Collaborative Project Management Using Basecamp
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Collaborative Project Management Using Basecamp Tito Sierra NCSU Libraries DLF Fall Forum 2008 Project Manager’s Group Meeting November 14, 2008
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Presentation about Basecamp, a hosted project management software. Delivered at the Digital Library Federation Fall Forum 2008, Project Manager's Group Meeting. Describes the use of Basecamp for digital library projects.
Transcript of Collaborative Project Management Using Basecamp
Collaborative Project Management Using Basecamp
Tito SierraNCSU Libraries
DLF Fall Forum 2008Project Manager’s Group Meeting
November 14, 2008
Outline
• What is Basecamp?• Our Experience Thus Far• Features and Pricing• Strengths and Weaknesses• Best Practices
What is Basecamp?
• Web-based project management tool• Tool for the Project Team
…not just the Project Manager
• Emphasis on collaboration tools…not just schedules and tasks
Why Basecamp?
“Basecamp takes a fresh, novel approach to project collaboration. Projects don’t fail from a lack of charts, graphs, stats, or reports, they fail from a clear lack of communication. Basecamp solves this problem by providing tools tailored to improve the communication between people working together on a project.”
— http://www.basecamphq.com
Our Experience Thus Far
• Using it for the last eight months• Projects• Many web development projects• Grant proposal• Search committee work
• People• 30 user accounts in our organization• 3 user accounts outside NCSU
Features
• Messages• To-Do• Milestones• Writeboards• Files• Dashboard
Messages
Project blogging with email
To-Do
Assigned tasks grouped into categories
Milestones
Lightweight project scheduling
Writeboards
Document-level wiki with versioning
Files
File storage with versioning
Dashboard
Activity summary across all your projects
Features We Don’t Use
• Chat• Real-time web based chat• Useful for distributed teams
• Time tracking• Logging hours people spend on tasks• Useful for consultants
Pricing
Pricing
Strengths
• Collaboration tools• Writeboard, pervasive commenting
• Communication tools• Messages, RSS feeds, milestone calendar
• Document management• Project-based file storage, versioning
• User interface• Hosted service
Weaknesses
• Lack of task management tools• No prioritization outside of ordering• No dependencies tracking
• Limited scheduling functionality• Not for managing deployed projects• Hosted service• Subscription fee ($$$)
Emergent Best Practices
• Open task assignment• In meeting task assignment• Writeboards for technical docs• Organize work around milestones
More Information
Basecamp:http://www.basecamphq.com/videos
