Why Architects Need Trello

Project Management for Architects

I like organization. Some of you would rather be attacked by fire ants. Here's a compromise that won't hurt much at all. 

I discovered Trello some time ago. I really got into it. I shared the post "You Probably Need Trello, Lucky It Is Free".

I was using Trello for everything.  And then ... Basecamp pulled me back into the fold. I really like Basecamp, both the app and the company that makes it. Basecamp is a great project management tool, and I used it a lot for architectural project management. So what changed? Recently I was kicking around the idea:
​How can architects manage everything with one app?

I was thinking about this because of my other project, MyCorbu. I noticed that more firms than I would have guessed were using ArchiOffice.  ArchiOffice does just about everything but BIM/CAD. The odd thing is that most of the users that I was aware of DID NOT love ArchiOffice.  This is my guess as to why they don't like it:  it is a very left-brained approach to management. ArchiOffice has decided for you how you should be organized. Your job is to learn the system.   Doesn't sound like most architects, does it? 

So I started looking for a better solution by thinking about how several products that I was familiar with might work.  I looked at Basecamp, AgileCRM, MailChimp, Trello, FileMaker, Evernote, and Podio.  Podio and FileMaker are so plain vanilla that getting them to do what you want will take a year or more ... and end up being ArchiOffice. Evernote requires a search to find anything, and it can't show you the big picture. AgileCRM is great at the business development stuff and might be able to capture lots of project stuff too through easy customization. That is going to take a lot of planning. (More fire ants!) 

So I am down to Trello and Basecamp. I looked them both over and came to two conclusions. 
First Conclusion
Architects need four systems: one for design, one for project management, one for business development and one for bookkeeping.*

Second Conclusion
Trello is the strongest candidate for architectural project management because: 

• it is fundamentally visual in the way you organize your projects 
• it can copy anything you enter so setting up templates is a breeze
• it can make a checklist out of any list you have in one simple step
• it has every feature that you might need and it is free for all your staff to use. (There are paid versions you might need in five years.)

So here is how I recommend implementing Trello.
Start with whatever you are doing now. Convert your methods into a series of 'Lists' containing 'Cards' describing the main steps (see next graphic). If you have ever tried using Post-It notes on a white board to organize anything, Trello will feel very similar. Move stuff around, add, delete. Get your overall process outlined. From there you take advantage of Trello's special sauce - the details that each Card can hold. So you start with the broad strokes and add detail over time.

Let me show you how I would use Trello.  By the way this is a public 'board' so you can view it in more detail by going to Trello Project Template.  You can get your free account here.

The graphic above is what your Trello dashboard looks like. Each item would represent a project, either a design project or an in-house non-design project. You can distinguish between 'private' and 'organization' projects. The top menu bar is visible consistently. Note the search box and the pull down list of Boards in the upper left. Simple and easy navigation.

 

 
For a project board (above) I would set up a list for each of the phases plus the project’s parameters. When you get your first project planned, copy it and customize it. The original is your template. The more you update the template, the easier the next project plan becomes. You might consider various templates for the different kinds of projects that you do.
 

 
When you click on a Card (above), you have access to several kinds of detail. 

• Description
  
• Checklists
  
• Activity log
  
• Due date
  
• Attachments
  
• Assignments
  
• Printing
  

 
Checklists (above) are easy to set up. Click to create one, name it, type in the tasks. OR — take a list you already have, copy it, and add it with a click. Here I took our master Table Of Contents for Specs and added it with one click. Now that it is part of the project template, all that is left is to update which sections apply to this project. That is one of my favorite ways to look for omissions in the drawings -  review the specs TOC. You can put a copy here just for that purpose. You can convert Tasks in your checklists to Cards so you can add information to them. You can make assignments. Add comments for needed follow up on missing or incomplete content.

That is pretty much all you need to know to get started. It seems pretty easy and pretty intuitive. Best of all, the software visually shows the organization that you have set up for the project. When a List or Card is complete, archive it so that what remains represents what is left to do.

I think Trello helps you in two ways:

1. Trello helps you make your process repeatable by others through use of templates.
2. Trello helps you improve your firm by improving your processes, which in turn improves the value of your firm.

Give it a try. Trello by Fogcreek Software

Since this post was first published, I have completed Trello-PM, an e-book describing in detail how to use Trello™ for project management. See a Sample.

Available Now - Learn More

* Nowadays I would choose VectorWorks Architect, Trello,
​MailChimp (combined with a blog), and MyCorbu respectively. 



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