Aviary Communications Workflow — Slack + Trello

Overview

Aviary's primary stakeholder (Blessin) cannot attend weekly calls but needs frequent visibility into project progress — ideally daily or every two days. To address this, the team adopted a dual-tool communications strategy: an internal Trello board for structured task management and a shared Slack channel (aviary-team) for lightweight, high-frequency client touchpoints.

This pattern is worth replicating for any client who needs async visibility without being pulled into recurring meetings.

The Problem

Blessin (Aviary decision-maker) is unavailable for weekly syncs
The client team needs to relay project status to him regularly
Email and weekly calls are too infrequent and too high-friction
ClickUp's client-facing features have caused friction in the past

The Solution: Two-Layer Workflow

Layer 1 — Internal: Trello Board

Used by the Asymmetric team for detailed task management. Not shared with the client until it is fully populated and ready for consumption.

What goes in Trello:
- All active tasks and next steps for the Aviary engagement
- Assignments (who owns what)
- Start and end dates / timelines
- Priority flags
- Dependencies and blockers

Views available: Kanban board, Gantt chart, calendar, list — use whichever is clearest for the task type.

Rollout rule: Populate internally first. Share with the client only once the board accurately reflects the current state of work and is presentable.

Layer 2 — External: Slack Channel (`aviary-team`)

A shared Slack Connect channel used for quick, high-level updates to the client team. Keeps communication out of email and gives Blessin a place to check in asynchronously.

Channel name: aviary-team (deliberately not "aviary-external" — framing matters)

Who's in it:
- Mark Hope (Asymmetric)
- Sebastian Gant (Asymmetric)
- Aaron Grossman (Aviary — agrossman@helloaviary.ai)
- Blessin (Aviary)
- Justin (Aviary)

Usage: Route all client-facing updates, deliverable shares, and status notes through this channel instead of email.

Setup Steps Completed

[x] aviary-team Slack channel created via Slack Connect
[x] Aaron Grossman invited via email
[x] Sebastian added to channel
[ ] Blessin and Justin to be added by Sebastian
[x] Trello board created and Sebastian invited
[ ] Sebastian to populate Trello with all Aviary tasks, priorities, and timelines

Key Decisions

Trello over ClickUp — ClickUp's external sharing has caused problems previously; Trello is simpler and sufficient for this engagement
Slack over email — Aviary team expressed comfort with Slack; it lowers the barrier for Blessin to stay informed without scheduling time
Internal-first rollout — The Trello board should not be shared until it is clean and accurate; a half-populated board creates more confusion than no board

Generalizable Pattern

This dual-layer approach works well when:
- A key client stakeholder cannot attend recurring meetings
- The client team needs to relay status upward internally
- The engagement has enough parallel workstreams to warrant a visual task board

Template: Internal Kanban (Trello/ClickUp) for team coordination + Slack Connect channel for client-facing async updates. Share the board only after it reflects real, current work.

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