Using HipChat to Bridge the Communication Gap Between Technical and Non-technical Teams
June 30, 2016
Using HipChat to Bridge the Communication Gap Between Technical and Non-technical Teams
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with HipChat
I have used HipChat in the past with both technical teams (software developers) and non-technical teams (graphic designers and content authors). In each case HipChat was used as a private communication tool for coworkers to interact in a more synchronous (instant) and distributed (group focused) manner. For developer collaboration HipChat offered features that made the tool feel incredibly native and extensible. For non-technical users it delivered messages in near real-time, with consistency, and did not obfuscate key messaging features behind an overly simplified user interface. HipChat not only solved the problem with team collaboration/communication, in each case it improved the communication between the technical and non-technical teams. Support ticket response times decreased by 10%, and many support requests ended up migrating to HipChat for "triage" before hitting the ticket system. This resulted in dramatic reductions in help ticket requests freeing up core-developer time for responding to tickets that actually represented bugs. It also resulted in a higher quality software and design deliverables simply due to the fact that developers where more involved in understanding the needs and problems of the users and customers working with the tools they build on a daily basis.
- A native, fully functional, client application for all major operating systems and devices.
- You can run HipChat behind your own company firewall, on your own servers.
- HipChat Connect allows for deep integration and automations that really save time and keep critical systems notifications and alerts centralized and well communicated.
- I wish there was some way to simplify the spaces > rooms > users view... I don't have a solution. But I know that new users are often most confused by trying to figure out what room or space or person they are looking at or talking to.
I'm currently working for a company that uses Slack. They started using it before I was hired. Every day I use Slack I find myself saying, "HipChat does this better. I wish I could convince the team using Slack to switch to HipChat." I constantly have problems with Slack not delivering message notification on my iPhone and it never works on my desktop. The design is also so minimal, all the tools are obfuscated, to the point of making it really unfriendly to use. I never know how to switch to other discussions or rooms in Slack. I don't have nearly as much trouble using HipChat with multiple rooms and spaces. I also think that the design and way that HipChat displays messages and search results is far superior to Slack. These things may sound simple, but they are the most important aspects when it comes to daily use and adoption of the tool.