Every once in a while people ask us what tools do we use as part of our processes. Not long ago, at a workshop I conducted on about Web Project Management, I was able to introduce a couple of free tools that we consider indispensable. So I came up with the idea of listing all the amazing software that we use every day, hoping it can be helpful to anyone reading this.
Some are well known, others might be surprisingly new to you, but they totally work for us, so we strongly recommend you to give them a try.
###Development tools
Github: A true inspiration in terms of company culture. Not a second goes by at our company without someone using it, and not a single line of code sneaks off this amazing tool.
Vim: Most of our team uses Vim as their text editor. It is indeed the most powerful text editor out there.
Sublime: The few who don't use Vim, use Sublime as a text editor.
Code Climate: We use Code Climate to measure our code quality, to keep us on the lookout for improvements.
Semaphore: It's our CI, we use it to run our tests and to deploy our code. Using it gives us more time to focus on what really matters.
###Design tools
Sketch: This is our design software of choice. We really try to use the most accurate tools for the job and Sketch was built 100% with the web in mind. It gets updated almost daily and the community around it is growing rapidly. We will cover this tool in further detail in an upcoming post.
Typekit: We use it, alongside with Google fonts, to manage the fonts we work with. Some of the most amazing types are available in these two platforms and they keep growing every day.
###Project Management
Trello: All of our product's activity is reflected in the Trello boards. You can learn a bit more about how we use Trello in our guides.
Google Drive: This is where we work collaboratively on specs and product documentation. We also use it to keep track of customer development.
Analytics
Mixpanel: This is our main tool for analytics, due to its efficiency and easy to use interface.
Google Analytics: This one is really simple to install and can give us a quick overview on some metrics.
###Cloud
Dropbox: We store project files, contracts and other documentation in Dropbox shared files.
DigitalOcean: This is where we host our apps. A very simple, cost-effective hosting cloud.
Communications
Hipchat: All our internal communication happens in Hipchat. Each project gets its own room, leaving all the nonsense talk for the 'Danger Room'.
Skype: The most simple 1-on-1 video-chat tool. We use it for meetings and quick discussions with clients.
Google Hangouts: For the same purpose, but when more than two parties are involved.
Others
Toggl: Simple and efficient time-tracking app. All the hours and tasks that we do get logged in Toggl.
InvoiceExpress: An amazing app for invoicing that really saves us a lot of time and trouble.
Intercom: This simple to install software allows you to communicate with every single customer that you have in your application.
Here you go, these are the tools of our trade.
We’d love to know which ones you use, if you have any suggestion for tools that we are missing out just drop us a line at @groupbuddies on twitter.