How we use Dropbox: Project management

[Amy]

When we hear about how other people use Dropbox, I have to say we scan for tips and advice that we can carry through to our own workflows and projects, from planning a wedding to organizing family photos. With that in mind, we loved hearing about how Project Manager extraordinaire, Libby, uses Dropbox to keep her projects, and more importably, the team, on track. Check it out below and let us know if you will take some of these tips forward 😁 

The key to a successful project is good planning and organization. Duh, but here is what I do to start off on the right foot there.

Step 1: Create a shell of folders to start a project 

I create all of the folders to help manage the different stages of a project, which include:

• Ideation
• Planning 
• Execution and closure 

And to go even deeper, within these folders we can have sub folders for different levels of approval.

At this stage, I add everyone involved in the projects - and I BEG them to create their documentation within these folders. There is nothing worse than people creating rogue docs and forgetting to link it back so starting off in the right place makes it easy to keep us all in contact. 

Step 2: Create a Project plan 

I then create a Project Plan Paper doc, and this outlines the goals of the project, and this outlines the goals of the project, milestones, results and more. Now, this can seem daunting to begin with but luckily, we have a template to get you started right here.  

Within this doc, I can also tag people, create and add to-dos, link to other docs and of course, adding tables and images seamlessly. The perfect one pager, if you ask me.  

Step 3: Track the progress

In theory, now everyone can get to work on their own sections of the project, and I get to observe, check in and remove any blockers. So I get notified when changes are made, I get tagged, I receive Capture updates. Whatever works for the team works for me! 

Step 4: Reporting and sharing wider

Once the project has finished, and undoubtedly been a resounding success, it’s time to report back. So the results folder can contain Exel sheets of data, screenshots, and docs summarising the impact of the project. It’s great because everyone can contribute to this section as the results often come from varying sources. 

Once docs are ready for sharing wider, there are executive one pagers that can get workshopped internally and then a shared folder is created for the wider team.

I enjoy how logical this process is, and as someone who can feel daunted about documentation, this seems really achievable. I also asked Libby for her best project management tip and this was her sage advice: 

Be flexible and work how your project team works. What works for one team won’t work for another. 

How do you manage projects? Do you have a different process you want to share?