Top Project Management Software For Your Business

What is Project Management Software?

Project management software is a category of software that covers a set of applications designed to help analyze, scope, plan and execute a project. The software provides project managers with integrated, configurable project management software applications for aspects such as project scheduling, project planning, resource allocation, communication, cost control, budget management, time and task tracking. 

Project management software applications help businesses of all sizes keep organized. If you are a project manager, it is essential that you have a reliable management tool that helps you and your team members in handling projects. Here is where a project management system comes into the picture. 

Features of Top Project Management Software

Nowadays it’s impossible to be a project manager and handle all the specifics of the job without a top project management software to back you up. From managing budgets and allocating resources to scheduling, planning and executing projects, the software offers a variety of features and functionalities that make the job of every project manager so much easier.

But which are the must-have features that a project management system should have? Below mentioned are some features that are part of the most used project management software. So you should consider these before making your purchase decision: 

1. Scheduling and Resource Optimization: Scheduling features are of utmost importance for project managers because they allow them to outline everyone’s tasks and responsibilities on the basis of a fixed timeline.This feature enables project managers to delegate new tasks to their team members. It also lets project managers track project schedules, define the sequence of actions, direct resources to more critical activities and mark deadlines.  Apart from the need to manage the team’s time, it is also incumbent on the project manager to keep track of and optimize project resources including materials, documents and meeting rooms to be used in the entire lifecycle of a project.
2. File Sharing and Document Management: With the use of project management tools, team members get to share and collaborate on files and documents with their colleagues. The file sharing functionality enables the project manager to know who has viewed or edited specific documents or files.
3. Moreover, the document management tool allows team members to access important information within seconds and edit their project-related documents in real time. If you are looking to buy a top project management software, then your system should be able to integrate with web-based document management tools such as Box and Google Docs.
4. Real-Time Reporting: A time-bound reporting system is an absolute must for successful completion of any project. Project managers need to be aware of whether their team members are working on their assigned tasks according to the fixed deadlines or not. Hence it is necessary that you should choose a project management system that allows you to track the performance of your team members through real-time progress reports.

Benefits of using a Top Project Management Software

1. Makes Project Management Easier & On Schedule: Project management system assists project managers in adopting a systematic approach. The best project management software is easy to understand, enabling team members to ensure the project goes according to plan and in a timely manner. The tool allows project managers to keep projects and tasks on schedule. It reminds the team members of impending deadlines, letting them schedule their time appropriately to complete their assigned tasks before or on the listed due date. Project Management System’s ability to efficiently manage all aspects of a project means saving time and money, eliminating manual efforts, and ultimately helping your business grow.
2. Collaboration: Project management system offers collaboration tools that allow team members to connect, share documents, status updates, timelines as well as discuss project issues in real time. With the use of project management system, you can keep each team member up to date about the latest project status in real time.
3. Cloud-based (Online) Document Sharing: Using an online Project Management software affords users the ability to access files and documents anytime, from anywhere. Online Project management software includes document sharing tools which allow team members to share files, update the status of reports and create workflows that allow for transparency and seamless communication. Collaborating on projects with team members who are located remotely also becomes very easy. Once the data is stored in the cloud the hassle of storing the data on local storage and its safety, becomes none to less. Moreover, the online project management software reduces time spent in storing, retrieving, searching and security of documents since every data is stored in a centralized location.

Drawbacks of Project Management Tools

Like any other software, a project management tool is not necessarily the best idea for every business. This is truer for small business organizations who don’t have the luxury of having resources. In such a scenario, some drawbacks of the project management system are as follows:

1. Complicating Simple Projects: While project management tools are gaining fast acceptance among organizations, there are instances when the software is not needed at all especially when it comes to simpler projects. This is because when it comes to simple projects, use of the less popular project management system can complicate the whole project.
2. Costs: The implementation of project management tools involves multiple expenses depending on the modules selected. Also, since most of the software vendors charge separately for the installation, small and medium enterprises find it hard to afford this extra expenditure. This is one of the major drawbacks of project management systems. 
3. Regular Updation & Maintenance: Apart from performing regular upgrades to the software package, you will also be required to upgrade all the necessary equipment such as PC or laptop, operating system, monitor, printer to optimally utilize the project management system. This is because newer versions of the software mostly require upgraded equipment.