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Alternative To Basecamp – Why You Might Consider Looking For One?

While this project management tools does have its many upsides, the fact remains that in some instances, looking for an alternative to Basecamp might be preferable to sticking with it. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons to do so. But not before we give Basecamp its due… 

First Things First – Why Not To Look For An Alternative To Basecamp 

This is not a Basecamp-hate article. We’re ready to acknowledge Basecamp’s positives and thing in which it does truly shine. There are plenty of features of Basement that we like, such as:

  • Group chats. If your team uses Basecamp, it might not need another extra communication channel. You can chat and discuss your project (or anything else) thanks to its built-in chat feature.
  • Priority assignment. Basecamp does this very well. You can easily manage bigger projects with it by breaking it down into smaller tasks and adding specific details and deadlines to each.
  • Progress tracking. With its scheduling feature and RT updates, Basecamp makes tracking of each tasks very simple.
  • Automated update demands. This feature automatically inquires users about progress in specific tasks assigned to them and asks for an update in the scheduled time. All of the responses are then forwarded to the request source.

And Where Does Basecamp Fall Short? 

With all that being said, Basecamp has some catching up to do in areas which other PM software already covers. For example: 

  • There are no tags and labels.

It’s a shame that there’s no option to put a tag on an issue, which would make categorising and issue grouping that much simpler. This function often goes without saying in other project management software variants – Basecamp should take notice.

  • Time tracking is missing

This crucial feature of all project management that ensures that all tasks are met in due time – is, at this moment, simply missing. For this purpose, you might have to use a different application, which makes everything a bit more complicated.

  • There’s not much going on in terms of integration

Basecamp is very much is own thing, sticking to its specific set of values. Minimalism, non-flashiness and simplicity. If you want some extra features, you can take advantage of integration with other applications (or so it is implied). The trouble is that the scope of this integration is extremely limited.  Compare that with, for example, Redmine. Redmine with its hundreds of plugins that extend the scope of your possibilities  almost limitlessly.

  • Reporting is quite limited

Reporting is a pillar of project presentation, but unfortunately, Basecamp doesn’t have many tools to satisfy report-lovers. Despite RT updates that make it easier to learn about the project status and progress, you can’t convert these in a more tangible report format to present and share for the purpose of analysis.

  • No topic archivation

This ties a bit to the previous point. Though Basecamp allows for many topics to coexist, you cannot archive those that are currently low priority or unused, without outright deleting them. If you want to use them in some other time, but not immediately, you must be resigned to the fact that they’ll  be cluttering your interface for the time being. 

Well, these were some of our pet peeves – or not-just-pet-peeves when it comes to Basecamp. Do they warrant a switch to some other PM software? Perhaps – it really all depends on what you find indispensable in your project. Will Basecamp fix these issues soon? Maybe – though it seems that it is embroiled in its own troubles at the moment after restricting talks about politics in the workplace.

Tell us your opinion on Basecamp. Worth it? Or do you prefer some other alternative?

Martin Svoboda
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