Basecamp Project Management Platform

Using the Basecamp platform has been invaluable to our organization. Basecamp facilitates communication between all of our team members in various departments and our customers in order to provide the utmost transparency and a high level of communication during the development process.

Developers are extremely good at coding, but more often than not, kind of terrible at communicating. We discovered this kink in the app development project ropes early on, and have worked hard as a company to overcome this hurdle.

We employ Agile Software Development for all of our projects, whether they are mobile applications, web apps, or business software. Along with this development philosophy, we implement organized project management processes to provide a high level of client communication. Bridging this communication gap is what really sets a good agency apart from hiring an individual freelancer.

Agency versus Freelancer (the Benefits)

> Multiple coders - At Essential Designs, we typically assign 2 back end developers to each project, who are overseen and assisted by a Technical Lead

‍> Enhanced customer service - Each project includes a dedicated Project Manager to liaise between the development team and the client

‍> Testing teams - Each project milestone has a QA team to verify builds, find bugs and communicate issues back to the development team

‍> In-house UI/UX design - Our in-house design team works on projects from wireframe through completion to expedite the design process and to assure design quality

‍> Reliability - Having been in business for over 10 years, we provide our customers with ongoing support

‍> Communication - From the Sales department to the dedicated Project Manager, we deliver constant communication as the project evolves

Basecamp Basics

One of the hands-down best things about Basecamp? You don't have to use it! We understand you're busy, or not super tech savvy, and one of the beautiful integrations of Basecamp is the ability to reply within your email and never have to log in to the actual platform if that is your preference. For every project we take on, we'll start a new project in Basecamp, and add our clients to it. You'll receive an email that looks like this:

Following the steps is pretty straight-forward, and you'll be set up in no time.

Once logged in to your project page, you will find assigned team members (Sales, Project Managers, UI/UX Designers, etc.) who will coordinate all communication between you (the client) and the Essential Designs development team. Clients can post comments, messages, events, and to-do items! For more information, check out Basecamp's list of 'How To' Guides. You can also explore the tutorial videos to Master the Basecamp basics in 15 minutes. By Mary MacPherson, Digital Marketing Manager @Essential Designs

Mary is a popular Vancouver DJ and has been working in the high tech field since her inception as a web developer at Newbridge Networks in 1996.