Use of QuickBase for medium scale (60 to 70 users) workflow and project management tool.
November 29, 2016
Use of QuickBase for medium scale (60 to 70 users) workflow and project management tool.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Quickbase
QuickBase is used as a process and workflow management, information repository, and documents control tool at my department which is a group of a regional practice of a large national organization. QuickBase is not used throughout our organization however it is a significant resource for our department and our corporate core functions are already noticing the benefits it has generated in the information flow and efficiency in our department. It allows the information [to be] at the fingertip of the users and frontline team members, streamlines the reporting, automates processes and workflow, makes the internal and external collaboration very efficient, takes the load off the email communications and allows each level of management to be informed in real-time about the progress as well as issues.
- First of all, QuickBase allows the actual user to develop the solution for their own use. I believe this is the greatest strength or convenience. The developers can be users and users can be developers, without any technical or coding or software development knowledge.
- Even though QuickBase allows to build a home-grown solution without a support from IT department or software programmers, the end product can be robust and cutting edge.
- Along with the ease of use, the speed of delivery is also a key benefit of QuickBase. It allows development be done in real-time while the end users are working. The adaptive mechanism allows the reports be generated while the data is yet building up.
- There should be a service or plugin available for QuickBase to convert any existing workflow or database application to QuickBase. This may make adopting the QuickBase solution easier for a larger organization where there are some other tools and solutions are already in place but the users are looking to change.
- Although many API and data connections already exist, QuickBase can work further to develop two-way links and connections to larger data repositories and existing applications. In our example we could not achieve this since we were dependent on a larger database from a government agency and integration between their system and our QuickBase was only manually done.
- QuickBase can develop a more open training platform of YouTube channels etc. There are many of such resources in place, however, there is a need for more.
Yes. By allowing the users to be the developer of the solutions.
- dapulse, MS SharePoint and Excel
Easy to implement, web-based, lower initial cost.
- Building and deploying business applications faster
- Improving our ability to drive insights from our data
- Improving collaboration across one or more teams
- Building and deploying an application (or multiple applications) that meets our exact needs
QuickBase applications and solutions can be developed without any support from IT personnel or technical know-how. It being 100% web-based, it does not require any other IT resource than an internet connection. The user champion who knows the processes and workflow well can outline what is to be achieved, what data needs to be gathered, what validation to be in place and what reports are needed. With this general framework, a solution can be developed and rolled out fairly quickly. Once rolled out, it can further evolve as clarity and feedback are received from the users.
Since our QuickBase solution is home-grown, the updates happened all the time. However, during the course of last two years, we have done some major updates as well. Prior to working on the update, we had consulted a QuickBase expert from the QuickBase website, we spent a good amount of time analyzing where we are, what we are doing and where we want to be. It was an eye-opening experience to have an outsider look at our plan. There were many quirks we learned from this expert as well as many tricks, tips and off the shelf tools. In the end, we developed the update in-house but with some ongoing support from the expert. The end result was a very robust product as well as a strong foundation of design which can be leveraged for few more years with minor updates. This update technically replaced the previous solution 100% including the data structure we used. However, the end user never knew that there was a major overhaul. They were simply happy that they got all the features they were requesting for a while and there was no learning curve.