Written by Malinda Lloyd, Director, Strategic Accounts
I’ve worked professionally in digital since the late ’90s - I started my journey as an assistant at a software and design agency. I learned on the job and taught myself the basics of coding and digital design tools like HTML, JavaScript, Authorware, PhotoShop, Illustrator, Flash, Action Script, etc.
Eventually, though, I came to realize that my skills are better suited to project management and creative endeavors. I’ve worked for many small and large companies, but one of my favorite experiences was working at Disney, where I transitioned from Project Manager to Producer and harnessed all my skills in tech and design on large, very complex projects.
Managing and communicating with teams across global time zones was always a challenge prior to using ActiveCollab. I started using the service when a development vendor outside the US asked that my team use the tool when working together. Basecamp was one of the first cloud-based project management tools I interacted with, but once I started using ActiveCollab, I fell in love!
The company I work for now, Xivic, has teams in Europe, the US, and Mexico using ActiveCollab daily. The app makes it so easy to communicate across time zones asynchronously in an actionable, trackable way. ActiveCollab allows our teams to ask questions, track and update statuses, report time, and communicate effectively and efficiently.
I am not tied to working on one system or even the same way every day! The email notifications that you can reply to, the mobile app, and web access make it very simple to reply to clients and my teams wherever I happen to be working and whatever device is closest at hand. I am usually checking updates on my phone while I drink my first cup of coffee in the morning.
I am really excited to start using the project estimate features. The reporting tools are very helpful to keep track of team hours and workload, but I want to track the final results better back to how we estimated the initial project.
