Oh yes, I’m writing another plug post. No I haven’t signed up for Pay-Per-Post, this is actually a legitimate plug, just like the Google Docs post. In fact it’s very similar to Google Docs, but a whole lot prettier with a lot more functionality. The program I’m referring to is Microsoft Groove, a comprehensive team management tool that allows for workspace sharing on a global level.

A couple of weeks ago I got my team licensed up with copies of Groove after viewing the demo video and playing around in a free trial. I knew it would be helpful for all of us to be on the same page in terms of workspace sharing, but I wasn’t aware of just how effective it would be.

When you first start up Groove you create a personal profile by which other users can find you. It’s important to set at least your name to public, unless everyone you need to work with is connected through a LAN. After you create your profile you can add members to your contacts list by searching for their name or email. Then create a new workspace and invite your team members to it. This kicks off a chain of events that (1) Downloads the workspace to each team member’s PC and (2) Adds them to the list of users who can access and make changes to the workspace.

By default your new workspace will have two tabs: Files and Discussion. But you can add more applications and thus more tabs by clicking the “Add a tool to this workspace” button that’s next to the tabs across the bottom of the workspace. I currently have five ‘applications’ in my team’s workspace that I feel are the most valuable for a game writing team. They are:

Files

This interface shows all of the files in your workspace and will be the center of any project you undertake with the aid of Groove. There are two windows that make up the file interface: one includes the standard Windows expandable/collapsible trees listing all folders , the other displays the contents of the selected folder. You can create new folders to organize your files and move already-uploaded files about so that they fit within said folders in a logical way. But most of your time in this tab will be spent uploading, revising, and reviewing files. When you upload a file it will instantly download to each member’s workspace. If you edit a file that’s in your workspace it will ask you if you’d like the Groove version of said file to reflect those changes. If you click yes, the file will be modified for all users. This is very helpful when it comes to version control and making sure your team members are all on the same page.

Discussion

This one-window interface functions exactly like a tree-style discussion board. You can post a new thread or respond to an existing one. Now, you may wonder at the logic behind having this since Groove has a chat window that auto-logs all conversation and saves it for you to view later, even recording conversations that took place while you were offline. But the chat window is a bit awkward for long messages, and this is where the discussion tab comes in handy. In the future I will be using the discussion tab as a place wherein team members can post their ideas and/or feedback about each other’s work.

Calendar

This interface is fairly self-explanatory, as is the reason behind using it. You can click on a date in the calendar and add an event to it, specifying the time (if applicable), the title, and a description. This is great for posting deadlines and milestones and scheduling team meetings.

Meetings

At first glance you may be a bit confused about this interface, as in my opinion it’s not named correctly. A more illustrative name would likely be Meeting Recaps, as that’s what this tab does. You can create a new meeting recap and enter basic profile specifics such as the date, start and end time, the location, any files presented in the meeting, and a brief description of the meeting’s purpose. But you can also specify who attended the meeting, the agenda of the meeting and the topics discussed, and a checklist of any tasks given or turned in during the meeting. Along with all of these wonderful recap tools, I like to attach a log of the meeting (our meetings are held in IRC) so that absent team members can see exactly what was discussed, and present team members can review any information they might need to recall.

Sketchpad

Alright, so this interface isn’t really crucial to the success of your team. But it could be. If you’re working on design aspects this provides an excellent way to visually communicate to your team members. But for my team, I’ve included it as a place where my writers can doodle and divert some creative energy when they need a break from the grind.

Groove has thus far proved to be an excellent program for my team, and I’m finding new functionality every day. If you work remotely – or even in the same office as your team members – consider purchasing and licensing this program for your team. It’s a wonderful tool to keep everyone in the same groove.