Every so often, I go back to take a spin through the Google Workspace Marketplace to see the latest and greatest add-ons available. Google has taken some positive steps when Google Workspace was still called Google Apps to offer add-ons that enable simple code-free integrations between their applications such as Gmail and third-party SaaS applications.
I’m a big fan of Atlassian Trello for managing editorial projects so I was happy to find that Trello integration is now available for Microsoft Teams. These two applications are an ideal match — both popular with end users — plus making Trello available from inside Teams is another way to enable project teams to use the applications that make them productive.’
Go to the Microsoft Teams Store. Click on Trello. A descriptive dialog appears that’ll guide you through integrating Trello into Microsoft Teams.
Select a Team in which to add Trello. For purposes of this post, I chose a Team named Testing.
Click Install. Now Trello is available for the Team you specified in the installation. Next, specify a channel for Trello.
Click Set up beside each feature you want to set up. During the writing of this post, I set up all the features.
Click Log in with Trello. The Trello Login appears. Select a Trello board for collaboration. Click Save. The Trello board you select appears as a tab available to the Team
Once you login to Trello, the board you chose appears inside a Microsoft Team tab:
Trello inside a Microsoft Teams Tab
Final thoughts
We work in an era where work management tools need to be easy to use and accessible to project teams and the stakeholders they support. Trello and Microsoft Planner are direct competitors so the inclusion of Trello integration in the Microsoft Teams Store is yet another sign of the new Microsoft. While too often in my experience, organizations hold a tight rein on things such as the Microsoft Teams Store, more and more.
I’m a technical writer and content development manager living and working in Northern Virginia. Over my career, I’ve written bylined articles for ITSearchOperations, DevOps Agenda, Mobile Business Insights, CNET TechRepublic, and others. My areas of interest include cloud computing, DevOps, enterprise mobility, and collaboration tools. Follow me on Twitter: @willkelly.
I had a short list of applications across my Macs, iPhone, and iPad that I use every day to keep my work and personal projects on schedule and organized Unlike past years, my list has shrunk in size to some trusted favorites:
My work as a technical writer sometimes means having to manage my own projects yet communicate about them in a way that programmers and engineers can understand without having flashbacks to college freshman English. I’ve come to use Trello for managing document projects. Technical people are comfortable with the tool and I can speak to project status in terms they can understand.
Here’s how I use Trello to manage writing projects:
Set up a Trello board split into all of the phases (using columns) of content development including conceptualization, writing, editing, review, layout, and final publishing. I also include a project backlog columns to help me track project ideas that come out of meetings or I want to capture in anticipation of future requirements.
Create a card template (conveniently stashed in the Backlog column) that I use the checklists feature to map out an editing checklist I groom govern editorial quality and style. I also use the checklist to help remedy any of my usual writing mistakes.
Revise the project cards over time to keep my editorial checklist sharp such as when I make a stylistic decision that I don’t want to forget.
Use labels so I can slice and dice views over the documents I have in progress. For example, I use tags to specify audience, document type, and corporate group.
Display Trello on meeting room projection screens when I want to talk about writing projects that are currently in progress
Use the Trello iOS app on my iPhone 8 or iPad Pro when I’m at home and want to review progress on a document.
Trello helps me stay on course especially when I’m working on smaller documents in a work environment with ever shifting priorities. I use it to create a visual picture of my progress especially when I get blocked on a document because of team availability.
You don’t have to be faithful to agile project management or Kanban either when using Trello to manage projects
Another benefit of Trello is that I’ve found it easy enough for even non-technical users to understand. For example, let’s say you need to share a Trello board with your marketing department. They’ll have a minimal learning curve if at all. One of my concerns when Atlassian acquired Trello that it would be subsumed into the Jira mothership, I’m glad to see that Atlassian realizes that there’s room for an entry level tool that won’t siphon users from Jira. I’ve tried using Jira to manage writing projects on a past contract. I found it too hard to use. Then again the client in question was trying to use Jira out of the box with no customizations or extensions.
My experience with Power Ups has been mixed mostly because I’ve been using the free version of Trello. I’m happy to see that Trello’s focus on integrations continues after the acquisitions. After all, no development team or in my case solo technical writer is an island so integration with other systems is key when managing content development projects.
Are you a technical writer that uses Trello? Share your experience in the comments.
My name is Will Kelly. I’m a technical writer and content strategist living and working in the Washington, DC area. My current focus is thought leadership and technical marketing content. I got my start writing user guides, administrator documentation, online help, and later moved into SDLC documentation. My articles about enterprise mobility, BYOD, and other technology topics have been published by IBM Mobile Business Insights, Samsung Business Insights, TechBeacon, CNET TechRepublic, and others. Follow me on Twitter: @willkelly.
Will Kelly 
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