Project management software (PMS) is not a new technology. Businesses have been using it to eliminate or at least reduce the frequency of meetings and emails, which have negative effects on workers’ productivity.
Best known for making project management a breeze, such a system can be highly relied on for timely project delivery. It helps to ensure that teams submit deliverables within the allocated budget and schedule.
Also, project managers can use this tool for project scheduling, planning, and keeping track of everything—project’s milestones, activities, resources, and so on.
Join us as we share how this software makes the whole process of scheduling a laid-back job.
Project Briefing
To get a project started, team members should be first huddled up and briefed with the things to do.
With a project management system, project heads no longer need to set a team meeting in a conference room. The software is equipped with shareable dashboards that enable each member to stay on the same page.
Project members can access uploaded files (i.e. instructions, references, deadlines, client discussions, etc.) since everything is stored in a central path. This simpler way of making everyone informed is less time-consuming than meetings that usually last for an hour or so.
Progress Monitoring
Once tasks are discussed and assigned to respective individuals, it is time to monitor each member’s work.
Through PMS, project managers can look at each task’s progress without a sweat. Most software solutions can track whether the projects are near the deadline or have come past the given schedule.
Also, such a tool comes with a time tracker feature. This functionality gives project managers, the top management and even third-party companies a detailed view at the time spent across projects.
Resource Tracking
If the team’s priorities, schedules and workloads are not visible to each member, a business can face conflicts that will affect the overall project delivery.
Thankfully, a project management tool improves project and resource visibility among different members and even departments. It does not only allow users to view the project status and progress but also enable them to review the schedules and workloads of all employees.
The built-in shared team calendar also makes resource tracking hassle-free because project managers can filter the search by project, team member, and other options for better resource visibility.
Risk Identification
Project scheduling does not end once tasks are defined, projects are monitored, and resources are tracked. The process continues and involves another step: risk identification.
When project management software is in place, spotting risks would be a lot easier. Project managers and members alike can anticipate possible problems since every piece of information is available to everyone.
For example, a member has a lot on his plate and will not be able to deliver other projects on time. He can raise this concern to his manager and request for a back-up. The project head can quickly find a substitute by just filtering the search or collaborating with other members.
Team Collaboration
Scheduling should be collaborative; it requires teamwork and constant communication among team members.
While team meetings are great at keeping everyone updated, they can hurt employee’s productivity. That is why PMS makes a great software option. It boasts of a collaborative workspace and allows team members to interact with one another virtually.
This tool is engineered with solutions such as mentions or tags, real-time chat, social media integration, and mobile access. The tagging functionality, specifically, helps users to add member/s into the loop easily so they discuss on project-related matters.
The Bottom Line
Scheduling is a crucial step in project management. Everything should be planned and scheduled to ensure that all the tasks for a project are running smoothly.
Failing to schedule tasks accordingly can hamper teams to move a specific task, event, or duty toward completion.
To avoid falling into this trap, invest in project management software. Doing so will help you and your teams juggle deadlines, resources, and deliverables successfully.
