What is Online Project Management Software Discover how to leverage the latest cloud applications as a way to grow your business

What is Online Project Management Software

Think about project management software as a real-world project manager:

How to understand the mechanics behind Project Management tools, and the major components of Project Management software.

● A good project manager can organize and manage all of the elements of a campaign or project as well as communicate updates, budget, schedules, deadlines and more.

 ● The advent of cloud computing has been a real

benefit for the project management software space as developers have taken what used to be a relatively stagnant boxed product full of planning tools and have created products that are now cheaper, easier to use and more collaborative and dynamic.

 

There are five phases of project management, as defined by the Project Management Institute (PMI).

1. Initiating2. Planning 3. Executing 4. Controlling5. Closing

Organizations that require project management software should always be cognizant of the basics of project management and how a vendor’s solution addresses these five phases of project management.

What is Online Project Management Software

Main functions supportedIt is by examining what your organization requires to execute projects and matching those needs to the appropriate software that you will find the best solution. But bear in mind that most solutions should provide the following functions:

● Encourage collaboration and communication● Project Planning● Responsiveness to changes● Foster Creativity● Track time, deadlines and budgets● Issue Tracking and Process Improvement● Schedule calendars● Ressources optimization

What features to consider?

● A central dashboard for the team to communicate updates

 ● Online Project Chat

  

Collaboration Tools

● Document tracking tools to collaboratively edit copy

 ● Process

Improvement

 Collaboration and communication are very important elements to consider when looking for a project management software solution, therefore consider these features:

A Workspace designed for team members to help them understand, organize, and get their tasks done:

Tools for task creation and delegation

Alerts for project deadline and meeting reminders

Calendars for scheduling meetings and monitoring

important project milestones

Planning and Scheduling Tools

What features to consider?

Analytic Project Reporting Tools

Applications to track project budgets

Tools to bill and invoice clients on project-related expenses

Time tracking tools for various project-related tasks

What features to consider?Look for a set of professional services automation:

Budgeting reports

Status update reports

Employee time tracking reports

Budgeting/Invoicing/Billing Tools

Look for a set of professional services automation:

What features to consider?

How To Choose Online Business SoftwareGenerally speaking, there are several critical aspects that should be considered when purchasing online business software (or Software as a Service aka SaaS), based on best practices from the industry:

● Reduce risk of mistaken choice and implementation failure

● Achieve a good ROI (Return On Investment)● Align business needs with organizational

requirement  Key evaluation criteria : 

● Understand the different software models● Know the different types of business models offered by

each vendor: cloud-based, hybrid, hosted and in-house.

● The main differentiators are with the data: who owns it, how it is administered, stored and what are my privacy and security guarantees.

 

How To Choose Online Business Software Industry specific expertise 

● Look for vertical industry expertise, check their clients list to find similarities to existing clients.

● Check that the solution can adapt to changing business models rapidly and the vendor’s past history in delivering new updates to its solution.

 Total Cost of Ownership 

● To compare an in-house software to a SaaS product requires measurable metrics. When trying to understand the TCO, issues such as current and future subscription costs, data administration, integration costs to existing systems and support costs should be heavily scrutinized.

  

How To Choose Project Management SoftwareThe market for project management software has increased greatly and there are numerous products out there at all price points. Depending on your needs, you can decide on the type of project management software to purchase.

 ● With a comprehensive list of features

such as tools for communication, budgeting, time tracking, document tracking and much more.

● With a smaller tool set limted to key features such as task creation and team communication.

There are two main types of online project management applications:

How To Choose Project Management Software● Look for products that have tiered

subscription levels so you can pick the level that best supports your needs and upgrade should you want to utilize additional features or add users. In this infographic, you can compare information on important decision factors between different project management solutions available in the market.

● Pricing plan should be clearly indicated on the vendor websiteAlways recommend that you short list 2 or 3 solutions and that you use the free trials before buying.

  

How To Choose Project Management SoftwareHelpful resources ● You can compare solutions and read

reviews from a comprehensive list of online project management software solutions to help you find the one that is the best fit to your needs.

● You can get a customized software recommendation by using GetApp.com's AppFinder

● You can check this infographic highlighting the 25 most important online product management software solutions