Best Project Management Software

Why do we need Project Management services

At some point in time, it becomes very difficult to manage the process of creating. You just cannot keep all tasks in mind, it's difficult for you to give comments to employees, and what you write to each other in chats is forgotten after a week. Deadlines are failed and you run out of the project budget.

Project Management systems are designed to help managers to organize teamwork more effectively.

These kinds of apps become the core of your workflow. It is important to understand that Project Management Software is about projects, not workflow management. At first glance, this is a tautology, but it matters. Every project has a beginning and an end. There is a budget, there are stages of the project, there are people who will be reliable for different parts of the project. Project work is about non-repetitive business operations.

Let's take a web studio as an example. Every client wants to develop his website. At first glance, this is a standard business process. But clients are different, and their needs are different too. Website development for a photographer and website development for "BBC news" are completely different projects that require different efforts and different budgets. Each project is unique. The more unique the project, the more flexible the management.

How Project Management apps work

We can divide all work in Project Management tools into two roles. This is the task manager (Project manager) and the task executor. A project manager is like an "orchestra conductor". He tells who, when and what to do. The project manager sets the task, the deadline for its completion, and the person responsible for this task. The manager has a general vision of how the task is being completed and the project is being developed.

Project Management tools

• Planning

  Planning is the first pillar of Project Management. It helps managers to schedule a project and delegate tasks. Once you have a project team and a list of resources, you can use the Project Management system to schedule tasks, predict completion dates, and allocate resources accordingly.

• Collaboration

  Collaboration allows project participants to conduct task-based discussions, edit and comment on project files or documents, and communicate with each other in project-specific threads.

• Reporting

  Reporting is essential for all team members when it comes to updates for the project as a whole. However, this is also a huge advantage for project managers who want to make sure the project is progressing and tasks are being completed in time.

• Kanban board

  Kanban board helps you to visualize tasks, to limit work in progress, and to maximize productivity (or speed). With the help of cards and columns on the Kanban board, technical and service teams can understand how much work they should take on and accomplish adhering to the principles of constant improvement.

  Each board consists of lists, inside of which there's a list of cards (i.e. tasks). For example, "Buy a frying pan" is a card, and the list to which it belongs may be called "Kitchen". A card can be tagged (for example, the name of the person responsible for executing the card). You can move cards from list to list, change their order, assign dates. You can use not only word markers but also color highlighting. And if you wish, delete the card.

• Task Management

  Task Management allows project team members to create, update, and manage tasks throughout the project lifecycle. As a central function of any Project Management Software, task management often extends to the visualization of project tasks on Kanban boards, Gantt charts, cascade dependence, and production charts.

• Time management

  Time management allows you to properly track and record data about the time of all activities using timers and schedules, as well as ensure that there are no overdue tasks.

• Gantt Chart

  You can plan your projects, schedule, and get work done in time with Gantt charts. This visual tool gives you the ability to organize all your tasks and resources in one place. Horizontal charts are widely used to plan projects of all sizes in various industries and niches. This is a convenient way to show you what work is scheduled to be done on a specific day and time. Gantt charts also help teams and project managers to monitor the start and end dates of any project. Everything in one space.

Which companies use Project Management Software

Project Management Software can be used in any kind of business where you need to coordinate projects along with tasks within these projects. Project Management Software helps to divide projects into separate tasks, analyze performance, create deadlines, and communicate between team members.

Let's take the building of a house for example. Our task is to build a house. I.e our project is building a house. Let's divide it into separate tasks: create a detailed project, fill the base, build walls, make a roof, decorate, and arrange the furniture. All these are separate tasks, not related to each other, but they exist within one project.

That is, Project Management Software is needed by those companies that have project ideas and non-repetitive tasks.

These apps are needed by companies, in most cases, that provide services (design studios, web developers, marketing agencies, everyone who makes some kind of services).

Task management tools vs Project Management tools

Both of these terms are used quite often. How are they different?

Let's first figure out when there's working on a project, and when on a task?

Task management tools are separated tasks that aren't related to project activities. For example, make a newsletter, send a document, pick up a child from kindergarten, etc. Just a list of tasks from different areas.

Project Management tools are the coordination of individual tasks within a single project. The project has a clear start and end dates.

Project Management trends

Possible problems with Project Management Software

Features. Not enough or too many features can be a significant problem for growing companies that have either outgrown existing software or implemented Project Management solutions that are too advanced for their needs. The best way to avoid this problem is to evaluate Project Management Software based on current and future needs.

Integration. Lack of integration between Project Management Software and other apps leads to information fragmentation, which can cause mistakes in the data processing. User adoption can also be negatively affected by the fact that employees need to use multiple systems and enter the same information into multiple ones.

Reporting. Standard reports and lack of analytics are a serious problem for legacy software. New software usually provides more flexible analytics or integration with business intelligence tools. Another problem is that more flexible analytics do not necessarily cover the need for advanced reporting. Buyers should evaluate vendors' ability to offer the optimal mix of analytics and flexibility to satisfy their specific needs.

Project Management features

• Creating and assigning tasks
• Priority of tasks
• Bulk Updates
• Recurring tasks
• Project map
• Views
• Planning
• Deadlines
• To-do lists
• Drag & Drop
• Calendar view
• Templates
• Dashboards