Tools

How we work

Google Apps

We use the business version of the following Google services:

You can install and use these services locally on your Mac (after being provided with a @nebulab.com account).

Of these services, pay specific attention to calendars and contacts, where you can find various information about useful contacts (clients, freelancers, etc.) and appointments.

As a rule of thumb if another service has Google authentication capabilities, you can use your @nebulab.com account to login.

Slack

We use Slack to chat and keep in touch with others. It is essential to communicate and understand who is doing what at all times. The main account is https://nebulab.slack.com/ and if you have a @nebulab.com email address, you can sign up by yourself.

On Slack, it is possible to find some public rooms that can be freely accessed by anyone (their names should be self-explanatory, such as #development) and private rooms that are usually used to discuss individual projects and/or clients.

Slack themes

  • Nebulab light: #F0F7FD,#EBEFF2,#FEF135,#222222,#FFFFFF,#222222,#5FBFFD,#5FBFFD
  • Nebulab dark: #1D1D1D,#000000,#1373B1,#FFFFFF,#5FBFFD,#FFFFFF,#FEF135,#5FBFFD

Guidelines on using the chat

Working remotely with various offices brings numerous advantages, but there are also negative aspects. Chat is, in every sense, one of the most important aggregation points we created to maintain stability and compactness within the team. Below we have listed some points to follow when using it:

  • Say hi in #general when we arrive and depart.
  • Use the chat for silly things as well.
  • Don't worry about disturbing others, those who are busy won't read your messages.
  • Avoid private chat as much as possible, especially for help or support requests. Others could have a better answer, learn from the question or may simply want to start a funny flame.
  • Slack is our main communication channel and it is important that you can be contacted on it. That said, software development is a trade that requires long periods of concentration so, if you need to phase out, feel free to do so, making sure to advise your colleagues in advance.
  • Remember that communication via chat is completely devoid of non-verbal signs, which make up 90% of human communication. Therefore, it is easy to misunderstand or be misunderstood by others. Emojis are an excellent tool for compensating the lack of context and emotion. Those that should be favored most are those that express basic emotions, since they are less complex. Another good option when chat communication becomes too complex is to organize a video call!
  • If you're having a long discussion consider using threads instead of sending multiple messages to the same channel. This has the effect of notifying only the people you are talking to and not everyone else on the channel. Using Slack threads also makes thematic disccusions easier to follow. A useful tip for naming your thread: make it bold and use a funny emoji to describe it (i.e. Thread Star Trek vs. Star Wars 👾).
  • Consider that Slack can be a huge distraction: for times when you want your teammembers' full attention schedule a call and skip Slack altogether. Scheduling a call makes the matter more important and gives everybody the chance to accomodate some proper discussion time. Google Calendar is your friend!

Harvest

To track our work hours, we use Harvest, which offers both a native app and a Web-based version.

In order to get an idea of how to track time on Harvest, look at Measuring time.

Factorial

In order to keep track of vacations, leave, overtime and sick leave, we use Factorial.

You can track time off by clicking on the Time off tab and clicking on the "Request time off" button.

You can request an expense reimbursement by adding your request in the expenses section.

Notion

We have all sorts of documentation is on our Notion account. Everything that needs to be private or isn't relevant to be publicly released on the Playbook, will be on Notion.

It's also a great tool to write down your thoughts or write a blog post.

Remote meetings

Google Meet

We use Google Meet for meetings with clients and other team members.

Calendar events should auto-assign you with a conference room you can use for your meeting.

Fellow

We use Fellow for managing the agenda, participants, notes and todos of all our meetings. If you don't have an account yet, ask @mettiu to invite you!

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