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I work in a high tech software engineering in a small RnD group which is a part of a group of about 50 people of different functions. In our small team we tried multiple project management software for documentation, tracking, knowledge base etc. None of them survived mainly because others are averse to using them. Outlook is de facto our replacement of Slack/JIRA/wiki etc. We use it for both internal and external communications in conjunction with Webex for meetings and PowerPoint for docs. We have a tracking system for bugs, but the life isn't happening there, they are just to mark state of the issue and to have a list of issues, without real info about implementation, discussion and so on.

The problem is - this is not an ideal collaboration way per any of modern methodologies. We tried to fight against it for years but without success. I start to think that it is because Outlook is actually sufficiently good. Please assess this statement based on your experience.

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    If something is "sufficiently good" is primarily opinion based.
    – nvoigt
    May 15, 2018 at 13:40
  • This will get closed. What you are actually asking is "What are the advantages to email communication over a persistent chat application". Luckily, a highly regarded developer and CEO has discussed this. m.signalvnoise.com/is-group-chat-making-you-sweat-744659addf7d
    – Venture2099
    May 15, 2018 at 15:04
  • @Venture2099 thank you for the link! But if you put it this way then this is not about chat vs. mail, this is more about issue tracker vs. mail.
    – Riga
    May 16, 2018 at 9:27

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Q: "... Outlook is actually sufficiently good." Please assess this statement based on your experience.

A: In terms of communication about the project on a team member level, Outlook is fine. But in terms of project team manager being able to keep tabs on what is happening, when it will happen, whether the project is on track, which team members have too much (not enough) work etc. then Outlook is clearly not sufficient. So, if communication is enough - stick with Outlook. If you need more - then you need issue tracking software.

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I could suggest you TodoIst tool I use it for 3 years already and it's the perfect tool for collaborative work involving sharing, commenting, tracking almost everything (from the task assignment to files and media). I used it for teams of less than 50, but i'm sure it will fit your desires.

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