12 Most Striking Benefits of Using a Project Management Software for Business Projects
12 Most Striking Benefits of Using a Project Management Software for Business Projects
By Sharon Thomson
The success and failure of a business in its projects, depends a lot on how it handles them. If it sticks to the traditional approach of holding meetings, sending emails, discussing graphs and charts, etc… then their chances of success decrease as these traditional methods consume a lot of time and resources, and add up to the costs and are less flexible. So quality planning and organization over projects cannot be achieved through them.
Their limitation is that they are unable to properly and timely track any inconsistencies in a project which affects the quality of its deliverables, causing delays or project failure. Once a project gets affected, the damage cannot be undone.
So it is better to adopt such tools which allow timely identification of issues and risks in projects and facilitate their prompt and firm rectification. Thus ensuring that the project is on track.
In such a critical scenario an online project management software can help in timely tracking and rectification of such issues and risks. Any changes in the projects can be flexibly accommodated. It enables proper and enhanced organization and planning and ensures that a project is timely delivered. This tool offers numerous advantages to businesses, who can benefit by adopting them.
Thus they can better manage their projects and do away the limitations associated with traditional project management methods.
- Better Planning, Organization and Scheduling over projects
Proper planning and organization is important for a project’s success. An online project management software helps to clearly define and document a project’s objectives and goals. Planners, managers and other experts can actively put forth their ideas and proposals, which can result in formulation of an elaborate project plan. They can actively define roles and duties for various members of the team, set start and due dates of the project, etc. So there is perfect clarity over every member’s role and other project items. The roles, duties, tasks, processes and various project items are clearly defined and documented and are saved for future references. So no ambiguities remain over these. Thus they can achieve better organization and planning over a project.
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Improved communication and collaboration among team members
The success of a project also depends on how fast and accurately its team members can communicate and collaborate among themselves. This tool enables effortless and instant communication and collaboration between them. Teams working remotely can quickly connect with each other, and discuss collaboratively over matters and resolve them fast.
This enhances their productivity besides saving time and effort. Moreover, they need not arrange physical meetings to discuss over issues as this can be easily achieved through online discussions. This saves huge amount of time and money and the work need not be halted for participation in such meetings.
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Perfect task distribution and timely completion of tasks
In manual project management, it becomes difficult to know who is performing which task as there are multiple tasks being performed by several people at one time. Most of the project manager’s time gets wasted in keeping a tab over who is doing what, which leaves him or her with very little time for actual project management.
But with a project management tool, tasks can be clearly defined and documented through task lists. Members know clearly which tasks have been assigned to them and when they need to finish them off. Thus it is easier for manager now to keep a tab and also less confusing for both managers and the team members.
Through timely email reminders, they come to know that which of their tasks are approaching their due dates thus helping them to complete those tasks before the due date elapses. With this, they are more accountable for their tasks and their productivity also gets enhanced. The status of tasks can be precisely tracked. Once a task gets completed, email notifications are sent to the project manager and team members. So there is perfect clarity over tasks and members remain timely updated over status of tasks.
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Centralized pooling of information, resources and files
In manual project management, if a change happens in specific data, documents or information, team members come to know of it quite late and they might have already completed their tasks using the old data which necessitates redoing the tasks, affecting productivity, causing delays and pushing up costs. But through project management tools, everyone working over a project gets access to the same and updated information instantaneously. Thus, all are on the same page over a project. This is made possible through stocking of data, documents and files in a single centralized location, making easy for members to access them fast and easily boosting their productivity and saving time. Thus they can work on right data and achieve timely and quality results and this boosts their productivity.
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Precise time tracking
A project is time bound so it has to be managed and completed within the allocated time span. Thus a tool having timesheets feature ensures proper and accurate documentation of time spent over various tasks. This helps a project manager to know which tasks are being completed within the prescribed time limit and which are not, who is delaying his tasks more often and who is completing them timely. Thus he can quickly identify delayed tasks and get them executed on a higher priority by redistributing them among those members who have already completed their tasks, by hiring more men or by taking other adequate measures.
This is quite helpful in those cases where a business charges its clients and customers on the basis of number of hours spent over their assignments. It can refer the timesheets and show these to clients to let them know exactly how much time was spent in doing the assigned tasks. Thus increasing transparency between client and service provider.
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Work on projects on the move
A project management tool enables users to connect with their projects even on the go. Using their phones or tablets, they can check out everything important happening in their projects and contribute actively in them. So their work never gets affected even if they are away from their workplaces and they stay abreast with the project even when they’re on the move.
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Collaboration over designs
Designs are playing a major role in marketing and promotion of businesses. Beautiful and customer friendly designs can attract more and more people towards a business which can be converted into potential customers.
Inviting feedback over designs through emails has some limitations like they do not allow large files to be attached and they limit the file types that can be transferred through them. The email messages sent by designers to their clients for inviting feedback over designs get responded late by the clients which delays the design creation, review and approval process. This in turn can delay design projects and ultimately increase the project costs. A design has to be revised multiple times during its review and proofing process. This ultimately leads to delay or failure of project.
But by choosing a project management software with proofing tool feature, a designer can get instantaneous feedback over a design which can be readily approved saving time, costs and effort. Also, it supports multiple file types and one can easily upload large files.
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Protection and security of data
Data security is so vital for businesses. Any loss or manipulation of data can drastically affect a business’ working and can put a serious dent to its reputation. But an online project management tools ensure data safety and security by using latest encryption and security protocols. One can set permissions, accessibility for all users thus ensuring that everything can’t be accessed by all and critical data remains in safe hands.
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Saving time, costs and resources
By enabling better management of tasks, activities and other items, projects can be executed easily and efficiently. This also ensures that resources allocated for a project get optimally utilized avoiding their wastage or over utilization. As team members can communicate quickly and accurately, their time and effort gets saved. They can complete their tasks timely and as per requirement.
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Involvement and satisfaction of stakeholders
By using such tools, a business can easily communicate and collaborate with its clients, customers, sponsors and other stakeholders over various project matters. It can provide them a true view over the progress achieved over various tasks and activities, thus providing better transparency. This boosts the organization’s reputation among its stakeholders as they know it remains committed towards the project and it will likely be able to complete it on time.
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Accurate tracking of a project’s progress
During a project’s execution it is quite important to know exactly how much progress has been made on its tasks and activities. This helps to know if it is moving in the right direction. The Gantt chart feature of a project management tool can do that. All tasks in a Gantt chart are allocated specific due dates and completion date. So lesser priority tasks never get missed out even if higher priority tasks get executed first.
Tasks can be easily rescheduled if required. Dependencies among interdependent tasks can be established which helps in automatic rescheduling of dependent tasks if an independent task gets rescheduled.
A project manager can share a Gantt chart with his team members to let them know how much progress they have achieved over their tasks. Their progress can be precisely assessed as they enter in the exact progress achieved over their tasks on a daily basis. Also, any tasks that are likely to be delayed can be discovered quickly which helps the project manager to get them executed on a priority basis by taking adequate measures.
Any changes in the project plan can be effectively accommodated easily which saves time and effort over planning. Thus a project manager gets greatly relieved by knowing that the project is functioning in a smooth and desired manner. He can critically analyze a project and control its execution. He can even share a Gantt chart with the project’s stakeholders to let them know the exact progress achieved.
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Personalization
Branding of a business helps it to spread its reach to more and more people which can generate people’s interest about its services and products. A project management tool imparts a business the ability to add branding in its application and thus boosting its reputation and popularity among clients, customers and other people.
Are you still sticking with the traditional methods for managing projects? Are you facing difficulties in managing your projects through these or do you want to try out the new and enterprising project management tools for your projects. What are your thoughts and concerns?
Sharon Thomson is a Business manager of ProofHub,a SAAS based project management software that helps to manage, discuss and communicate with your team members and clients from anywhere and anytime. This online collaboration tool offers a centralized place providing features like to-do’s, milestones, timesheets, discussions, file sharing, online proofing, casper mode and inbuilt browser chat. ProofHub is the only project management software that provides In-built browser chat feature, Casper-Mode (Hidden Mode) and Proofing Tool.
