How to Choose a Project Management Software
It is good to stay organized in your work; when it comes to organizing workload for your entire team, you need to choose wisely. You need a project management software that facilitates communication and collaboration, and help you ship the project on time.
An efficient project management software solution helps project managers organize the entire project from start to finish, allowing them to stay on top of tasks that need to be accomplished within time, assign responsibilities, and so on. Ideally, it should enable project managers to centralize all tasks related to the project so that they can easily control it and stay organized. With the right project management software, companies will be able to improve productivity, remove roadblocks in time, and deliver within timelines and budgets.
Here are some guidelines for choosing the project management software that fits your requirements the best.
1. List your Requirements
This is the first step. List all the features you need, categorizing them into ‘Most Essential’, ‘Quite Essential’, and ‘Desirable’. This will give you clarity regarding the importance of the features; note down what you will use the PMS for, and decide accordingly whether you will need to configure access levels, how much customization you want, whether reports are needed, and whether you need to meet GRC requirements. You also need to ensure that the solution is compatible with, and supports your work methodology – Agile, Lean, Kanban, waterfall, etc. At this stage, we should mention that you also need to figure out who all are likely to use the tool – will it be strictly internal, or will you also have your vendors or customers use it as well? Your team size will also affect your final decision. A simple solution is ideal for smaller teams, whereas larger teams are likely to need complex PMS solutions with several features, customization options, and so on.
2. Go Hunting
Now you need to scout around for project management system software solutions that offer the features you need for your business. You are likely to find quite a few tools. From among those you need to shortlist to two or three solutions. How will you do this? Ask peers, colleagues, and previous users of the PMS for feedback; check independent review sites. The next step is to compare prices, and whether the solution supports your work methodology.
3. Test
Most reputed project management software providers offer a free trial of around 30 days – make good use of it. Take the 2 or 3 you shortlisted, and try them for the free period in turn. Once you have completed free trials of all the solutions you shortlisted, have a detailed meeting with your team, and ask them for their feedback. This will give you an idea of which tool the team is comfortable working with, which one really suits your work culture and business requirements, and more. In fact, it might be a good idea to have team members fill up a feedback form and rank the different tools they tried out, and list what they liked and did not like in each solution.
4. Finalize and Implement
Moment of truth! After all the time and effort you have put into selecting the perfect project management system for your business, it is finally D-Day! Make a final evaluation of the shortlisted tools, and zero in on the one that you feel is the best, after considering budgetary constraints as well. Once you purchase a PMS tool you need to implement and train your team on its use – even if they have used it during the trial, now they need to be thorough with all of its features.
Are you looking to switch your project management software because your existing one doesn’t serve the purpose anymore? Are you a startup or small business looking to streamline your processes for more efficient project execution? Either way, IPIX Technologies has project management software that can fit your requirements perfectly. It’s a scalable, flexible, reliable, and affordable solution that has already been successfully deployed in dozens of organizations worldwide. To know more about IPIX project management tool and how it can help you grow your business, get in touch with us today!