Managing complex projects effectively using Backlog

We spoke with Shashi Raina, Director of PMO at Droisys Inc., to understand how Backlog is helping this international IT services company to increase productivity, communicate efficiently, track bugs quickly, and meet deadlines.

Why did you start using Backlog? What obstacles did you want to overcome?

We are a fast-growing company. We have over 300 employees and offices in both the United States and India. With clients located in different countries, our bread and butter is organizing our work around different time zones. But initially, it was not an easy task.

As we grew, it became challenging to coordinate with so many teams and customers spread across the globe. Keeping track of tasks and deadlines had turned into a nightmare. We needed a platform that we could easily use to manage several complex projects at the same time. Furthermore, our project managers wanted to minimize the volume of emails and spreadsheets used.

Before Backlog, we tried other tools, but some of our team members found it tricky to learn their way around them. It was too time-consuming.

To summarize, we needed a tool that was easy to use and understand, with the right features to coordinate our work and keep track of priorities. From the daily workflow to the overall development of large projects, we wanted to manage our activities faster and more efficiently.

Enter Backlog by Nulab.

Backlog immediately helped us solve our main problem: it made collaboration across different time zones easier, and it enhanced our overall productivity.

Now our project managers can easily oversee every aspect of a project, keep track of individual performances, and organize work visually. Workflow, deadlines, and responsibilities have become easier to understand for all. We create new tasks, update our work status, communicate with each other by leaving comments - all in one platform. It helped us reduce our dependence on emails and spreadsheets. And if you are a newbie, no problem, learning to use Backlog is a cakewalk thanks to its simple interface.

Examples of Droisys using Backlog’s Kanban-style board.

We also share and store files on Backlog. It has become a handy repository for all our projects - and it's accessible by everyone.

This efficient process is also beneficial to update our stakeholders with the most relevant and recent information.

The Wiki feature is a very useful resource to share information across our organization. We also like the new custom status feature and, of course, the Gantt charts! Thanks to the Gantt chart feature, project managers can efficiently plan the roadmap of upcoming projects while keeping an eye on current ones. It's all in one dashboard: milestones, deadlines, progress made. PMs can identify which task is falling behind and make sure that teams have all the necessary resources. Pretty cool.

Everyone focuses on the same goals and work on the same timeline. It's a great way to simplify complex projects.

Example of Gantt chart used by one of Droisys' teams

Last but not least, Backlog makes it simpler for our developers to keep track of bugs. They can easily find, record, and track issues while having a clearer understanding of their next priorities.

Everyone at Droisys uses Backlog to manage their projects and tasks.

Backlog has simplified our work process and helps us operate and communicate effortlessly within the company and across different time zones. It increased productivity and is saving us a lot of time by eliminating the need for drafting or scrolling through long emails or formatting spreadsheets.

Ultimately, by having a comprehensive picture of every project, Backlog helps our management team make the smartest decisions that lead to successful outcomes.

I would recommend Backlog to any international company or startup. It's a fantastic software. I haven't found one that I enjoy using as much.