Using the Basecamp API to create project reports

Bill Breen, Director of Web Development at SmartMoney.com, writes about using the Basecamp API to create project reports.

We have a weekly managers meeting where we briefly run down all our open projects and their status. The responsible party can then update and if necessary elaborate briefly on specific items within their project. It is a great meeting to have because it gets all parties from various groups in one room where we quickly keep everyone abreast of the projects being worked on. People in theory can get all the same information from Basecamp themselves, but reality is this is not always the case. Having the meeting lets us discuss small items with other groups and departments without having to have a longer time consuming meeting.

To create a report for this meeting, I decided to try the Basecamp API. I figured a quick report that can generate a concise PDF to print out and bring to the meeting will work best. I sat down and used my regular tech community channels to see if anyone has created a Basecamp API module for ColdFusion. Sure enough, I found baseCamp.cfc from Terrence Ryan. It was exactly what I was looking for. It was written for the older Basecamp API, so I had to plug in some new methods, but it was a real time saver because it handled all the requests, and parsing of the responses.

Read the full post for more details.

Report2Base lets you analyze Basecamp data from different perspectives

Report2Base is an add-on to Basecamp that can be queried for milestones, tasks, messages exchanged and hours clocked for a given project or a given client. According to the Report2Base site, features include:

• Intuitive, 'wizard-like' interface for query construction
• Rich, tabbed UI for simultaneous viewing of multiple reports
• Facility to save frequently used queries
• Exporting of reports as PDF / CSV files
• periodic dispatch of reports to specified email contacts
• Charts for visual representation of project data

Learn more.

Burndown: Generate burndown charts for Basecamp milestones and to-do lists

Burndown is a simple tool that takes your Basecamp milestones and to-do lists and generates burndown charts with them.

With Burndown you don't need to repeat yourself. A simple synchronization process is all you have to do to keep daily track of your iteration and generate helpful burndown charts. Forget about bloated so called "agile" software, that requires training to be used. If the "agile" tools you're using require a certification... well probably you're not being as agile as you think.

Timy: "An easy-to-use desktop application to fill out your Basecamp timesheet"

Timy is "an easy-to-use desktop application to fill out your Basecamp timesheet."

Complete your timesheet the easy way!
Completing your timesheet can be time-consuming. But no more!
Timy is an easy-to-use desktop application to fill out your Basecamp timesheet.

Efficient and with surprisingly clever features, using a quick and simple interface. Time tracking in 7th gear, so to speak.

Timy is a free downloadable product.

How to adapt Basecamp to an agile methodology

High Notes offers a blog post called "How to do SCRUM with Basecamp?"

About 2 years ago we were sitting at the office trying to figure out which tool to use for project management. I mean, being agile is about being simple, but index cards were starting to get messy...

Of all the tools we tried, the one that gave us the best results was Basecamp. These are the two reasons that we believe make Basecamp great for agile project management:

Simplicity: There is no need for training when you start using Basecamp. In essence Basecamp is a set of message boards, blogging tools, calendars and to-do list trackers. All these tools combined in an intuitive way is what Basecamp is all about. If your team can't figure out how to use Basecamp... you're in troubles. Being agile is about using the simplest tools available.

Interactions instead of Process: The purpose of Basecamp is to promote and enhance collaboration between a team. Basecamp doesn't try to force you into a specific workflow as most project management tools do. You can pretty much do whatever process or workflow you want, and still, Basecamp is going to be helpful. Guess what's the first line of the Agile Manifesto? Individuals and interactions over processes and tools. So instead of thinking "Is ticket 4137 assigned to David or to Paula?", you will see the discussion of a real issue between your team.

The post goes on to give a detailed explanation of how to adapt Basecamp to an agile methodology (they use a mixture of Scrum and XP). Check it out.

Basecamp: Keep track of the hours spent on a task with time tracking

Basecamp time tracking lets you keep track of the hours spent on a task or a complete project (for plus or higher accounts only).

Watch an audio/video tour of Time Tracking to learn more.

Seth Godin: "Basecamp is the perfect tool for coordinating"

Seth Godin recently launched an alternative MBA program. Unaccredited, residential, free and six months long. A new way to learn about a new way of doing business. One of the lessons of the experiment: Use Basecamp.

Another lesson: We used Basecamp. It’s the perfect tool for coordinating this sort of work.

Read more of the lessons Seth learned from what he called "an extraordinary learning experience."

New Basecamp feature: The Daily Digest

We're excited to announce a great improvement to Basecamp. The new Daily Digest feature makes it easier than ever to track the progress of your projects. The Daily Digest is an email that Basecamp sends you once a day. The email tells you about any to-do items or milestones that were checked off or added in the last day. Daily Digests are per-project, so you can subscribe to the projects you really care about without being distracted by any unnecessary information. Now you'll always know day-by-day as work is completed or new work is assigned. It's a really powerful feature.

To subscribe to the Daily Digest for a project, first load the project and click on the Overview tab. You'll see a link to subscribe in the upper-right of your screen:

After you click "Turn on email updates" the following screen will confirm your details and remind you how the Daily Digest works:

Now that you're subscribed, you'll receive an email once each day at 9am. You'll only receive an email if there was some activity on the project in the last 24 hours. Here's a sample of what the Daily Digest email looks like:

We think you'll love how the Daily Digest keeps you on top of your projects step-by-step as they move toward completion. Thanks as always for your continued support and we hope you enjoy the new feature!

Jamie Pittock of ErskineLabs: "Basecamp’s beauty is its simplicity"

In "Project management is easy," Jamie Pittock of ErskineLabs talks about how his team uses Basecamp to manage projects.

THE PROJECT BACKLOG – create a list that you can use to store everything you might need to remember during the project.

WEEKLY REVIEW MEETINGS – at the start of each week get the project team together, review the items in the Project Backlog, and convert the ones you need to work on into actionable tasks.

WEEK-BASED TO-DO LISTS – move these actionable tasks from the Project Backlog into a dedicated to-do list for that week’s work. Make sure anything in these lists are assigned to the person who’s responsible for making sure it’s done.

That’s it for now, if you take anything away from this take the following three points.

1. Don’t fight Basecamp
2. Write everything down
3. Focus on the actionable

The post is filled with good tips. Check it out.

Do you use a 37signals product in an interesting or noteworthy way? Let us know.

"Run your home more like a business" with 37signals tools

101 Tools to Run Your Home More Like a Business:

Home life seems to get more and more complicated as days go by. There are chores, paperwork, and lots of maintenance to deal with, but your home doesn’t have to take over your life. By using tools that streamline the work of businesses, you’ll find that it’s easy to get things done. Read on and you’ll find 101 tools that will make your home run like a business.

Included on the list: Basecamp, Backpack, Highrise, Campfire, and Writeboard.