Usage Examples

This page has a few hints and suggestions for how you might use ProjectForum in your own organization. Remember that ProjectForum offers you the flexibility to set things up how you like, so consider these as starting points to be added to and adapted.

Task Assignments

Create a "to do" list page so that you can easily track what people in the group are working on. Add a heading for each person, and bullet points underneath their name for each task, keeping them in order of priority. As people complete tasks, they can delete them from their own list.

Document Preparation

In the early stages, use the page itself to quickly evolve the outline of the document, and divide up the sections between group members. Store the latest copies of documents and reports that are being prepared as attachments to a page, rather than constantly emailing the latest version to everyone. Add notes to the page beside the attachment to inform others who is currently working on what part of the document. Other comments can be posted on the page to bring up questions and provide feedback on sections.

Meeting Notes

Add a page for each team meeting, along with an index page that points to all of them. Before the meeting, post the agenda, and let people suggest any changes. Add any presentations or notes from during the meeting as an attachment to the page. Let team members add their own notes taken during the meeting, or add follow-up questions and comments. Add a list of action items developed at the meeting. Post links or attachments containing materials related to the meeting's topic, and a link to follow-up meetings.

Group Announcements

The "Home" page of the group is important because it's normally where people will enter. It's therefore a good place to put announcements, links to important information, and links to current issues you'd like to get feedback on.

Information and Policy Pages

ProjectForum is a convenient place to store information pages, things like contact information, HR policies, expense forms, etc., like you'd post on any intranet site. Because editing such pages is easy, it makes it convenient to keep them updated.

Discussions

You can use the "Post" features to add comments or have discussions on any page in the forum. When you want to discuss a topic in some depth, start a new page just for that topic. Add a paragraph at the top of the page introducing the topic, and inviting group members to add their own comments. Encourage them to include links in their comments to other forums or other web pages that are relevant to the discussion.

Interacting with Clients

Create a group (or project) dedicated to communication with a client. Use that group to post work products such as documents, prototypes or images, whether preliminary or final, that you'd like your clients to see. Get feedback from your client right in the forum, available for everyone to see, rather than buried in several peoples' email. Use the forum to make your work process visible, so that everyone can answer questions about current status and progress at a glance.