How to Choose the Best Online Project Management Solution

It’s hard to think of an organization, an industry, or even individuals that do not benefit from some form of project management. Project management has several universal functions that have been used by both the pharaohs of Egypt to construct the pyramids and Elon Musk to invent the electric sports car. Task and cost management, planning and communication, timelines and milestones are all hallmarks of a good project management process. Since all project managers intend to stay on time and on budget, they put principles and practices in place to foster efficiencies by controlling schedules, cost, performance, and goal attainment.

Comprehensive project management is composed of five themes:

1. Project definition or initiation
2. Planning
3. Execution
4. Monitoring and controlling
5. Close

The list of industries that practice effective and collaborative project management is climbing, and you may be surprised by some of the names.

For example, creative businesses such as publishers, designers, bloggers, and advertising agencies use coordination, goal setting, and collaboration to move teams forward to complete campaigns and programs, website redesigns, publications, or products. Engineers, software designers, and manufacturing companies set milestones, move projects through interactions, and track resources and time when inventing, improving, or building products.

Individual business departments such as human resources, finance, sales, and marketing have employee training, event management, on-boarding, year-end reporting, CRM and lead management, and product launches that call for task management, coordination, and communication. Project management is even used by authors, consultants, curriculum developers, and wedding planners.

Take a look at this project management guide to learn more about industry-specific project management.

There is a reason why the adage “he who fails to plan is planning to fail” is as true today as when Winston Churchill uttered it during World War II. It is also true that project management principles are as critical when staging a military strike as they are when building a skyscraper in New York or developing an e-commerce website.

Planning is the first step. However, at the heart of project management is a set of guidelines and practices that foster collaboration, cooperation, productivity, and accountability. It’s a process that keeps teams working together to move projects forward and to get things done. Thanks to today’s project management solutions, teams can be anywhere in the world, collaborating on the same unobstructed information, files, and calendars.

A recent global survey, Pulse of the Profession®, conducted by the Project Management Institute (PMI), identified that when project management has a “high alignment to strategy, ” it is 38 percent more effective for achieving project goals. The report also cited that 83 percent of executive leaders surveyed fully understand the value of project management.

By implementing online project management tools, you help support the value that project management brings to an organization. Many organizations have adopted cloud-based solutions to handle their project management needs and business growth. These tools offer a high level of project visibility, ease of use, flexible configurations, and social media-like collaboration options.

Additional benefits of online project management include the following:

• Save time. Eliminate time-wasters, such as lost documents and unwieldy email trails.

• Improve collaboration. Today’s cloud solutions are mobile and unite remote teams that are scattered across the building or around the world. They provide a designated place for all to gather and gain visibility into discussions, information, and progress tracking.

• Improve accountability. Chatroom and file sharing keep information front and center to allow teams, especially those that depend upon the work of others to self-govern, be accountable, stay on-task, and meet deadlines.

• Support green initiatives. Online collaboration and file sharing eliminates much of the paper clutter that populates desks and conference rooms.

• Save money. Automating workflows, getting organized, simplifying processes, and implementing flexible pay-as-you-go payment models can positively impact budgets.

Hundreds of project management solutions are available for businesses of any size and in any industry vertical. Whether you’re looking for a solution that can be used by an individual or one that supports thousands of workers around the world, on-premises and cloud-based solutions in a variety of pricing structures are available for monthly subscriptions, annual subscriptions, up-front payment, and even free open source.

Cloud-based solutions are becoming the new norm. They tend to be less expensive, require less overhead, and are less cumbersome than on-premise (locally hosted) solutions. Flexibility, ease of use, cost-effectiveness, accessibility, and modernity are often considered hallmarks of cloud-based software.

You should also take into account the structure of your team, your accessibility needs, and your industry when evaluating available tools. There are a range of options, from single-proprietor businesses that track simple tasks to enterprise-scale tools for multiple teams and projects. There are tools specially constructed for Agile teams with Kanban boards, iteration and sprint planning, and Gantt charts. Enhanced collaboration tools, publication calendars, and change tracking are available for creatives to bounce around and save ideas, as well as review and retrieve past versions. Many are free to use as a limited trial and offer flexible subscriptions to accommodate more users or unlock enhanced support, training, and security.

Finding the right solution for your company begins with identifying your requirements. Small, single-project teams that depend upon task completion have different needs than enterprise product development teams.

For example, Agile software development requires functions that support short bursts of activity over a long process. By contrast, a daily newspaper may be extremely detailed and require minute-by-minute time management. Construction companies that are building homes or a freshwater dam may have numerous departments, supply chains, and consultants that need coordination. And a nonprofit has to take into consideration its limited budget.

In addition to functionality, consider industry, budget, number of users, size of the projects, purpose, and amount of projects when evaluating solutions.

The top-ranking cloud-based project management solutions include functionality that supports real-time project initiation, overall planning, execution, testing, monitoring, and project completion. Below are some features to consider:

• Task Management: Create, update, and assign tasks and subtasks to users. Follow progress tracking, completion, and interdependencies.

• Collaboration and Communication: Users can freely communicate, chat, discuss, conference, share, and coordinate. This may include a wiki, a forum, email notifications, reminders, and a social wall.

• File Sharing and Document Management: Store files in a central area for easy access. Also consider storage capabilities, version tracking, and change history.

• Project Planning: Provide entire project views of scope, progress, timelines, calendars, and budget. Follow and identify dependencies, resources, and constraints. Set benchmarks and milestones.

• Displays/Dashboards/Reports: Enable easy-to-view displays of the project and interdependent activities. Include time tracking, costs, historical data, milestones, and metrics.

• Accessibility: Allow mobile and computer access for on-site and remote workers.

• Industry-Specific Functions: This includes Gantt charts, publication calendars, social media templates, and Kanban boards.

• Templates: Pre-defined templates allow you to configure tasks, layout, and information as much or as little as you desire.

• Integrations: Integrate with critical business systems for workflow, chat, resource planning, invoicing, bug tracking, and issue tracking.

• Security: Look for a secure platform with backups, user-specific permissions, and the ability to manage private/public data.

• Resource Management: Allocate and manage project resources, including people, materials, and equipment.

A full-suite project management solution that supports large-enterprise scalability and customization may be too pricey and overwhelming for smaller organizations. Fortunately, single-project organizations can find budget-friendly solutions that fit their basic task management requirements.

As with any new management solution, evaluate and compare several cloud-based options. In addition, communicate with the team and leadership; consider scalability, security, and ease of use; evaluate the vendor’s support, upgrades, and training; and take advantage of a free trial before making a final purchase decision.

Project management has evolved from linear, task-oriented functions to a discipline involving collaboration, cooperation, and accountability. Whether the project is a single author writing a book, the monthly publication of a magazine, or thousands working on a world-changing invention, project management tools bring enormous value: enhanced communication, improved coordination, and cost-saving productivity. Even more, effective project management helps teams exceed management expectations, cut time and cost to market, and deliver exceptional products and services to customers and stakeholders, thus fueling high levels of success and growth.

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