Today, Vuuch V1 is launching to slay the wicked wiles of email excess by consolidating your discussions about parts, issues and really, anything else. V1 has some new features that not only reduce the need for an overabundant inbox, they also cut the need for Excel-based Issue Tracking Lists.
Knocking out issues via discussions? Yes, plus more upgrades to the web app and a new desktop client you’ll want to know about.
What the Vuuch is Vuuch again?
To get a better understanding you can read the Vuuch Beta Review we did earlier this year. Basically, Vuuch allows you to capture discussions about files in one web-accessible location. The magic of Vuuch is this – the discussion can happens inside your design environment, whether it’s SolidWorks, Pro/E, Word or Excel. The idea for V1 stays the same. What’s changed is how you’re now able to move more discussions into Vuuch. In particular, discussion that often happen through a distributed Excel file for tracking issue or action items.
“Over the last year Vuuch has spoken with hundreds of product development teams about Vuuch and their development process and we discovered the majority of teams used excel to maintain a Parts List or Parts Action Items List. No matter what people called this list, we always found a column that was a synopsis of the team’s discussions.
As we dug into this approach we uncovered a significant amount of distain and frustration. Vuuch V1 removes the need for these Excel files! Project managers and designers can now navigate discussions based on Parts or the deliverables (Files) being created. Keep you design project on track with Vuuch Design Discussions!”
What’s in Version 1 of Vuuch?
Files and Parts
Think of Files as your design files, and Parts as specific items or keyword. In V1 you can now associate discussions with a Part. These have been added to V1 to help managers/purchasers see all the discussion related to specific items without having to search through discussion for related information.
Desktop Air Client
It’s a Vuuch Air App that works within any OS, from your desktop. I’ve been using it, and while it need some work, it’s a completely functional and better way to receive notifications of updates to your discussions.
Image Markup
You’ll want to see this (video link). Through the web interface, you can take an image in a discussion and mark it up. It gets save to the discussion and everyone else involved can see what’s going on immediately.
Export to PDF
Need to archive a discussion with a file release or use it along with conformity on a product? The discussion can now be exported as a PDF.
SolidWorks and Pro/ENGINEER Support Communities
If you’re looking for help when you’re working within SolidWorks or Pro/E, you can create a Public Discussion and your question is posted to SolidJott.com (for SolidWorks) and ProJott.com (for Pro/E).
You can download the new version of Vuuch here. As a user of Vuuch, it still has some rough spots, but being in active development makes it a promising tool to keep conversations around projects associated to the right people and the right files.
Disclosure: SolidSmack is totally in cahoots with Vuuch. Josh consults them about Vuuch usability since he uses it at work and hates the suck created by lame coordination efforts. Vuuch has an ad here on SolidSmack. He also talks with the founder, Chris Williams, on Twitter about photography stuff and watching Law and Order on 10′ big-screens TVs.
