Project management software has become a must-have in the era of remote work and distributed teams. There may be a certain vintage appeal to pinning notes to a bulletin board to track your progress, but if you want your teams to move forward with agility and coordination, your best bet is to use a software platform to stay in sync.
There’s no shortage of contenders to choose from. Some are geared toward large enterprises with highly complex projects and multiple administrative layers, while others target freelancers, startups and small agencies. Here are some options to consider based on your company’s needs:
For organizations with a project management office: Celoxis
Celoxis shines at providing insight at the project portfolio level, making it useful for senior leaders who oversee a range of active projects as well as others under consideration within the project pipeline. A robust set of project-level features facilitate day-to-day progress, from risk management analysis to revenue forecasting to resource allocation— including the workload of staff members who are assigned to multiple project teams. All of that also helps inform decisions on which projects to green-light and when.
For teams that want to keep it simple: Teamwork
This tool pulls off a neat trick by being not only intuitive and approachable but also packing in a slew of useful features. One example is a billing function that can generate invoices based on a combination of expenses and time—using a built-in time tracker to calculate the work hours allocated. That makes Teamwork a great fit for small and growing teams that need strong project management but don’t have a person dedicated to administration or oversight. Teamwork also has the depth (and expandability via third-party extensions) to grow with you as your needs evolve.
For the DIY-minded: Monday.com
Monday.com presents itself as a “work OS”—a flexible platform that enables nontechnical teams to build custom solutions to help manage all manner of projects and processes. It does so by incorporating a lengthy list of extensions, integrations and automations, as well as a third-party framework for app developers designed to facilitate maximum adaptability. That said, you don’t need to build a deep, tailored solution to start— you can also fire up one of Monday. com’s many templates and be poring over a Gantt chart or Kanban board in minutes.
For users who dislike tab-hopping: ClickUp
Project software can feel like a train station—a place you visit briefly before departing for your real destination, such as a shared folder or collaborative text document. Soon you’re hopping between multiple tabs. ClickUp provides two options to address the issue: First, it includes native tools such as a timetracker and collaborative document editor. Second, it boasts slick integrations with services such as Toggl and Google Workspace that allow you to use those tools within its environment. ClickUp vies with Monday.com as one of the most attractive, intuitive user interfaces among project software contenders.
For teams that want lock-it-in pricing: Basecamp Business
Basecamp was a project software pioneer when it launched in 2004, and it has remained both popular and competitive. Its most compelling feature for larger teams may be its static pricing: While rival platforms tend to charge based on the number of users, Basecamp Business has a flat monthly fee, regardless of the number of users, projects or clients. For growing teams of 10 or more, the ability to add contributors to a project without adding cost is a nice bonus.
Keep up with tech trends at staplesworklife.com/tech.
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