Great for collecting lots of data, but not as flexible as I'd like
September 20, 2016

Great for collecting lots of data, but not as flexible as I'd like

Alexis Ertzner | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with QuickBase

QuickBase is used across MIT for a variety of applications. I can only speak to how my department/I use QuickBase, which is to track the status of our events (including tracking event registration status, attendees, post-event notes, etc.). Of particular use is the notifications, which get sent automatically to prompt event managers to register their event, or calendar managers to update calendars if event details change. Since we run a lot of events with many moving parts and stakeholders, this system has really changed how we operate (and streamlined/automated it to free up valuable employee time).
  • Notifications
  • Easy to update and change fields, table-to-table relationships
  • Calendar view for our events
  • It is great that QuickBase can generate a calendar view, as well as an .ics file. HOWEVER, the ability to sync with other calendars (or to have the .ics file automatically update when there are changes) would be a game-changer.
  • Branching logic for field answers needs to be developed.
  • Better reporting on data (overall look and feel is not as competitive as programs like Tableau)
We have to some degree--I am the only one on my team who does anything other than data entry into QuickBase (I have prior experience with other platforms that have some similar functionality and was able to teach myself enough to build a customized app for us, but even somewhat tech-savvy members of my team do not find QuickBase easy to use/modify). And, as there is no branching logic (that I know of) for fields, my team is often left filling out unnecessary fields depending on the project, but those fields can't be eliminated as they are necessary if some questions are answered certain ways.
We used to use an Excel file (yikes!) to manually track the bare minimum details of events and projects, often on shared collaboration sites that had some tricky functionality (SharePoint Collaboration sites for Mac users, for example). QuickBase became supported by my company and allowed us to automate/streamline data collection and update once the app was built. [It's] easy to update as we grow the functionality (when the functionality is there). It is still a bit clunky and could definitely be more user friendly, but it currently fills a basic need we had.
I spent several days playing around in the system, googling information, etc. to build out functionality in one of the apps so it would be useful to my team. I am tech-savvy but not a programmer/developer, and do not find the system particularly intuitive as a user. (This has all been done outside of my actual job description, but helps me better execute some of the things in my job description so I would consider myself in the category of "citizen developers"). I have consulted with IT personnel on occasion (they are usually as stumped as me, or are left telling me that the functionality I'm trying to create isn't do-able on the platform).
  • Improving collaboration across one or more teams
  • Solving a specific business challenge
  • Building and deploying an application (or multiple applications) that meets our exact needs
It is pretty easy to add or change fields in an existing QuickBase application. I've also played around some with the Table-to-Table relationships (a little trickier, but do-able). My main issue is that as we grow more reliant and want to use more things, it is not flexible in terms of having some branching logic that would allow us to use one app for all of our projects or events (most of the fields/setup is very similar across these categories, so with a few developments it could all be in one place.)
It is great for my team to track progress and details on events/large projects (including attendance, post-event notes, floor plans, who is the event manager, what accounts to charge, etc.). However, as a substitute for an easily viewable calendar to track events/projects with time-specific deliverables, it just does not work for mobile or for easy calendar syncing in the calendar applications (Google, Outlook, iCal) that our team and company use.