Before I start this FigJam review, I want to point out that FigJam isn’t just a collaborative whiteboard. Created by Figma, a leader in the software web-based design space, FigJam is a comprehensive solution for product brainstorming, development, and collaboration.
Although it’s not a project management tool” like Airtable or Asana, FigJam still gives companies a range of solutions that can help them coordinate, synchronize, and empower teams. It’s one of the most intuitive and valuable tools for hybrid teams working on creative projects like product design workflows.
So, is FigJam the productivity-boosting tool your company has been looking for? I tested the software to discover its main benefits for modern teams.
FigJam Review: Quick Verdict, Pros and Cons
FigJam is a user-friendly tool for modern teams, perfect for helping staff around the world develop ideas, products, and campaigns collaboratively. It’s not a standard project management tool, but it does feature project management capabilities.
For instance, you can use FigJam templates to create project roadmaps and timelines and assign tasks to specific users. You can also build agile workflows with “Sprints,” – making FigJam excellent for product or app development teams.
Pros:
- Excellent collaboration tools
- Hundreds of templates for every type of project
- Integrations with dozens of business tools
- Flexible and customizable workspaces
- Fantastic admin and security features
- Extremely easy to use
Cons:
- Limited advanced features
- Relatively basic free plan
FigJam Review: Overview and Pricing
Ultimately, FigJam is a versatile collaborative tool designed for product development teams. Companies like Netflix and Spotify have used this platform to create comprehensive applications and user experiences for various audiences.
Although the heart of FigJam is its “flexible whiteboard” experience, the platform is brimming with templates for project management, collaboration features, agile workflow capabilities, and even AI-powered solutions.
FigJam is excellent for teams that need help keeping projects moving forward, particularly in the hybrid workplace. Part of what makes FigJam so appealing to many companies is its affordable pricing structure. There’s a great free plan for beginners, with access to plugins and templates, a mobile app, basic file inspection tools, and ready-made templates.
However, this plan only allows you to create up to 3 FigJam files. Paid plans start at $5 per month, and include:
- Starter: Starting at $5 per month, per seat: Everything in the Free plan, alongside unlimited FigJam files, open sessions, team libraries, audio conversations, sharing permissions, and voting options.
- Organization: Starting at $5 per month, per seat: Everything in the Starter plan plus organization-wide libraries, content management, custom color palettes and templates, unified billing and admin, single sign-on and private widgets or plugins.
- Enterprise: Starting at $5 per month, per seat: Everything in the Organization plan, as well as advanced design systems, dedicated workspaces, role setting with CSIM, guest access controls, idle session timeout, forced password links, and account support.
Figma offers discounted rates for FigJam to schools and educational groups. The Starter plan is free to schools, although there’s no discount option for non-profits.
FigJam Review: Key Features
As I mentioned at the start of this FigJam review, FigJam isn’t just a collaborative whiteboard, although the “whiteboarding experience” really does make up the heart of the ecosystem. It’s also not a full project management tool, like Trello, but can certainly help with streamlining project management. Here’s a closer look at some of the key features of FigJam.
Brainstorming and Diagramming Tools
If you’re looking for a tool that will unlock new levels of creativity for your teams, FigJam is an excellent choice. The infinite digital whiteboard allows users to share ideas and contribute asynchronously to product plans and brainstorming sessions.
Within FigJam, anyone can create a space for brainstorming a project or creating a diagram, where multiple team members can add content, communicate through audio or messaging, and even share reactions to show how they “feel” about an idea.
You can even add a timer to a brainstorming session, to help you keep track of how long your team is spending on developing a plan. Plus, there are some fun extra features too, like the ability to add an integrated music player into the mix.
The great thing about FigJam’s brainstorming and diagramming tools is that they make it extremely easy to design a flexible workspace and customize it however you choose. Templates are available for virtually every type of brainstorming or diagramming workflow, from standard brainstorming sessions to customer journey maps.
Plus, the infinite whiteboard supports all kinds of content, from videos and images, to text, and even code blocks or screens. On top of that, thanks to the various integrations available for FigJam, you can instantly convert an idea into a task for a team member. For instance, you could assign a task from a FigJam brainstorming session to a user on Asana, or GitHub with a couple of clicks.
Project Management Features
Although FigJam isn’t a traditional project management tool, it does offer access to hundreds of templates and solutions that support project management. For instance, if you’re trying to plan a project and assign tasks to specific team members, you can create project roadmaps and timelines to share with your team members.
FigJam particularly excels at agile workflow management, There are templates for sprint planning, daily standups, retrospectives and more, all of which benefit from the same versatile content sharing options and collaboration tools as the rest of the platform.
Users can lay out sprints visually, with connected files and documents, and update them instantly over time. You can also create Gantt charts, matrices, and easy-to-use tables within FigJam workspaces. If you need to manage a particularly complex project, FigJam’s advanced plans, like the “Organization” and “Enterprise” plans, also support custom templates you can build from scratch.
I also love that you can add plugins and widgets to the mix, showcasing code snippets and other information from different software solutions within the project plan.
Plus, the “time tracking” function within FigJam makes it easy for individual team members to monitor how long they spend on different tasks and projects. This is something you don’t get on all standard project management tools.
Collaboration and Team Management Features
Aside from integrating with common collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams and Slack, FigJam also gives companies a huge selection of collaboration tools built into its ecosystem. As mentioned above, within FigJam workspaces, users can share content and files simultaneously or asynchronously. They can react to whiteboard segments, message their team members via chat, and even “vote” on ideas in some plans.
