Basecamp can’t be everything to everyone — when you err on the side of simplicity, you have to say no a lot.
But when customers take the time to explain what they’re looking for and ask whether it’s possible, we want to give them something other than “nope, sorry!” So we end up suggesting a number of workarounds. Here are some of the most common.
To-do templates
Users sometimes miss the to-do list template feature from Basecamp Classic — the new Basecamp has templates, but not to-do list templates. So we suggest the following:
- Create a new project template that includes the to-do list you want to be able to reuse
- Create a new project from that template
- Move the to-do list into the project you need it in
- Delete the new project you created from the template.
The Email-In feature also lets you add files, discussions, and to-do lists to your project via email. So you can also keep a draft email with the to-do lists you want to re-use, and email it to your new project.
Sometimes folks have already created a project, but they want to apply a template to it. They can use the same create-a-project-from-a-template/move-things-over/delete-the-new-project process to add content from the template to the existing project.
File versions
This is another popular request from customers, especially those who were familiar with Basecamp Classic. That’s something we’ve explored for the new Basecamp, but at this time there still isn’t a way to upload multiple versions of a document.
In the meantime, you can upload the original file like normal to the Files section. The revision to that file can be uploaded as a comment on that original file (along with any notes about the new version). This way, you keep the original file and the latest version is always in the most recent comment.
Moving a single task from one project to another
You can move whole to-do lists from one project to another, but there’s no way to copy an individual task from one project to another (since Basecamp doesn’t know which destination list to put the task in). But you can:
- Create a new list in the original project
- Drag and drop the task into the new list
- Click the new list’s title, then use the Move feature to put it in the destination project.
Assigning a to-do to more than one person
There’s currently no way to assign a to-do to a group, because users have different preferences about what should happen when the task is complete. Should every person to whom it’s assigned have to check it off? Does only one person need to, for it to be marked as complete? We’re still unsure how or whether to approach that one.
So for now, the best solution is to leave the to-do unassigned, then add a comment to it. In the comment, you can notify all the people who need to be involved.
Sub-projects and sub-tasks
People sometimes ask for a way to list multiple small projects under one larger one, or break a single task into multiple smaller ones. For simplicity’s sake, there’s only one level for projects and to-dos in Basecamp, but there are other ways to organize and prioritize them.
For groups of projects you want to keep together, we recommend using a common preface or emoji. For example, we use “BCX” to name any project that relates to the newer version of Basecamp (“BCX: Android”; “BCX: Support”), which helps us group all those projects together for quick reference. (Check out this video for other project organization ideas.)
And while there are no subtasks, you can add a comment to-do, in which you can outline everything the to-do entails. This video does a pretty great job illustrating all the ways you can organize to-dos in Basecamp.
In some cases, we get enough requests that we ultimately make a change. That was the case with Google Docs, Client Projects and the majority of the improvements we’ve made to our products over the years. When the same issues crop up again and again, it forces us to take a look at how things work, ask if there might be a better way, and take the time to fix it.
Do you use any workarounds in Basecamp? Let us know in the comments!
John Atkins
on 03 Feb 14Emily, I get a lot of word docs. Once in basecamp I have to download them and open in word to view. By signing up for Google apps, I simple drag the doc from the email direct to the desktop icon, open in google docs, save. Which gives the file the googledoc extension. I then drag that into basecamp…Same doc, but I can view in browser. (believe me it’s simpler than it reads here). Saves time and gives me viewable docs straight away.
Another one is video. Posting URLs into basecamp from Vimeo. You have to enable videos to be embedded in other sites (and list basecamp) Then you can view the right video right in the project.
seth godin
on 03 Feb 14I think when you read this, the awfulness of the strategy comes through:
“create-a-project-from-a-template/move-things-over/delete-the-new-project process”
What does it cost your other users to save hundreds of your customers from this? If it’s free to them and hard for you, you should do it. My two cents.
Michael
on 03 Feb 14That email drafts trick is clever. Thanks for pointing that out.
Dave Best
on 04 Feb 14Seems a bit squirrelly – a four step process for every user, every time they want to do something that the software used to do – for the sake of simplicity.
KG Heath
on 04 Feb 14I’m with Seth Godin.
On one side there is simplicity, on the other, there is the identification of how your software can save your users time at doing the core functions of your software’s purpose.
If you have had to write an article on your blog about working around your software, then this is a prompt for the next five things to build into, or back into, your product.
When I hear “work around”, I hear: our software has failed.
Tim
on 04 Feb 14As someone who has used Basceamp (old and new) for over 8 years, this stuff always raises an eyebrow. I have found that “simple” is relative.
Take assigning more than 1 person to a To Do. 37s will say they don’t want to add this functionality to keep things simple. From their perspective, it is simple to only allow one person to be assigned to a To Do. My feeling is this is how they work and it is simple when looking at it from this view.
However, for anyone who needs to assign more than 1 person to a To Do (which I’m betting there are Basecamp customers who need to do this), accomplishing this task is not simple (see above). From their view the ability to do this is complicated.
37s sticks to building software around how they do things (their needs), which is fine. But, I feel that a good chunk of their audience is short changed because of this single point of view.
Side note, I still don’t see why people cannot be organized into “groups” or “teams”. Then you could assign a To-Do to a team. I’d say that anyone on the “Team” can maintain/check off the To-Do.
drawtheweb
on 04 Feb 14I think some people are getting hung up on the ‘work around’ terminology. I tend to use the phrase, ‘look how our customers are innovating’ when I present various work arounds in our app.
When you come across an app that has tried to build every feature ever thought of (I’ll try not to name names, ahem, Netsuite) you end up in a place where users are trying to work around or circumvent your features because its too complicated or too time consuming. I’m sure each of the work arounds mentioned are on some ‘how long can we defer building this feature’ development priority list, but they will get built at some point.
These excess features not only take a toll on real app performance, but they slow down development of everything overall as now each feature needs to be considered for the iOS app, mobile web and Android.
Emily
on 04 Feb 14@drawtheweb, beautifully said. “Innovation” is certainly a prettier term than “workaround.” :)
I think everyone who works here would agree these aren’t ideal solutions. We’ve talked a lot as a company about ways we can better approach the way these things work. “Fix it” is easy enough to say, but it assumes we aren’t tackling other more urgent issues first.
For the customers who need them, hopefully these ideas can help somewhat in the meantime.
Jeremy
on 04 Feb 14@Tim
The problem is, your solution wouldn’t work for me. I oversee technical teams working on projects, and while I might assign a to-do to the team, I don’t want it getting marked off until I (or, more accurately, the product owner) confirms that it is done as expected.
Just because there’s an obvious solution for your use-case doesn’t mean there’s an obvious solution for every use-case. And while designing for every single possible one is impossible, it is hard when there are two equally reasonable, yet incompatible, usages to account for.
Lester Hein
on 04 Feb 14I love(d) Basecamp. I really did. I tried hacks and tricks and plugins and extensions and Add-Ons to get it to do the things I wanted. And it sort of worked.
Then, one day I simply stopped using it and found something else that worked. The final straw was To-Do list templates, a feature that was removed in ‘new’ Basecamp. Without this feature, Basecamp actually made my job harder, not easier.
If you know how people want to use your software, but you don’t make it possible to do what people want, then the software is broken.
A post like this shows that there’s someone at the company who cares enough to sit up and take notice, to try and appease the users with tricks and hacks.
Apparently they just don’t care enough to fix the actual problem.
Michael
on 05 Feb 14Thinking…
You know how time tracking is left out of new Basecamp and Harvest made a really nice browser plugin to add it?
There are process/checklist management services that could easily integrate with Basecamp and not only offer to-do templates, but populate new projects automatically and be even better than templates.
I think it’s an opportunity.
Jeannie Ruesch
on 05 Feb 14To me simplicity means that my time involved in managing my projects has been simplified, and I can spend those minutes working on the projects rather than organizing them.
When it takes a three/four-step process to add in the same To do list every single time I need one, rather than have one template that I can drop in quickly, I don’t see this as simple. I see it making something far more complex, taking more of my time. Especially when the solution used to exist. Please, consider putting that functionality back in.
Edik Tsvetsih
on 06 Feb 14I’ve got a problem with assigning multiple tasks to one person. It would be very helpful, if I could just assign whole to-do list to one person, and I don’t think this will make the interface more complicated.
PM Hut
on 06 Feb 14The very least that Basecamp can do is to make the default view much simpler. It’s really hard to know what’s going on and what you should do. You login there, and you see tasks for everyone (and not just yourself), and then you’ll have to guess which ones are yours and which ones aren’t. I know that there’s a way to display your tasks only, but shouldn’t it be done by default?
KG Heath
on 08 Feb 14Emily, I would agree that prioritising more pressing tasks is important. The issue I have seen numerous times when a software development company is handling feature requests and work arounds for functions that obviously needed – there tends to be a lack of communication to clearly state: “we are aware that these “work-arounds” are not the most ideal solutions. We are actively looking into how we can make a software solution for these needs. Please bare with us whilst we are also building the next big things for Basecamp – but we hear you.”
Donny Nyamweya
on 10 Feb 14Well, in technology practical solutions do not have to play second-fiddle to ideologies or mottos. If there is enough ‘noise’ that you have write a blog post, then there is your justification to add the feature. Otherwise the ultimate simplicity is to ask your users to go back to email or pen & paper.
I find that www.teamwork.com handles all the above issues beautifully. They provide features when they are requested by enough people, and provide necessary configuration options to enable admins to enable/disable features to provide what is needed for their company workflow. The decree should not come from the vendor.
This discussion is closed.