When I've used it we did not integrate any external software into it. But it would be cool if we did.

derosier's picture
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 I've used and like Basecamp, though I probably wouldn't use it in an environment where I didn't need to communicate with people outside the company. Here's a few of the various scenarios I've seen and how I feel about them.  Keep in mind that I'm an embedded systems developer, so all of this experience and comments come from that perspective:

  • Basecamp - Great for consulting companies as it gives a very nice way to securely communicate with clients, while still giving your team a great place they can keep their stuff and even keep it private from the client as necessary.
  • Basic email list  + git + website (or github + email list) - Excellent for fully-distributed processes.  Anyone working in Open-Source-Software has seen this work very well.
  • Documents in CVS or SVN - Ouch, don't bother.
  • Wiki - Not bad. Gets disorganized quickly. Plus is it's easy for anyone on the team to work with and thus they generally will use it.
  • Drupal site - This can be excellent.  No money upfront, but you do need someone who can set it up and maintain it.
  • Documents in sharepoint, google drive, etc - Not a fan. Especially unless you've got someone dedicated to managing and maintaining it.
  • Evernote - I personally find this excellent.  But if you've got privacy issues or otherwise have a real concern about keeping secrets, probably not so good. Though I recently saw a note about enterprise/business version of this, so maybe it's getting better.
  • MS OneNote - Should be as good as Evernote in concept, but I personally don't like the UI, and I'm cross-platform guy so I don't like single platform apps.
  • Documents via email - anyone doing this is doomed!!! :)

Just my 2-cents.

- Steve

 

davidrogers's picture

·         Hi, I used to be hooked on basecamp but then i found something which made my work more easy and productive.  I think 5pmweb it is one of the better solutions I've seen (and used). It's a pretty tightly integrated suite of products. I am really comfortable with its online collaboration tools. Its multi language support allows me to work with international clients without a hassle.

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Has anyone tried that ...

Rana's picture

  Hi, Check another service www.oogwave.com, we built for SMBs. Simple to use, easy to adopt. For ideas, files and task collaboration. Available to discuss more anytime. [email protected] (solution specialist, Oogwave)

lucaforest07's picture

I want to suggest you proofhub. Features like time tracking, to-do's, calendar and sub tasks makes it very useful + this tool is present in multi languages too like French, English and Spanish. Very simple but powerful.

lucaforest07's picture

Hi