Hisham Sarwar
Although all projects start with a clear map defining us what to do, it does sound simple but sometimes we do not have a clue where to begin. We may have the knowledge, talent, and skill to complete the project but at times it becomes impossible to extract that knowledge in the form of an organized one-piece project. This is the place where we lack dynamic planning to complete our projects and develop a tool to extract our knowledge in the form of a visual map. It shows an individual’s responsibility regarding project due dates and the flow of tasks.
According to the Association of Project Management,
“Project Management is the application of processes, methods, knowledge, skills and experience to achieve the project objectives”.
The processes and techniques of project management allow you to tackle larger projects and take on more work rather than traditional methods. They define the boundaries of a project and help to explain the tangible outcomes. You can study the following tools of project management and decide to choose which ones really work best for you.
10 Project Management Tools
- Smart Sheet:
Smart Sheet project management tool works as a service solution over the internet, it allows the management of diverse business processes and tasks. It is based on spreadsheets and is extremely simple to use. You can choose from the templates it offers and can create your own document. It is the kind of tool that allows collaboration with the project team members in order to keep a track of your own progress. You can mark important dates on the calendar and can even allow your team members to make updates if you grant them administrative permissions. This new tool of a smart sheet can be accessed on any smart device so that you can manage your work whenever you want.
- Asana:
Asana is a mobile application that is designed to speed up the process of communication. It helps you to find your required information on time as it serves as a platform that holds all your data in one place. You can get updates by navigating the specific tasks and can easily connect with your team members. When you are working on a specific project, your team members can leave notes which can help you to assign tasks to them. You can set reminders for all the important issues and can even track the progress for that specific piece of a project. This software tool is basically designed to improve team collaboration and focuses on managing project tasks without using email. It is free to use as it offers free membership and by signing up, you can easily use all the features.
- Wrike:
Wrike is similar to Excel and works as an extremely detailed spreadsheet. It allows you to break huge projects into manageable work so that you can easily complete them.
- This allows you to have complete control over your project. You can decide to whom you want to allow access to the calendar and task lists without letting them interfere with the financial information.
- This app allows you to track the overall progress by creating any combination of individual contribution and folder structures to meet your needs for the project.
- In real-time, Wrike allows you to sync your Apple mail to better accommodate your team.
Wrike helps you to keep track of everything and align your team to work faster and smarter for all projects. It gives you the flexibility of a free version of the project management tool if you have 15 users or less and there is a membership fee that begins with $49 per month if the number exceeds 15 members.
- Base Camp:
This is another project management tool that restructures project difficulties by focusing on better management and organization. It tries to keep everyone on the same page without making it seem more complicated for the team members.
It is a platform where people can work together, organize, and discuss everything that is needed to complete the project. On the Page, you can provide information regarding specifications, your goals, and expectations for the future. The individuals who visit the page are invited through membership and are allowed to leave updates or any suggestions for you there.
Base Camp helps you to work as a project manager who can control tasks by creating new tasks and updating the calendar. By uploading images and PDF files you can stay away from the hustle of sending emails to everyone. It keeps discussions open to everyone so that it can easily be followed for reference in the future by the team members. It also saves project members the time to ask questions from others as they can have answers available to them online.
Base Camp offers free trails for two months for the new members and thereafter charges $20 per month for using the additional features.
- Trello:
Trello is a project management tool that places all your activities of the project on board. It gives you the exact idea regarding your progress of the project and pins everything down on the board. It helps you to organize your projects irrespective of their sizes. It can help you to place your ideas, to do, doing, and done lists on the board. Although it can be used by one user but can also send invitations to others so that they can also have a look at your progress.
It basically allows creating lists on a card and you can create different categories such as Design Templates, Articles, and Content, Advertising, etc. You can store all the information regarding each category and can create checklists and due dates on them.
- Campfire:
This elegant and easy web-based tool lets you communicate with your team members in just seconds. Being the product of Basecamp (Which is the project management tool #3), it allows you to securely communicate with your project members in a password-protected chat room. The process is very much simple as compared to communicating with more than one person over email. Along with these chat rooms, it features securely placed conference calls. These calls are made over a phone number and are given a specific code for the team members. These calls are saved by the online platform for future review by the team members.
- Project Bubble:
This online project management tool helps you gain control over your online projects. This tool might be similar to tools that are already present online but the incredible feature allows you to create reports regarding the project. Such reports contain a summary of the tasks, due dates, and updates about the project and help you to reach higher production levels in a short period of time.
- Wave:
A wave is an online tool that differs from the rest and provides the project teams with the ease of planning and structuring the financial processes. It proves as an instant platform for small businesses or teams consisting of less than 9 team members. It helps you to monitor and sustain financial processes and to create professional invoices. Wave can send reminders of those invoices regarding the due dates of the projects or when to send clients the invoices again. It will send statements monthly to show you whatever you have invoiced, paid, or is left to be paid.
- Pivotal Tracker:
The pivotal tracker is more than just ordinary project management tools. Along with facilitating faster communication, reflecting the project status, and forecasting the future of the very project, this tool offers a “community support” feature. Every user is allowed access to this feature irrespective of the membership level and this gives the opportunity for members’ help throughout the project. It breaks the mega projects into smaller projects and estimates the complexities within them. The 60-day trial of Pivotal Tracker is free of cost and further use of its features determines the future charges.
- Evernote:
The Evernote project management tool helps to manage today’s modern and complicated life very simply. It works in all the ways a good project management tool is supposed to work. It helps to create project to-do lists, set reminders, and share ideas with people with whom you work with. It collaborates seamlessly with co-workers. You can easily find documents and notes that you have saved earlier and can even search for information that is buried deep within your notes.
The Evernote basic helps you to organize your work, take notes, track tasks and save information online. But the Evernote Business allows discussion and presentation of information in a single workspace with other team members. It helps you to focus on one aspect at specific so that you can make the most out of your creativity and knowledge. The business feature provides admin support and charges for this service which is affordable by all.
