TABLE OF CONTENTS:
- Why is project management software important?
- How does project management software work?
- Reasons to implement Project management software
- How to implement project management software?
- Who can use Project management software?
- Benefits of using a project management software
- How can Gauss Box benefit your business?
Why is project management software important?
Project management software is important because it integrates various functions into a single solution, facilitating better planning, coordination, and execution of projects, thereby enhancing productivity and ensuring the successful delivery of projects on time and within budget. Even with all those benefits, many companies still have resistance to implementing them in their business.
Currently, just under 1 in 4 organizations use any kind of project management software, according to Wellington (2020). The rest are working with outdated ways of tracking their projects such as paper, Excel, or a patchwork of tools with sub-optimal integration.
This is a devastating statistic since organizations that do not leverage or have outdated project management technology have a project failure rate of 18% (PMI, 2019).
Despite statistical proof that a mature project management process makes an organization far more likely to deliver on time and under budget (PMI, 2020), there are still many unanswered questions wondered by project-oriented companies.
How does project management software work?
Project management software acts as a centralized platform that simplifies numerous aspects of the project management process. Such a platform contains tools that enable task organization, progress tracking, and facilitating communication between project participants.
Typical PM software includes functionalities such as task entry and review, planning tools, sharing and storing files, and updating all data in real time. In this way, one system integrates numerous components of project management, from initial planning to delivery. Breaking down projects into smaller tasks, defining deadlines, and assigning responsible team members for each task allows for quick and efficient organization. Also, by reviewing the status of each project and its tasks, it's easier to identify bottlenecks and adjust the timeframe as needed.
The goal of project management software is to make projects more transparent, efficient, and to encourage collaboration, leading to better outcomes and increased productivity.
Reasons to implement Project management software
EASY PLANNING
When it comes to projects, the basic functionality is, of course, easy planning. Considering that there are many people working on certain project it is essential that whole process goes smoothly from beginning to an end. Project planning can take you up a lot of time if each time you have to map out the whole process from scratch.
The thing about project management software is that it gives you the ability to easily create a new project/task and in a matter of seconds enroll all important information needed at the time (name, category, tag, responsible person, duration, and other). Also, it’s easy to prioritize tasks inside every project so it’s really a time saver when everyone on the team knows the importance of each and every step.
SIMPLICITY OF DATA SHARING
To make the whole process even simpler and faster, one of the benefits of project management software is facilitated data sharing. Depending on the project size and people included, it can sometimes be overwhelming with different types of data and documents.
Project management tools provide you with central database storage meaning each employee can access, upload or edit documents and files inside every project they are assigned to. Having it all in one place without sending thousands of emails is a simple, but life-changing benefit.
BUDGET CONTROL
Projects usually come with certain costs and expenses. It’s essential to plan the budget from the start to the handover of the project. Let’s look at some statistics.
According to Saaslist, 66% of companies using project management software completed projects within their original budget and 47% of companies using project management software say it’s had a positive impact on the accuracy of project cost estimates.
By monitoring your expenses, you can easily get insights into how much have certain project costs and plan future processes with having that in mind. It will give a more precise budget estimation for future projects. Then you can deliver projects at the time and stay within the budget.
TIME TRACKING
Time tracking is also one of the many great features of project management software. You can collect data about project execution performance and analyze further progress.
Knowing your work pace can help in determining reasonable deadlines and milestones for future projects. As a team leader, you will now have valuable data on time spent on every single project.
By gathering that information, you will be able to make much more precise time estimations. Increase productivity and get results faster by prioritizing tasks and projects. To conclude, never neglect time management as it is one of the most important parts of an organization.
How to implement project management software?
Project management software implementation in your organization is a strategic decision that can significantly improve efficiency and productivity. However, it's not just about selecting the right tool; it's about integrating it effectively into your business processes.
Firstly, you need to identify your needs and objectives and understand what you want to achieve with the implementation. Then you need to research and choose the right software, which you can read more about in our blog Comparison of project management software. A following step is crucial and it involves planning the implementation. This includes setting a timeline, assigning responsibilities, and preparing for any potential disruptions during the transition. A good plan will help you prepare and train your team, migrate your existing data without business disruptions, and integrate the tools you already use. After the implementation you need to continue to monitor your software and gather feedback if there are needs to make adjustments.
Implementing project management software is a journey that requires careful planning, training, and adaptation. With a thoughtful approach and continuous evaluation, you can significantly enhance your project management capabilities and drive better outcomes for your business.
Who can use Project management software?
You’re probably wondering can your organization implement Project management software and will it be efficient enough. The good news is everyone can implement PM software and benefit from their use in their organization.
Project management software is designed for all project-oriented organizations. It can be compatible with multiple types of organizations: IT companies, event management agencies, construction companies, non-government organizations, public institutions, marketing agencies, educational institutions, manufacturing and the list goes on. And we assure you it will be a life-changing decision. Just look at the numbers.
Benefits of using a project management software
In today's fast-paced business environment, leveraging a project management software can be a game-changer for organizations of any size. It streamlines the complexities of managing various tasks and projects by providing a centralized platform for tracking progress, allocating resources, and ensuring effective communication among team members. The real-time project status visibility helps in early identification of potential issues, allowing for prompt corrective actions.
With features like automated task assignments, deadline reminders, and integrative tools for collaboration, project management software significantly reduces the time and effort spent on administrative tasks. This, in turn, boosts overall productivity, allowing teams to focus more on strategic work and less on the nuances of project coordination. Moreover, it fosters a culture of transparency and accountability, as every team member has clear visibility of their responsibilities and deadlines.
In essence, project management software not only optimizes operational efficiency but also enhances the quality of work, leading to more successful project outcomes and a more agile business approach.
How can Gauss Box benefit your business?
We have created a unique cloud platform designed to manage all business processes – Gauss Box!
Among a variety of different individual models, we have created a Project management module that gives you smart options to manage projects and collaboration within your organization and beyond. The great thing about Gauss Box is we implemented a high level of personalization for each and every project.
Throughout this chapter we’ll give you an overview of our features and how can you use them in improving your organization’s performance.
EASY PLANNING
With the Gauss Box Project management module, planning projects has never been easier. Here you can see some of our main features which are time-savers when creating a new project.
PROJECT PARTICIPANTS
Let’s say there are 7 people assigned to the project. In that case, all persons involved in the project, unless otherwise stated, have full access to collected data. Therefore, only persons assigned to project tasks and discussions as participants should perform certain activities on the project task itself.
This will simplify the whole project planning as each person knows what tasks are they assigned and who can they consult with during the process.
COMMUNICATION - COMMENTS AND TAGGING
Communication can be done through comments on each task using direct tagging towards the necessary person. A tagged person then receives a special notification to make it clear that the comment applies right to her. In a matter of seconds, you can reach to your colleagues and let them know what improvements should they do on a certain task. As simple as that.
STAGES - TASK PERFORMANCE STATUS
Inside Gauss Box Project management module, you can monitor the status of task performance through stages. Every stage change is recorded in the project activity and task activity logs. There are variations of available stages in Gauss Box, but let us give you an example.
For instance, the stage canceled refers to tasks that have been canceled and the stage in progress refers to tasks that are currently being actively worked on. With this feature you’ll have a clear overview of each project task phase without accessing every project task itself.
SIMPLICITY OF DATA SHARING
Various forms of data can be easily stored, weather it is documents, spreadsheets, videos, pictures or basically any other form of data. Such data can be shared through various links, chat, or attached project files and be easily found at a later date.
DISCUSSIONS
You can use discussions for discussion and agreement on a particular topic or maybe general notices not related to the specific project task. Their main purpose is to simplify communication and agreements throughout project planning.
NOTES
The notes have multiple uses; as the name suggests, notes can be used to save short notes and data sets or you can simply use them to monitor multiple events such as meetings. Share them with your team members and improve task performance.
DATA RECORDING
Given that the whole idea of Gauss Box is being a simple complete business solution, there is no more need for a separate MS Office package. Gauss Box has a fully integrated Office suite including documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
BUDGET CONTROL
Inside Gauss Box, you can divide your expenses as billable or non-billable. This will help you track all activities and their expenses no matter what category they fall into. Furthermore, you can set budget estimations based on personal preferences or past projects. At all times you can see the difference between the estimated and spent budget in a few clicks.
TIME TRACKING
As mentioned earlier, tracking the spent time is one of the most important features in project management. To facilitate the monitoring of such information, our Projects module enables tracking of entered hours and offers several ways to view the project timeline. Review all tasks in the form of a list, distribute them by phases within the Kanban board, or within the divided timeline in the Gantt view. Utilize all the tools that Gauss Box provides to complete every project on time.
What’s next?
This is just one part of the many useful features the Gauss Box Project management module can offer you. We hope we gave you something to think about at the workplace while manually entering data into one spreadsheet, or onto a piece of paper. Check out Gauss Box Projects and feel free to contact us for more information.