A Guide to Choosing the Perfect Project Management Software

Trying to manage a project without project management is like trying to play a football game without a game plan.

– Katherine Tate

The importance of effectively managing projects becomes critical  when working on a real-time project. As a small business owner or team leader, it is always a challenge  to ensure that projects are completed on time with high quality deliverables.  However, in recent years, the use of project management software has made this task less challenging for small businesses. With various options available in the global market, selecting the best software for your business can be overwhelming. To assist in making this decision, consider the following tips when choosing a project management software for your business:

1 . Define your needs:

Just as you define your needs before making a purchase, it’s important to define your needs before selecting a project management software. With numerous options available, the best software for your business will depend on the business  requirements of your team. To assist in the selection process, consider the following needs when choosing a project management software:

• Number of Users: Consider the number of users who will be using the software for  your business.
• Effective Communication: The software should have features that facilitate effective communication among team members, such as notifications to avoid overlaps.
• Integration options: Look for options in the software to integrate with different tools that your team uses.
• Functionality: Evaluate the functionality that the software offers and consider if it will be useful for your specific project.
• Ease of use: Consider if the software is easy for your team members to navigate and use.
• Storage capacity: Look into the storage capacity of the software.
• Security: Evaluate the security features that the software offers to protect your business’s data.
• Constant evolution: You should consider a software that has the ability to evolve and adapt to the changing needs of your business as it grows, by accommodating the increasing number of users and projects.

In addition to the commonly considered parameters  outlined above, your business may have unique needs that are specific to the projects that you are working on. It is important to consider and prioritize these specific needs in conjunction with the more general needs when selecting a project management software.

2 . Research the software:

With the rapid growth of technology, the number of apps and software for various tasks are  increasing by the  day. However, not all software in  the market may be suitable for your business needs. Therefore, it’s important to conduct a thorough research on available project management software before selecting the one that meets your project needs. To aid in your research, you can:

• Create a list of top project management software and research the features of each one.
• Read customer reviews to gain insights into their experiences using the software.
• Seek recommendations from industry websites.
• Obtain feedback from colleagues and people within your industry.
• Look into the number of users that each software allows.
• Assess the level of access and control each software provides for updating project statuses, dates, and delivery schedule/timelines.
• Compare the number of useful features offered by each software.

By following these steps, you can make a well-informed decision on selecting the software that best fits the needs of your business.

3 . Testing the software:

After selecting the software, the next step is to conduct a thorough test of it. Many software providers offer a trial version of their product, which can be used to evaluate its capabilities. Before beginning the test, it is important to put together  a small team that includes members with diverse working styles and experiences working on different types of projects. Each team member should test all of the software’s features individually. Additionally, you can allocate actual projects as test cases to evaluate how the software performs in real-life scenarios.

4 . Feedback from the team:

After your team has completed testing the software, it’s important to gather detailed feedback from each team member. During a feedback session, you can ask questions to understand how the software will benefit your business, such as:

• The overall workflow of the project management software
• How easy it is to update details in the software and how much time it takes
• Integration tool responsiveness in relation to the software
• Notification functionality in the software
• Specific features that team members feel would be beneficial for the project.

Discussing these questions with team members can assist you in deciding whether to purchase or consider alternative software. Once you’ve finalized the software, you can work on creating a budget, taking into consideration the number of users, time period, and corresponding cost of the software.

5 . Implementing the software:

Once you have finalized and purchased the project management software, it’s important to focus on implementation. When implementing the software, it’s important to consider:

• Timeline: When to involve everyone, how to handle the project, and whether to spread it out or complete it in a single stroke.
• Training: What kind of training methods will be adapted for different people, who will provide the training, and how the training will be delivered?
• Integration: When to set up integrations, who will be involved in the setup, and what tools need to be integrated.

Utilizing project management software can greatly simplify the task of managing projects. Some of the benefits of using project management software include:

• Ease of project planning
• Effective management and balancing of resources
• Facilitation of communication among team members.

While there are various methods for selecting the best project management software, the steps outlined here provide a solid foundation for determining the software that can best benefit your business.