March 4, 2010

Nobody can make their ideas a reality on their own – teams, collaborators, and opinion-givers are a powerful part of the execution process. Here, we run down the tools that Behance is currently using to streamline communication as we work collaboratively: 

Yammer/Co-op. A one-stop aggregator for office conversations, news, and beyond.

A Behance Team favorite, Yammer has become our go-to tool for aggregating office conversation. We prefer to use it informally; collecting funny videos, announcing meetings, and posting product specs, but the Groups feature allows for a myriad of organizational options. Harvest also recently launched a similar product, with some really cool upgrades. The right-side toolbar allows each user to create a focus area, as well as view the most current status on each member of a specified group. [Free]

Pivotal Tracker. A simple solution for tracking bugs, features, and tasks.

Tracking, logging, and following up on bugs and features is a key activity for any company involved in web development. Even so, it’s a task that many small businesses struggle with. Based on simple Agile methods, this program allows you to create "stories" to be moved through the development process. The graphic breakdown of each story into items like "feature" or "chore" make this system nicely visual, while the interactive calendar allows for both a quick-view element and long-term planning. [Free]

Google Forms. Gather group data in a snap.

In our opinion, Forms are one of the most under-used Google features – a simple, streamlined way to gather data. Want to get a quick, questionnaire-based opinion on where to hold your next team dinner? What about asking your colleagues to help you prioritize the year's projects? Create a Form and then track all responses via a linked spreadsheet. There aren't any design capabilities here, so it's not the most beautiful for client-facing stuff, but we find they work well for aggregating substantial internal data (the ability to use the form directly within an email is pretty cool, too). [Free]

Dropbox. Share, backup, present, and sync files seamlessly.

This program has tons of great file-sharing capabilities. Throw a presentation into a folder, request sharing with your client, and it's added directly into a file on their own computer (no downloading necessary). Likewise, files can be easily synced between two computers (say, home and office), or backed up on to the online system for later recovery. If you feel you still don't have your files accessible in enough places, download the iPhone app for on-the-go reference. [2GB free; 50 GB $9.99/mo]

Mindmeister. Create visual maps, collaboratively.

Whether creating org charts, workflow processes, or site maps, this program makes collaborative brainstorming easy. Intuitive, vibrant, and visual, the real-time creation of maps is made all the more simple via the system's multiple access points: desktop, online, widgets, and mobile. [3 Maps Free; Premium $59.00/year].

***This post by Brittany Ancell is based on research by the Behance team. Behance runs the Behance Creative Network, the 99% productivity think thank, the Action