Rotem Gal — March 27, 2017 Follow @gal_rotem
While project management is being sought after by organizations to better carry out their projects and meet goals in a timely manner, recent statistics reveal that project management is failing. Nearly half of all traditional software projects are not delivered on time and exceed the allotted budget. Moreover, only 2.5% of organizations accomplish 100% of their projects.
It has also been found out that 56% of professionals are now searching for new project management tools to replace their existing ones. Over 91% of project managers are also spending more just to have a PM software tool that can supply the lacking features of their current tools in place.
The largest project management solution to date is Microsoft Project. It’s a powerful and attractive tool for SMBs. In fact, world-renowned brands use the software to plan and collaborate with their teams.
However, for most brands, Microsoft Project is too complicated to use. Every aspect of the tool should work together (from tables to calendars and other resources) or else you’ll end up with a lot of clutter.
Some common frustrations cited by Microsoft Project users include the inconvenience of having to reschedule tasks, difficulty in identifying and solving issues, the need of Project Data to be in the cloud, lack of functionality to handle change orders, and more.
The good news is that small to medium-sized businesses can leverage possible solutions to take their project management to the next level – without the hassle and complexity of having to learn and adapt to the tool. Below are 3 great solutions.
Regardless of the nature of your business, whether you own a creative agency or offer business consultation services, WorkflowMax is a comprehensive project management software that handles multiple tasks for you – from quoting projects to tracking time to generating paperless invoices. You can also personalize WorkflowMax per your business needs as well as control costs and track your profits per project.
One notable feature in WorkflowMax is Reporting, where you can immediately access any real-time data you need. You also have the freedom to customize your reports, allowing you to fully understand how your business is performing based on several areas such as team members’ progress, profitability of a project, and more.
To better personalize your overall experience on managing your business’ projects, this tool allows you to choose from a wide selection of 30 add-ons for payroll, accounting, staff scheduling, and more. These integrations include but are not limited to Box, Time Doctor, HubSpot, and Freshdesk.
In fact, WorkflowMax has positively transformed a growing business, SteelCraft, by helping them save a massive $ 50 thousand on yearly admin expenses. Through WorkflowMax, SteelCraft was also able to create custom invoices that show several areas like job numbers and staff hours. This has helped the business maintain client transparency.
A visual project management tool that streamlines the process of in-house team collaboration is Trello. Trello was acquired by Atlassian for $ 425 million and has a current user base of 19 million.
Trello takes on the concept of a “virtual sticky note on the wall.” What you’ll basically see in Trello’s simple and intuitive interface are cards that can easily be moved from one column to another depending on the progress of a project. Participants can leave comments, attach files, make several lists, use color coding to label tasks better, and more.
Trello also offers more customizable options and integrations through its Power-Ups. Depending on your needs, whether it’s analytics, sales, or marketing, you can select from several applications which you can integrate into Trello like Google Drive, Slack, and Salesforce.
However, Trello has a huge drawback: It’s lack of comprehensiveness. Users must look for another solution to integrate other essential features such as time tracking, invoicing, and CRM. This can be a potential problem is you’re looking for an all-in-one solution to supply all your project management requirements.
Asana makes a viable choice if you have an enthusiasm for creating lists and ticking them off to get things done. This project management tool is so simple that what you need to do is group your projects, prioritize them, and assign tasks. Users can also add notes, due dates, and other subtasks when necessary.
Ensuring clarity across projects, Asana enables users to see everything at a glance – the number of remaining tasks versus the number of tasks completed. No matter the campaign you’re running, Asana will help you streamline your tasks if you’re looking for simplicity and flexibility.
Asana can only allow you to add up to 15 team members if you’re going to use its free version. However, the advantage is that you’ll enjoy more features when you upgrade one of Asana’s premium plans. Another thing to note is that this tool minimizes your need to hold regular meetings and constantly rely on email for communication.
Like Trello, a drawback you may need to take note of is its lack of completeness which requires you to search for other options to use time tracking, invoicing, and CRM.
Conclusion
Perhaps the smartest and most practical decision companies can make when it comes to project management is the use of a tool that enhances your current capabilities, allowing you to save time, minimize costs, boost the efficiency of workflows, and create successful projects.
Moreover, the project management tool that you choose must give you total freedom and flexibility in meeting more complex needs like CS support, accounting, payroll, cloud storage, and accounting. This enables companies to continually grow while staying productive and competent.
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