Slack

Access BU Webdev Slack at buweb.slack.com. Ask your manager for an invite and download the official Slack app for desktop or mobile for integrated chatting.

General Channels to Follow

  • #interactive-design – A channel with workflows for deploys and pertinent department initiative discussion.
  • #id-morning-minutes – Mondays at 9am – Use the  ‘Submit Weekly Update’ workflow to post what you’re working on before 10am.
  • #attendance – Out of the office notifications.
  • #id-chatter – Off-topic, non-relevant chatter.
  • #ask-a-pm – Ask the PM’s a question or for work if you have downtime; let us know that you’ve got time off coming up!
  • #id-tiny-tasks – For helping each other out with “tiny” (four hours or less) tasks across projects when you have downtime or need help on a project. See: Tiny Tasks for more info.
  • #ask-timetracking – Ask questions about time tracking
  • any #project-specific room

Your Profile

Please fill out your Slack profile, including:

  • an image, preferably your face, but anything unique will do.
  • your full name
  • your display name (This could be your first name, or a nickname– however you’d like people to refer to you in Slack.) This will make @’ing you easier.
  • your email
  • title & department
  • remote schedule (what days you’ll be working remotely)
  • hours schedule (what time you’ll be working such as, 8-4pm)
  • your name’s phonetic spelling, your preferred pronouns, other things you’re an expert in– so we all can get to know you

Collaborate Effectively

Tips to use slack collaboratively & effectively.

  • Use threads to organize discussions within a channel.
    • Note: give an older conversation thread a “bump” by checking the box that says “Also send to #the-channel-you’re-in”.
  • Be mindful of when you use @here vs @channel vs. @individual! Does everyone in the channel really need to be notified, or can we specifically tag folks?
  • Set reminders. Slack provides quick reminders with a few button clicks (remind me in 20min, 1hr, 2h, tomorrow, etc).
    • Bonus: learn how to list your active reminders by typing /remind list into any channel (it will note that this is only visible to you).
  • Learn how to schedule Slack messages — so you aren’t sending notifications to anyone’s devices if you happen to be working off-hours(which you shouldn’t be).
  • Talk to yourself. No, really! Send messages to yourself. Store screenshots, quick notes, or anything you might need to store for the short-term.

Cut Down on Slack’s Noise

Wait, it’s not. It really isn’t– or doesn’t have to be! Spend 10 minutes to clean up some settings so you can have some more peace and quiet in your Slack. Here’s Slack’s official Reduce Noise in Slack article– and here are some quick takeaways.

  1. Manage Notifications – This may be the most important one. Learn how to manage your general and channel-specific notifications.
  2. Do Not Disturb – Don’t want to get notifications during lunch? How about before 9am– or after 5pm? Going on vacation for a week? Go set up those rules for yourself.
  3. Snooze Notifications – Need some heads-down time, or going to a meeting? Use the Snooze Notifications to temporarily disable them.
  4. Manage your Sidebar Display – Learn how to move  your starred channels/direct messages to the top and other helpful display options.
  5. Leave Channels – It’s ok, you can and should leave channels you no longer need to pay attention to…
  6. or Mute them – Just turn off notifications on a channel.
  7. Add some notifications – Yes, add them. If you really like bunnies, you can have slack notify you every time someone mentions “bunnies” in any channel. Some more helpful phrases include “deploy”, your name, “is down”, etc.

Channel Correspondence

Outside of a project channel, channel correspondence largely depends on your role and need.

Designers & Developers

Designers

  • #id-morning-minutes
  • #id-designers
  • #id-chatter
  • #ask-a-pm

Project Managers

  • #ask-a-pm
  • #id-morning-minutes
  • #id-tiny-tasks

Developers

  • #id-build-tools
  • #id-product-development

For Reporting Infrastructure or Server Issues

Contact IS&T:

  • #webteam
  • #aws-to-wp