5Creative Digital Tools

Fawzooz and his team wanted to build an app that would make it easier for young people and children to reach psychological and spiritual support, and strengthen the ties between generations. But half the team was far away: some in the city, some at home. So they had to choose tools that would bring them together and keep their work in order.

Organising the tasks. The team used a shared task board where everyone could see every task and how far it had got, updated moment by moment, so the Sprints and tasks stayed in order.

“A safe app opens a door to support, not danger.”

Keeping in touch. Every morning the team met on a fifteen-minute video call, where each person answered its three questions: what did I finish yesterday? What will I do today? What is holding me up? Between calls, quick messages carried whatever the work needed.

Design before code. The designers used interactive design tools that let people try the look of the app before the programmers built it. Uncle Saleh tried the prototype and complained that the writing was small, so the designer made it bigger before the programmer had written a single line.

Keeping versions. The team kept its documents and code in a version system that saves every change. The young man and a colleague edited the same file at the same time, and the system brought their work together without losing a thing.

Shared files. They put the project’s documents and materials in a shared online store that everyone could reach from wherever they were, and shared their files safely.

Tools that work together. Fawzooz made sure these tools worked together without fuss, and set their notifications so they wouldn’t pull the team away from its work. At the end of the day a single message reached his phone: “Today’s tasks are complete.”

With these tools the team worked together as if it were in one room, delivered good work in less time, and got the best out of Scrum. A safe app opens a door to support, not danger.