One of the most crucial elements of team success is project management. Even if every member of your team is exceptionally skilled, it is very difficult to achieve your project goals unless your team is well-managed. While project managers are tasked to do that, they need some technological backup to pull off this difficult task.
A project management tool can make thing easier for you and we are certain that the corporate world is thankful for this innovation. This is because project management tools make your work-life a little easier. In this article, we will tell you more about project management tools, some features of project management software that you must definitely know about, and how to make the best use of them. Keep reading to know more.
Firstly, what are project management tools?
As we talked about earlier, project management tools help manage teams at work. These are softwares that help organize and supervise teams and team goals such that they perform their assigned task most efficiently. Whether you have a team of five people or fifty, project management tools help to handle work in a more structured manner.
Project management tools are a fairly new idea, which is why surveys show that only 46% of organizations make it a cultural priority. This means that we still have a long way to go before making every organization optimized. Having said that, limiting the use of project management tools to organizations and teams of large numbers is a very reductionist idea. Many freelancers are vouching for the various features of project management tools these days, happily saying how this software helps them balance their personal and professional life.
How can project management help you?
Studies suggest that 11.4% of all the resources invested in a company project are wasted due to poor project management processes. From a human resource perspective, this could be because of repetitive tasks, including those like data entry. These are tedious and time-consuming, which can slow down a project as well as make the employee feel less creative. Subsequently, they will become less productive, as work no longer becomes enjoyable due to the monotony. Smart project management is a big help with doing away with such tasks that require little to no creativity.
Yet another reason why project management is becoming more popular is that it gives a project manager the chance to be a jack of all trades. PMOs take up a wide number of responsibilities including project status reporting, maintaining portfolio lists, facilitating project approval processes, providing project management expertise, and inculcating the lessons learned in future projects. A project management tool makes all these tasks much easier, making the PMO’s job go smoother.
7 features every project management tool must have
While project management tools seem promising enough, it is not a wise decision to choose one in haste. Depending on the size of your team and the kind of projects that you take up, it is important to consider the following seven features of project management software before you consider getting one for your organization.
#1 It must enable collaboration and communication between employees
The ethos of any organization comes down to the two Cs– collaboration and communication. If the team members do not communicate well, then the chances of a project failing are way more than minuscule. While teams of two or three might be able to fare well enough in these situations, larger teams of say, twenty members might suffer if there is no channel available for proper communication. Only if the team members communicate well, can they collaborate better. And we all know that collaboration is crucial for any team effort.
File sharing is an important feature of project management in this respect, so that every member has access to a file as and when they need it. Having a single platform to share and store all the project files can be of incredible help in cutting down the time and effort that is required to procure each document manually.
Another feature in this regard would be an in-built messenger tool that allows all the employees to communicate internally. This can reduce the phone time needed to search for an employee on social media as well as bring all the employees to a single place. Having an employee directory comprising contact details and other information about all the team members is also effective.
Therefore, you must choose a project management tool that allows for quick and seamless communication amongst employees.
#2 It must be intuitive and easy to use
While project management tools sound fun and effective, the features of project management software themselves can be a little daunting, especially to someone who is new to them. It goes without saying that a hassle-free user experience is the sign of any good software. But most of the time, digital products tend to overcomplicate the software with too many features or too much information.
One of the top priorities when considering software for your organization must be the usability of the resource assignment and project management functionalities. If a tool has a complex information architecture, then it becomes difficult for employees to navigate through the software. The time that they should be spending working on their project will then be taken up to figure out how the project management tool works, which can turn out to be counterproductive. Companies might also need to give their employees extensive training sessions on how to use such tools, which is not only time-consuming but also effort-inducing.
This is why you must go for a straightforward project management tool that enables your team members to access all its features without much hassle or waste of time. Most tools offer a free trial, so you can use that time to find out which tool is best for your team.
#3 It must have a feature to ease reporting and tracking of team performance
Yet another feature that enables effective project management is having a team dashboard that is open to access by every member. Manually calculating the performance levels of every team member and correlating it with the team’s performance is difficult math, for sure. Not to forget, this can be counted among the repetitive tasks that make the project manager less productive. But these numbers are also crucial for enhancing team productivity. So, how can we sort out this conundrum?
The answer is simple– automation. A team dashboard would generate and display graphical reports, graphs, and statistics measuring the team’s overall tracked metrics like KPIs. There should also be an option to track the performance of each employee. Consistently reviewing these metrics will allow the project manager to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of their team. This will in turn help them come up with better and improved methods of management.
Doing so will help you rid yourself as well as your team members of multiple spreadsheets and calculators. Another plus point is that this data will always be available to all the team members, thereby ensuring transparency. Automating processes can help projects save time significantly, which can be put to use for mundane purposes.
#4 It must enable you to manage project budgets
Now, this one is crucial. With the magnitude of a project, the expenses incurred can also vary largely. In cases where huge expenses are involved, a spreadsheet alone is not a very effective solution. Did you know that only 43% of companies reported that they were “always” or “most of the time” able to finish their projects within their budget?
It doesn’t matter if your organization has an accounting team or not, it is always to have all your expenses accurately documented and calculated digitally. This minimizes deviations and errors while calculating project costs.
Look for a project management tool with a budgeting feature that keeps track of your project expenses, expenditures, and totals. It should also be able to warn you when your project goes over budget, as well as give you regular reports on the budget performance. A budget dashboard is also a great option, as it compiles all the data and graphically displays your project’s budget metrics. Make sure that it has the option to set up access rights so that the data reaches the intended people only.
Automated invoicing is yet another feature that helps keep track of your team’s expenses. Bills and receipts can be easily stored and forwarded using this feature, as pre-designed invoice templates will already be available to you. Activating time billing will set up reminders and notify you when an invoice is due, reducing your workload even further.
#5 It must smoothen the process of planning and scheduling projects
This is the primary feature of project management, as the management part begins here. Effectively planning tasks for each member and keeping everyone’s schedule on track is extremely important for a project to run smoothly. Along with seamless communication as mentioned earlier, it is vital to know to whom to delegate which task. For this, the project manager must not only know the skills of each team member but also their workload. In such cases, a shared calendar for the employees can be of great help.
A list of all the tasks and their deadlines will make the process easier for all the team members. The performance metrics will also help the PMO understand the strong points of team members and effectively delegate tasks.
#6 It must have an efficient feedback system in place
Giving feedback is one of the most underrated steps in most project management processes. A healthy feedback system is essential for every team member to improve on their strengths and weaknesses. This in turn improves the overall performance, and it goes without saying how much this will help your project.
It is also crucial to give feedback regularly. Rather than leaving it to the time of project completion, it is best to follow the agile system and break down your projects into steps. If the employee receives feedback at multiple points during the project run, they will be able to build upon their skills more regularly, enhancing their overall productivity. The right project management tool will bring about shorter feedback intervals and faster feedback approval times.
#7 It must enable open integration
Consider a scenario where you already have a budgeting tool that has stored your project expenditure data for a long time. If you’re planning to get a project management tool, it would be ideal if you were able to integrate your budgeting tool with the management tool. Else, you might end up manually transferring the details.
Integrations with third-party apps like messenger apps, customer relationship management systems, and financial apps can help out a great deal in storing all your data in one place for future use.
Conclusion
After reading this article, you must have gotten a good idea of what kind of a project management tool your team needs. Keeping the above-listed features in mind, figure out what your requirements are and what your budget would be. Once you shortlist a few options, test them out individually and see which one has the best features. We would suggest that you include your team members in this process as well, since they’re the ones who will be using these features of project management tools after all.
We hope this article has been of help to you in making your team more efficient.