Practice Tools of Project Management for Success
While implementing project management strategies, it is essential to keep a track of all the tasks and phases involved. It can be very tedious if every task has to be monitored manually or has to be followed up with the responsible team member. To make things easier in this department, there are a set of project management tools that a project manager can resort to for help. Different tools offer different kinds of functionality and usability. These practice tools can be used in different aspects of a project and are immensely helpful. Take a look.
List of Different Project Management Tools
Most of these tools are not aimed at any specific industry; rather they focus on different functions that exist within every industry, and control different project management techniques. Some popular tools and project management software preferred by managers across diverse industry verticals are:
1) ActiveCollab
This project management tool allows you to share files, track time, manage invoices and get relevant notifications in just one place--your web server. The features are extremely easy to use and help in saving a lot of time. With this tool in their hand, project managers can assign tasks, add team members, provide real-time updates to clients by giving them access to the system, and set milestones for the team. Notifications can be sent via e-mail too. ActiveCollab has two pricing models: Corporate and Small Business.
2) Teambox
This tool promotes easy communication within the team. It organizes projects in a smart manner, informs about important conversations, and streamlines other priorities. Here, team members can post status updates and details about their progress. It is a very intuitive tool which is simple to understand and extremely easy to implement.
3) Simply Invoices
As the name suggests, this tool helps project manager keep a tab on the invoices that are a part of the project. It integrates with software like Basecamp, Tick or More Honey to create invoices based on time. The features that are a part of this tool are invoice template, invoice tracking, ability to save invoices in a PDF format and unlimited invoices. There is a free plan that allows up to 5 invoices, a $9 per month plan that includes 10 invoices, and a $25 per month plan that offers access to unlimited templates.
4) JIRA
JIRA is an issue and bug tracking software that incorporates many great features such as advanced reporting, project organizing and workflow mapping. This practice tool for successful project management is highly customizable and its functionality can be extended by its manifold plug-ins of offer; such as charting, Bamboo integration, calendar, and so forth. A hosted account supports up to 25 users and costs $299 per month; it goes up to $599 per month for 250 users. The expenses are $1200 for a single project team and can go up to $4800 for the whole organization. Although it is expensive, the value offered by JIRA is worth every penny.
5) FourteenDayz
This is a time-tracking tool that features no user limit, day-by-day time sheets, drag and drop categories, and exportable reports that that are either in PDF or Excel formats. The most attractive thing about this tool is that it comes with six different plans of pricing. There is a free account for up to 4 active users, a personal plan at $5 a month, and a Platinum plan that costs $99 a month. The number of project categories, users, and additional features usually vary in accordance to the chosen plan.
Taking Advantage of these Tools—the Right Way!
These project management tools are developed in order to simplify tasks and assist project managers in monitoring the progress of their team as well as the different aspects of the project on hand. Free trials are available to remove any uncertainty regarding the usefulness of the tool, value added to different project management procedures, and so forth. Users can try these tools for a month or week for free (as offered) and then take their decision. By following this course of action, there would be no regrets of implementing an inappropriate tool or wasting money on a tool that adds no value to the project management process. Project management tips can be also shared with existing users to maximize the advantages.
Go for these tools and see your business profitability soar!
Author : Uma Daga