37signals Product Blog

How a UK-based web design firm uses git for version control and hooks it up to Basecamp for time tracking

Dan Griffiths (shown below) is Managing Director of Buffalo, a UK-based web design, development, and e-commerce shop. The company uses git for version control and has recently hooked it up to Basecamp in order to log time there. Below, Griffiths and Jasper Tandy, fellow Buffalo director, explain how the system works.

Time tracking is one of the biggest bugbears for anyone. We've all got our rituals, but the minute you're in a rush and you forget, you're either losing money going through work history or losing money not charging.

A while ago, we began to experiment with time tracking via git (our choice for version control). Checking each commit message for a specific machine code, we used this to calculate the time spent on each commit. This data was then saved, along with the commit message so that we could easily look through our history and see who'd done what and how long it took. This was only mildly successful as we'd invariably forget something and have to trawl through our git logs database table or memories to infer timings. Not the picture of accuracy we were all hoping for.

Like many companies, we use Basecamp to track our projects and I'm sure we haven't always squeezed everything we could out of it. We used personal to-do list managers to keep track of time and activity, we used a combination of starred email, Basecamp messages and luck to manage what people needed from us.

This Basecamp screen shows our support to-do list. Clients email a special address and it gets added as a to-do.

There's only so many hours you can spend editing a spreadsheet of boring log data before you need an alternative. Our idea was to improve workflow and change as little as possible doing it:

• everyone start using Basecamp to track our todos
• log time spent on every little thing you do against your todo list
• manage all client requests through Basecamp

Tracking todos in Basecamp is easy (especially with the new mobile webapp), but when it comes to logging time against an item, you have to save and commit your work, then log the time, then move onto the next thing. This might not seem like much, but the fewer steps you need to take to achieve something, the more likely you are to adopt it as a habit and make it work. We integrated our git hook with Basecamp's todos using their API, taking our machine code and logging it as time spent on Basecamp. Our commit messages look something like:

Something more useful than this

time:h:2 # h=hours, also responds to m and d, minutes and days
:resolve
:BASECAMPTODOITEM

New in Basecamp: Faster time entry

Yesterday we launched an improvement to Time tracking in Basecamp. The new calendar picker makes time entry faster and smarter.

We've made it faster

Before this change, entering time in Basecamp projects required navigating three pull-down menus to select the month, day and year. It was slow and required too many clicks. Those pull-downs are now replaced by a single field that shows the full date in plain text. Clicking the field pops up a small calendar—choose the day with just a click.

We've also made it smarter

When you visit the Time tab in Basecamp, the date is automatically set to the current date so you can add entries for work you did today without touching the calendar at all. But let's say you're a day or two behind and need to enter time from earlier in the week. Change the date using the pop-up calendar and start making your entries. Basecamp fills-in the last used date so you won't have to reset it for each one.

The pop-up calendar works everywhere you use Time tracking including reports and time entered on To-dos.

We hope these small changes will help give you more time to spend on your projects. Thanks for using Basecamp!

A tutorial on using Basecamp to manage IT or software development projects

Abhishek Desai (right) is co-founder of Digicorp, an IT service company based in India that uses Basecamp as its primary project management tool. Desai wrote up a basic tutorial on how to do project management using Basecamp, especially in an IT or software development company. An excerpt:

Each milestone should have a date associated with it. Don't be afraid of putting dates on milestones (keeping in mind holidays and leaves of course).

As we all know nothing is certain in this world and any random event can disrupt your plan. But then you can always shift the milestones.

If you shift the first one, Basecamp gives you option to shift all the following milestones. When you do that, make sure you enter proper reason in comment. It's always better to tell the client upfront about the delay rather than on the delivery date.

Read the full tutorial.

Digital marketing agency: "Basecamp solved at least 90% of our workflow problems"

Render Positive is a boutique digital marketing agency based in London, specialising in SEO and Social Media. Below, Director Jon Buchan explains why he loves Basecamp.

I discovered Basecamp in 2006 whilst at my first online marketing job in London. It really was a case of love at first click. At the time, I worked at a company where all the management did was drink wine and talk about how they were going to be #1 in the biz! Project management was non-existent and all of the other software out there was too complex for junior staff.

Then we found Basecamp and things fell into place. The staff could actually use it effectively, and the clients really loved it. No more phone calls at 6pm requesting a copy of a report; it's been uploaded to Basecamp. No more harsh emails asking when a deadline is; it's a milestone in Basecamp. I’m not exaggerating when I say that it solved at least 90% of our workflow problems. For the price tag, I think that's extremely impressive.

I've since demanded Basecamp be installed at every company (agency and client side) I've worked with and they've all seen the benefits. When my brother and I first started our own agency, Render Positive, we both insisted that Basecamp was the first system installed. Everyone uses it daily and it's still as much of a joy to use as it ever was.

So my message is clear. Even if you're a new start-up with few employees, Basecamp will help you iron out your project management problems. It's a cost effective and easy to use project management tool. If you’re anything like us, you’ll wonder how you survived without it.

Do you use a 37signals product in an interesting way? Let us know.

How to change time zones in Basecamp

Here's how to make sure your time stamps show up accurately in Basecamp: Go to the Dashboard and click the “All People” tab.

Find the company/client you want to set the time zone for and click on the “Edit” link for that company.

Go to the Time Zone pulldown menu and select the appropriate time for that company.

Adult business "getting their 37signals freak on" with Basecamp

Note: This post is adult themed. Dreamstar Cash has been in business for over 8 years now developing and running internal projects focused on the adult market. Below, Rodney Cullen, Operations Manager at Dreamstar Cash, explains how his team uses Basecamp.

For the past 2-3 years we've had a Basecamp account although it was not used extensively. Since discovering 37signals Getting Real book and REWORK, there's a renewed enthusiasm for the platform.

Our developers use a great tool called Rally Dev based on the SCRUM Agile Methodology for tracking development related tasks (User Stories, Defects, Tasks, Releases, Iterations, etc. Basecamp was always shunned as it was considered too simple to be of much use - What? No priority fields? No Resorting? No custom filters?

After having read both Getting Real and REWORK though, all of a sudden this new, simple approach flicked the lightbulb on – this made SO MUCH SENSE! We suddenly found ourselves using Basecamp left, right and center and it has become an invaluable tool for managing even the most obscure aspects of our organization.

eBook offers tips to reduce your workweek and recommends Basecamp

"Get out of #Jail Free Card" by Mark White is a $9.99 eBook that promises to reduce your workweek from 70 to 40 hours.

Mark White has spent two years testing the methods in his new book, and now he’s made it available to workaholics worldwide.

This short book is designed as a tool rather than as an armchair diversion. It shows you the faster, easier, natural way to take back your life.

One of the tips in the book is "No Phone Calls," which mentions Basecamp:

I am not the type of person who uses the phone a lot. I’ve learned very early to transfer complete business related communication to email. Written trace of a correspondence is much more practical, because you can keep track of who said what and when. Tools like Basecamp just brought it up to a higher level.

Digital agency based in London calls Basecamp a "lifesaver"

Cyber-Duck is a digital agency based in London, specialising in user-experience, software as a service projects, and online marketing. Below, Cyber-Duck's Jerome Botbol explains how the team there uses Basecamp.

We started using Basecamp fully in early 2010 after a short trial period as we were finding that project management was happening in a lot of different places. It made so much sense to centralise this and find a way for everyone to be connected to the projects they needed to be involved in.

We used to find that particularly on large projects, communication through e-mail can leave key people out of the loop when they are not carbon copied. Every large project we take on is now set up on Basecamp before we do anything else. All communication happens through the messaging tool so all project stakeholders are kept up to date with elements of the project affecting them.

Copywriting, images, PDFs and other assets are all uploaded using either Writeboards or through the file upload functionality. This is a brilliant and perhaps underrated feature of Basecamp as it allows all parties to easily see the latest version of client-facing files.

To-Dos are commonly used internally to manage the tasks of each member of our staff. Everyone has their own way of using it, some adding their own tasks and others using it as a primary point of finding out about new tasks before they are fully briefed on them.

Basecamp was a lifesaver when it came to one project in particular. The website production featured a large amount of wildlife photography, all of which needed to be matched up to content. It was impractical for the client to send over physical copies of the files on a disk or hard drive as they are based in Uganda; Basecamp circumvented this problem with file upload and Writeboards functionality. Having these features present in combination with project milestones, messages and To-Dos meant the entire project could be managed from one place.

One method we find of increasing our Basecamp productivity is including levels of priority on our To-Do lists; 1st, 2nd and 3rd. This allows us to ensure items which need to be finished really soon (but don’t have a specific deadline) are completed before tasks that could easily wait a while longer.

The great thing about Basecamp is that its simplicity lends itself incredibly well to giving everyone the ability to create their own way of using it. All members of the Cyber-Duck team have their own tweaks, making it work for them. That’s what makes it unique – simplicity.

Do you use a 37signals product in an interesting way? Let us know.

Basecamp and Highrise lead off "7 Indispensable Web Tools Every Ecommerce Merchant Should Be Using"

eCommerce Hacks lists 7 Indispensable Web Tools Every Ecommerce Merchant Should Be Using. Basecamp and Highrise lead it off.

1. Basecamp – Free/Subscription (Subscription starting at $24/mo)
The product of 37signals, BaseCamp is a wonderful project management tool that’s fully web-based, so you never have to install any programs onto your computer. In basic terms, what Basecamp will do for you is to keep track of what you need to do, when you need to do it and assign tasks to anyone who is involved in the project. Because everything is hosted on servers, you can access Basecamp from where ever you have an Internet connection. Once you figure out how Basecamp works, it becomes an indispensable tool in your everyday work-flow. With Basecamp, collaborating with others is made easy and keeping track of important events is automated with their notification system which emails or texts you of upcoming events.

2. Highrise – Free/Subscription (Subscription starting at $24/mo)
Highrise is also a product of 37signals and is a easy to use contact management web tool. OK, so what’s contact management? Simply put, it’s a Rolodex that you can access on the Internet. What makes this better than a Rolodex is that anyone who has the right credentials can access the information through the Internet and catch up on the latest information about contacts. For example, if you contacted one of your key customers, you can enter their information along with a summary of your conversation and set reminders or next actions based on the last conversation. When it’s time for the next follow-up, anyone in charge of the customer can read the last summary to get a good idea of what was discussed prior to contacting them.

See the full list.

PC Magazine: "Basecamp is the simplest, fastest, and most scalable project management service available"

Basecamp is the Editors' Choice winner of PC Mag's "The Best Free Online Project Management Software."

Basecamp secures the Editors' Choice designation for its integration with existing technologies, dead-simple setup, and orbit inside 37signals' constellation of products and services...

With over 3 million active users, Basecamp is the benchmark of free online project management developed by 37 signals. It helps small businesses and large businesses, from wedding planners to hedge fund managers, to get and stay organized. While other online services heap on the features—and complexity—Basecamp remains, after nearly seven years of service, the simplest, fastest, and most scalable service available.

Read the full article.