Tips on how to keep track of team projects?

[cluelessjlt]

Hi!

 

I was wondering if there is an effective way to keep track of projects and events where we collaborate with others. Is there an effective way to easily list and monitor what we need for the projects (research area, materials etc), and to assign team members (or volunteers) for the tasks?

 

I've created a poll to understand what you do... i.e. for projects where you have to collaborate with others, what do you do to keep track of things that needs to be done and who is responsible for it?

 

Do you use:

1. Spreadsheets (google docs, excel spreadsheet)?

2. Emails?

3. Mobile apps (powwow to-do list, other to-do list app)?

4. Pen & Paper?

5. Other ways?

 

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!

 

 

[TakeruK]

I'm not sure how to vote since I often combine multiple methods that you've listed!

 

Emails is the most simplest I think, but it's not always very efficient (important things might be lost in long email threads). But it's simple and when I worked in larger groups, I would write my findings in an email, with a description of what I did and what I found to others. I found that process helped me as well because it forced me to take a step back and look at the big picture. It also helps to keep track of what I'm doing. The other members would then respond to whatever questions I might have had or assign me more things to do. 

 

For more complicated things, we might have a teleconference or Skype or in-person meeting, depending on our locations. For assigning tasks/keeping track of progress, maybe someone will be writing on a whiteboard, or someone might have a computer and type it up, projected on the screen, or maybe someone will be taking meeting minutes and emailed to us later, or, most commonly, we all keep track of our own notes/task lists.

 

Recently, I've been in groups that use online shared resources. I think this is very effective and hope more people will move to this method! For example, one group has a group private wiki where we keep track of what's happening as well as our methods (so it's easy to figure out how you do X). For another group, we have a sizeable dataset that we are working together to analyse so we have a shared Google Spreadsheet that gets filled in when the analysis is completed. It also serves as an up to date reference of what we know about our data for those of us doing further analysis as well!

 

I've found that when working with other students or younger faculty members, we seem to be more likely to use something like Google Docs or wikis. I think this is a great way to efficiently share and synchronize data when combined with some kind of regular meeting too. I think there are some concerns about what Google can potentially do with the data we store on Google Docs, so I wouldn't use it if I somehow had data that had to be kept confidential (e.g. human research subject data?). 

[fuzzylogician]

For research: I have shared dropbox folders with most of my collaborators where we keep drafts of papers, abstracts and so on. It's easy to make comments in a named version of a paper so everyone can keep up with what's going on. Some projects go on googledocs, especially when we need to make pictures or graphs, or when we need a large spreadsheet. Email is useful if there are no more than 3-4 correspondents, otherwise it's easy for important information to get lost or ignored. We use skype once in a while if we aren't all in the same place but usually that's only for large developments. Otherwise smaller groups will meet in person to get parts of projects done.

 

For service: I use email to communicate daily needs with co-organizers of events. Large files, lists and plans go in shared dropbox folders.

 

For myself, I work with lists. Recently I've been using workflowy, and loving it. It helps me stay organized and I can share lists when necessary.