As I’ve been building out infrastructure for the team at Podium Studios, we made the call to go with Basecamp by 37signals. After using it for a couple of months, I love it. As a matter of fact, it is the only project management software I have ever enjoyed using. And I think that I finally understand why: it feels like Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson, and crew made it for people who make things. 

When I say “make,” I use that word intentionally. It isn’t just made for people who “do” things, or who purely manage other people who do things. Every other project management platform I have ever used felt like you had to have all of the answers to plan a project out. You had to know everything necessary to get something done. When you’re making something you’ve never made before—perhaps that has never been made before—you DON’T KNOW what it will take to finish it.

Enter the the Hill Chart. I absolutely love the Hill Chart because it represents the reality of making pretty much anything; at least as a human who is not omniscient (there has only ever been One). You have a period of figuring things out that is the uphill part, and then you’ve figure it out, and then the rest is downhill—that’s the “doing” part. Now, mind you, you are “doing” the whole time, but on the downhill slope, there’s a whole lot less ambiguity about what must be done and how to do it. That’s real life.

Ambiguity demands communication. Communication is the lifeblood of making anything with excellence as a team. Even moreso with a distributed team. Communication in Basecamp is prioritized, easy, and dare I say, delightful. They don’t make me go and communicate in another tool. I can communicate with my team about the work *in the context of the work.* Not only that, but it allows us to communicate with our clients *in the app* with clarity and ease.

So you have the conceptual elements that are so much better than any project management software I’ve ever used, and then there is the UI. It’s actually pleasant; both in how it works and how it looks! I enjoy using it! Things are not cluttered. There isn’t a condensed firehose of information flying at me that makes it difficult for me to figure out where to drill down. It allows for focus. And it does all of this without offending this designer’s eyes. Every single other project management suite I have ever used offended my eyes—I wanted to be out of there as quickly as possible. But not with Basecamp. Hilariously, I find myself wanting an excuse to use it. 

Devin Smith enjoying a project management app. Who would have thought it?

Well done, 37 Signals team. Well done. You have a new fan.