One of the benefits of using open source tools is that you can customize them to be used in ways that help your organization. But the what to do after you’ve put the work in and have a customized version of your software available? Read More »
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Thursday Bram
Bio:Thursday Bram is a full-time writer who covers freelancing and small business topics. You can find more about Thursday at her personal website, www.ThursdayBram.com.
My Focus
Productivity
Location independence
Freelancing
Web applications
Recent Posts
Running a meeting virtually presents some special challenges that you simply won’t encounter when you’re able to round up your staff from within the building. The more you can do to streamline the process ahead of time, the better your meeting will flow. Read More »
Using an online project management tool usually means putting your clients’ information online. You may want to think about the legal ramifications of doing that, especially if you handle confidential data. I got some pointers from James Roberts of the Global Capital Law Group. Read More »
Many web-based project management tools base their rates on the number of active projects you have open at any time. That makes the question of when to remove or archive old projects a financial question, as well as an organizational concern. Read More »
In any organization, it’s necessary to be able to share files easily. If you have a tech-savvy team, FTP may be an option, but if even one member of your team isn’t comfortable using it, you may need to look for something easier to pick up. Read More »
Managing a team of telecommuters is not always a simple matter. When you’re working with a team that you never see in person, you likely will have to change your management style. These tips, from project managers used to working with telecommuters, can help: Read More »
Metrics can tell us how close we are to our projected timeline, if we’re meeting our quality expectations and measure how well a project is proceeding. In fact, many tools and systems now have built-in analytics to help us more easily track and understand those metrics. Read More »
More Must Reads
Project management has become something that we can handle on the go. We can now all handle things like updating the rest of the team on our progress as we’re heading to a meeting. These four apps are great for mobile project management. Read More »
Chris Ducker has made an art out of outsourcing. He not only writes about effectively building virtual business systems and teams at Virtual Business Lifestyle, but he also operates Virtual Staff Finder. He answered a few questions for us about his process. Read More »
One way to help to keep everyone up-to-date with the project is to use an internal blog to share information with your team members. It can mean a little extra work, but being being able to keep everyone on the same page can be invaluable. Read More »
n most large organizations, email is the communication tool of choice. It provides a virtual “paper trail,” doesn’t require the recipient to pick up the phone and is accessible in most places. For some organizations, though, that reliance on email can be problematic. Read More »
The trouble with evaluating small business collaboration is that SMBs differ in their needs. The variation between small businesses and their needs are far more dramatic that those of large companies. A small business could be an individual freelancer, or a business with 50 employees. Read More »
There are plenty of tools out there that promise to offer a way for organizations to keep all of their team members on the same page. They provide a simple way for team members to offer updates on their status, ask questions and provide necessary information. Read More »
Many project management applications have reporting tools built in. The problem is that those reports don’t always match up with the sort of information that you need to be able to provide to the different levels of an organization, which can make your processes inefficient. Read More »
One of the hidden benefits of social networking is the type of collaboration it allows. Where some mediums formalize the collaborative process, social networking allows it to remain organic. Saba Live is a collaboration tool that was designed with that social networking approach in mind; i Read More »
Collaborating isn’t just a matter of sending Word files back and forth: most organizations routinely need to use diagrams and flowcharts to get a good idea of what needs to be done. LucidChart is a graphically-rich web application that makes collaborating on diagrams easy. Read More »
When your organization moves between project management systems, there are a lot of potential hiccups that can occur. Dedicating some thought to the process can make these problems more manageable. Even if you’re moving between two compatible systems, it’s important to keep these questions in mind: Read More »
MangoSpring has been working on the problem of enterprise-level collaboration since 2007 with its flagship tool, MangoTalk. With the 2.0 release of its collaboration suite MangoApps, MangoSpring has stepped up to a new level of integration, which makes the suite a robust choice for an businesses Read More »
There are plenty of chat tools out there, but using one that is purely meant for internal business communication has its benefits — at least, your team won’t be distracted by friends and family. HipChat is a group chat tool built specifically with companies in mind. Read More »
Glass makes sharing websites — along with some useful context — a matter of clicking a button in your browser. It’s based on a browser plugin, available for Firefox and Chrome, that essentially creates a secondary information “level” for a website when you turn it on. Read More »
When choosing the tools your organization relies on, there are many issues to consider. But one is easy to overlook: communication. After all, your team probably has plenty of communication tools already at its disposal. But a variety of communication tools can actually be a problem. Read More »
There are plenty of apps that make collaboration easier — at least once you’ve figured out what your actual project is going to be. But if you’re still in the kicking-around-ideas stage of planning your organization you could probably do with a specialized tool. Read More »
One of the problems with some project management tools is that not only do you need training in order to move your projects on to it and get your team moving, but you also have to go hunting for that training. Not so with Projectplace. Read More »
At first glance, web-based collaboration tools can seem cheap: Basecamp’s price of $49/month sounds good in comparison with $599.95 for Microsoft Project 2010. However, 12 months on Basecamp is $588. You need to dig a little deeper in order to consider all of the costs. Read More »
Google Apps is an easy solution for managing email, calendars and documents. It can be rolled out in a matter of minutes and requires little training. But one of the biggest dilemma that Google Apps users face is how to appropriately back up their data. Read More »
Tools like ActiveCollab or web2Project require you (or your IT team) to set them up on a server, but once you’ve got everything installed, your team members can access your tools from anywhere. The question is whether self-hosted tools are the right choice for your organization. Read More »
When collaborating, sharing information, holding conversations and generally connecting with the rest of your team can be the difficult part. When you’re working at the enterprise level, the situation gets more complex; you may need to get information out quickly to a large group of employees. Read More »
37signals’ tools are very popular choices, but I also received several responses from startups that started with Basecamp, but made the decision to switch to something else. So in this list I’ll share three less-commonly used tools that different startups have chosen to use to collaborate: Read More »
Startups, in particular, need tools that don’t get in the way of the big project the team may be focused on. They often have a need for a simple tool that will keep the team on track while still allowing for flexibility as the project evolves. Read More »
There is an incredible difference between handling your work when you’re the only person who you need to keep on track and when you’ve got to work with an entire team. Chris Brogan has made the transition between those two situations and then some. Read More »
I’ve been an enthusiastic Evernote user for quite a while, but until recently I didn’t think of it in terms of a collaboration tool. However, the web-based notebook tool’s evolution has made it far more useful as a base for collaboration than anyone might expect. Read More »
Microsoft Office is a tool found in most offices, so a tool that makes it easy to not only share documents through the cloud but to collaborate on them is a logical choice for many businesses. Central Desktop for Office is such a tool. Read More »
When I run into a small business owner I ask about what project management tools they use. At first, I was asking out of my own curiosity. But I kept asking because I started to see a pattern: Many small business owners don’t use PM tools. Read More »
One of the complaints about certain project management web applications is that they were built by people who are, first and foremost, web developers. But the team behind Fellowstream is actually a pair of project managers. That led to a system that’s ideal for small teams. Read More »
It’s very easy to wind up with very different tools for tasks like project management, customer relationship management and team communication. That can mean spending time copying information from one tool to another, and constantly having to switch from one tool to another. Read More »
Most collaboration tools focus on assigning tasks to the people on your team who will get them done. Teamly takes a different approach, encouraging your team to look for the priorities in your project and exercise a little autonomy. Read More »
It’s easy to overlook open-source projects when exploring project management tools. But a tool like web2Project can continue to grow with your needs. web2Project allows you to look to the future while still being able to get to work today. Read More »
As your team and your projects evolve, it’s easy to find yourself in a position where tweaking your tools would make life a lot easier. If you choose tools with APIs, you’ll have far more options in terms of tweaking down the road. Read More »
When Google launched Wave last year, it was immediately obvious that it would be useful for collaboration. What was less obvious was whether it would be a good choice for enterprise-level collaboration. Wave is simplistic; when it comes to managing projects, bells and whistles are reassuring. Read More »
A collaboration tool that doesn’t allow you to work on all of these projects separately isn’t going to be able to keep up with your company. Glasscubes has solved the division problem by producing a collaboration tool that’s built around workspaces. Read More »
The collaboration market has grown rapidly over the past few years, with many companies trying to grab a slice of an ever-expanding pie. The result of this healthy competition is that can make the task of picking the right tool(s) a tricky prospect. Read More »
But the skills and characteristics that a hiring manager is looking for on a telecommuter’s resume aren’t always the same as when you’re looking for other jobs. Among other things, employers are looking for the following: Read More »
As fun as the celebrations may be, it can be worthwhile doing more than just throwing a party, though. When you’ve been in business for a year or more, it’s important to revisit that initial planning to see if your original approach is still working. Read More »
By Thursday Bram
Apr. 30, 2010, 9:00am PT
Comments Off
It’s not unheard of for someone to pass the blame for a problem to a colleague who isn’t around, and playing the office politics game can be the only way to land a promotion in some organizations. Read More »
Maybe you’ve achieved inbox zero — that doesn’t mean you’ve actually sent emails to everyone you really need to. Etacts’ goal is to get you back in touch with everyone you know. Read More »
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