Project Management App

What is Project Management Applications? 

Project management software (PMS) alias “Project Management Application Software is a computer program designed to help all involved in a project, to initiate, plan, execute, monitor and finish a project of any type or size.

It is designed to execute the following tasks:

• Plan and Document project tasks/activities.
• Assign budget and control costs.
• Build schedules/timelines.
• Mitigate project issues.
• Manage risks.
• Assemble teams by organizing human resources.
• Ensure collaboration and cooperation between the same and different team participants.
• Control and assure quality.
• Share information.

With all of the aspects, let’s have a look at the best project management tools and techniques:

1. ASANA

ASANA is one of the best project management apps available. It has a variety of options for visualizing projects.

Features:

• It facilitates the use of dashboards and conversations.
• The TEAM PAGES can be used to share messages with the entire team.
• There is also a smart box feature that shows the notifications only important to a particular team member.
• It has the following views: List, Board, Calendar, and Timeline. 
• ASANA can easily be integrated with other data sources like Google Drive, Github, Dropbox, and many more.

Pros and cons of Asana:

Pros	Cons
Easy-to-use and highly intuitive user interface that has been thoughtfully designed.	Lacks tracking features
Expansive integration and compatibility with many other project management apps, such as Google Drive, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.	Requires some experience, and it can be difficult to master for people completely new to project management.
A collaboration-focused project management tool that lets users invite others to their digital workspace.	Too many features can make even simple tasks feel a bit overwhelming.
Organized and efficient task management and real-time information that allows users to prioritize tasks with ease.	Assignments are limited as only one user can be assigned to a task at any given time.

Pricing:

• The plan with basic project views and features is free for teams of up to 15 people.
• The Premium Plan with a timeline view, templates, dependencies, templates, and other advanced features costs $10.99 per month per user.

Platforms:

• Android
• iOS
• Web

2. Basecamp

Basecamp is a very popular project management tool. It offers many collaboration facilities. Unlike other apps that are very powerful but also complex, Basecamp is refreshingly simple.

Features:

• It divides your work into projects containing features like a to-do list, a calendar, a group chat for quick messages, and a message board.
• You can store documents, spreadsheets, images, and other external files.
• Each project has a feature– automatic check-ins. It has recurring questions that prompt members to report their progress, reducing the requirement for meetings.
• Hill Charts are a unique Basecamp feature to visualize your project progress. It displays each project’s to-do lists on a curve resembling a hill.

Pros and Cons of Basecamp:

Pros	Cons
* Easy to get started. * You can upload documents over the cloud. * Enhanced project visibility * Ability to create client-specific projects * Great customer support * Favorable pricing * Well-built communication features	* Users can put their comments in a dedicated area that is meant for discussion only; updates can be sent via emails. * It is not possible to add deadlines for each individual task.

Pricing:

• 30 days free trial.
• A flat fee of $99/month after the free trial.
• Free accounts for students and educators.
• 10% discount for nonprofits.
• A free Personal version with limited users, projects, and storage.

Platforms:

• Android
• iOS
• Mac
• Windows
• Web

3. JIRA

JIRA is the most used project management software by various organizations that work on the Agile SDLC principle.

Features:

• The teams can create Kanban boards and custom scrum boards.
• They can use real-time reporting facilities.
• Bugs can easily be tracked and resolved.
• Several features are built specifically for software development teams.
• Issues are the core representing what your team is working on. You can easily organize your issues into a backlog.

Pros and Cons of JIRA

Pros	Cons
* Agile work management with Scrum and Kanban. * Teams and organizations can stay aligned with Jira roadmaps. * They allow users to roll up work from team level to company-wide initiatives. * Ready-to-use dashboards and reports. Offers up-to-date work information and timely insights.  * DevOps visibility.	* Lacks features to manage cost and assess risks. * Challenging setup for first-time users. It has a steep learning curve. * Missing communication tool for sending messages directly from Jira. * Confusing to build a complete suite of solutions.

Pricing:

• The basic plan is free for up to 10 users but has limited features.
• It costs $7/month per user for teams of 11–100 users.
• A discount is available for larger teams.
• A self-hosted version is also available.

Platforms:

• Android
• iOS
• Mac
• Windows
• Linux
• Web

4.Wrike

Wrike is a cloud-based project management software. This free project management app can easily be integrated with Google Apps, Excel, and other software.

Features :

• Users can edit, create, and view documents directly from their email ID.
• It is the best free task management software available for small teams.
• This app supports the best use of Google project management tools.

Pros	Cons
* Easy-to-use task management * It is a powerful proofing tool with an ideal central workspace for team collaboration.  * Easy to comment directly on task elements like Docs, PDF files, videos and other digital assets. * Flexible templates for projects that favor time-saving. * Improved visibility	* It can be expensive for solo users. * Missing chat option * Some integrations result in delayed notifications. * Missing note-taking tool

Pricing

• Free Pricing
• plan available
• Professional: $9.80 user/month
• Business: $24.80 user/month
• Enterprise: Price available on request

Platforms

• Web
• Windows
• Mac
• Android
• iOS

5. Teamwork PM

Teamwork Project Management packs all the essential project tracking abilities that a user can ask for.

Features :

• It is quite easy to use and is intuitive.
• We can add milestones, task management, conversation boxes, file storage, and also visualizations like a Gantt Chart.
• Database management is also possible with the inclusion of DropBox, Google Drive, etc.

Pros and Cons of Teamwork PM

Pros	Cons
Billing and invoicing feature	It can be tedious to learn.
Offers burndown reporting and utilization reports	The interface can be slow at times.
You can set a project time budget using Teamwork	Too many features make it difficult for beginners

Pricing

• 30-day free trial
• Free plan for up to 5 users per plan
• Deliver Plan: $9.99 user/ month
• Grow Plan: $17.99 user/ month
• Scale Plan: Get a custom quote

Platforms

• Web-based
• iPhone
• iPad
• Android
• Windows
• Mac
• Linux

6. Zoho Project

Zoho is a free project management app that comes with all the standard features of any other software app.

Features :

• It facilitates the use of Gantt charts and integration with other platforms.
• It has a basic built-in tracking system.
• Allows basic reporting abilities
• This free task management app is cloud-based and works well for midsize organizations.

Pros and Cons of Zoho Project

Pros	Cons
* Downtime is rare. * Billing and time tracking features come with great functionalities. * Facilitates easy communication between members. * Easy to track the progress of tasks and projects. * Very responsive customer support.	* Its task search capability requires improvement. * Bug reporting is not efficient. * Poor dashboard functionality as it does not let users easily include client contact information or arrange client names alphabetically. * High learning curve

Pricing

• Free for up to 3 users
• Premium Plan: ₹350/user/month for up to 50 users
• Enterprise Plan: ₹700/user/month with no upper limit for users

Platforms

• Android
• iOS
• iPad OS

7. Microsoft Project Management Software

Also called MS Project is one of the best project management apps and has been in the business for nearly three decades in various forms. It is still very widely used for complex projects.

Features :

• Microsoft Project management tools facilitate strong reporting capabilities.
• It can be used to create built-in and customized reports which can be extracted to a PowerPoint slide.
• This software is mainly used by trained professionals who know their way to extract the best out of this app.

Pros and cons of Microsoft project managenent Software

Pros	cons
Integration with the ubiquitous Microsoft 365 Office suite. It also works seamlessly with Skype, Microsoft Teams, Power BI, and Sharepoint .	It requires training.
Provides reliable support to its users.	Comes with cost constraints.
Flexible for other purposes like a road mapping tool or financial management.	File compatibility issues as MS Project saves files in a proprietary format. Thus, PCs that do not use this program cannot open them.

Pricing

• One-month free trial
• Project Plan 1: ₹720 per user/month
• Project Plan 3: ₹2,160 per user/month
• Project Plan 5: ₹3,960 per user/month

Platforms

• Windows
• Web

8. Smartsheet :

Smartsheet brings effective team task management, crowdsourcing, sales pipeline tracking, and an innovative way to collaborate on projects and processes. It eases the use of spreadsheets with visual timeline management together with collaborative and automated workflow capabilities, discussions and file sharing. If your business uses spreadsheets for tracking finances, scheduling, and inventorying them, Smartsheet could be a choice for you.

Pricing :

• It does not have a free service.
• It has a Pro Plan of $7/user/month, a Business Plan of $25/user/month along with the offer of a free trial.

9. monday.com :

monday.com is known for its simple, intuitive interface for easier onboarding and quicker adoption for your entire team. Something which could be really challenging in the case of other PMS application software.

Of all the available Project management tools, Monday is known for its visual and collaborative platform for planning, organizing and tracking project progress, powerful searching capabilities, and unlimited storage.

Pricing :

• The pricing starts at Basic $8/seat/month, Standard $8/seat/month, Pro $16/seat/month, and billing could be done monthly or annually.
• Seamless upgrading can be done to Standard, Pro, or Enterprise versions as per your demand, along with tailored onboarding.
• A 14-day ‘no credit card required’ free trial is also available.

Before choosing the project management software for your  organization, here are a few features that an ideal project management app should provide

• It should let the team-leaders hold discussions over the application’s platform and direct messages both privately and collectively to the members.
• It should be able to send a notification to the members over SMS or an email so that they don’t have to log in to the tool to check all the updates.
• It should facilitate the storage of documents in a central database that should be accessible by all the members. Also, the documents could be password protected so that the privacy of the documents can be ensured.
• A mobile app should be provided so that team members working remotely can access the project management system with ease and at their convenience.
• Visualizations help to see the progress of multiple projects running together.  Visualizations in the form of Gantt Charts are useful in showing the timelines. They could be included in the app to enable efficient reporting.

Steps to Choose the Right Project Management Application 

Any good Project management software is designed to improve the efficiency and productivity of all the members involved and finally refine the overall project quality. The superabundance availability of project management apps alongside many free project management software could be overwhelming for any company, as choosing the right one becomes a tough task.

Almost all high-quality project management software applications provide similar features though no two platforms are precisely the same. But before you decide to go for one, some homework is required at the organizational level to ensure the perfect one is chosen.

1. Organization Size

Large enterprises have different needs from SMEs. For startups or freelancers, some free project management software could be sufficient to start with and can be scaled up to paid version as and when needed. We have already mentioned a few good free project management tools.

2. Pain points :

It would help if you understand the bottlenecks you are facing with your projects which you think using any good project management software tools would help. Make a list of your pain points and discuss with the vendors if their application can address them and to what extent. If you document your expectations in clear terms the application provider clearly understands your needs and their deliverables.

3. User Friendly

• Not all project management apps are easy to use. Some could be tough to learn for many. You need to choose something with the ‘ease of use’ in mind without having hours to spend mastering the complicated interfaces.
• Once you have clarity on the type of project management application that suits your business the best, here are a few application features to look for:
• A user-friendly mobile app must be there for fast and remote access or take any quick action, especially on the go. Because not everyone would be sitting at the desk working, many may be busy on the shop floor or elsewhere.
• The team leaders or managers should be able to hold discussions over the application’s platform with the facility of sending/receiving direct messages both privately and collectively to the members.
• The facility of a central database with accessibility by the involved members. Password protection of the documents to ensure privacy is required.
• SMS or email notification facility, without having to log in to check the updates.
• Dashboard features could be in the form of Gantt Charts showing timelines for effective visualizations and understanding of the project’s progress.

Advantages of Using a Project Management Application :

Exploring the benefits of using project management software, there are many. As an organization grows, it becomes rather difficult to function in the desired way of meeting goals and client satisfaction without a proper project management tool. To enlist some benefits are:

Real-time Work Collaboration: The moment someone uploads a deliverable or marks a task as complete, the entire team gets the notification, replacing any manual message convey.

Easier Remote Work: Employees from anywhere in the world can experience seamless work like receiving the deliverable tasks, understanding and tracking work progress, communicating, asking questions or anything else.

Central Warehousing of All Documents: All the needed documents, files and images are available instantly to be accessed by anyone involved in the project without having to ask.

Automated Report Generation: No more wasting time generating manual reports in excel sheets with even chances of errors.

Project Management App Features:

1. Planning :

Definitely the first in line should be the project planning feature. Often this comes in the form of a Gantt chart, schedule or calendar to visualize how the different pieces of your project fit together, keeping the project work on track. The Planning features help to set project goals, milestones and objectives by mapping the key tasks and due dates.

2. Managing Tasks :

The entire project needs to be broken into smaller building blocks or tasks that when woven together will complete a project. The idea is to delegate responsibilities by breaking work into small and manageable fragments and assigning them to different teams. Further granularity is possible by creating subtasks under tasks usually with a deadline attached to each.

Most of the agile project management tools come with project management templates that include work packages or actions that you frequently perform or apply to various projects. The templates also help you to standardize your tasks.

3. Communication :

An essential feature to facilitate the free flow of conversation and information related to the project. It gives clarity about a work’s progress, helps to clear bottlenecks arising due to doubt or lack of understanding, and keeps the members well informed of the progress and developments.

4. Resource Management :

Gives clarity to the project manager, team leaders and members on who is working on what, when and for how long. Not only does this set the onus but also ensures that no one is over or underworked.

5. Budget and Time Tracking :

The time tracking feature permits to understand the time (and costs as well) spent on a project and can again be broken down into subtasks for better clarity and control. The project managers get to know the hour-accountability of the employees and manage the project budget effectively.

6. Dashboards :

Allows visualizing the progress of each task, time spent for its completion (or which ones are getting delayed) and also the projects that are more successful than others. Basically, this is an overview section to learn how much work has been done, which tasks are on track or off track, and where you need to adjust the deadline or allocate more resources or reduce. Some project management tools or rather the best project management tools, even highlight the overdue tasks or the ones that are about to be late. Mostly they provide dashboards with real-time data.

7. File /Document sharing :

All team project management apps come either as a part of the communication functionality or as a standalone feature of sharing files, documents, images, and spreadsheets and organizing them in different folders. The accessibility is given to the concerned people involved.

Conclusion:

Only using the right project management app is not the only influencing factor in successful project closure. A well-balanced mix of technology, and human expertise with a harmonious mix of hard and soft skills is going to remain imperative.