Vector is a New York based web development firm that specializes in making complex solutions seem simple. We talked with Vector's Matt Weinberg about how Basecamp helps his team communicate with clients, track bugs, and eliminate unnecessary emails.
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How do you use Basecamp and why do you like it?
Vector is a small web consultancy based in New York that specializes in eCommerce and Online Marketing. While our primary office is in New York, we work with people in Texas, Connecticut, London, and Melbourne. We use Basecamp for both internal communication between team members and external communication with our clients. At this point we've almost completely eliminated email from our workflow. We have a few projects (and Campfire chats) for communication about company matters, and an additional project for every client job we take on.
We like Basecamp because it lets us keep all of our information in a centralized, easy to get to, organized location. There's no more searching through a million emails with the same subject line to find the one document we need--by taking full advantage of Basecamp's project structure and categories, we immediately know where a message or file will be, every time.
Basecamp also makes it simple for our clients to stay active with the progress. They find it extremely easy to use, and we've had many say that our "extranet" makes them feel a lot more involved than they have with web projects in the past.
Which features in Basecamp do you use most?
The messages and the to-dos. We use messages as a complete replacement for email, because the message threading works much more efficiently than email client threading based on subject line. All client approvals and feedback have to be done in Basecamp.
We use to-dos to make sure that everybody involved knows exactly what their role will be from the start. We make every project a completely collaborative process; nobody--especially our client--is ever just an onlooker.
What did you use before Basecamp and why did you switch?
We used email and a bug-tracking system that we forced all project information into. We found that as a project grew, we'd spend more time keeping up with our workarounds and searching than we would actually getting work done. Email just isn't designed to keep track of projects over long periods of time in a way that makes it fast to get what you need. Between looking through long blocks of quotes and subject lines that just aren't as descriptive later on as they seemed at the time, there was no way to be sure that the message we were looking at was what we really needed.
The bug tracking system was similar. Once you start cramming information into hierarchies and conventions that aren't made for that information, you lose any value that system had.
That's why Basecamp is great. It's freeform enough to let us use it on a wide variety of projects, but structured enough that everything has an obvious place where it belongs and should be looked for.
Tell us about a project or situation where Basecamp helped your business.
Basecamp has helped us immeasurably with our new SEO reseller service, Agent89. Agent89 is our first large scale project that isn't for a client or just an extension of the Vector brand. The design work was done in Texas and the majority of development in London, and without Basecamp, it would never have happened as quickly or smoothly as it did.
Any tips or tricks for other Basecamp customers?
Take advantage of the tools Basecamp gives you to organize yourself and your information in a way that you'll be able to get back to it later on. Basecamp's great because every company can use it completely differently from the next, but just as effectively. Play around with different ways of keeping your data together, and just stick to whatever habits feel the most comfortable. Remember, there's no one "right" way to use it--your right way is whatever makes you the most productive.
Thanks for the insight Matt. Do you use a 37signals product in an interesting or noteworthy way? Let us know.
