Tools

We need some tools and technology to support the team and the build.

Here are the selections I'd make.

In the Earliest Days

When our company is first founded, we just need a few key things to get started.

Groupware

For email and calendars, I'm picking Google Workspace. For shared documents, we'll use Google Docs and Notion. Others on this path might select to go the Microsoft Teams route.

Realtime Chat

For realtime text-based communication, some notable options include Meet, Teams, and Discord, but I'm going with Slack. Yes, Slack has integrated video chat, but we're gonna use Zoom for video.

Source Code Control

While other may choose to leverage GitLab or BitBucket, I'm a diehard GitHub fanboi.

In the Establishing Phase

As we bring more of a team on board, I want a few more tools in place.

Issue Repository

I've used JIRA and GitHub Issues for years, and they're both strong products. If I'm doing starting again from scratch, though, I want to go with Linear this time. It's fast and fun.

CI/CD Pipeline

In this phase, we want to enable rapid delivery and experimentation. Notable options: GitHub Actions, BitBucket, Jenkins. I'm going with GitHub Actions.

In the Growing Phase and Beyond

Throughout the Growing and Maturing Phases, as our product breadth grows, we choose to depend on a few more tools to keep The Machine humming.