Recently, our full-service digital agency in London, Cyber-Duck, decided to use ClickUp as our main project management platform. It’s been such a positive move for both us and our global clients.
Here’s why we moved and how we did it.
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat we needed from our project management platform
We were already using good tools to manage our work and keep our clients posted on their projects. But there’s always room for improvement, and we were seeking something with these features:
1. A single, unified platform (instead of three)
Most of our work was managed on Teamwork. We had lots of templates and checklists there that we were using all the time.
We also used Jira as our ticketing platform and sometimes as the main tool for agile projects. Then, some of our internal projects were managed on Trello.
On our wishlist? One platform that could handle all of this.
2. Better client transparency
When clients are choosing an agency for their project, they want to know work will be delivered – but they also want to know how we’ll work with them.
We were seeking a tool that could give them more transparency into our work – both high-level and granular. And we wanted to be able to personalise that for each client or stakeholder.
3. A one-stop helpdesk for client collaboration
We were using Teamwork to manage projects at a high level, but clients would also create tickets in Jira.
We wanted one, single tool to make it simpler for them. We were looking for a platform with a built-in helpdesk for easy, one-stop collaboration.
Our old tools did not spark joy.
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhy we wanted to move
While the gap between Cyber-Duck’s previous tools and our needs wasn’t a problem, we knew it could be better. We were on the lookout for a tool that could lift our clients’ experience, give more transparency, and boost collaboration.
That’s when we heard about ClickUp. It’s a flexible, configurable, project management tool that could help us collaborate with our clients. We liked the look of functionality, such as:
- A wealth of integrations with tools like Harvest, InVision and BitBucket
- List, Calendar, Kanban (Board), and custom views of our tasks
- Custom Fields and status lists
- Embeds from Airtable, Keynote, social media, and much more
- Communication tools like threaded responses, assigned comments, and custom notifications
- Box view to monitor team workload on projects
- Template everything!
Our research meant we were confident that ClickUp offered us everything we need to manage our projects and collaborate with our clients.
We could already see a brighter future.
Summarize this article for me pleaseHow our agency set up ClickUp
We set about implementing ClickUp. One of its best qualities is its flexibility – you can configure it to fit your needs. But powerful tools can mean a learning curve, so we wanted to be sure to start on the right foot.
1. Exploration
We spent some time investigating ClickUp’s features to make sure it met our needs. We explored its apps, plugins, and settings. We looked at how to organise our accounts, clients, projects, and teams, and how to set up the right permissions for each role or person. We played with the different views – Lists, Calendars, and Kanban boards – and the notification settings.
2. Sandbox project
Once we had our heads around the product, we set up a dummy project. Now we could get hands-on with the apps, views, notifications, and functionality with a test project. We refined this until it fitted our needs perfectly. This then became …
3. Project template
We saved this as a project template, which would be the model for all our projects.
We saw the initial lift as an investment in our project management.
Summarize this article for me pleaseHow we’re migrating projects into ClickUp
At Cyber-Duck, we decided to migrate projects into ClickUp in two groups.
1. New projects
All our new projects are now set up in ClickUp as new clients come on board, using our project template as a model.
2. Existing projects
Migrating our current projects was a little more complex. We created a migration plan to transfer existing clients’ projects into ClickUp. Many of our clients come from the finance, IT and government/public sector, so they (and we) needed to be sure we migrated them in a way that kept their projects and data secure, and that the tool is certified with highest standards to achieve compliance.
Summarize this article for me pleaseHow our clients reacted
The reaction from our clients has been really positive! Tools as powerful as ClickUp can seem intimidating to newcomers, and we wanted to ensure a smooth transition. We helped our clients get onboard by walking them through the setup.
Our clients love the new experience. They tell us it’s easy and simple to keep up with their projects because of the notifications they receive, and they love the transparency they get into our work!
It’s great for us too, because we can share anything in ClickUp with a public URL when needed, so a client or stakeholder can access just that page. Its flexible features like this that make ClickUp seamless on the client-side.
Great for our clients, great for us.
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhy We Heart ClickUp
Functionality that makes us love ClickUp even more
Our project managers love …
On top of the standard ClickUp’s List, Calendar and Board views, the additional Box, Form, and Activity views. Its integration with PM tools like Harvest and Airtable. Timelines, Gantt charts, drag-and-drop task management, Custom Fields, and custom statuses: ClickUp has it all. And we can post meeting minutes as collaborative documents straight into ClickUp.
Our client team loves …
ClickUp’s shareability, seamless client experience, and threaded comments, which keep conversations tidy. It’s quick and easy for clients to see the status of any task, and to get high-level updates or more granular detail on sub-tasks. We can post updates for clients, they can post questions – it brings us together so we can collaborate.
Our designers love …
The InVision integration! They can build a prototype in InVision, embed it straight into ClickUp, and create a view just for that. Other integrations we’ve found handy are YouTube, Twitter, spreadsheets, Zoom, and Miro.
Our developers love …
ClickUp’s granular functionality, BitBucket integration, plus the level of detail and powerful, customizable features that ClickUp offers.
And EVERYONE loves …
We now have one flexible, unified tool that keeps all of us and our clients on the same page. It supports remote collaboration, lets us manage our projects in a way that works for us, and makes client communication a breeze.
Gimme five!
Summarize this article for me pleaseConclusion: Why ClickUp rocks for us (& could for you too)
We could talk all day about how much we love ClickUp, but we’re just going to share a few of the benefits that we’ve experienced by switching to this platform.
It’s not just a project management tool
ClickUp goes beyond project management. We think of it as a collaboration platform. It keeps our global team in step, helps our international clients track and feed back on our work, and integrates our work into one place.
ClickUp helps us communicate
ClickUp makes it so easy to collaborate. Its built-in messaging, threaded comments, custom notifications, and software integration make remote collaboration fast and seamless.
It keeps everyone updated
On top of that, ClickUp’s powerful sharing functionality makes it easy to get information to our clients, staff, and stakeholders when and where they need it. High-level overview? Granular detail on a specific task? It’s easy with ClickUp.
It streamlines our workflow
We now have one central place where we manage our projects. All our work is tracked there. Our clients have one interface to engage with us.
Thanks to ClickUp, we’re all so zen now.
ClickUp is now a crucial part of our remote working toolset, and we highly recommend it!
Join our upcoming free webinar on remote workshops and find out about the other tools we use.
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