Unclogging Your Activity Streams

Introduction

Podio Activity Streams can get clogged with quite a bit of unnecessary activity.  This can occur from normal usage of apps, and from implementing or customizing Podio.

In my experience so far with Podio, the default settings share things that (in theory) might be nice to see on the stream, but that (in practice) end up pushing too many interesting things off the bottom of the page.  If the Activity Stream is filled with confusing, repetitive, or uninteresting activity, it will be more difficult for your Podio users to engage, to collaborate, and to utilize the Podio features that your organization is trying to adopt.

Keep in mind that both freeform status messages and task activity always show on the Podio Activity Stream.  The question you will need to answer for your organization is, what workspace customization and app activity do we want to see on the Activity Stream?

Following are the details for changing the relevant Activity Stream settings for workspaces and apps, as well as some thoughts and recommendations.

For Workspaces

Go to workspace settings (quick guide to opening your workspace settings).

Under Stream settings, you have two options, expressed as checkboxes:

Member Changes
Post a message in the stream when new members join or leave your workspace

App Changes
Post a message in the stream when apps are added, edited or deleted

Both checkboxes default to being checked -- that means they default to showing both member and app changes in the Activity Stream.

I recommend the following settings:

Member Changes -- I like to keep this checked, so that new workspace members show up on the Activity Stream.  (A workspace member is any Podio user who has access to the workspace.)  Collaboration is a core part of Podio, so unless an organization has a very large volume of members in a particular workspace, it makes sense for everyone to see who is getting invited to the workspace -- seeing each newly added member reinforces the collaborative nature of Podio.

App Changes -- I like to change this to unchecked, so that app changes do NOT show on the Activity Stream.  Especially during the initial Podio implementation, there are many changes to apps, which generates a lot of unnecessary Activity Stream traffic for Podio users.  For significant changes, such as adding an important app or building a key feature in an app, you can always enter a freeform Status entry into the Activity Stream.

For Apps

For each app you create, there are two checkbox options that affect what goes on the Activity Stream.

To access these, go to Modify App and expand the Advanced Settings section near the bottom:

New App Items
Do not post new items to stream

Edits To App Items
Do not post item edits to stream

(Note:  An "app item" is simply one of the things you are tracking in the app.  For example, if you have a Projects app, each project is an "app item"; if you have a Sales Leads app, each sales lead is an "app item".)

Both checkboxes default to being unchecked -- that means they default to showing both new and edited items in the Activity Stream.

I recommend the following settings:

New App Items -- If each app item is noteworthy, and the volume will not be too high, I like to keep this unchecked, so that workspace members see each new item on the Activity Stream.  However, my default recommendation is to check this box (meaning new app items will NOT show on the Activity Stream).  In deciding whether to allow new items onto the stream, you might consider questions like these:  What will be the volume of new items from this app?  Will workspace members learn something or take action based on seeing the new items in their stream?  Is the Activity Stream the right place to inform people of the new items?

Edits To App Items -- My typical recommendation here is to check this box (meaning edits to app items will NOT show on the Activity Stream).  If this option is left unchecked, any edit, no matter how small, will cause an update to the Activity Stream, and for most activities in an organization, any need to inform people of changes can be done more effectively in a different format.  (Certainly, there are exceptions, such as small team of people working on a small number of app items, where each app item is inherently significant, and where an item being edited is noteworthy for the whole team.)

Comments and Questions Are Welcome

I welcome any comments and questions on this topic, or on any related Podio topics.


-Todd

Problem Renaming Contact Used In App Reference

Introduction

I have run into a problem with renaming contacts in Podio, and am now working with Gustav Jonsson from their support team.

This blog post documents the problem I am seeing, and the steps to recreate this problem.

Steps to Recreate the Problem

1.  Create a workspace called "Test CRM".

2.  Create an app within this Test CRM workspace:
(a) Type name of the app = "Test CRM Contacts"
(b) The single item in the app = "Test CRM Contact"
(c) Remove the default building block called "Title".
(d) Add a single building block of type Contact, name it "Underlying Workspace Contact", and set Contact Types = Workspace contacts.
(e) Save the app.

3.  Add a Test CRM Contact:
(a) For Underlying Workspace Contact, enter "Gustav Jonson", and press Enter.  Make sure to spell Gustav's last name incorrectly, with only one S -- we'll fix this later in order to show the problem with contact renaming.
(b) Click Save to save the workspace contact.
(c) Click Save to save the Test CRM Contact.

4.  Create a workspace called "Test Sales".

5.  Create an app within the Test Sales workspace:
(a) Type name of the app = "Test Leads"
(b) The single item in the app = "Test Lead"
(c) Remove the default building block called "Title".
(d) Add a single building block of type App reference, name it "Test CRM Contact", and set Choose an app to reference = Test CRM Contacts.
(e) Save the app.

6.  Add a Test Lead:
(a) For Test CRM Contact, select Gustav Jonson.
(b) Click Save.
(c) You should now be viewing the newly created Gustav Jonson lead.

7.  Edit the Test CRM Contact to correct the spelling of "Jonsson":
(a) In the Test CRM Contact field, on the Actions pick-list, choose View Test CRM Contact.  This should take you to the Test CRM Contact for Gustav Jonson.
(b) In the Underlying Workspace Contact field, on the Actions pick-list, choose Edit.  This should take you to the workspace contact for Gustav Jonson.
(c) Correct the spelling of Gustav's last name to "Jonsson" (with two S's).
(d) Click Save.
(e) The Underlying Workspace Contact now shows the new correct spelling.  The title of the Test CRM Contact initially appears still to have the incorrect spelling, with one S.  However, if you refresh the page, you will see that the new correct spelling is applied, for the Test CRM Contact.

8.  View the Test Lead to see the renaming problem:
(a) In the Related Items field, click Test Leads to expand the list, then click Gustav Jonson.  This should take you to the Test Lead record.
(b) The Test Lead record is titled "Gustav Jonson" with one S, whereas the embedded Test CRM Contact has the new correct spelling, "Gustav Jonsson", with two S's.
(c) Refreshing the page does not fix the problem.

9.  Try to reset the embedded Test CRM Contact:
(a) Edit the Test Lead.
(b) In the Test CRM Contact field, remove the Gustav Jonsson entry by clicking the X.
(c) Reselect Gustav Jonsson from the list.
(d) Click Save.
(e) The Test Lead title is still the incorrect spelling "Gustav Jonson", with one S.

10.  Try to delete, save, and readd the Test CRM Contact.
(NOTE: This step is only allowed if the Test CRM Contact building block is not marked as Required for the Test Lead.  Many apps that reference a CRM contact will mark this as Required.)
(a) Edit the Test Lead.
(b) In the Test CRM Contact field, remove the Gustav Jonsson entry by clicking the X.
(c) Click Save.
(d) The Test Lead title is changed to "Test Lead [number]", where [number] = the app item Id#.
(e) Edit the Test Lead again.
(f) Select Gustav Jonsson from the list.
(g) Click Save.
(h) The Test Lead title is reset back to the incorrect spelling of "Gustav Jonson", with one S.

Workaround

This is the best workaround I could find:
(a) Delete the Test CRM Contact Gustav Jonsson.
(b) Do NOT delete the workspace contact called Gustav Jonsson.
(c) Create a new Test CRM Contact; for Underlying Workspace Contact, select the existing Gustav Jonsson workspace contact.
(d) Edit the Test Lead Gustav Jonson.  It will still have the incorrect spelling in its title, and if you click on the embedded Gustav Jonsson Test CRM Contact, you will see a message saying The related item has been deleted.
(e) For Test CRM Contact, remove the invalid previous Gustav Jonsson entry by clicking the X, then select the new Gustav Jonsson from the list.
(f) When you save the Test Lead, the title is reset.

Status

I sent a link to this post to Gustav on 2013-05-26.


-Todd

Centralized Contact List in Podio

Introduction

UPDATE 2015-12-10:  Podio has released a new Contact app that appears to standardize the contact-management process.  I am not currently in active use of Podio so I have not tried out this new feature.  However, it sounds like a good change and a nice progression from Podio in addressing this topic.  I assume this change will make obsolete my previous work-around (below).  Here is their blog post announcing this feature:  http://blog.podio.com/2015/12/09/better-contact-management-podio/


This blog post describes the creation and use of a centralized contact list, for an organization to use throughout Podio.
 
For those who might need it, here is a quick start guide to Podio.

Understanding Podio's Built-in Contacts

Podio uses the term "contact" for two different built-in features of Podio:

• Podio Users:  These are employees or non-employees who are invited to a Podio workspace.  In Podio, they are usually referred to as members, and sometimes as contacts.  Everyone who is invited to a workspace is called a member of that workspace.  Each Podio user also has a personal Contacts list, which contains all the members from all that user's workspaces.
• Workspace Contacts:  Each workspace can have its own separate list of contacts.  These are only accessible within that workspace.

Neither of these two types of built-in contacts is sufficient for a centralized contacts list.  The first only contains Podio users, and the second is limited to a single workspace.

Creating a Centralized Contact List

Here, we create our own Contact Relationship Management (CRM) workspace, and then our own CRM Contacts app within that workspace.  This app serves as a container for the built-in list of workspace contacts that belong to the CRM workspace.

(Note for technical folks who are new to Podio:  You can think of Podio's terminology in database terms, where (roughly) workspace = domain, app = table, building block = field.) 

Step 1:  Create a workspace called "CRM".

• This blog post recommends certain names for workspaces, apps, and building blocks for purposes of clarity, but you can use any names you wish -- there is no effect on functionality.  (More details in Note #1, below.)
• Access Settings should normally be Open, not Private.  (More details in Note #2.)

Step 2:  Create an app called "Organizations", in the CRM workspace.

• For The single item in the app, enter "Organization".
• Add a building block of type Text, call it "Name", and check the Required checkbox.
• If you wish, you can add building blocks to track other values for each organization (address, phone, URL, etc.).

Step 3:  Create an app called "CRM Contacts", in the CRM workspace.

• For The single item in the app, enter "CRM Contact". 
• Add a building block of type Contact, call it "CRM Contact", and check the Required checkbox.  For Contact types, choose Workspace contacts.
• Add a building block of type App Reference, and call it "Organization".  For Choose an app to reference, select the Organizations app in the CRM workspace.
• Typical contact information is tracked in the built-in workspace contact (which will live inside our CRM Contact).  If you wish, you can track whatever other contact information is relevant to your organization, by adding additional building blocks to this CRM Contacts app.

Accessing the Centralized Contact List from a Separate Podio Workspace

We can now create an additional workspace that references our centralized contact list.

(Technically, the new workspace will reference our custom-built CRM Contacts app, which serves as a container for our underlying workspace contact records in the CRM workspace.)

In this example, I create a simple workspace to track sales leads.  However, any other workspace can connect to our centralized contact list, using the same method.

Step 1:  Create a workspace called "Sales".

Step 2:  Create an app called "Leads".

• For The single item in the app, enter "Lead".
• Add a building block of type App Reference, and call it "CRM Contact".  For Choose an app to reference, select the CRM Contacts app in the CRM workspace.
• Add other building blocks you want to use for lead tracking.  For example, I added the following:
• "Lead Status", building block type of Category; under Names for your categories, I entered "cold", "warm", "hot", and "made sale".
• "Next Follow-up Date", building block type of Date.
• "Notes", building block type of Text.

Example Workflow

We can now use the workspaces and apps we created above, to create and track a new lead in Podio.

(This example workflow assumes the contact is not already in the centralized contacts list.)

Step 1a:  Create new CRM Organization

• If the contact for the lead does not have an organization, skip to Step 1b.
• Go to the Organizations app in the CRM workspace.  (See Note #3 at the bottom of this blog post, regarding making Quick Links for a user to jump between workspaces.)
• Click the wide green button Add Organization.
• Enter the Name of the organization.
• (If you defined other Organization values that you want to track, instructions for those building blocks would go here.)
• Click the green Save button.

Step 1b:  Create new CRM Contact

• Go to the CRM Contacts app in the CRM workspace.
• Click the wide green button Add CRM Contact.
• Type the name of the contact in the Contact field; then, press Enter, or click Add New Contact.
• A new form will pop up for Add new workspace contact, with the Name already filled in.
• Fill in all other contact fields with whatever contact information you currently have.  Note that you can click Show more fields to add additional contact information.
• Click the green Save button on the pop-up form to close the pop-up form and return to CRM Contacts.
• If you entered the contact's organization in Step 1a, select it from the Organization list.
• (If you defined other CRM Contact values that you want to track, instructions for those building blocks would go here.)
• Click the green Save button.

Step 2:  Create the Lead.

• Go to the Leads app in the Sales workspace.
• Click the wide green button Add Lead.
• Select the CRM Contact.
• Enter the appropriate Lead Status, Next Follow-up Date, and Notes.
• (If you defined other Lead values that you want to track, instructions for those building blocks would go here.)
• Click the green Save button.

The lead can now tracked, updated, used in reports, and integrated with your organization's other worflows.

If a person in a different role in your organization needs to track activity related to the same contact, they will be able to do so.  For example, after a sale is closed, a support person can create and track support tickets for the same contact.  The creation and use of a Support workspace and app would be analogous to the steps shown above for the Leads app in the Sales workspace.

Web Links That Relate to This Topic

• This thread from the Podio forums covers a number of topics relating to how contacts work in Podio.
• Podio recommends a centralized Contacts app in this thread. 
• A web design and marketing firm called Globi has created a step-by-step guide to creating a sales-oriented CRM in Podio.  Their guide does not address the centralization issue, but does cover a number of interesting and useful features that Podio brings to CRM.
• [Update 2013-05-28] I just heard from Gustav Jonsson at Podio about a guide he wrote for Doing CRM and Sales in Podio.

Comments and Questions Are Welcome

I welcome any comments and questions on this topic, or on any related Podio topics.


-Todd


________________________________________

Notes 

Note #1:  Naming Conventions

Names of workspaces, apps, and building blocks can be selected based on personal or organizational preference, for the most part.  There are some usability factors, in that certain naming conventions may work better in certain situations.

For example, when a user is working in a Podio app that references the centralized contact list, having your contacts container app set up with the name CRM Contacts will allow users to choose from a list called "CRM Contacts" rather than just "Contacts" or another generic name, clarifying for the user that they are accessing the centralized contact list.


Note #2:  Open vs. Private CRM Workspace

This blog post assumes that most organizations implementing Podio will give their users permission to add new contacts to the centralized contact list.  As shown in the Example Workflow section, a user who wants to track a new sales lead must add the CRM Contact first, then the sales lead.  Therefore, this user must be invited not only to the Sales workspace, but to the CRM workspace as well.  There is also the option of setting the CRM workspace as Private, and then manually inviting all users to it who need permission to add new centralized contacts.


Note #3:  Creating Quick Links For Adding CRM Contacts

In Podio apps, such as our example sales lead tracking app, a user may be the first person interacting with each contact, and may therefore frequently need to switch to the CRM workspace to add new contacts.  To make this slightly easier, you can add a link onto a workspace's or an app's main page, that will jump the user directly to CRM Contacts or Organizations:

• Click Add Widget in the lower right-hand corner of the webpage.
• On the pop-up screen, choose Links.
• A new area will be created for the widget in the lower right-hand corner of the webpage.
• For Title, enter something like "Quick Links".
• For Enter a link name, enter "CRM Contacts".
• For Enter a link URL, open your CRM Contacts app (CRM workspace) in a new tab in your browser.  Each workspace and app in Podio has its own unique URL.  Copy the app's URL from your browser's address bar, and paste it into Enter a link URL.
• Click Add another.
• For the 2nd Enter a link name, enter "CRM Organizations".
• For the 2nd Enter a link URL, open your Organizations app (CRM workspace) in a new tab in your browser, copy the app's URL from your browser's address bar, and paste it into Enter a link URL.
• Click Save.

You can use a similar process to create Quick Links in the CRM workspace, that send the user back to (for example) the Leads app in your Sales workspace.

Introduction

I am currently consulting with two nonprofit organizations where I am helping them set up and use Podio.  I also have begun using Podio to manage some of my family activities.  I find Podio to be a very useful, customizable, and interesting product.

I plan to use this blog to post information and issues related to Podio, so that I may:

• document important Podio topics
• help people who are new to Podio
• prompt discussion with other Podio users

-Todd