Looking at Web 2.0 and How It Might Help Architects on Macs

Basecamp

Basecamp by 37signals.com is the second tool I tried and am currently still using it on a project that doesn't finish for another month. Unlike Copper Project, Basecamp is truly a Web 2.0 application in the sense that it embodies the essential AJAX programming techniques. In fact it is somewhat of a "poster boy" application for the benefits of Web 2.0.

Like Copper it is fully implemented via your standard Web browser, though the choice of browsers is more limited. For Mac-based architects it works equally well through Safari or FireFox. Windows users have good choices with browsers as well.

Basecamp comes only in hosted versions. Unlike Copper there is no server version available to run on your Apple Xserve. Like Copper there are several versions of Basecamp. However, these are chosen on the basis of number of "active projects" and file storage size. Copper versions work on the basis of number of "users" with all versions supporting "unlimited" projects. The core features of Basecamp include an Overview pane (similar to Copper's Springboard), Messages, To-Dos, Milestones, Writeboards, Chat and Files.

Again, this article is more an survey report than a comprehensive review so again I'm just going to touch on a few of the features I enjoy using and explain why:

• Messages: If Copper is "task-centric" than Basecamp is really "message-centric." Therefore in this it really deals with what I refer to as the "new problem": e-mail today is nearly useless.

What we are talking about today when we talk about "issues with e-mail" is what some call e-waste. E-waste can be described a number of ways, including the percentage (often very high) of e-mails that are actually not important to your job. This says nothing of spam, which according to a recent report story on NPR, is now 93% of all e-mail on the Internet.

E-mail has become nearly useless because the time we spend sifting our in-box for job-important e-mail outweighs the time we save by using e-mail in the first place.

Basecamp is very "message-centric" and thus makes an ideal substitution for e-mail communication. You can easily attach documents to messages (see PDF icon above). Categories can be customized each project and you can save settings for future projects. Note: identity information has been intentionally blurred in the image above.

Therefore in this sense, programs like Basecamp that address and solve the e-mail problems businesses face today are a godsend. However, in order to make good use of Messages in Basecamp in lieu of e-mail you need to customize and add message categories. (see image above) Thankfully, this is incredibly easy and you can save your customizations for future projects.

• Document Management: Basecamp's Files features is a smart and easy to use FTP server functionality built right into the system (like Copper). A useful feature is the ability to upload and attach a document to a Message entry.
• Chat & Writeboards: These two features are what I would call generation Y features. Chat is built-in instant messaging (IM) that also archives your chats (very useful for businesses) and you can also upload a file and attach to the chat. Perhaps a more useful feature is Writeboards, a shared "white-board" space online where people can collaborate on written text.

Basecamp excels at nearly all the criteria listed above but it definitely lacks some key features that AEC (architecture, engineering, construction) professionals generally want in a Web-based project collaboration and document management system (what might be called a PCDM). For example, there is no timeline or Gantt chart feature, unlike Copper Project which has these features. Also, its To-Do feature creates "to-do lists" that you can optionally associate with a project milestone (think target deadline or deliverable), which is all very-well-and-good but you can't simply assign a tasks to an individual without first creating that To-Do list. In other words, if I need Joe Smith to do a simple task unrelated to any larger milestone or other list of tasks, than I can't really do that. Again, Copper does this well.

With Basecamp there are some interesting workarounds to deal with these shortcomings -- really different ways of working to accomplish the same thing. But there simply isn't a solution to the lack of a graphic timeline for project milestones. A calendar view is nice but no substitute for a Gantt chart.

Ideas and Conclusions

In working with both Copper Project and Basecamp they solved or improved on several different things confronting architectural practice at the moment. Basecamp turns out to be more time-effective because it addresses the e-waste problems of e-mail communication fully. With it I can get the contractor (the most important individual an architect communicates with during the construction phase of a project) to not send me e-mail at all. Therefore, all his project communication is found only in Basecamp. In the past few months I've had my e-mail program turned off much of the day and I keep my browser open with Basecamp active in one Safari tab. I've figured out that if I don't open up my e-mail program at all (something I can't actually do -- though I did it one day) I can save up to one hour minimum a day, which is five hours a week.

Though I am unfamiliar with how various tools like Buzzsaw deal with what I am calling the "new problem", I am convinced that any Web-based PCDM needs to address this issue head on with solid messaging and IM chat built right into the solution. The chat solution of Basecamp would be more useful to team members within the same office if they don't work right next to each other or if they are tuned into iTunes much of day. Getting big brawny construction guys to IM with cute little text abbreviations may not be too practical at the moment. Many contractors I know can't even type. For them a good-ole fashion phone call is a great solution.

The second big benefit of using either Basecamp or Copper is their superb FTP servers -- built into the solutions so seamlessly you don't even think of it as FTP. If you are still plotting your files for your contractor you should encourage them to "self-serve." That is, you should upload PDF files that are ready-to-print by any service bureau. Contractors love not having to ask for prints. Usually we can't get them (prints) to them fast enough anyway. So why are architects spending this time "baby-sitting" plotters and FedEx shipping tubes? And why do we have to call consulting engineers to find out if they have updated drawing information? All of this can be dramatically improved with tools like Basecamp or Copper.

Apple it appears has been slow to the Web 2.0 movement. It was only recently that their .Mac Mail application gained Web 2.0 functionality. However, I expect Apple to seize many of the best advantages of Web 2.0 in both its next operating system (Leopard) and with tools for their developers. It would be crazy for Apple to not assist developers like 37signals and Element Software. They are both creating large user bases of customers bringing new business workflows to their multi-platform solutions. And lastly, AEC customers should start looking at both of these companies. They can offer solutions to many of your problems at a remarkable low cost and you'll gain new found efficiencies in your workflow. --- Anthony Frausto-Robledo, Editor-in-Chief.

[Edited: 19 Dec 2006. Article corrections to Basecamp section. See this feedback article. And a live link to NRP story on spam.-AFR]

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