The Challenge
Introduce online collaboration into the workflow and processes of a multi-service, consulting and advertising/marketing firm serving the education industry.

The Solutions
Based in Illinois, Norton Norris focuses on helping colleges, schools, and universities manage their admissions and marketing functions, and serves as consultant, trainer, business partner, and/or advertising agency, depending on the client's needs.

The company manages a wide variety of projects in various stages often utilizing geographically dispersed contractors for certain skill sets. They had been considering creating an FTP area for file posting and revision management to get a better handle on submitted deliverables and version control. Molstad Consulting introduced greater potential for online collaboration by recommending a third-party tool, Basecamp.

After detailed discussions to understand the nature of the Norton Norris staff, network, and their responsibilities, Molstad Consulting set up and configured their Basecamp account and consulted on best practices. Workflow ground rules governing information posting and communication were defined and implemented. Over a period of two months, Molstad Consulting monitored the team's usage of the system, led training sessions, and guided project collaboration.

Best practice consulting included:

• Definition and setup of user permissions and file upload settings
• Associating project Milestones with appropriate task ("To-Do") lists
• Definition of “Messages” categories and rules for posting, file uploading and notification/privacy of team members
• Establishing of easily-located permanent links to finalized deliverables
• Task list formatting, arrangement, and staff/client notification methods
• Setup of a client content delivery and tracking system using a custom combination of task lists, "Messages" and file uploading
• Training on proper use of the "Writeboards" text versioning/approval tool
• Overall system usage monitoring

The Results
Norton Norris now have a central, secure place on the Web for all project details including communication, files, tasks and schedules. Effective Basecamp usage has coordinated both local and remote teams. Clients as well as internal staff have embraced it enthusiastically.

The managing partners both have busy travel schedules. The new system allows them to them to jump into projects quickly from anywhere and check status, offer archived feedback, access file repositories, and have the latest information ready for client meetings.