Software tools for project management are a dime a dozen these days. You have both open source and proprietary packages ranging from free to costing hundreds of dollars. But just because a software package is marketed as a solid project management tool doesn’t make it so. As with all things software, there are some great tools – and some not-so-great ones, too.
Often referred to simply as PM software, there are a number of common components every package needs. In fact, five such components are described below. They are compliments of the Janiko Group, an Atlanta firm that specializes in project management as a service. They offer on-demand project management.
1. A Measurement of Baseline
Before anything else, a PM tool needs to have some means of measuring the baseline. Team members need to know the foundation from which they are starting. They need to know the minimum standards. They need to know what a completed project looks like in its minimum iteration. All of these things together make up baseline.
Just as with scientific research, there is no way to measure the progress or success of a project without a comparative baseline. Creating a PM tool without a means to measure baseline is like building a house without a foundation. It is bound to crumble sooner or later.
2. A Measurement of Progress
It goes without saying that PM tools need a way to measure progress. Project managers and team leaders need to be able to see progress at a glance. They need to be able to look across the entire spectrum of the project and know exactly where it is at all times. Without such a measurement, it is exceedingly difficult for managers to figure out where they are and what they are doing.
3. The Ability to Track Tasks
The progress of every project is encapsulated in the individual tasks that make up a whole. As such, PM software needs to have the ability to track tasks as these are introduced, while they are in progress, and once they are completed. In a Kanban management system, tasks are visualized as color-coded squares on a board. Tasks change color and location as they progress throughout the project.
How tasks are assigned and expressed is determined largely by the model being followed. Kanban is a form of waterfall project management whereas other methodologies might follow the agile core. Regardless, managers have to be able to track tasks in process. Otherwise, they are lost.
4. Budgeting Snapshots and Forecasts
In order for managers and coordinators to do what they do they need an accurate assessment of financials at all times. Far too many PM tools skimp on this one component. Yet, financials are a big part of project completion. Managers need to know where they are in terms of their budgets. They need to know how much they have spent and how much remains.
5. Automation Capabilities
Until recently, automation wasn’t part of PM software. But now that some developers have begun to introduce it, automation is quickly becoming an indispensable tool. It allows for the automatic scheduling of certain events within the project management arena, to the extent that completion of one task automatically triggers and schedules the next. Automation takes a lot of the guesswork out of task scheduling.
PM software abounds. Everywhere you look there are packages ready and waiting to be deployed. If a package does not include the five things described in this post, it is probably not worth looking at. Fortunately, there are some PM tools out there that go above and beyond.
