PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE helps teams to better plan and manage their time and work.
Project management is not just for project managers anymore. Organizations worldwide have embraced the practice and trained their personnel to manage projects better. Although it often carries a perception of too much discipline, rigor, and effort, the reality is that project management practices are very scalable to any department and can help make delivering work much easier and manageable.
Every obstacle in the project lifecycle is a potential for chaos. A survey found, that when organizations become better at project management, the KPIs increase significantly, scheduling adherence rises 50%, and productivity can improve by over 60%.
For the modern organization, the success of a project initiative will be tied to the tools they use. Spreadsheets are still ruling in the world of project management, but for centralization, collaboration, sharing information, and time management, spreadsheets are still quite limited.
Read on: Spreadsheets Are Bad for Your Business – Here’s Why
Companies need to manage their operations and business intelligence with intuitive tools – that’s why online project management software has grown so popular. With the right combination of tools and protocols, project management can really push your business forward.
How could your company benefit from online project management software?
Collaboration
Collaboration should be at the heart of every organization. At a non-project based structure, a manager oversees several department heads, each running a department with specific goals. A business may include separate departments for manufacturing, accounting, marketing, and human resources. In many cases, the departments are scattered with no unified source of information available. This causes isolation.
With online project management software, teams can be scattered all over the globe, and still have the latest information, the ability to comment, share and access files, and get a complete overview of every aspect of the project.
Read more: 12 Proven Tips for Effective Meeting Management
Salespeople are traditionally part of the sales department. In a project-based business, you can put them in a project with engineers to find out how the products they sell are designed and produced. You then can assign them to a sales-oriented project to put their new knowledge to effective use.
Delegating tasks within the system means that everyone knows whose responsible for what, and each team member will have access to the information they might require.
Additional reading: 36 Team Collaboration Tools for Effortless Project Management
Planning and Forecast
Non-project based organizations usually adopt a functional organizational structure. There is no big picture, as each functional manager is only able to report on his part of the project. This structure is difficult for the managers, employees, but also clients.
At the most basic level, the goal of every project should be to create processes, which lead to predictable results. For that, you will need to gather data that helps to predict how long each task will take. These task level calculations can be as simple as hours spent completing the task or take into account costs and other variables.
Time tracking and work planning have become the hallmark of work management software, making them effective tools for collecting this type of data. When every department collects their data, you can drive immerse conclusions, which help to create actionable forecasts.
Accurate business predictions mean saved time and money from the beginning of a project.
Progress Tracking
Non-project based organizations focus on hierarchical structure: whom you report to, what’s the nature of your job, and what work you are supposed to do. Projects are focused on solutions and implementation, such as whether the project does what it is supposed to, whether it is within budget and whether you will deliver it on time.
Read on: Software Suggestion: Project Dashboard
Online project management software is like an alert dog, letting you know if something needs attention. Have a complete overview of what’s been completed, by whom, and what still needs to be done. Employees can provide updates as to what they’re working on and share their updates with the managers and team members. This eliminates the need for lengthy status update meetings and constant email exchanges.
Additional reading: How to Create a Perfect Business Dashboard With Scoro
Integration
The odds are that every new piece of software calls for another place to enter and check your data, which in return results in lost time, instead of saving it. However, good project management tools integrate with the tools you’re using today and brings the information together. Aside from the added convenience, your team can work more efficiently when all your tools work together and are accessible from one spot.
Integrate your accounting software and access real-time financials without contacting your accountant. A mailing service integration helps marketers to stay on top of their mailing lists and results. A calendar integration means your meetings and events are always up to date, whichever calendar you prefer. The integration opportunities are endless.
Access Anything Anytime & Anywhere
Is there anything more annoying, than waiting for a colleague’s reply to a request for the last version of a document? A cross-department communication can get even trickier. When everyone uses the same online solution, the whole company can access the needed files, reports, tasks, and even contacts – whether you’re at a meeting, commuting, or at home. User-based rights allow the right people the access everything they need, and there is no such thing as the latest version – everything is updated in real time.
Read on: 43 Best Project Management Software and Tools
Security
Here’s a scenario: You spill coffee on your laptop, it gets stolen, or someone hacks into it. In every other case, this would spell a disaster. With a cloud solution, you can still get back to work without skipping a beat since all your information is stored in the database – just log in and access all your files, projects, contacts, and tasks.
Good online project management software offers first-rate security, secure data centers, and automated backups.
Cost Efficiency
Organizations can choose to purchase and deploy on-premises project management systems, store their data in a cloud, or form hybrid models by combining to two. A survey found that 82% of companies who moved to the cloud, saved money by doing that, and 80% of cloud adopters saw improvements within six months of moving to the cloud. Cost-effectiveness is the prime reason why more and more businesses are now opting for online project management systems.
SaaS platforms typically offer a variety of pricing options depending on the features and account size. Typically, the fee includes IT support, server space, and accessibility both on desktop and mobile. Additionally, the software won’t become outdated because the services include regular updates.
Read on: 10 Genius Project Management Trends You Haven’t Heard Of
Support
This may seem like a minor benefit when choosing between traditional project management methods and SaaS solutions, but it will prove to be very important over time.
With online project management software, you get access to full IT support to troubleshoot or address technical glitches. For a small business with limited technical resources, that means a lot. Even if you have the budget to hire a technical person, he cannot match the level of expertise of the vendor’s specialists, who know the ins and outs of the solution.
A custom-built solution may seem like a good idea, but eventually, the maintenance and upkeep of the tool will take up valuable time otherwise spent on actually working on the tasks and projects at hand.
Is your business in need of online project management software?
Project management shouldn’t be exclusive to certain industries or departments. When implemented right, it can diffuse throughout the entire organization, increasing reliability, delivery, and productivity.
Using the right tool for the job applies to many facets of business, and it’s especially true in project management — whether you’re in an agile environment or not. Online project management systems offer the simplicity and reliability essential to success. Are you ready to join the millions of businesses already managing their projects online? Start a free trial and begin reaping these benefits now!