Trello vs Basecamp - Find out which project management tool you should use

Choosing the right project management software from the different options out there can be hard- especially when the choice you have to make is between two very compelling candidates like Trello and Basecamp. But our comparison will help with your decision-making, as we give you here the features that make both these workflow management tools distinct.

Trello

In Trello, tasks are presented in the board view. In this view, the tasks would be segregated in cards and not lists. This system of arranging tasks is efficient in that you can simply drag and drop tasks from one to another column based on the progression of the tasks in the workflow. For example, if a particular card is for a task which is presently in progress, it would be shifted to the one for completed tasks after it is finished.

To aid workflow management, Trello can also be used to create and manage content calendars and also to plan agile sprints. But that’s not to say that Trello is only for individuals who wish to design and own such processes. The platform also fosters team work; for instance, it is possible to add multiple users to a board. You could also give each member varying levels of access depending on their job requirements.

Features to help you manage the workflow

Also, depending on the permission that they have been granted, the team members can commend on the cards. This is a nice collaborative feature, especially in the context of remote working. Needless to say, this is also a handy feature for managing distributed teams in a live environment.

The creators of Trello understand that each task comes with its own set of requirements- including dependencies; which is why adding dependencies for tasks is one of its features. Aside from dependencies, some tasks also require referring to certain files for their efficient completion. In Trello, files can ne directly attached- either from your computer or the internet.

To keep track of the tasks to be performed, very few things compare with checklists in efficiency. Trello has you covered on that front as it is quite easy to create checklists in the tool. And you can also set deadlines for the tasks.

An advanced feature

One of the more advanced features in Trello is called Butler. It lets you automate workflows, thereby helping save time. Using this feature, you could set up automated actions for different actions. For instance, you can automate in such a way that a Software Development card would get shifted to Optimize as soon as a particular team member is tagged in comment. The benefits of such automations are two pronged- it reduces the time taken for project completion and also minimizes errors born from human interventions.

Basecamp

One of the most obvious  ways in which Trello differs from Basecamp is in the interface- or rather in how the information is listed in a minimal manner, one in which information is grouped in what is known as camps.

The different tools

So you can get the most out of camps, each of them comes with six different tools. While many of them are similar to features and tools you get in other project and workflow management platforms, two tools make Basecamp stand out.

The first of these is called Campfire. As you must surely have guessed by the name, it allows team members to communicate with each other in real time, much like how a bunch of people can sit around a campfire and share a story. This means you wouldn’t have to switch to a dedicated communication tool each time you wish to communicate with a team member.

Automatic check-ins, on the other hand, helps you schedule posts that will then be shared with different team members in a periodic manner. This frees you up from attending redundant status meetings.

A unique feature

An important feature that is unique to Basecamp is the Hill Chart. This is included because to-do lists are sometimes not enough to keep track of tasks in large, complex projects. In Hill Charts, task progress has two distinct parts. In the first one, you are yet to define your approach to tackling the task. This is the ‘uphill’ part. In the other- ‘downhill’- part, you have finalized how to perform a task, you just need to execute it.

A Hill Chart gives you an integrated view of both these parts- a visual representation which lets you see exactly where a task has reached at the present moment in terms of progress.

Which service should you choose?

Trello is useful for managing workflows that are more or less straightforward, with minimal complexity levels. For more complex projects, Basecamp may be the better option.

Do the tools lack anything significant?

Neither Trello nor Basecamp helps you get the accurate measure of the time a team member spends on a task. Significantly, this also deprives you of any chance of accurately predicting the time in which a project could be delivered. I’m Productive is a workflow management tool which measures the time spent on a task with precision, without counting the time someone spent on breaks. Further, a powerful AI helps you predict when project delivery is possible at the current rate of progress, with just the click of a button.

To learn more about this powerful workflow management tool, please head to their website.