Flowdock

Flowdock Software Review

Flowdock is a team collaboration platform that distinguishes itself from many standard team chat applications through its unique combination of real-time chat and an integrated 'Flow' inbox (also referred to as a Stream) that aggregates notifications from connected services. This dual-panel approach aims to provide a comprehensive overview of team communication and project-related activities in a single interface.

Core Functionality: Chat and Stream

The primary interface of Flowdock is divided into two main components for each 'Flow' (channel or group): the Chat and the Stream. The Chat functions much like traditional real-time messaging platforms, allowing team members to communicate instantly, share messages, and use features like @mentions, emoji reactions, and file sharing. This provides the necessary channel for quick discussions and collaborative problem-solving.

The Stream is where Flowdock offers a different perspective. It serves as a chronological feed of activities from integrated tools and services. When an event occurs in a connected application – such as a new commit on GitHub, a task update in Jira, or a card movement in Trello – a notification appears in the Stream of the relevant Flow. This aggregation means team members don't need to constantly check multiple external tools to stay informed about project progress or critical events. The Stream acts as a passive observer, keeping everyone in the loop without requiring them to leave Flowdock.

Integrations

A significant strength of Flowdock lies in its extensive list of integrations, particularly those relevant to software development and IT teams. Support for platforms like GitHub, Bitbucket, Jira, Trello, Asana, Zendesk, and various CI/CD tools ensures that development activity, support tickets, and project management updates are surfaced directly within the collaboration tool. The ease with which these integrations can be configured and managed contributes positively to the user experience. The value of Flowdock is significantly enhanced by connecting it to the tools already used by the team.

User Experience and Interface

The Flowdock interface is generally clean and intuitive, with the Chat and Stream panels easily accessible within each Flow. Navigating between different Flows is straightforward. The search functionality is robust, allowing users to search across both chat messages and Stream items, which is crucial for finding past information or specific events. File sharing is simple, and shared files are easy to access. While the interface is functional, it might appear slightly less modern compared to some newer collaboration tools on the market. Performance is generally good, with real-time updates appearing promptly.

Collaboration Features

Beyond basic chat and the Stream, Flowdock offers standard collaboration features like thread replies (though the implementation might differ slightly from newer platforms), the ability to paste code snippets with syntax highlighting, and support for various file types. The focus is primarily on facilitating communication and awareness through the combined chat and notification feed rather than providing integrated project management tools within Flowdock itself (unlike some competitors that offer built-in task management). Flowdock relies on integrating with specialized tools for those functions.

Use Cases

Flowdock is particularly well-suited for agile teams, especially in technical fields like software development, where the workflow involves frequent updates on code, bugs, and project tasks across multiple tools. The Stream feature is highly valuable in environments where staying constantly aware of developments from external systems is essential for team coordination and responsiveness. It can help reduce the need for manual status updates in some cases, as relevant activities are automatically posted to the feed.

Potential Considerations

One aspect to consider is how teams adapt to the two-panel Chat and Stream layout. Teams heavily reliant on a single, high-activity feed for all types of communication might find the separation and the volume of Stream notifications in busy projects require some adjustment. While the Stream is valuable, managing the potential noise from too many integrations or high-frequency events needs consideration during setup. Compared to platforms that focus purely on chat or integrate project management more deeply within the chat interface, Flowdock's approach is distinct and may require a slight shift in team workflow.

Conclusion

Overall, Flowdock provides a solid and reliable platform for team collaboration, particularly for technical teams using agile methodologies. Its unique selling proposition is the effective integration of real-time group chat with a consolidated feed of notifications from a wide array of external services. This 'Chat + Stream' model helps teams stay informed and connected across their diverse toolchain. While the interface might feel slightly dated to some, the core functionality and robust integrations make it a powerful tool for managing communication flow and awareness in busy, tool-reliant teams. Teams seeking a solution that specifically addresses the challenge of integrating chat with notifications from external development and project management tools will find Flowdock to be a compelling option.