Here at Linchpin, we use a number of great tools that improve our everyday process and help us maintain an efficient workflow. From communicating with coworkers and clients via Slack and tracking a project’s progress on Jira, to easily presenting work with InVision and testing a site’s performance across browsers and devices via Browserstack, these are just a few of our favorites.
Invision
From moodboards and style tiles, to wireframes and high fidelity mockups, collaboration and feedback are critical during the design and user experience process.
With InVision, we are able to present a realistic view of our work, demonstrating structure, functionality, usability and design to not only our clients to get buy in and approvals, but also to our internal design and development team to share ideas. Various device previews are great for testing out responsive functionality. With PhotoShop syncing and Dropbox integration, InVision helps us stay organized and keep track of iterations. With the ability to add collaborators and post comments, InVision reinforces our collaborative approach, getting feedback and input throughout the process to continue moving toward the end goal.
Jira/Atlassian
This project management tool helps us and our projects stay organized while remaining on time and on budget. JIRA’s Sprint feature is ideal for our agile workflow, allowing us to plan out our projects based on weekly goals. This way we have a clear vision of what we need to get done, and when to get it done by. JIRA’s workflow supports our process, reinforcing peer review and quality assurance steps to confirm that done means done.
Slack
Communication is such an important aspect of our everyday process and using Slack has only helped us improve. Not only are we able to chat with each other, but it also allows remote employees and clients to stay in the know through group channels. Even when we’re all in the office, sitting side by side, Slack allows us to ping somebody without truly interrupting their workflow. It’s helped eliminate endless email chains and reinforced our collaborative process.
Aside from the chat features, Slack has a number of helpful integrations that help keep us informed. There are too many to list but some of our favorites are Google Calendar (alerts us when a meeting or event is coming up), JIRA (notifies us when a task has been updated), Bitbucket & Codeship (sends a message upon every successful build), StatusCake (keeps tabs on a site’s status), and so many more (InVision, Kudos..)! It is a great communication method for our company, keeping everything in one place.
Browserstack
We’ve eliminated the need to physically test a website with the ability to view websites across any and every browser, operating system, and device with the help of Browserstack. With just a few clicks we are virtually able to look at a website through numerous screens and devices at a time, allowing us to effectively and efficiently test the function and design of a site as part of our thorough quality assurance process.