Slack integrates with your project team's software. The project lead defines which information lives in Slack vs. Your project management software. Everyone on your project team commits to using it. Even if Slack isn’t your only tool, learning how to use Slack for project management is worth the effort. In project management, “float” or “slack” is the amount of time that a task can be delayed without affecting the deadlines of other subsequent tasks, or the project’s final delivery date. The former is called “free float”, and the latter is called “total float”. How Do I Find Float? Slack is a new way to communicate with your team. It’s faster, better organized, and more secure than email.
Slack isn’t just a chat tool, it offers key features for project management too. If managing projects is part of your job, here are the Slack project management tips you need to know.
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Can you use Slack for project management?
Slack is a proprietary business communication platform developed by American software company Slack Technologies. Slack offers many IRC -style features, including persistent chat rooms (channels) organized by topic, private groups, and direct messaging.
Yes! It turns out, the famous professional messaging tool has a convenient combination of features to help you stay on top of your certain projects.
But I don’t want to over-promise anything. If your job title is “project manager,” you need to just go ahead and invest in a true project management app. Slack has some helpful features, but at the end of the day, it’s built for messaging. You’ll thank yourself for investing in a true project management tool.
However, if project management is just your side responsibility, try out these Slack project management tips. Slack offers several key features you’ll find helpful. You can keep your team and projects organized, without having to onboard everyone to a new tool.
Here are 7 ways to learn more about Slack project management.
1. Create project-specific Slack channels
Slack allows you to create private channels designated for different topics — or in this case, projects. You can create a new channel for every project you have going on so that the right team members stay up to date.
For example, at AppSumo we have Slack channels dedicated to various ongoing projects: the blog, general copywriting, and business development — among many others.
These channels only include people who are regularly contributing to these projects, so the conversation stays on-task and everyone stays up to date. When a new person needs to collaborate on a project, we simply add them to the appropriate channel.
2. Host Voice and Video Conferencing
Messages not quite getting the point across? Jump on quick conference calls with team members to hash out ideas. Slack is a powerful messaging app. But not all conversations are best for direct messaging. Sometimes you need a face-to-face conversation. Slack makes this easy with in-app video conferencing and calls.
Not only can you speak with team members, but you can also share screens, take notes, and even draw on shared screens to emphasize something on the page.
3. Collaborate Over DMs
This one’s a no-brainer. When you need to quickly delegate a task to one of your teammates or get a quick answer, just send them a direct message (DM).
Direct messaging is easier to follow than email, and you can ping back and forth in real-time.
Just don’t forget to keep it fun by throwing in a few emojis.
4. Share Files
The basics of project management software include the ability to share files and documents with your team. Essentially, sending attachments. Slack project management makes this easy.
You can upload files to Slack just like you would in an email.
Slack Project Management Software
But instead of files getting lost in the long conversation thread, you can find any document you’ve shared by clicking the File Browser tab.
And just like that: No more lost docs.
5. Set Automated Reminders
Slack lets you set reminders about certain messages. If you’re worried you’ll forget about a certain message, just ask Slack to send you a push notification about it later.
You can schedule the reminder for anywhere between 20 minutes and next week — or even create a custom reminder. There are probably dozens of project management applications for this. But two stick out more than the others:
- Remind yourself about an upcoming task: If you don’t have time to complete an important task right as it comes in, you can set a reminder for yourself so the request doesn’t get lost or forgotten.
- Remind yourself about recurring tasks: Have a recurring deliverable or meeting? The automated reminder can help you keep it top of mind.
6. Integrate with Other Project Management Tools
While Slack doesn’t offer tools like kanban boards and task lists, it does integrate with many tools that offer those very same project management features — and many more. Integrate it with Google Drive, Jira, Dropbox, and your favorite task management or collaboration tools. You can browse available integrations in the app directory.
At AppSumo, we use MeisterTask to manage our content calendar. We integrate MeisterTask with Slack to send a message to the Slack channel when a post is ready to upload and publish.
Oh, and if you’re in the market for a project management tool, here are a handful of articles you may enjoy:
7. Quickly Source Team-Wide Ideas and Feedback
Want to get instant feedback from your whole team? Use tags like @Channel or @Team to send push notifications to everyone in that channel.
You can request everyone to contribute ideas or feedback to something you’re working on, or simply nudge your marketing team to go interact with your latest blog post.
The big benefit here has to do with threads. After you tag the whole channel, your message won’t get lost in all the responses from your team because their responses can be organized as comments beneath your original message. Even if someone is the 30th person to respond to your request, they don’t have to endlessly scroll through Slack just to find the original post.
Final Thoughts on Slack For Project Management
As I mentioned before, if your role is project manager, Slack probably doesn’t offer every feature you’ll need to keep yourself and your team on task. But if project management is a small component to your job, and you’re trying to stay ahead of tasks without getting new software, try out Slack project management.
Slack is a versatile messaging tool that can solve many of your project management challenges.
Slack Management Tool
But if you do decide to shop around for a project management tool, visit the AppSumo store. We regularly have new tools to help you stay productive.