What is Project Management Tools?
Project management tools are to project managers as surgical instruments to surgeons (this means that to become a successful project manager you need to know how to use PM tools).
In essence project management tools are the weaponry deployed by project managers or project teams to help them plan a project and track and manage the project to achieve the set objectives.
The great thing about project management tools is that they make the work of a project manager easier- save time, aid organization, delegation, and monitoring.
Without them, project managers might get overwhelmed and stressed with juggling people, time, cost, scope, and quality. Tools make you more efficient and enable you to efficiently report on your projects. It is impossible to ensure high-quality projects without the aid of special tools and software.
I get asked a lot about what the best project management tools are but the right question should be, “what is the best project management tool for my organization or team?”
The aim of this article is to help you choose what tool is right for your organization and I will be doing this by listing their pros and cons and also attaching a link to their reviews by customers.
1) Microsoft Project
Microsoft Project is a project management software created to arm project managers with the techniques and tools used to manage a project effectively and efficiently.
It has been in use for many decades and even though other modern tools are now available, most traditional project managers and organizations still use it.
It accommodates everyone from startups, enterprises, and across diverse industries no matter the project plan.
If you want to learn how to use this tool, sign up for the PM Tools Masterclass.
Pros:
- MS Project scheduling aids efficient organization of work
- Changes to a project are conveniently and easily tracked
- Schedules can be customized to suit specific projects
- Identification of risks and prevention of risks
- Summary reports and efficient management of records
Cons:
- Steep learning curve: It is not easy to learn how to use the software
- It does not allow third-party app integration that other software allow
Here are more reviews by users of the software.
2) Jira
It is a task management tool for agile teams and project management teams. It supports any agile methodology.
Pros
- It supports any agile methodology
- The roadmap on Jira is an efficient way to share plans and assign tasks
- It allows for integration with 3rd party software for example slack and over 3000 others
- Users can customize their experience on Jira
Cons
- Reports cannot be downloaded.
- It is very complex to learn.
- There is a limit on the upload size of files. This is to ensure the product is fast.
See more reviews here
If you want to learn how to use this tool, sign up for the PM Tools Masterclass.
3) Azure
It is a suite of related tools that software teams use to track work, manage codes, run builds deploy applications, and manage tests.
Pros
- Ensures the highest grade of cyber and data security
- A good tool for agile practices
- Easy to create pipelines
- Ability to automate testing
- A lot of training resources and a large community of users
Cons
- Integration with other tools is difficult
If you want to learn how to use this tool, sign up for the PM Tools Masterclass.
See more reviews by users.
4) Asana
Asana is a great project management tool, it is the easiest way for teams to track their work. From tasks and project conversations and dashboards, Asana enables teams to move work from start to finish and get results.
Pros
- Puts communication all in one place
- Task management: teams are clear on their roles and tasks for a project
Cons
- Pricing might be an issue for smaller startups
- It is quite difficult for everyone to adapt to it
See more reviews.
5) Wrike
Wrike is an award-winning online project management and collaboration platform used worldwide by over 20,000 customers. It was one of the first project management applications that appeared in the market to compete against the giant, MS Project.
Wrike connects tasks, discussions, and emails to the user’s project plan. It is optimized for agile workflows and aims to help resolve data silos, poor visibility into work status, and missed deadlines and project failures.
Pros
- Can easily switch between different project views (Kanban, Gantt, table, list)
- Good integration with third-party apps like Gmail
- Can easily track the progress of projects and tasks during the project’s lifecycle
Cons
- Difficulty in learning to use
- It is slow to load and slow to upload or download a document
- Wrike’s UI is complex and makes it difficult for users to adopt
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