ZIKZAK is a dynamic and committed group of architects and interior designers who love the design and the creative process. Their experience and constant research of trends allow them to meet expectations and translate a bold idea into non-standard design solutions. The design studio now consists of more than 20 designers and architects.
How did you come to systematize the projects
This story in our company has been going on for a long time. It all started after a year of work with Excel files (like everyone else). For each project there was a separate Excel file in which we set the schedule. This turned out to be very inconvenient.
For example: if the project’s deadlines shifted or a new task was added, we had to manually shade in all the squares along the entire project path. It was time-consuming and inefficient.
Later, we added an Excel file where we recorded the labor input for each project. Each new month meant a new file. And every month we counted by hand how many squares, and which ones, were involved in each project.
We tracked hours in Excel, but this was more tied not to the hour, but to the day. For example: we rounded the effort to a day or half a day.
But when there were too many projects, we started looking for another solution. We tried different systems: Asana, Trello, Worksection. We settled on Worksection and were happy with our choice.
What tasks did the task manager need to solve?
We set ourselves several top-priority tasks:
- Keep the project’s deadlines under control
- Keep the project’s budget under control
- Keep the project’s labor input under control
- Run the project on schedule
What did Worksection give your company?
It gave us systematization. Now we develop business processes, turn them into projects in Worksection, and monitor how closely the process matches the plans.
Which Worksection features did you start using right away?
The first stage was creating projects manually inside Worksection. We set task after task and described each new project from scratch.
The second stage — we made template projects and just copied the tasks from there.
Now we’re using the API: we generate projects from Excel, where the standard execution algorithm is already described. This lets us store a centralized seed from which the project “sprouts” inside Worksection.
How do you work with projects in Worksection
We have several standard projects, but we make changes to them every time. We upload the planned project data into Worksection, and then the team can make changes that couldn’t have been foreseen at the planning stage. It’s very convenient to do this in Worksection: you can always add a task or delete an unnecessary one.
How do you use time tracking in Worksection
We track time and budget. Our goal is to see how the actual input matches the plan, so we can then build more realistic deadlines into the project.
The staff mastered the feature easily. The only difficulty is logging hours on time and not forgetting to do it.
Do you use reports in Worksection?
Yes. We make a report on labor input and see whether the actual figures match the planned ones.
We have a rule: only the team leader can set tasks. First, the manager receives the already-built schedule in Worksection. The manager can make changes to the project and can close and open tasks.
The rest of the project participants log their hours at the end of each working day. As a result, we get a complete picture of the project.
The rest of the project participants log their hours at the end of each working day. As a result, we get a complete picture of the project.
Do you use email or messenger for Worksection notifications?
We link Worksection to email. Notifications about the tasks to be done on the current day are sent to each employee every morning. If they like, employees can [link notifications to the messenger they use.