Trello is one of the best organization tools out there, no doubt. Earlier this year, I could keep hearing the word Trello bump into my ears – or rather, my vision – almost constantly. Everyone kept telling me how great this application is, and that I should learn to skilfully apply it to my workflow.
Trello is a free app that makes working on group projects as easy as using sticky notes on your whiteboard. Available on your phone, tablet, and desktop, Trello’s drag-and-drop interface and visual way of organizing your tasks makes sure you always know what needs to get done and who’s working on it. Whether it’s your sales pipeline, new employee training program, a home renovation project, or even your wedding, Trello is flexible enough to make sure you’re on top of all your important projects.
It took me some time, but I actually did it. I’m kind of surprised that it actually does help me in certain areas of my work, at least in those parts where I need to keep track of many things happening at once, I’ve also found it great for managing my list of clients. I’m surprised because I’ve always found a pen and paper to be the cure for everything, perhaps you can relate.
I’m now, successfully, using Trello to keep track of what I need to do for my clients, or have done already, but also for things like saving ideas; constructing blog posts; tracking my tasks; writing down ideas; brainstorming; managing a project. I guess the possibilities are endless.
You can see my Trello dashboard in the snapshot, it’s nothing serious really, and I’ve so much to learn, still. But, during my learning process I’ve come across several great case studies that show the real potential and advantages of using Trello as a project management application.
Just recently, a guest author on this blog wrote about tools that help him drive his business forward, and he included Trello as his project management tool of choice, I think there’s plenty of opportunities to be found here, but first – we need to get through the learning curve.
Lets take a look at some success stories of companies and businesses using Trello.
Enplug
Using Trello Like a Pro to Manage Startup Operations and Projects
You’d think that there is no way of using Trello for real business purposes, but clearly Enplug is proving us otherwise. The company is using this project management app to manage and keep track of all the new orders it receives, essentially helping itself to streamline the whole order process among every employee. In their own words, Trello is unbelievably easy to use, and what’s more – it’s convenient and has a very tiny learning curve.
Tint
How To Use Trello Effectively
Here, Tint team members gives us a story about their experience with Trello, and how far they had to go to realize that it is the right tool for them. Having a few boards built for the purpose of ‘Have to Do’, ‘Doing’, and ‘Done’ just wasn’t enough, and they took the application to the next level (as you should), that can be read more about on their site.
The really great thing about Trello is that it supports more than just simple cards that you can drag around, for professionals – there are things like custom labels, custom colors, and checklists to help you stay on track of the progress that’s being made.
Box UK
How we’re using Agile methods to run our client support service
The team behind Box UK understood, the traditional “Flight Control Wall” isn’t going to take them anywhere, and so they had to find a proper alternative, Trello. And, because Trello supports developers (API) – it made even more sense to make the switch.
We’ve decided to swap out our “Flight Control Wall” for the excellent trello.com, linking this with our support site to automatically create backlog tickets through its comprehensive API. Now our developers are able to join the support team more completely as they can track their items through to deployment, with a dedicated release day at the end of the sprint.
Agile development? No problem! It’s all about finding the right tools to help us with our task management.
Trello as a Project Management App
I’m only pointing out the obvious, Trello is a great application and it has a bright future ahead of it. I’m still learning to use it like a pro, or should I say, trying to use it to an extent where I feel it is really helping my workflow, in every possible way.
You can easily find people comparing this tool to other similar tools out there, but for me – Trello does the job perfectly, it has modern design that you can customize to your own liking, and it’s built for everyone, not just companies who’re looking to ease their daily lives. That’s what makes the app so great.
