Project Management Software and It’s Usages
Contributors
Rohan Katkar
Rohan Katta
Shubham Kasar
Dhananjay Bhujbal
What is Project Management?
Project management is the use of information, skills, technological tools, and planning techniques to plan, initiate, execute, control, and close a project.
The key difference with continuous management is that project management has implications for time, budget, and scope. There are many methods and approaches to project management, but whether it’s traditional, waterfall, agile, or sophisticated, there are certain structures that are guaranteed to be in this class.
What is Project Management Software?
Project management software is an absolute necessity in today’s world, even before the covid-19 outbreak. What are the main components of this device?
PM software allows you to centralize planning, project scheduling, cost control, budgeting, real-time team communication and collaboration for specific projects.
This type of tool helps solve complex PM problems in a clear and simple way, such as managing resources such as people and money, as well as task management. Depending on the sophistication of the software, it can even improve the decision-making ability of the CEO: it will allow a clear view of the whole picture, thereby helping to identify elements of the business process that are not working. obstacles, even if the price is accurate or not.
Technology has come a long way, and as the market demands more from the workforce, it is only natural that new software and classes emerge. Work is more service-based, complex projects are becoming the norm, and teams are working harder every day. Gantt charts have been around since the 1910s and are still relevant today. Project management software often has a Gantt chart, but the best ones combine the principle with a user-friendly interface.
Whether the project management software is based on the Gantt chart, Kanban, agile, agile or waterfall methodology, the key aspect when looking for this tool is to test its key features and determine if it is the most suitable for your scope and type.
Why is Project Management Important?
Choosing the right approach to project management is essential for successful project execution. The way you manage your work is determined by the methods you use and the tools you use.
In this article, we’re going to discuss key tools and techniques that will make your project management easier than ever. Project management tools and techniques go hand in hand, and it is important to have a deep understanding of both.
Important uses of project management software :-
1. Collaboration
When managing a large project, each team member is assigned a specific task. Project management solutions facilitate team collaboration to ensure everyone is on the same page. When members have questions or concerns, they can immediately get the right answers internally and with the team — and with the right people on the right projects — without having to look for other sources. This will reduce the time wasted looking for answers. It also optimizes document sharing, deadlines and status updates to keep everyone informed of important information such as how much work has been done and how much is left to complete.
Sample Features
- File sharing: — It allows for quick sharing of files, calendars, and contact lists, where each team member can add information to the system as long as they are authorized. Members are also given access to information anytime, anywhere.
- Team communication: — Some PM tools have built-in messaging so members can easily communicate with each other, allowing them to respond to urgent questions in a timely manner.
- Customer data sharing: — Having a customer profile is important because it allows you to quickly add contact information and link invoices to projects. If you need to manage them, you can easily do it by grouping them by invoices.
- Team dashboard: — Dashboards Monitor your team’s performance and project progress. You can add graphs, visual metrics, and charts to help you have an overview of the project you’re working on.
2. Scheduling and planning
Without a system in place, it can be difficult to keep your team on track because you don’t have clear guidelines on who should do what and when. Time is wasted when employees report to work without knowing what to do. This often affects a person’s productivity. Using software identifies problems and makes them visible. Setting deadlines and priorities, and planning, avoids misunderstandings and overlapping of tasks and plans.
Sample Features:
- Task priority: This facilitates rescheduling by using planned time slots, so that priority tasks are completed without changing the project schedule in the first place.
- Shared team calendar: Choosing one that syncs with other calendars is important to keep everyone on your team informed about tasks, deadlines, and meetings. It also tracks important events by sending relevant dates to your team.
- Time slot: View each member’s assigned tasks and hours. This helps you quickly see who you need to delegate tasks to next, which is an important goal of project management software to speed up the task completion process.
3. Resource Management
Resource management is another reason why project management software is useful. Apart from your team, it is important to make sure everyone is ready and on time. Knowing the materials you need to use on a project will allow you to work without interruptions caused by missing tools or equipment. This is a feature that defines which resources will be used and when they will be used. It also calculates usage costs. Is this useful? It allows you to overuse resources by making sure that you pay when you actually use them to reduce resource scarcity and costs.
4. Budget Management
Each project comes with a cost that is included in the budget, along with terms and conditions. The project manager’s goal is to keep actual costs down, or at least increase the company’s profit from estimated costs. Creating an Excel spreadsheet alone will not do the job for effective cost management.
Sample Features:
- Time tracking: — Documenting the time spent on tasks automates the invoicing process. This is also necessary to control the settlement and settlement time.
- Budget report: — It provides monthly and weekly reports on costs, expenses, and totals, so you can track budget performance and immediately see if you’re over budget.
- Budget dashboard: — The financial dashboard consists of KPIs, graphs and charts to show the progress of your project. It can also be shared with other members.
- Automated invoicing: -Since invoicing takes a lot of time, this feature sets email reminders for invoices. It also helps you set up and send accounts in a few clicks to save even more time.
5. Documentation
Many companies use spreadsheets, while others use pen and paper to track team project progress. However, using this type of placement can lead to potential errors. In fact, 88 percent of spreadsheet data contains errors, which is alarming for organizations that use spreadsheets as a tool to manage business operations and perform financial analysis. Using PM software ensures accurate database documentation.
Sample Features:
- Central data storage:- It includes all information, including costs, payments sent to clients, project resources, past and upcoming calendar events, client information, and planned and completed work — all in one place for easy searching and viewing!
- Quick access:- This eliminates the need to switch between multiple spreadsheets, and you can share with your team in just a few clicks
- Reporting:- KPI dashboards and insightful reports are essential to monitor project progress and identify any issues for immediate resolution. The information also includes key metrics such as percentage of work complete, schedule variations, and actual project cost
Project Management Software’s:
1. ProofHub
ProofHub is a versatile project management tool used by leading organizations such as NASA, Disney, Taco Bell and more. It’s a single tool packed with powerful features to eliminate the need for too many different tools to manage your business.
The benefit of using a multipurpose tool is keeping everything under one roof. Combined data helps you stay ahead of schedule and manage your time better. Group discussions, chats, and file uploads ensure transparency by providing as much information as possible about the issue.
Interestingly, ProofHub helps you publish in several ways. From Gantt charts to Kanban boards and from messy emails to neat and clean calendar layouts, ProofHub gives you a clear view of tasks, deadlines, and goals across multiple disciplines at once.
Features:
● Tasks: Quickly add tasks, create subtasks, and mark them with bookmarks and colored markers. See the tasks organized in the task list related to each type of project.
● Custom roles:Task management makes it less stressful for teams by making it easy to set up custom roles for team members and assign them to tasks and projects.
● Proofing and review: Online proofing software saves a lot of time during the feedback sharing process
● Gantt charts: Get a visual picture of projects with Gantt charts. Easily define dependencies and map the project timeline
● Accessibility: ProofHub is also available as a mobile app for both Android and iOS users.
● Flexibility: Help your team view their individual tasks corresponding to their deadlines in a Kanban or calendar view
ProofHub is an amazing project management and online collaboration tool that helps you create, review, deliver, plan and organize like no other tool. With its comprehensive bells and whistles, it comes as a highly adaptable project management tool.
Not only does it help with project management, it also comes with many features that help the team stay connected. Exclusive communication features such as the following give ProofHub a distinct advantage over other project management tools:
1. Chat: The feature that makes ProofHub completely unique is that it allows fast back and forth communication on the same platform where you manage the things you communicate about.
2. Discussions: Although this tool comes with chat and group chats, sometimes a team needs a formal discussion. The “Discussions” function is to share ideas and present opinions. And every team member can easily participate in the same!
3. Comments: Gone are the days of texting, calling, or pinging someone to check for updates or let people know you checked their work. With comments, you can post your reviews on the task card itself and the person will receive an instant notification.
4. Proofing: ProofHub has a clearer view and caters to the workplace in a way that no other tool can. It helps in the most honest form of communication, i.e. reviewing. With annotation markup tools, it’s a powerful spell checker that helps with all file types.
Pros of ProofHub :-
● All-in-one project management solution
● User-friendly interface
● Affordable pricing
● Advanced features such as Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and time tracking
Cons :
● Limited integrations
● Some features can be confusing to us
2. Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects seems like a nice choice if you’re looking for a free online project management tool that lets you create and manage your projects yourself. It simplifies project management by enabling easy planning, tracking and collaboration.
Main features:
● Plan projects with ease
● Get in-depth insights with Gantt charts
● Promotes seamless collaboration
● Integrate with apps such as Zapier, Slack, Dropbox, etc.
Pros:
● Free plan for a small team
● Interactive Gantt chart with dependencies and critical path plotting
● Automatic notifications
Cons:
● Needs additional templates
● Users wish for direct, two-way integration with Power BI and Microsoft Project
3. BaseCamp
Basecamp is a project management system that has been in the industry for over 10 years and continues to help project managers end their project management woes. If you’re looking for a simple interface and a collaborative approach to project management, Basecamp might be the perfect choice for you.
Top features:
● Robust collaborative platform to send messages and quick suggestions
● Create projects and teams with just a few clicks
● Reports for overdue tasks, upcoming deadlines, to-dos and more
● Create schedules that integrate with calendar apps
● Mobile apps for iOS and Android
Pros:
● Seamless communication and collaboration
● Configurable notifications
● Free plan with basic features
Cons:
● Single pricing plan is not ideal for small teams
● Users wish for more drag-and-drop UI capabilities.
4. Asana
Asana is software-as-a-service designed to improve team collaboration and work management. Rated as one of the best project management tools, Asana allows both small and large teams to easily manage projects with the useful features the tool offers. Asana also offers a visual project timeline that you can use to track, monitor, and manage the progress of tasks and projects at each stage.
Main Features:
● Customizable dashboards
● Custom Calendar
● App Integrations
● Timeline view
● Kanban boards
● Automation
● Work Request Forms
Pros:
● Project organization and task management
● Comprehensive set of features
● Free plan for individuals and teams
Cons:
● Needs better data export functionality
● Users wish for more how-to guides and case studies to maximize use
How to choose the right project management software?
Every project is different. So does every team. Choosing the right tool affects how you manage your projects and how your team communicates. The right tool will help you deliver projects on time and keep all your work organized. That’s why it’s important to choose a tool that works for you.
1. Features and Requirements
From simple to-do lists to complex speed charts, there are tools on the market for every level of need. Assess your requirements — the size of your projects, the number of people involved, your project management methodology and more.
If you are a project manager who requires a work breakdown structure, budgeting, etc., then a heavy duty tool like MS Projects may be the right tool for you.
However, if you’re looking for a Kanban board to help you assign tasks, manage deadlines, and keep you organized, then a project management system like Kissflow Projects will be the perfect choice.
2. Methodology
Teams that follow a proactive methodology such as the waterfall method place a strong emphasis on record keeping, documentation, and a well-defined workflow. It focuses on prioritizing and setting dependencies. You need a tool that supports this.
However, if you are using a reactive methodology like Agile or Lean, this requires a lot of flexibility. The tool must be adaptable and flexible enough to accommodate this kind of iterative work.
3. Budget
Another thing to consider is the amount of money you are willing to spend on project management software. There are open source tools as well as tools that cost thousands of dollars with varying levels of functionality.
A simple free project management tool helps you create checklists and cross off completed tasks. However, if you are looking for advanced features, you may want to go for the relatively expensive ones.
4. Ease of use
Project management software is only useful if your teams use it on a daily basis. Some project management applications are so complex that it may take days of training for your team to use them properly. Not all businesses require such complex tools. A simple interface combined with powerful features is what you should be looking for.
You need a tool that can be customized to your needs. A good project management solution will be flexible, scalable as your business grows and save you time.
Summary
Project management is an amazing field of work because it has a number of different project management tools and techniques that allow you to effectively analyze and manage your project as you want, while keeping track of various dependencies and key factors to achieve the desired results. they benefit your business and impact your business metrics.
Project management tools and techniques define the workflow and how the project will take shape, but it’s always about the tools that execute those techniques and help you achieve those sweet results.
Conclusion
It can be overwhelming to choose the right project management tools and techniques for your business, especially when there are too many options on the market. We hope you find this post useful in one way or the other, and if we’ve missed any important tools and techniques, let us know in the comments below.
