When you have to start a new project, whether working as a team or individually, it is always advisable to correctly organize all tasks in order of priority.
This way, you guarantee better control over what each team member must do, preventing something from being overlooked, and you can discard the bad timing in each person’s responsibilities at all costs.
That is why, today, we will talk about project management.
The solution I propose is a tool that performs the functions of project management, which will make it easier for you and your entire team to carry out the new jobs that are proposed in a more professional way.
Are you interested in knowing more about that? Continue reading this guide that I prepared just for you, in which I will answer all your questions and also show you the best project managers that exist today.
What is a project manager?
After reading the introduction to this post, you probably already know more or less what we are talking about, but today we will talk more deeply about project management.
Project management software, a tool for organizing your work. With an effective project management system, you can follow all the stages of your planning so that your work will flow smoothly.
If you work with the correct software, you will be able to organize and assign specific tasks to each member of your team, with options for setting a time limit for each step of the process.
As you can see, a project management software is the best option in terms of division of labor, control of delivery times, and increased productivity, primarily if, as I mentioned before, you work with a team of people with different assignments.
But although most systems were created for working with several people, you can use one of this software for your solo projects, because, even if you work alone, it will help you to visualize the project on a single page, so that you can see how much time you have to finish each activity.
Why does an entrepreneur (and almost anyone) need a project management system?
Now that you know the benefits of a project management tool, you may be wondering why you should get a system for your company.
There is no better way to answer all your concerns than to show all the benefits point by point:
1) More agile information management
Since professional project management systems offer a panel on which you can add all the necessary information from your daily work, you can have everything in one place, which is very much appreciated. If you select the perfect software, you won’t have to open several tabs or work with different browsers just for checking the status of your project.
In the tool, you can highlight what you consider most important to avoid losing any relevant information that, for example, was sent by another user or by email.
There is no doubt that a project management software will save you this task, as it will allow you to have all the information on one screen, with options to organize your workflow.
Again, an advanced project time tracker will provide you with project insights based on your time and budget estimates.
2) Better planning
If you don’t plan your actions, you will be blind. Planning is key to the success of any project, not only because you will be able to set your goals, but also because you will be able to determine which person in the team will be responsible for each task.
This is one of the main advantages of a project management system, as you will have a lot of information in just a few clicks.
You will be able to assign responsibilities to your staff and delegate tasks easily, with options to control everything that is happening.
Some tools offer time limiters to ensure that the user will be notified if he doesn’t finish the task within the stipulated time.
3) More confidence for your customers
Project management systems usually offer an attractive graphical interface to organize information and review task status quickly.
This is vital for companies that offer outsourcing services, as the client will be able to follow the progress of the project (you can share the screen with them or send updates and reports, so that the contractor will be able to see how things are going.)
Although at first, you might think it would be risky to allow clients to follow the project in real-time, as they could start interfering with your workflow; it is essential to keep them up to date so that they can see that you are working.
I’ll explain: you will have the opportunity to avoid those long meetings where you have to explain how the project is progressing point by point, as they will be able to check this information on their own.
4) Recognize the profitability of projects
One of the first things you should consider before accepting a new project is how long you will have to invest in it. After all, time costs money, and if you don’t calculate the number of hours you will need; you could lose money.
The advantage of using a project manager is that you can see in the tool how much time you have spent together with the work team in different areas.
With this, you will be able to know if all the time spent on the project has a positive ROI and identify aspects that didn’t work, either due to a planning error or because you simply didn’t send the correct budget to your client.
As I have shown throughout this article, project management systems are the best option for planning individual or teamwork, as they allow you to anticipate these setbacks in this regard.
As an example: imagine that you planned and listed all the tasks of the project and delegated responsibilities to each user and how much time they will have to complete the tasks.
If you know how much time they will devote to completing each task, you will know the total hours needed to complete the project. With this information, you will know the monthly and total cost of your project.
An advanced tool can give you directions so that you can decide whether to accept the project or refuse it, or even adjust your price to charge more for the work.
A good software will be vital to ensure that you will charge your customers a fair price.
6 best project management systems to increase your productivity
Now that you know all the benefits that a project management tool can offer for your future projects, you should be eager to start using one.
But before you start a long search to find the best systems, let me say that I already did this job for you, and I will share this information for free:
1) Trello
The Trello project management tool will not only help you accomplish your work projects, but it will also work as a personal planner in which you can organize your tasks.
In addition to that, it will allow you to add more complete descriptions, by that I mean that you can even attach some files and due dates, if, as I mentioned earlier, an action must be completed in a limited period of time.
You can also separate tasks by color, or, if you prefer, by priority.
This software is available for Android and iOS, which means that you can monitor your project anywhere. And in case Trello doesn’t perfectly meet your needs, there are plenty of Trello alternatives out there to explore.
2) Harvest
The Harvest project management system is undoubtedly the best alternative for those who need to manage large projects, that is, jobs that take a long time.
It offers the possibility to organize all tasks in a calendar divided into weeks, with options to create daily tasks and set a deadline for each one of them.
Something I should also mention, as it can make a difference when it comes to choosing new software, is the fact that this tool offers several integration options. You can integrate it with Google Chrome, GitHub, basecamp, Asana, and Trello, the latter mentioned earlier.
This powerful project management system is available for mobile devices, both for Android and iOS, and it also has a timer-like tool that you can add to your computer.
3) ActiveCollab
ActiveCollab is the system that will provide you with a better user experience since you will have all your projects on one screen and will be able to manage them easily.
Another great advantage is the notification panel that it offers, where you can leave comments and interact with each member of the project.
Finally, it also offers an option to create invoices from the same application.
This incredible system is available for mobile devices, be it Android, iOS and desktops with Windows and MAC operating systems.
4) Freedcamp
Freedcamp will give you many possibilities for assigning tasks, as you can classify them as public or private so that you can have control of your personal and professional tasks.
You can also create subtasks, and thus distribute all your projects in a more specific and organized way.
Other factors to consider would be creating monthly calendars, the option to engage in discussions between people on the same project, version control for documentation, and error tracking.
Available for mobile devices, for Android and IOS operating systems, and for desktops that are running windows.
5) Asana
Asana is a tool with a very friendly interface, which allows you to view all pending tasks in each project.
Asana has a progress indicator, which means that you will be able to follow the progress of your project and see if things are going well or if you will have to speed up the work.
In addition to that, it also generates graphs, so you can see how busy the team members were during the project.
Asana also offers integration with several applications, about 100 in total, including LinkedIn, Gmail, Google docs, Slack and Dropbox.
Undoubtedly, a very complete project management system, offering many alternatives. This software is available for Android and iOS devices.
6) Todoist
Todoist is the fastest way to schedule all your tasks, both personal and professional, with the option to assign subtasks and priorities.
It also provides graphs, in which you have a view of daily production in terms of the number of tasks, and you can also create daily goals or deadlines.
It can also be integrated with various applications, such as Alexa, Dropbox, Google calendar, zapier, and IFTT.
But there is no doubt that one of the best features of todoist is the compatibility with numerous systems. You can use it on computers, mobile devices, Google plug-ins, email plug-ins, and smartwatches. This means that you can access it from anywhere, regardless of the device you are using.
Conclusion
It doesn’t matter if you are managing a team with multiple collaborators or working alone; to create successful projects, you will need to organize all tasks correctly.
That is why working with project management tools will make your life much more comfortable, by that I mean that you will have a better view of the work in general.
You can also subdivide your tasks to facilitate the organization of the team, assigning responsibilities and deadlines for each stage of the project. If you select the correct software for your needs, managing your tasks will become much easier.
Working with a project management system is vital to improving your team’s performance and workflow.
So, take advantage of the tools we saw in this post to optimize your productivity and results.
My recommendation is that you don’t continue to put this aside and start taking advantage of all that project management systems can offer you in your next jobs.
Haven’t chosen the best software yet? Do it right now!
