How often do you face problems in project management? Rarely, sometimes or every now and then? You may think it just depends on one’s calibre to manage things. Well, that’s not wrong! But, technology has helped a lot to make managers smarter than before.
Make work life easy. Try ProofHub! It has happened with introduction of online project management system. The software has helped to solve many problems managers used to face earlier. It lets you run your projects easily and efficiently even if you find project management difficult. So, let’s find out how you can use this tool to make management easy -
A plan includes everything you would be doing to execute a project efficiently. It should be realistic and help to increase productivity. You can draft a good and easily understandable plan with help of a project management system. The software helps to add team members and assign different roles and tasks to them. Calendar helps you to organize tasks, events and milestones. With help of calendar, a manager can set reminders on different tasks and events to stay informed on important activities and deadlines.
With online collaboration, your team members can brainstorm together once they get a topic to discuss. They can simply add comments on the topic to share their opinion, ask questions and give solutions. You can also write down your ideas in notes and share them with your team members to get their views on them. So, a project management software simplifies collaboration to a great extent. Proofing a design also becomes easy with such a software. You can get feedback by simply uploading the design and sharing it with relevant people. So, the approval becomes fast and easy.
You can store anything in the software; right from your presentations to other important documents. Such an online project management system assists you in organizing all your important stuff in OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox or Box at one place with 3rd party integrations. So, it becomes really easy to gather all your important data. Now, you must have got an idea about advantages of using a project management tool. The points mentioned in this article give you just an overview of what the software can do for you. You will have to give it a try to know how it can help you to excel at project management.
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If you’re a manager, you must be aware of the importance of teamwork. A team is the backbone of a project, so it’s really difficult to handle so much work without it. When a team works with full dedication it can make an organization achieve more than it estimates.
But, making teamwork effective is certainly a challenge. And, to meet this challenge you can use a collaboration tool. We’ve come up with some benefits of using the tool to make teamwork better - Help your team work better and smarter. Give ProofHub a try!
The solution we’re talking about is an online collaboration tool. By using this tool you can easily carry out discussions and brainstorm together. You just need to add a topic and the people you want opinion from. And, you’re all prepared to start a brainstorming session.
If an employee works remotely, he/she can sometimes feel disconnected from his/her coworkers. With collaboration tool you can make sure that all your employees can give their opinion in decision making. This way you can make the most out of your team’s talent and take high quality decisions.
And, if you think some of your team members are still hesitant to speak in meetings you can go for an online collaboration tool. The tool will make them feel more comfortable to express their opinion. So, with help of the tool you can make sure each of your team members participates in project discussions.
So, this was all about the binding power of a collaboration tool. If you’re looking for a solution to ensure unity at work give this software a try. Success is simple. Do what's right, the right way, at the right time - Arnold. H Glasow.
So true! It’s possible to complete a project successfully only when its tasks are delivered effectively and on time. And, an organization starts a project only after deciding its deadline. Therefore, it’s very crucial to track time in a project. Save time at project management. Give ProofHub a try! Take a look at how a time tracking software ensures on-time delivery of a project -
They say ‘time is money’. And, as a manager you must use it wisely. A time tracking tool is helpful not just for a manager, but for everyone in an organization, right from top management to every staff member over there. Every second saved at work may help you accomplish new targets and do even better. On the whole, having a time tracking tool has become a necessity in today’s business scenario. So, start using a time tracking tool to make your team members productive, and work easier than before. Stress at work place is something very normal. But yes, one needs to make sure that this stress is positive. What we mean by positive stress is that it should help you come up with your best and not have a negative impact on your productivity and performance at work.
When you have so much to do in a project, positive stress can easily turn into negative stress. So, today we’ll let you know how a task management software can help you beat stress and perform better at work - Simplify the way you manage your projects and teams. Switch to ProofHub.
You can also divide a task into subtasks in order to make it simpler. The tool helps you keep track of the project progress and make any required changes. By using the tool, your team members can prioritize the tasks assigned to them and work accordingly to get things done on time.
Also, one of the best parts of using a task management software is that it helps you save paper and thereby save trees.
A task management software, therefore, acts as a stress buster in your work life. It makes task management much easier and smoother than before! Whenever you start a new project, you get involved in planning, organizing and setting goals. The bigger a project is, the more time it takes. There are chances of messing things up in large and complex projects. But, by changing work approach your team members can work more efficiently. Also, it has become easier to manage your projects with the help of project management software.
Looking for ways to become more productive at work? Try ProofHub We’ve come up with some amazing tips to help you work better and faster-
So, you’ll certainly see improvement in work efficiency if you’re ready to work for it. All you need to do is to focus on a single task at a time and do it with full concentration. Also, don’t forget to track your time spent working and take breaks when you feel tired of continuous work. A good project stands on a solid foundation. And, that solid foundation is great planning. So, before thinking about any other aspect of a project, pay attention to its plan. A solid plan will set everything right as long as you have a dedicated team, familiar with the latest tools used in projects.
If we talk about planning projects, things have changed to quite a large extent. Earlier, managers used to write project plans on paper, which was definitely a complicated thing to do. But now, online project planning has replaced that paper work. "Looking for smarter ways to manage your projects? Switch to ProofHub" Let’s find out how to draft a project plan like a pro-
A manager should use a project planning software to make collaboration easier and more fruitful. With help of the software, even shy and quiet team members feel comfortable in giving suggestions and sharing ideas.
Assign tasks according to the capabilities of your team members so as to get them done on time. If your project takes more time than your expectation, your team members will end up getting frustrated. And, it will also affect their productivity negatively.
If you want to achieve more in less time, start using latest software in your projects. For instance, a project planning tool helps plan your project in a better way. Online project planning makes it easier to assign work, set deadlines and divide complex tasks into subtasks. You can also make changes in your plan, when required. And for that you just need to input the changes into your tool and your team members will get the updates.Therefore, a project planning tool is a blessing in a manager’s life.
You should incorporate calculated risks into a project plan, otherwise you may face a lot of problems at work. Also, think about the solutions to those problems in advance. So that in case you come across such problems, you can deal with them without getting panic and take right decisions. Overall, a great plan helps you complete a project on time and within your budget. It’s due to such plan that it becomes easier to achieve your project goal. Also, don’t forget to use latest software in planning to make your work simpler and more manageable. A project management software has become the need of the hour for a manager. There’s a lot to be organized and accomplished in a project. And, if it’s large and complex, use of the tool becomes even more important. Having a project management tool is not enough, a manager should know how to make the most out of it. The tool can solve many problems, which otherwise are difficult to tackle.
Get your team to deliver more efficiently in every project. Start using ProofHub! We’ve come up with a list of 3 tips to help you get maximum benefit from the software:
All you need to do is to add team members to the software and assign tasks to them once you’ve created a task list. And you’re done with the planning part! Next step is to track the progress being made at work. If your software has gantt charts, you can set dependency of a task on another one. For instance, some tasks are needed to be completed before starting other ones. You can visualize all the details of a project plan with just a glance at gantt chart. So, it’s an easy way of tracking progress in a project.
You can also compare the estimated time of a task with the time taken to finish it. On basis of that you can assign more tasks to your team members or ensure even workload distribution in case you find high work pressure on them. A team member can also prepare timesheets by tracking time manually. So, it becomes easy to bill the clients.
If your software has features like online discussion, there’ll be no need to arrange meetings requiring physical presence of team members. And, you can always get comments and suggestions on the work you do. Apart form that you can do proofing of different documents, if your tool has proofing feature in it. Also, an online project management software gives you the freedom of working remotely since you can access your project from anywhere. Whether it's a small or large project, a good collaboration tool is a must for executing it successfully. The tool makes it easy for employees to interact as well as cuts costs associated with collaboration. Earlier things were difficult when there was nothing like collaborative project management software. Today, starting a new business has become much easier than before thanks to reduced cost of collaboration. All this happened on account of project collaboration tool. Not only this, the software has emerged as a solution to many other problems linked to project management. Looking for better ways to collaborate within your team and clients? Try ProofHub! We’ll let you know why this software has become one of the most used tools in the world.
If a project collaboration tool has proofing feature, one can make required changes in a document. Good collaboration between team members gives rise to useful ideas that can prove to be of great benefit. So, the software assists different team members in giving solutions to different problems they face in a project.
So, when all the departments in an organization work for accomplishing a common goal, it leads to a flow of information. This information flow is beneficial for making employees more knowledgeable and productive.
A project collaboration tool helps you in dealing with such problems. A manager can evenly distribute work among team members using the tool. So, a project collaboration tool is something that motivates new entrepreneurs. The tool can do wonders to your projects. It has brought a considerable change in today’s business scenario. And that’s the reason behind its popularity. If you google the term Gantt chart, it says - “a chart containing a series of horizontal lines that reflect the amount of work done in a certain period of time against the amount planned for the same time period.”
If you look at it from a project manager’s perspective, then there is no doubt about the fact that this is the most important tool for them. If you are wondering how using an online Gantt chart can help you manage your projects, then read on - "Looking for smarter ways to manage your projects? Switch to ProofHub"
Meeting deadlines is important. And, you need to keep an eye on how things are progressing in the project to make sure that you are working at the right pace. That’s exactly what an online Gantt chart can help you with! 2. Plan your projects like a pro These charts give you a good idea about how the resources are being used in the projects. Also, which resource is occupied with how much work. So, you can easily plan out the next step. You need to plan out the next project as soon as the first one gets finished. Plus, you can also get to see which tasks are consuming more time than what you intended to be spent on them. So, you can assign more resources to it and get it completed on time! 3. Understand task relationship We all know that projects are made up of a number of interrelated tasks. These tasks need to be completed in their order to make sure that the project continues to move on the right track. Failing to complete one task on time can screw up the entire project. But how to understand the relationship between these tasks? Well, you can set dependencies between tasks using an online Gantt chart. What this means is that teams can easily see how one task is dependent on the completion of the other one, succeeding it. This will foster a sense of accountability between the teams as well, as they know failing to complete their work on time will derail the entire project. Those are some of the ways in which these Gantt charts can help teams to manage their work and projects in a better manner. If you are facing issues in handling projects, and failing to complete them on time, then it is time for you to switch to these charts and see how they simplify your project management endeavors! Did you ever think about the position collaboration holds in an organization? If not, then it is high time you start to think about it! You will be amazed to know that most projects fail because of poor communication and collaboration.
So, how does collaboration help in making projects successful? What can you do to promote seamless collaboration at work? And, how does an online collaboration tool fit into this picture? Well, take a look at the points below and see for yourself - "Collaborate better with your team by using ProofHub"
With the help of an online collaboration tool, you can eventually get them to talk and share their ideas! You never know, when someone in the team comes up with a million dollar idea and your team makes a fortune thanks to it!
When team members know that their voice is being heard, and their ideas don’t go down the drain, they are inspired to work proactively. This sense of proactiveness ensures that they deliver more than their hundred percent at work.
For instance, being a coder you might have a different point of view about a design, but when the designer explains it from his/her point of view during the discussion you can eventually learn a lot. This mutual learn fosters team bonding and strengthens the relationship between team members, which lays the foundation for success. These are some of the ways in which an online collaboration tool helps teams deliver more in their projects. If you are looking for ways to bring the best out of your team, then you need to start using a collaboration tool and see how it brings the change you have been looking for! Project management is challenging. You have to take care of a lot of things. You have to handle clients, manager teams, monitor their progress, manage reports and what not. There's so much on the plate of a project manager, that after a while things can seem to be getting out of control.
What’s the solution to the chaos that managers face? The best solution is to go for a project management system. Below you will find ways in which these systems can make the job of a project manager easy -
If you are a manager who is looking for ways to ease his/her workload, then be sure to give project management software a try! Being a manager is no piece of cake. The job has its fair share of ups and downs. But, a wise manager is someone who finds a way to recognize those challenges as well as ways to ease them. In this post, you will get to know the most common challenges that managers face and how a project management software online can remedy them. Take a look -
Juggling with multiple things You have to talk to the client. You have to reply to emails. Keep track of performance, and what not. There’s so much on the plate of a manager. Unless you have some diet secret that keeps you sane, things can start to seem exhausting after a point. Because being constantly a part of this juggling act slowly drains you out. Email volleyball Ever since internet picked up the pace during the 90s and became accessible to everyone, emails have stayed the primary way of formal communication, followed by chatting software. So, it’s not surprising to see that almost all companies use it for communicating all the major decisions. However, since emails lack some essential organizational features, soon managers find them playing an endless game of e-mail volleyball. Information scattered here and there If there was only one place for discussing things and pouring all the important information in one place, then things would be fine. But, the truth is that some things are discussed over the phone. Some are discussed using emails. Others take place in person. Some discussions happen over chatting software. When information is scattered like this, it can be tough to connect all the dots and make sense of things. This is another challenge that managers face. Difficulty in brainstorming ideas This is not a challenge as long as teams are confined within a room. But, sharing innovative ideas and initiating group discussions can be a challenge when remote teams are involved. Sure you can use emails to present your ideas and ask everyone’s opinion. But, as we discussed earlier, it’s not the smartest approach and will result in chaos. Here’s how a management tool can help you out - You can think of a project management software as several tools rolled into one. Because a good software will do the job of many. It will let you assign tasks, manage reports, track time, and create a timeline for different project. In short, it will offer you the synchronicity that’s much need for any manager and any project. It will put an end to the act of juggling with more than you can digest. It will centralize everything and put everything in one place for easy access. So, the next time you need a piece of information, you will know where to find it instead of looking for it across different places. So, the ultimate solution for a project manager’s problems lies in opting for a project management software. Because, this one tool can remedy almost all your problems. Whenever you think about the most popular project management software currently available, Basecamp is one of the first names to pop in your head. And, for good reason! After all, it’s the pioneer in this line of software.
Basecamp contains all the basic functions that make project management easy. But if you talk about more detailed features such as gantt charts, time tracking, proofing features, etc. it does not have them. That’s why a lot of Basecamp users who feel the need for those missing in-depth features, may soon start looking for a good Basecamp alternative. Even if you are not looking for a particular feature that Basecamp does not have, it’s still good to go with a software that has a lot more to offer than just a handful of functionalities. So, if you are looking for a good alternative to basecamp, here’s what you need to look for -
In life we celebrate many occasions. Come to think of it, planning for those occasions is much much like planning a project. Something as simple as planning a birthday is also a short-lived project. And, so is planning a wedding. Anyone who has ever planned a wedding (whether their own or someone else’s) would know just how chaotic things can get if you don’t have something to keep things organized. Thankfully help is available in the form of project management tools. It may sound like something that only professionals who belong to the corporate world use. But that’s not true. Here’s how you can use this handy little tool in planning the next wedding like a pro - Create your own little database of florists, caterers, and photographers to choose from Wedding means research and more research. You have to meet so many people, from florists, to the catering companies, to photographers, bands, DJs, and what not. Managing so many meets with countless people can add up to a lot of details. A project management tool can be your personal database organizer. You can use it as a way to store the details such as contact numbers, address, and everything about different service providers. You can even use it to write down the pros and cons next to each potential candidate. The list can aid you in figuring out whom to select and whom to reject after careful scrutiny. Brainstorm ideas online Planning a wedding means lot of brainstorming sessions. You have to think about stuff like what color to pick for bridesmaids’ dresses? Which type of flowers will the bride carry? What should be the venue? Should it be an indoor wedding or an outdoor one? With a project management tool you can make such discussions fun. Just add all the key people in the software who get to have a say in the matter and start online discussions. You don’t even need to have everyone present in the same room to make a decision. Maintain a guest list One of the most challenging aspects of a wedding is preparing the guest list. After all, this is the list you will hand over to the caterer who will accordingly provide a service estimate. Using a project management software, you can start by completing a rough list of people you are planning on inviting. You can then keep on editing that list before you have the finalized one. Divide responsibilities Wedding planning involves lot of responsibilities. It’s not a one-man job. It requires collective efforts. But, how to take care of who is in charge of which thing? How do you track how much work is done, how much is in progress, and who’s handling different things? A management software tells you all that. Use it to assign jobs, track them, monitor them and keep planning ahead. There are literally gazillion details people juggle with when they have to plan a wedding. In the middle of so much to handle, a management software is one thing that can keep you sane. The best part is you have all the information and little details in just tone place, so you don’t lose your mind searching for it here and there. Projects are time bound. They are controlled by deadlines. Unfortunately, we all have a limited amount of time. Nobody has more than 24 hours in a day - even if you are the richest person on the earth. Which is why everyone - not just companies and project managers - is always struggling how to make the most of their time.
That’s when time management comes into play. If you want to know how to utilize this commodity called time wisely, then keep reading. You will definitely stumble upon some incredible advice. Have fewer priorities - Projects consist of myriad of tasks and responsibilities. But, not everything is a priority. Only a bunch of tasks are most crucial for the project. Other minor tasks are just an accessory to that major chunk of work. Recognize that most important work area and make it your priority. Do not make the mistake of making everything a priority. If you have three priorities, it’s very much likely that you will finish all three in a day. But, if you have 10 of them, you will hardly finish even two. Recognize the work that shouldn't be done - You can do all the add-on stuff as a way to beautify something or make it perfect. But, only if you have plenty of free time on your hands. If you have a very limited time to accomplish something, then it’s imperative you recognize the work that should not be done in the first place. It will result in nothing but time wastage. It's like Peter Drucker said, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. ". Use a time tracking software - Every time you start a new task, turn the timer on in a time tracking software and stop it once you’re done. The point of this exercise is to have well-documented records of how teams spend time. Timesheets come handy in recognizing the time management mistakes so they can be avoided in the future. Manage yourself and the time will manage itself - Like I said, nobody has more than 24 hours in a day. It’s not possible to add more to this number. But, it’s definitely possible to use that time wisely and make the best of it. Which is why, before your learn ways to manage time, you should first learn to manage yourself. By that, I mean managing your energy and mental health. Do not enter in a race with time where you are running after deadlines non-stop. Learn to take meaningful breaks where you can put your mind to rest. Intermittent breaks are very important to prepare yourself for the remaining day’s work. Failing to manage yourself will result in exhaustion and burnout and the productivity will go down. I would wrap up this post by stressing on the fact that managers should always use a web based time tracking software. It’s the first step to managing time and utilizing it efficiently. When do you like your room the most? When it’s such a mess that you have to search the entire house just to find a piece of clothing. Or, when everything is neatly organized in its own dedicated space making it easy to search anything? Of course the second option. That’s the power of organization. The same goes with managing a project. A project is like that room of yours that has a lot of things. Unless those things are sorted and organized, it can be quite a challenge to find a needed piece of information without wasting a lot of time, effort, and energy. Enter project management software! Your own personal project information organizer. Irrespective of how big or small your team is, or the type of project you might be running, this software is for every manager who likes it when things are organized and easily retrievable. Here’s how these tools can help you better organize things in your project -
There are several other ways too, to foster that sense of organization in a project. It’s tough to sum-up all those ways in one post. However, do not forget to try out ways mentioned above. Trying to accomplish everything on your own is not how the world of business works. Unless you’re a super-human who can do everything on your own, it’s inevitable that you will need a team to manage a project. Unfortunately, teamwork is a lot of challenge. Because, the truth is people hate working in teams. Unless there’s a sense of coordination and belongingness among people, things can fall apart. Only when people feel that everyone is working together, they have higher job satisfaction and better productivity. Below you will find reasons why teamwork fails and how managers can fix them -
Those were the top causes that make teamwork a challenge. If a manager can overcome these challenges, he/she can easily build healthy functioning teams. Working professionals begin their day by checking inbox first thing in the morning. Imagine waking up to an ‘Inbox (0)’ situation. It’s hard to imagine, right? Truth is, the average number of emails that people receive everyday is downright overwhelming. Sometimes there are hundreds of emails, most of which are work related, but do not directly concern you, or are simply spammy ones.
Emails are necessary. There’s no denying that. But, wouldn’t life be a lot simpler if you didn’t have to go through the heap of emails every morning? Wouldn’t it be great if there was a simpler way to check what’s in store for you during the day without sorting out those endless number of emails? That’s what project management and online collaboration software are for. And, it’s time to make things more visual by opting for these tools and make life easy. But, first we will see how using emails too much or always is not good -
The alternative - Web-based collaboration software are an excellent alternative to emails. Instead of dumping everything into emails with no way to sort them, these collaboration tools provide an organizational system for all your work requirements. Got an image to send? Or a comment to add to a design? Or do you want to offer a one word response to a query? Don’t use email. Instead, use a collaboration software. With dedicated online space for everything, you can keep things exactly where there are supposed to be. No need to create a mess by jumbling everything up. If you want to initiate a discussion, you can create a discussion thread. If you want to say hi, you can use chat feature. If you want to organize files, create folders and start storing files in there. The whole arrangement appears more natural, appealing, and visual. No need to deal with spammy emails or stuff that does not even concern you. So, are you ready to give online collaboration tools a try? Project failure is not uncommon. In fact, if you do a little research you will see that a large percentage of projects end-up failing. A lot of factors contribute in untimely completion and project failures. Take a look at some of the most common causes and ways to combat them -
1. Unclear requirements - Being unclear on project goals/requirements is very common. A lot of times teams work without this awareness. The only solution to this problem is to be mindful about the project goals during the planning phase. Once you’re clear on the objectives, share it with everyone. You can write those objective and requirements using notes in a project management software online and share it with team members. 2. Poor communication - It should not be surprising that poor communication is on the list. Healthy communication is crucial because that’s the only way to keep everyone aware of the progress as well as problems. Poor communication creates a gap in team’s knowledge. This can lead to poor sense of coordination. To avoid your team from experiencing that, make sure to have open lines of communication. Use a communication software and ask everyone to stay available on it all the time. 3. Inaccurate time estimation - Every project comes with an expiration date. Everything has to be done before that date. But, often people end-up underestimating or overestimating the time requirements. A good way to remedy that problem is to incorporate a project management tool into planning. You can allot an estimated time duration to each task in the project management software. The software will keep track of how time is being utilized. Slowly, you will start getting a better sense of which tasks need more time and which ones require less time than estimated. 4. Changing priorities - It’s not uncommon for priorities to keep changing from time to time in a project. But, when that happens, it’s important to communicate those changes quickly with everyone, so that the plan of action could be put into motion. Be sure nobody is left out of the loop. Management software come as handy tools in communicating those changes. Managers can use them to assign and distribute new set of tasks and initiate online discussions. 5. Inefficient risk management - Untimely things can happen when you least expect them. An important human resource could leave the company. Servers could suddenly stop working. Project could run into financial crisis. It’s important to identify all the potential risks that could occur and be prepared for them. When you fail to identify these factors; that’s when they can bring trouble. Hopefully, the points mentioned above will help you gain some practical and useful insight on how to combat the causes of project failures. What are your thoughts on this topic? Do tell us! Gantt charts have an array of benefits to offer in terms of project planning, monitoring, etc. That’s why thousands of companies including small to large-sized use them to improve productivity, communicate progress, and keep track of things. But, in order to use this tool in the best possible manner, managers need to learn a few tricks. Below you will find some incredibly useful tips on how to use an online gantt chart tool efficiently -
Do stick to these tips while using an online Gantt chart tool. If you bring these tips into practice, things will become clearer and understandable. A Gantt chart is an excellent project planning and tracking tool. However, it is useful only if you know how to use it properly. You can use it to manage and monitor projects of all sizes; it is particularly useful for projects that happen to be lengthy and complex. Below mentioned are a few ways in which you can use a Gantt chart online for better project management -
It’s been a long time since Gantt charts became a part of project management arena. For a long time managers have been using them to plan and track things. Do you also use one? At the face of it, it may look like there’s no difference between to-do lists and task management tools. That they are one and the same things and can be used interchangeably. But, it's far from truth. In reality, there’s a huge difference between the two.
Here’s what it is - A to-do list has a binary nature to it. Meaning, the items on a to-do list are either finished or not finished. The list basically tells you what all things you have to do through the day. It’s like a reminder. But a task management software does an entirely different job. While to-dos have dual aspect to it (done or not done); task management happens to be much more dynamic. It shows you various stages of a task, how many people are part of it, and exactly how each one of them are contributing. For example, if the job is to get a website up-and-running, the steps can include selecting a font, theme, curating content to pour into the website, and so on. A task management software online tells you by how much percentage the work is done, and the current phase it’s in. A to-do list is ideal for times when you are working alone. Got a package to send to a friend? Put it on the list and check it off as completed when you’re done sending it. It is more like a personal list of chores that do not require input from anyone else. But, we know that things are not this straightforward when multiple people are involved into a task. For tracking tasks that are more complicated and lengthy you will need a task management tool. A to-do list will not do the job. Because, you need contribution from different people and input is coming from multiple channels. To track the progress, you need to keep an eye on all of these things. These tools are more like task trackers because they help you keep track of both accountability and progress. A good task management software will offer you multiple ways in which you can monitor the progress and accountability. It can be in the form of -
That should explain just how different a simple to-do list is from task management tool. The latter happens to be much more complex, dynamic and has a lot more to offer than a to-do list. So, which tool do you think will help you better? Collaboration can cause more problems than offering solutions, if not done rightly. That’s right! The whole purpose of bringing people together in a project is to achieve certain goals. Reaching a goal is not that big a challenge. The real challenge is to do so in a healthy manner. Which is why, you need to know certain golden rules of collaboration, so that you can achieve the same. Keep reading to find out what those rules are and how to go about their practical implementation -
These are not the only things that a project manager needs to be mindful of for healthy collaboration, but club them with right resources, tools, healthy communication, and transparency at work - and you really got something! Practical implementation of these points (at least some, if not all) can truly do wonders for your projects. We are a generation of professionals who are constantly looking for ways to make work life easier. Designers are no exception to this ‘smart work approach’. I’m sure every single designer is always looking for ways that could reduce efforts. Anything that could speed up the processes and elevate the levels of productivity is a good investment. Speaking of which, online proofing system has come to light to serve the exact same purpose. Proofing is an essential part of anything that falls within the realm of designing. The thing about being a designer is that you are hardly ever functioning alone. There are clients who are trying to get in touch with you; waiting to review your work and suggest changes. In an ideal scenario, everyone will be working together in the same office and be easily reachable. But, we know that’s not how things are these days. A designer can be located in one country while the editorial team and the clients are located in some other country altogether. That kind of arrangement makes communication, which happens to be the backbone of professional world, quite difficult. If reaching out to people, or getting your message through is a challenge in itself, then all the processes will slow down. Online proofing software come to your rescue and remedy the challenges of communication. You can think of these software as a virtual platform where everyone can share their opinions on creative works without actually having to get in touch with anyone. The system brings people together irrespective of their location or time zone. One of the reasons why designers need to promote the usage of proofing tool is that it fixes some of the typical issues people face while using email for proofing/reviewing. Emails are time consuming, because every time you make a suggestion, you have to attach the file. Not just that you have to mindful of yours words and make sure they are easy to interpret. The person on the receiving end has to keep tallying the words in an attempt to figure out which words are referring to which part of the design. Let’s not forget there’s always the risk that someone involved in the reviewing process might accidentally start working on the wrong version of file. This mostly happens when a lot of people are involved. Because, sending a common file to a bunch of people makes it hard to keep everybody on the same page. When you replace emails with an online proofing system, you eliminate the risk of unknowingly working on an older or wrong file version. In proofing tools, tracking review history is a piece of cake. You can keep toggling between previous versions that shows you what all the changes have been made so far. Imagine doing that with an email! It won’t be less than a nightmare. Those were a few challenges faced by designers that proofing software can fix. Do opt for a good system if you too are a designer. Project management is challenging. There’s no denying that! Therefore, it’s only wise to accept its challenges and start working on ways to best tackle them. Both managers and team members have to navigate through a lot of pain points. So, what can we do to fix them? The easiest solution is to opt for a project management tool. In this post, readers will get to know what are the pain points of managing projects and how a project planning software can remedy them. Let us check it out - 1. Organization This is a huge pain point which gets worse when teams are large. So many things to track, so many files, documents, deadlines, work reports to manage, and what not! All these things combined can drive any manager insane unless of course you have a mechanism to turn things around. A project management tool is the perfect way to end the pain that comes with disorganization in a project. These software connects everything for easy comprehension. You can assign responsibilities, delegate, keep an eye on deadlines, know what teams are upto, and everything from just one place. The tool is there to give answers to all your queries instantly. 2. Accountability Organizations have long struggled to make it easy to trace accountability. Team members in particular will be pleased if there was a system in place for it. Nobody likes being accountable for other people’s mistakes. But, in the absence of a project management software, it is easy to play blame-games. However, when planning software comes in picture, every single task can be traced back to whom it was assigned/delegated. Managers can figure out easily whose failure of responsibility has set things back. You can also reward outstanding performers for their hard work instead of giving their credit to someone else. 3. Consolidation It’s not uncommon for managers to feel lost in the smaller details of a project and end-up failing to see the bigger picture in this process. The opposite is also true. There can be times when there’s such an overload of information that some of the smaller yet important details could be easily overlooked. An online project management software remedies that problem by consolidating a large pool of information. You have everything from documents and report sheets to images and task details; all in one place. All that makes briefing super-easy. 4. Information visibility Information/data is powerful for any business organization. There can be times when a person may not have easy access to the required piece of information. Lack of visibility or access of right information to right people is another pain point that lot of organizations struggle with. Project planning software allow you to give/restrict information access to certain group of individuals depending on what role they play in. Managers can exercise control on information sharing and visibility without the complications of too many protocols involved in doing so. How else do you think these software help in remedying common project management issues? If you would like to add anything to the post, let us know in the comments! |
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AuthorSharon Thomson is a project management expert and writer. Through the years she has written about a myriad of project management topics and has successfully managed countless projects on her own. A big believer in ‘work smarter, not harder’ philosophy; Sharon keeps including her own personal lessons in her writing from time to time. |