How we Run Asynchronous Video Stand-Ups in Slack

tl;dr: we use Catch.

Catch is a mobile app that uses your phones camera to record short updates to share with your team. It integrates into Slack so your team receives a notification there when its time for your stand-up and then all the updates get posted back to slack under a thread:

You can view your team’s updates on your mobile phone:

… or on the web by following the links posted to Slack:

Using async video is an efficient way to see more of your team when you’re not together.

To set this up you’ll need to download the iOS or the Android app. If you sign in to Catch with Slack you’ll automatically be put on a Catch team that represents your Slack team.

You’ll also be asked to link a Slack channel to your catch team. This is the channel that Catch will post notifications to when it’s time for your stand up.

When you sign up, a Catch story is automatically created called “Daily Update”. This can represent your stand-up. You can record to your stand-up by pressing the round record button at the bottom:

The recording is walkie-talkie style, maximum 15 seconds, and begins immediately. You can record as many short updates as you need. The time limit prevents rambling:

If you don’t like an update undo it by tapping the undo button on the blue success notification.

Don’t like the name “Daily Update”? Change the name and even the update time by tapping on the three dots in the bottom left had corner of the story card:

That’s it! It’s a simple and efficient way to get asynchronous video updates flowing within your team. Give it a try and let us know what you think!