Item: ClickUp
Rating: 9
Author: Leon Prather II, CTS

Overall Satisfaction with ClickUp

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

ClickUp is used for general work management and overall project management. Our work includes content creation, web development, product development and management, course creation, graphic design work, and internal support. All documentation and information pertaining to the work is referenced within the system - as a single source of truth on all things work.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Flexibility to choose your own way of work
Support for multiple languages
Deep bag of features

Cons

Performance consistency
Interface modernization
Better help for advanced use cases

Return on Investment

Easier access to project information
Highly visible processes; increased transparency
Team alignment

Collaboration

Managing projects and tasks is easier than ever. Instead of siloization, we have implemented a process-oriented structure that brings together all the right people across each related department to contribute to the conversation. There is no limit to the collaboration available, but if you are wanting to be more siloed - know that this is not the tool for you.

All-in-One Productivity Platform

We use one tool for tracking work now. That's it. No more juggling two or three tools and Excel sheets.

Alternatives Considered

MeisterTask, Asana, Wrike, Teamwork, LiquidPlanner and Zoho Projects

ClickUp is advanced enough to support power users and project management professionals, while flexible enough to allow users with fewer requirements to get the job done in the same tool, and the same space.

Key Insights

Do you think ClickUp delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with ClickUp's feature set?

Yes

Did ClickUp live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of ClickUp go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy ClickUp again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Airtable, MURAL, Microsoft 365

Likelihood to Recommend

ClickUp works for any size project and any size team. The caveat is that the team has to put the time into making sure that the system works the way they intend. Because it doesn't force action, every user need to have a plan of how they intend to use the tool, and governance on how the company should use it as well.

If you are an Agile team, or waterfall - you will find use here.

If you do not want advanced features like time tracking and relationships, you might want to just stick with a simpler tool but the system allows for you do do everything from saying "to Do and complete" all the way to forecasting roadblocks among projects three years out.

ClickUp Feature Ratings

Using ClickUp

Users and Roles

140 - Creative, marketing, IT, Product, Product Operations, Market Intelligence and research, sales, fulfillment, customer service, editorial, education, media development, social media management

There is no real limit to who can use it in our organization. The only ones who do not are in HR and some of our senior leaders. This is only because we leverage the tool as an open system and they need to be able to communicate about proprietary concepts elsewhere.

Support Headcount Required

2 - In order to really support this system, you need to have set aside some resources. These resources are mostly time, rather than people. However, there is benefit to larger teams of folks if your business is spread out. But, by leveraging SOPs and documentation to make onboarding a self-service operation, you can focus on driving change where needed as the needs arise since people become empowered to handle their own issues. But the time is in developing those SOPs and also designing the core frameworks for how the system should be organized for your specific company.

Business Processes Supported

Product management
Project management
Collaborative communications

Innovative Uses

Leveraging tasks in meetings to log recurring agendas
A sort of internal CRM of people and related tools and teams
Sales inventory management

Future Planned Uses

Leverage AI for meeting summaries
Leverage AI for project summaries
Visual roadmaps for the org

Likelihood to Renew

The tool really doesn’t have competition for us at this point. What we have gained in transparency and order would possibly be finished once we move to another tool. We also have barely scratched the surface on how useful it can be for all of the teams using it right now.

Evaluating ClickUp and Competitors

Products Replaced

Yes - Microsoft projects was just not a good fit. We outgrew it quickly.

There was some Basecamp usage but folks generally preferred not using that as visibility was an issue.

Excel is the most commonly use project management tool outside of ClickUp, but it is clunky and requires deep knowledge of formulas as it is not purpose built for work management. ClickUp and things like it are mostly for work management.

Key Differentiators

Scalability
Integration with Other Systems
Ease of Use

Scalability is key.

If we do not have the ability to grow in it, it is dead on arrival. Because of the nature of the ClickUp hierarchy of Spaces, folders, and lists, and the fact that most features are available at every level of this hierarchy, we can add new processes, teams, and projects of any size whenever we need to, and then evolve those additions as they need to without having to start over.

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I would include more people in the review process. For this company, I don’t know how we chose it over other things. I am an advocate for its virtues but I do know that sometimes another tool is the right fit. I believe this is right for our company but I think additional buy in would have been greater at the start with a more collaborative review process.

ClickUp Implementation

Implementation Rating

Start small. Don’t try to build the most elaborate plans first. Resist the urge to get into Gantt charts if no one is used to them. Just get work written, add dates and assignees, and start getting used to it. If you did not use a work management tool before, you need to be gracious with yourself about the fact that you likely do not have the muscle memory for working this way yet. But you will get there.

And leverage people who know it if possible. Look for ClickUp experts and vendors. They can really supercharge your effectiveness at building the tool out and speed up the process.

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house

Implementation Phases

Yes - We first rolled it out to two major teams. These teams’ work touches every aspect of the business though, so it eventually meant all would need to be in the system to get the most transparency and to stay connected digitally with the work.

After determining its fit, we leveraged some frameworks to revise the way we organized and governed the use of the tool and began scaling its use across the org. But we also led with a phased onboarding process. Newcomers are brought in as guests while they learn the basics and do their setups. Then they get graduated to a full member with more features shortly thereafter. This helps us not waste money
on users before they are ready and helps us not waste time on retraining.

Change Management Lessons

Change management was a big part of the implementation and was well-handled - It helps to know the needs and then explore solutions. People don’t want to change. That is just a fact. But if you work to understand what they need and why, you can get to solutions that matter for them, and it is not about getting someone to adopt a tool, and rather it is about helping them achieve what they need.

Implementation Issues

Interface overwhelm
Locked into other ecosystems
Poor integration with office 365

Using ClickUp

Usability

I have to be honest. The feature set is massive in ClickUp. This can be overwhelming, as tools and settings do sometimes move around without announcement. For a seasoned user, it is fine but I believe it has a steep learning curve if you are a business of a large size. Some of the UI elements are questionable, but the ability to see and use the information in whatever way you want is why I still have to rate this highly.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Convenient Feel confident using	Unnecessarily complex Slow to learn Lots to learn

Easy Tasks

Task creation
View creation
Dashboard creation
Automations

Difficult Tasks

Custom field management
Formulas
Recurring task generation at scale
Custom field manipulation within task view
Locating and referencing the links that have been aggregated

Mobile Interface Availability and Impressions

Yes - Pretty stellar. The updates in the past months have been awesome. There are some bugs with emails received through comments when viewing in the inbox but otherwise it is a great addition for the workflow when you need it. But it is not a replacement for the full experience on desktop and should not be leveraged as such.

Comments

Please log in to join the conversation