Working Together When Living Apart

Working collaboratively on the web can be a real dilemma for some, However there are some very powerful tools available on the web, which project management and communication much much easier.

BaseCamp

One of the most popular options out there is a service offered by Basecamp. This project management tool makes keeping schedules and time lines much easier, as well as offering methods to break down project focus into smaller tasks.

The Pros

• Allows multiple user accounts with varying access rights,
• Allows you to set milestones and meetings
• You can tick off individual tasks as then are completed

The Cons

• Its not free
• It can be difficult to get used to the tools
• does not support add-ons

Collabtive

This not so well known option is the definite alternative to Basecamp. Collabtive is a free open source solution to managing your projects, which you can download and run on your own sever, with a whole raft of controls available to you.

The Pros

• Its Free
• You have full access to the source code if you want to adapt it
• built in messaging system to be used similar to a chat client

The Cons

• It can take a while to get used to
• Can be a bit simplistic in its features

PB Wiki

For those of you, who like me find project management style tools not so great for collaborative work, defiantly try out PB Wiki, a powerful wikipedia tool which enables users to post anything from diagrams to scraps of ideas and then gives a powerful search mechanism to find anything you need.

The Pros

• Its Free
• Gives you the freedom to layout the information in any way you see fit
• full administration features, as well as displaying a full and detailed change log

The Cons

• Not as many on the project management features
• Could do with a more features

There are many more tools availaible aside from the ones I have mentioned. but these offer a way to instigate collaboration and to make working together easy and fun.