7 Collaboration Tools to Improve Product Development

When it comes to collaboration tools that enable effective product development – one can find tens of tools to choose from. These tools offer all kinds of solutions, features, and functionality, assisting dev teams in their workflow.
In this article, we will review the top 7 collaboration tools we really think you and your team should start using.

ClickUp

There’s Jira, and then there’s Trello. One tool resolves one problem, the other one fixes another. But why do we need so many when one can get the job done?

ClickUp is here to rescue. It has everything you need for managing projects. ClickUp is distinct from other tools because it encapsulates all other tools and their features. Instead of having your projects scattered over different platforms, ClickUp lets teams collaborate in a single place.

It works regardless of a team’s project management objectives. It helps teams increase workflow management, multiple project view, elimination of complementary software integrations, and eliminates excessive meetings.

ClickUp Features:

• Project Tracking
• Collaboration
• Planning
• Time Tracking
• Note-taking
• Workflow customization
• Team management
• Resource allocation

Trello

When it comes to visualizing your ideas, Trello is the best there is. If Kanban boards are your go-to for managing a project or a team, there’s no better alternative than Trello. It’s like sticky notes but with more details and customization options available. Trello helps teams manage their workflow.

If you run a digital marketing agency, a media cell that involves editing and proofreading, a software development company that requires Kanban for project management, Trello can help you manage that. It consists of boards where you can add columns and tasks, respectively. From the columns, you can move cards across the board from left to right, depending on your workflow management.

Within these cards, you can assign tasks to a particular board member, add further instructions, mark these cards or even share attachments within. The board can consist of as many columns as you need, and that’s how the workflow works. Trello helps teams manage their tasks visually and efficiently. It’s basically for teams with no technicalities and just simple workflow management of their work.

Trello Features:

• Boards
• Cards
• Task Management
• Templates
• Power-ups
• Mobile Apps

Slack

Slack is a well-crafted platform for instant messaging. It won’t be wrong if we say that it’s one of the best collaborative platforms for teams for instant messaging. Slack offers integrations with several platforms, including Trello, Intercom, Google Drive, and more.

While teams can collaborate with private chats, Slack channels also add more to the product development where teams can collaborate and share their accomplishments in one place. Slack also offers paid features, including audio calls, video collaboration, and more space.

Slack Features:

• Easy automated reminders
• Integration with other tools
• Project friendly structure
• Tasklist management
• Easy note-taking
• Collaborate with posts
• Powerful search
• Custom shortcuts and slash commands
• Audio and video calls
• Useful Bots

GoRetro

This tool is developed to make the entire retrospective process simple, productive, and limitless. GoRetro is a free agile sprint retrospective application that can be downloaded and used indefinitely.

Product development teams will be able to design an unlimited number of retro boards to obtain some understanding of what worked, what didn’t, and what can be improved with the help of GoRetro. To ensure that work is completed efficiently and on time, assign specific action items to personnel and set due dates for them.

GetRetro Features:

• The ability to build teams and boards containing an endless number of participants.
• Board privacy, modification, organization, and viewing options are all available.
• Sorting and filtering are simple.
• Action items have been identified.
• The ability to export any board to PDF, CSV, or the clipboard is available.

Miro

Since prototyping is essential for product development, you might need a tool that gets this done with ease. Miro lets you collaborate on building flows and prototypes with your teammates.

You can build seamlessly in the same space without feeling any delay. The seamless work lets you efficiently collaborate in building prototypes or making flow charts for your product. Miro is available for free, but you need to get a paid version to take advantage of more productive features.

Miro Features:

• Create notes
• Create designs
• Move things around
• Communicate through video calls
• Communicate through online chats
• Work seamlessly in real-time

GitHub

GitHub is every developer’s source code management tool where developers host their code while keeping track of changes. It’s an excellent tool for team collaboration and plays an integral part in product development. There are other alternatives available, too, but it’s one of the most popular collaboration tools out there. Using GitHub, multiple users can share and access code while keeping track of code changes.

GitHub Features:

• Collaboration
• Integrated issue and bug tracking
• Graphical representation of branches
• Git repositories hosting
• Project management
• Team management
• Code hosting
• Track and assign tasks

BONUS:

Google Docs

Google Docs, a FREE useful alternative to Microsoft Office. The list of collaboration tools to improve product development isn’t complete without Google Docs. You can compile documents and share them with team members with just a click. Google Docs help you get work done without worrying about the cost. It’s FREE and probably always will be. Anything that paid Microsoft Office tools do, Google Docs can do for free.

Google Docs Features:

• Full-Screen View for Distraction-Free Writing
• Table of Contents Tool for Organizing Documents
• Add-Ons for Grammar Checks & More
• Voice Typing for Easier Thought Processing
• Bookmarks for Navigating Documents
• Offline Mode for Writing Anywhere
• Page Numbers for Easy Formatting

Photo by Darlene Alderson from Pexels