This is a continuation of the Hands-On With The Elance Work System by Matt Katsaros. To read the previous part, follow this link here: Hands-On With The Elance Work System: Part 4.

One of the best parts about doing a job with Elance is using the Workroom, a virtual workspace that you can use to collaborate with others to get your work done. Think of it like this: It is a way of taking the 20, 200, or 2,000 miles between you and your provider and putting them in the workspace next door.

Using the Workroom, you can do a number of things like post messages, share a large number of files, and even chat in real time. Now, not all jobs are going to require all of the features available in the Workroom, so you are free to pick and choose whichever you see fit. I suggest using each feature at least once to see how it could help you for your job.

The feature used most often is the Workroom Messages system. This is where you can message your provider directly with information or instructions and also upload relevant attachments from your computer along with the messages. Any messages received from providers (depending on your settings) are forwarded to your email address on file where you can respond from your email client directly to the Workroom. This is a very nice feature as you can respond to Workroom messages through whatever you're most comfortable with, like Outlook, Hotmail, or even through your BlackBerry.



Last night, amstudio did his first take at a full mockup of the site and sent it to me via a Workroom message. He had a few questions and wanted to get my input on it before moving forward on developing the site. I looked at it and thought it was pretty good, but I felt like it wasn't going the direction I was looking for. There were a couple things that didn’t come out the way I had imagined, so I messaged him back with my comments to make my according changes.

The file share area lets you upload files that you can put in a private folder (for you to see) or a shared folder (for you and your provider to see). You can also view the files from the original proposal and terms here. In addition to this, anytime you send a file to the Workroom, it is automatically placed in the public folder of the file share area. You are given 500 MB of free storage place per project to store all of your necessary files, which should be more than enough space for any job.

For my project, I used this area to have amstudio upload his designs. In our shared folder, I have put three sketches for the project so amstudio has easy access to view them at any time. He has in turn placed his first rough mockup in there for me to take a look at when I’m available.



Status Reports is a feature on Elance to make sure you and your provider are completely in sync throughout the duration of the entire project. If you decide to use Status Reports, your provider is required to send weekly status updates that will inform you of what they have completed that week, what they plan on doing next week, and update how far the project is overall.

After the first week, amstudio sent me the first Status Report of the job. He let me know that he had completed the initial rough design, which I saw and sent feedback on. He had then been working on making the necessary adjustments per my requests. Amstudio also noted that he started to code the website and construction has already begun. He has also marked the progress of our milestone to 30% complete.



As I suggested before, take a few minutes and familiarize yourself with all of the tools available in the Workroom. By no means are you required to use any or all of the features available to you, but knowing what tools you have in your arsenal will definitely make your job a quick and efficient one.

Up next on the Hands-On Wth The Elance Work System: Matt and amstudio finish up The Glass website and all of the work, and now they're on to the fun part - Payment. Find out more.