Project management tools help project management to be refined, including task management, project estimation, resource management, collaborative communication, etc., to ensure timely completion of projects, quality standards, improve team collaboration efficiency, break information silos, and achieve scientific management.
1. What is a project management tool?
Project management has a long history, dating back to World War II, and Gantt charts have been used in weapons production. The International Journal of Project Management once gave a vivid analogy: "Project management is the art of management that makes vision a reality"
According to PMI, excellent project management not only helps the project to be completed in a timely manner, but also ensures that the project export specifications exceed expectations. PMA's definition of project management is to be project-centric, focusing on project objectives for resource integration, risk control, communication and coordination, and team leadership.
A project management tool is a tool for refined project management.
With the help of project management tools, we can promote solidarity and monitor the progress of the project, thereby speeding up the progress of the project and ensuring the quality of the project.
2. What are the main functions of the project management tool?
1. Task management
Every project consists of a large number of tasks, and project management tools can track the entire lifecycle of a task, assigning task owners, setting task deadlines, monitoring and approving work, and more from the start to the end of the task.
2. Project estimate
Track progress in real-time through project baselines, EVMs, and evaluate projects based on performance.
3. Manage budgets
Manage costs to ensure that the planned budget is not exceeded.
4. Resource allocation
Use a resource utilization map to allocate resources appropriately and have the right people working on the tasks they excel at.
5. Collaboration
Features like chat rooms, feeds, discussions, comments, and document management facilitate easy collaboration for teams.
6. Quality management
Continuously manage the quality of the project and continuously improve the work results.
7. Project management
From industry templates to third-party app integrations, project management tools can manage projects in a variety of ways.
8. Bug management
Manage project issues, schedule tasks to meet various deadlines, and set bug severity to efficiently manage project issues.
3. Benefits of project management tools
1. Gantt chart to plan the project process at a glance
Use Gantt chart software to adjust for project delays, compare against schedules, and capture and manage task dependencies.
2. Control the scope of the project, all-round
Project management tools provide project teams with timesheets, project costs, and task details to gain complete control over the scope of the project.
3. A powerful assistant to control the cost of the project
The role of project management tools is not only cost control, but also plays an important role in various areas of project management, such as project cost estimation, investment decision-making, and budgeting.
4. Collaboration is the key to unlocking information silos
The phenomenon of information islands often exists between departments, and collaboration is the door to open the door to information blockage. The project team is able to collaborate on all aspects of the work and truly communicate effectively as a team. Major progress of the project can be posted in the project dynamics, and members can discuss issues in the comment area or chat one-on-one.
Easy-to-use project management tools can open the door to a new world of project work, discover interesting aspects of project work, make work based on evidence, and scientifically manage man-hours, tasks, and project costs.