Why You Should Invest in Project Management Software

Project Management is an integral part of our businesses for one primary reason – it helps convert the business idea into a tangible product or service. One that shapes the future of the company and sets the company for greater success.

First of all Project Management acts as a radar to keep teams on track while they are buzzing with excitement to get projects off the ground and are most likely to overlook critical process aspects.

This basically means inviting scope creep, mismanaging time, cost and quality and thereby putting the company’s reputation at stake.

Hence it is wise to have the right Project Management Software to help us avoid the above pitfalls.

The market is flooded with Project Management Software that helps us align with tradition, agile and lean project management. In addition to these they are also capable of task management, collaboration, communication, time tracking, project planning, resource management, project portfolio management, budget & expense tracking and lot more.

Project Management requirements vary across industries and teams. For some, task management and time tracking is of utmost importance, for some resource management is the key and for some the whole range of project management activities matter. So let us take a quick look at some of important features that we must use to our advantage.

Task Management

Tasks are the building blocks of your projects.  It’s like crossing the bridge one step at a time. It’s a good idea to get started by listing out all your tasks from the project plan so that you don’t miss any. Once the list is in, it becomes easier to estimate hours required for completion and identifying the right resources required to work on these tasks.

Do note that, you get a clearer picture of how your tasks would progress vis a vis the project timelines and thereby allows for adjustment right from the beginning to ensure we do not fall far from the mark.

Detailed task planning & assignments add transparency to your project execution and provides teams with the much needed clarity on the deliverables and project goals.

Unnecessary manual dependencies are removed, everyone knows who is working on what, when and for how long and finally what is due next& by whom leading to faster execution. Interactive Kanban boards and Gantt Charts come in handy for visual project planning and task progress tracking.

Collaboration

Projects cannot survive without active and timely collaboration. Working in silos have always stemmed progress, killed innovation and let to lot of disruption. And with the work-life balance taking center stage it is all the more important to stay connected with your teams and clients in real time.

Active collaboration helps you to reduce administrative delays and move things ahead. Whether it is an idea, an issue or a plan; project management software aid in real-time brainstorming and resolution. You do not miss out on critical information and tasks.

This not only keeps you ahead of the game but also increases client engagement and satisfaction levels.

Communication

9 out of 10 times project failures and delays occur due to miscommunication or lack of it. And this clearly indicates how important it is to have crisp and timely communication with the project stakeholders.

From a project start to finish, an active Communication plan needs to be put in place for each phase of the project. And most importantly with the identification of the right stakeholders for the right information.

Project Communication involves management reporting, weekly and daily status updates, risks and issues reporting, cost and time management information. However, the audience for each is different. Thus knowing when to share and what to share with whom is critical.

Another aspect of communication is document management. Having a single source of truth and a central platform for all project documents accessible to all based on their roles and business needs.

Ability to notify and share foreseeable project risks and threats goes a long way in mitigating them and steering your projects clear of unwanted obstacles.

Hence do watch out for the communication aspects like auto notifications, reminders, reporting in your desired project management software.

Budget, Cost and Expense Management

As your projects kick-off, expense tracking and staying within the allocated budget also becomes critical. As a Project Manager, you have to constantly balance the 3 constraints – cost, quality and scope.

Depending on the nature of your project you must track your expenses ranging from equipment, software license, office rent, travel, labour costs etc. With a live dashboard on your side it becomes easier for you to track your project health in terms of cost and budget.

In addition to tracking, control over expenses can be attained by having the right management approvals in place by way of project management software.

Not only that, as you incur expenses you can also see your expense types to get a fair understanding of what eats the most of your project budget. This will help you to plan better for the remaining duration of the project plus for all such future projects.

Time and Resource Management

Projects run on the backs of your resources from humans to tools, equipment, software, hardware etc. Gauging the required consumption for the project at hand and allocating resources accordingly is crucial for timely delivery and success.

If you are dealing with the knowledge industry which is labour cost intensive it is imperative that you perform optimum time tracking to ensure your resources are not squandering away precious time. Implementing time tracking & time sheets is highly advisable to ensure optimum resource utilization.

Along with utilization, you must also stay on top of your resources’ availability. Lack of resources have a direct impact on your project timelines and cause major loss of face with your clients and put your company’s reputation in jeopardy.

Relying on a PMS, which provides real time insights on your resources, will help you mitigate delays due to unplanned leaves, scope changes or budget constraints.

Over to You

All-round project management software provides you with easy task management, bug and issue management, document management, time and resource management and project portfolio management to take care of all your project management needs.

Moreover, you immensely benefit from a live overarching view of all your projects thereby putting you in absolute control.

Catapult your business into the direction of growth backed by immense efficiency and productivity!