Communication is a key factor for the success for a project. It is crucial to find a way to easily facilitate communication between team members. My team in my research lab use an application called “Slack” where it organizes communications into different channels. What are other applications that can be used and what are their advantages over others?
Communication is indeed a huge factor when it comes to the success of a team working on a project. Over the summer, the company I was interning with was very big with Microsoft Teams as their main communication tool. This application was a way to contact and notify people, as well as arrange meetings and discuss various ideas. Overall, my experience with this application was absolutely positive as it was very easy for me to check when I had my meetings, contact anyone on my team, and see if they were online or not to help me gauge whether or not I would be getting a response soon. It did not help a very big learning curve at all and by the second day, I was already understanding and using most of its features. I do understand that other applications such as "Slack" that you mentioned have very similar features and they all have their own advantages. This response was based on my experiences and I am sure others will have different experiences with other applications as well.
Interesting you mention “Slack” I had just recently heard about it in the lab I am currently working in. Although I still am new to the app, I find that it is very helpful. We mostly use it as a form of direct messaging (I am unaware of the other features), but something that I do like about this is that I can see when other team members are online. Different channels can be created too, so say there were multiple subgroups within the team, they could have their own group chat.
In the past I have always used GroupMe at least for research for communication. It is very useful since it allows you to make groups or just send direct messages if you only want to talk with one person. It is available on both apple and android so every team member has access to it as long as they have a phone and even if they do not you can access it on the computer as well.
Discord is another application that I have used mostly for school and it also allows specific chats and channels to be made that you can add or remove people. It also has the advantage of being able to be used to speak with each other, share video and share your screen which can be very useful for meetings between people in different locations remotely.
In school, research, and at work, communication is the biggest common denominator that dictates success. Email, text, google hangouts, GroupMe, and Slack is what I typically use across all three to set up an open line of communication with a team. I believe all of these messaging approaches are effective as long as the individual has notifications turned on. I think google hangouts and Slack are the best designed because they let you know if the individual is available. In the case of scheduling a meeting, I recently have been following up with a google calendar invite/email with either a WebEx, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams link - depending on which the person I am speaking to is comfortable using, however, all three are very intuitive. I personally prefer WebEx just from how comfortable I have become with using it. Nevertheless, all of these platforms have definitely made communication a lot easier as it makes transitioning from one meeting to the next almost instantaneous and allowed people to utilize openings in their schedule. However, above everything I try to schedule in person meetings because that is still the best form of communication in my eyes, as you do not have to worry about technical difficulties and are really able to demonstrate your preparedness as well as show absolute engagement. Interesting to see that @ac825, uses Discord. Is Discord used in a professional setting?
Communication is a key factor for the success for a project. It is crucial to find a way to easily facilitate communication between team members. My team in my research lab use an application called “Slack” where it organizes communications into different channels. What are other applications that can be used and what are their advantages over others?
Communication is vital when working with others since everyone must understand their job by communicating with others to understand what needs to be accomplished. An application that I believe would be great to use to communicate with each other is discord. Discord is an excellent application since you can create channels for different categories, like having a general chat where everyone can speak or an announcement page to which only the boss can send messages. I have used slack as well, and it is not as customizable as discord.
Many posts here emphasize how vital communication is to ensure a project runs smoothly. Without consistent communication, there is no flow of information which can ultimately hurt the project since not all team members are being informed of any changes or obstacles.
My company uses Microsoft teams which I find extremely useful. We are able to create multiple group chats for different projects and are able to have efficient meetings using the platform as well. Having meetings using teams is efficient because it allows us to present our screen and have other team members express their feedback and ideas making brainstorming easier. Another advantage to Microsoft teams is that the app is extremely user friendly so we can always be available since almost everyone has the app downloaded on their phone. I find that email is better for sending more official information including SOPs and other official documentation to ensure a there is a traceable path that one can always refer back to.
For my senior capstone project we primarily communicated through the GroupMe app and Zoom video calls. Due to our team size only being 4 people, we didn't feel that we had the need for a more professional business communication platform like Slack. I do feel that as the nature of the project shifts from academic to more professional, the manner of communication must also shift to a more business oriented option. Business oriented options tend to be designed with the intricacies of working in a larger team in mind, such as smaller groups based on the component of the project each member is working on.
At work, we use Microsoft Teams to set up meetings, calls, and various group chats. However like everyone else who has commented already I've used GroupMe, Facebook, even email threads going back and forth to communicate with team members. I think it's important to also stay very organized when communicating so important information does not get lost. We've set up "Teams" in Microsoft Teams where you can upload files and share important data with your other team members. Also, in my current role at my company, we need to communicate with almost every department in order to be successful. We have about 6 different group chats that we have to balance on a day-to-day basis and get the right information we need to do our jobs. I have heard the saying of "it's better to overcommunicate then undercommunicate" which is so true in a fast-paced company. You risk a project being set back due to a certain risk or action not being communicated well.
I personally utilize group me or discord as forms of communication with my team members. Group me is an easy to use application that is found on multiple different mobile operating systems. Team members may easily communicate through messaging while also uploading videos or photos if needed to do so.
Discord is also an easy to use application that is found on multiple different mobile and desktop operating systems. Discord may be advantageous over group me since team members may also engage in audio and video conferencing, which may enhance and diversify communication methods. Furthermore, GroupMe drains a device's battery faster than that of discord since a constant connection must be established to account for notifications.
For group meetings and communication, we frequently used google hangouts because it was versatile for any server (since some members had Mac or Windows it was compatible for both and also was able to schedule into your personal calendars + had messaging options).
Microsoft Teams was also utilized which had the channels options, so when we had a large group project but subunits within the group, it was easy to have a main group chat and then one on the side with a subunit. It was a very similar feature to Slack overall.
Those were the programs we utilized for online face to face meetings, as well as "text chats".
Groupme is another that we utilized but more so within academia rather than industry/work wise in my experience.
For this course, I've often used groupme and text messaging as it has shown to be a better way of getting a hold of individuals in a timely manner since not everyone checks Canvas regularly. However by identifying that most people are readily available and receive notifications through groupme or text messaging it is easy for people to make themselves available and for others to reach them as well. The simulations in this course are conducted in a small timeframe making quick and easy communication crucial to the success of the group which applies in other areas of the workforce as well.
As you mentioned communication is key to getting the ball rolling with any type of group work. Internally in a company setting, we used jabber to communicate and teams to work interactively. however with school group projects and with my current job I prefer texting as opposed to any app, to be frank. Texting doesn't have to be as professional as emailing and makes communication more personable amongst the group. Also, in my opinion, its the quickest form of communication since nowadays we always have our phones on us, it also makes communication more personable amongst the group. Files, images, videos can be sent through text too so sharing content wouldn't be an issue either.
The two major platforms that I have seen being used on this forum is Slack and Microsoft teams. I have used both with different internships and found that Microsoft teams is great in a work environment because it tells you when your coworkers are busy in meetings or just unavailable. This made it significantly easier to plan my day, and to know about when I could expect a response back from them. I also liked how easy it was to start a meeting, and how you can share and work on files all in the same place instead of going back and forth on email. Slack was also good for going back and forth with coworkers and starting threads, although I did overall prefer Microsoft teams due to its capabilities. The current lab I am working in does not use any platform besides texting and emailing when interaction is needed. Does anyone currently work in a research lab setting and suggest any platform over the other?
Usually, project managers prefer the face-to-face communication method, as they have a better opportunity to explain the project status with charts and analysis and get instant feedback, which will help them alter project plans according to the inputs given by the stakeholders. In my office, we use the "Teams" application to speak to each other, especially when an impromptu meeting is needed.
