What Is Project Management Software

Project management software is online software that facilitates project planning, task management, and collaboration. Through features like file and calendar sharing, task assignment, Gantt charts, and time tracking, project management apps help teams effectively complete projects. 

Who Should Use Project Management Software

As the name suggests, project management apps are best utilized by teams working on a project – that is, a long-term project with multiple steps and people involved. Using project management software might be overkill for recurring work with quick turnaround times and few people involved. For example, publishing a textbook requires deadlines and collaboration between writers, editors, and publishers while blogging on a website is daily and involves 2 or 3 people at the most.

How Does Project Management Software Work

There are lots of features in every project management app, but here is a basic idea of how project management software works. In the app, tasks and deadlines can be assigned to specific team members. Everyone can see which tasks are assigned to which team member and if they are on track to completing them on time, which helps prevent people from being overworked. Project management services have storage space so people can upload files into the workspace for everyone on the team to see, or are often linked to online storage spaces like Google Drive or Dropbox. In addition, time tracking and calendar sharing help teams with tracking expenses and scheduling.

Which Project Management Software Is The Best

It all depends on your needs! Project management software often incorporates collaboration and task management tools, but there are also standalone collaboration and task management apps. Collaboration software is a broad term that includes everything from video conference apps to apps that let multiple people type on the same document. In project management apps, there is usually either a chat app, or you can connect to outside apps like Slack. Task management software is included in project management software, but you can find standalone task management apps like Asana and Trello. These apps are good for ongoing or recurring work as you can assign tasks that are not tied to a project. Some project management platforms are meant for bigger corporations while others are more suited for small businesses – always be sure to look at the different plans’ pricing and features. Finally, many project management apps have a free trial or free version so it may be helpful to test how it works with your team or business before committing to a software.

Where To Start

Googling “project management software” results in an overwhelming number of options so here are a few popular project management apps you can start by looking at. These apps have good reviews across the board and are used by many high-profile companies like Netflix, Google, Apple, and Uber. Signing up for project management software is an investment so treat it like one, do your research, and find the product that’s best for you!

• Zoho Projects: $0-$80/month, https://www.zoho.com/projects/
• Wrike: $0-$34.60/month, https://www.wrike.com/
• Freedcamp: $0-$8.99/month, https://freedcamp.com/
• Teamwork Projects: $69-$269/month, free 30-day trial, https://www.teamwork.com/project-management-software
• Asana (task management): $0-$9.99/month, https://asana.com/
• Trello (task management): $0-$20.83, https://trello.com/

Resources

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380448,00.asp

http://www.capterra.com/project-management-software/

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/13132/project-management-software

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Today’s article is written by Florence Kam, our summer intern. Get to know Florence:

Hi there! My name is Florence Kam, and I’m interning for Kim Schlossberg Designs this summer. I’m a rising junior at Southern Methodist University, studying accounting and international studies, and I plan to become a CPA after I graduate. I’ll be working on client websites and learning all about marketing and small businesses for the next two months. I’m so excited to be working with Kim![/widecontent]