About two months ago I initiated a team with two others to work on some ideas. I did some research on web based applications and finally I decided to use Trello, Slack and combine them with Google’s apps. I wanted something free, that could be combined with each other, easy to use and with mobile app support.
Trello
The developers define it as a visual project collaboration tool that lets the user organize everything in the form of boards filled with lists. Its free plan is what I have used so far and I have found it very useful and simple to use. It lets you easily create private boards as well as team boards to which you can add members. Once you are on a board you create lists which you fill with so called cards. All these can be arranged and moved around on the board from one list to another or to another board, copied, deleted, etc. It is pretty straightforward and other options are available through the menu on the right. The configuration and set-up is easy and you can download mobile apps for the different operating systems to collaborate on the go.
Here are some screenshots to give you an idea.
Slack
It is a team collaboration tool, focused on easing communication by letting you create different chat rooms per topic and add easily links, files, etc. It can be integrated with other third party applications like Trello, Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, etc. Its contents is searchable and filters can be applied. The configuration and set-up is easy and you can download mobile apps for the different operating systems to collaborate on the go. You also have the possibility to make individual or group calls, the latter however are not free.
Here are some screenshots to give you an idea.
Google apps
They are the free online office applications set by Google. I had not used them much before but after having them used for team projects I have come to appreciate them. You have the standard offering of the paid Microsoft version for office. The whole range works well, it takes a little to get used to them. If you switch over to them from lets say Word or Excel you will possibly have no problem if you are a basic user. If you are a poweruser, however you will have to go and do for example some reading for sheets and customize it to suit your workflow.
When it comes to same time online collaboration the apps are impressive since all the team members can be connected at the same time after they have been granted access to the file or folder. One note though is that al will need a gmail account and to have a good internet connection.
Here is a screenshot to give you an idea of the range of cloud apps that can be handy to use.
Here is a link to the Google Suite learning center where you will find all the necessary information.
Also here are some reviews on some of the Google solutions:
Why use them?
Simply stated they are efficient and free, if you are on a tight budget or just do not feel like you want to pay for the software you want to use they are a good start to get going with teamwork.
www.google.com/intl/en/about/products/
Just give them a shot, they are free! You have got nothing to loose!
Let me know if you found this useful or whether you are using other tools for online collaboration.