Nick Doherty, SBS Online: If you need to manage 50+ projects in one workspace, Wrike is a lifesaver.
Business. Television Broadcasting
Organization. SBS is Australia's multicultural and multilingual public broadcasting radio and television network.
Challenge. Organize and simultaneously track about 50 different projects.
Solution. Wrike's ability to accommodate an unlimited number of projects within one workspace.
Result. Productivity increased by 50%.
Interview with Nick Doherty, Managing Editor of Television for SBS Online
Nick, what was your primary need when you decided to use Wrike?
My role in SBS is to formulate the online aspects of TV shows and also to commission online exclusive serials/docs. It's a content role with one foot in the other parts of the Web production process. Speaking of my primary need... When starting here, I found myself with around 30 active projects, and I needed a Web-based PM solution fast.
How did you find Wrike?
For about three weeks, I was searching out and road-testing all the options I could find. Wrike was one of the first I found, but the last I tested. Wrike kept popping up through searches, and I kept reading comments on forums from happy users. I felt stupid for not trying it out sooner. When I finally tried it, Wrike had a totally different design ethic/customer face from anything else out there. I guess I'm not a pro at a sleek '2.0' design, but a lot of the apps put style over substance. Wrike was unlike that.
What other tools have you tested?
I've tried 'em all. I've been on and off with Basecamp for a few years, and I still use Highrise. Honorable mentions would be Copper Project and Central Desktop. However, each of them lacked something essential and did not allow me to organize my projects the way I wanted. Wrike did this for me. In addition, every other application charged per project. It seems to be a standard approach, and it's so backward! Wrike's pricing is based on a per user model, so it really was a lifesaver.
What feature made you choose Wrike in the first place?
I work in a silo within a big organization, where I can be juggling up to 50 different projects. Some are really small and have very few tasks associated with them, but they still need to be on my radar. Others are in the full swing of day-to-day operations. When I saw that I could create unlimited projects within one single workspace without needing to jump between different project workspaces, I fell in love with Wrike. That's not an overstatement - the stress of trying to organize this many projects was enormous. Flipping between 50 different project workspaces would drive me insane. Having all of them in one workspace and being able to build interconnected project schedules allows me to keep an eye on every tiny task that needs to be done.
What other Wrike's features do you frequently use?
I guess my favorites are e-mail integration and dashboard display. Emailing my tasks into the system does save me a lot of time. I also love the heads-up view of what I need to get done on the dashboard and the ease with which I can re-organize my working week on the fly. I love checking off completed tasks and seeing them go away from my list.
What's the major benefit Wrike brought you?
All I can say is it made me about 50% more productive and 100% happier. Put simply, Wrike means I'm confident I won't drop the ball on a project. I'm far from perfect, and Wrike is helping me work on that!
Do you plan to extend the use of the Wrike services?
Without a doubt. Wrike is not supported by the SBS company, but I think it should be in my department. As we grow, so should the use of Wrike to handle our tasks and plan our days. We are also taking on some off-site staff in the next few months, and it would be great to get them on Wrike, too.