The Tools We Use
We previously talked at a high-level about the Tanooki process so you have an idea what the our development process is like. Now let’s highlight some of the tools that are used during a build.
These are our go-to apps, but this list is by no means exhaustive, or iron-clad. There’s no shortage of software tools out there, and more show up all the time! We like to stick to our set of tools, but are always open to checking out something new or working within your own established tools/process.
A quick note — I’m not going to talk in-depth here about our development stack. That’s a topic that deserves an entire post of its own!
Pivotal Tracker
What is it?
- Pivotal is a web-based project management tool that fits right along with the agile development process.
Why do we use it?
- It allows for a granular view into the project’s user stories, as well as the status that any bit of work is in. It provides a very transparent view into the project, and allows the client an ability to interact with the priority of the work, and communicate specs directly with the developers is amazing.
Slack
What is it?
- Slack is a platform for real-time communications and file sharing
Why do we use it?
- At Tanooki Labs we believe that you should have the best development and project management team — regardless of where they live. Slack give us all (staff and partners alike) a place to gather and discuss the project.
Trello
What is it?
- Trello is a flexible “list and board” software
Why do we use it?
- We use it because it’s so flexible! Mostly we use it as a tool in our Retrospective meeting. However, it’s also used internally for kicking off projects, and can often be used to fill some gap in the project process due to it’s lightweight setup time and flexibility of use.
Google Analytics & MixPanel
What are they?
- Google Analytics and Mixpanel are 2 separate products centered around a similar topic, metrics/analytics in your app.
Why do we use them?
- We often use these together. They both deal with metrics, and there are areas where the offerings overlap, however, each is has its strengths, and given the ease of implementation it never hurts to have both.
Google Analytics focuses on web page views, and ways to segment that data. It tracks users at the anonymous level. It’s a big product, and you can get lots of bang for your buck here.
MixPanel focuses on tracking actions (events) specific users take while using your product. It also allows for a deeper customization, which often we implement as a separate mini-project once we know what we want to learn about the users.
Mailchimp
What is it?
- Mailchimp is a simple but robust email marketing and automation suite.
Why do we use it?
- A well-thought out tool for creating and managing email lists, campaigns and automation. It’s also got a nice API, which allows us to connect your application to it, and let the client have lots of control over the outgoing email content.
Intercom.io
What is it?
- Intercom.io is a customer service tool with analytic style insights, and more!
Why do we use it?
- Intercom packages a number of tools into the software. Similar to Mixpanel’s events, you can fire events based on user triggers. From there you can view people in Intercom who fit the criteria (ie. been on the app, but haven’t signed up) and message those people directly. It also has customer service tools such as chat and email.
Browser Stack
What is it?
- Browserstack is a web-based browser testing software
Why do we use it?
- Browserstack allows us to visually test sites we are working on in different browsers, without having to have the actual browser software on our machines.
This is an inclusive, not conclusive look
We hope that was an insightful look into some of the tools we use, and you could expect to use when on a project with us!
We’re always testing out new tools so this list may change slightly with time. And of course, if there’s something that your team currently using internally we’re happy to use that! (I’m looking at you Jira!)
