How to Choose PPM Software
Introduction
Whether you are designing an automobile or constructing a computer program for a reputed firm, you need some means to distribute the work and keep a check on the progress of the work. Project management software assists in solving this issue. The software combines different aspects of a project such as communication, deadline monitoring, file sharing, etc., and reports all the data to a single place from where you can supervise the progress. Irrespective of the size of your organization, you should definitely opt for PPM software that scales with your organization.
Parameters to Monitor Before Buying a PPM Software
- Strong Planning and Scheduling Features:
Most of the PPM software is offered with Gantt charts. Gantt charts are an efficient tool for planning and dispersing duties to the employees. Gantt charts are especially a recommendation for teams working on complex projects and having several deadlines to manage at a time.
Moreover, based on your needs, you can also opt for different features such as calendars, Kanban boards, and task dependencies which will eventually help you maintain the project efficiently. For a startup, you should be flexible in your choices as your needs are dynamic.
- Efficient Task Management:
The project management tool you plan to choose should have certain features like breaking down the tasks and disseminating the deadlines for the respective task. The software which has the feature of distributing the tasks automatically will empower you to manage bigger teams consisting of members greater than 30 people effectively. Moreover, it will also give transparency to the employees about the work they need to do.
- Hassle-Free Time Tracking:
Time tracking is an essential part of recording the availability of the employee. Primarily, every project management tool offers a time tracking feature. However, this feature becomes extremely important for a firm that has hired people through outsourcing, such as freelancers, to do specific tasks. Because freelancers are generally paid according to the time they are investing in doing your work. Therefore, the time tracking feature becomes essential for the companies that pay their employees based on hours they spend doing their work.
- Integration with Other Work Apps You Use:
In the initial days of your startup or business, you mightn’t require a specialized tool to align your work from different apps, apps such as slack and google docs will be functional enough to manage the work. However, once your business starts to grow, these apps won’t help you efficiently and at this stage because as the business grows, your dependency on other apps will increase. Thus you will require a tool that integrates the output of different other software you use. Therefore, you should look for tools that provide you with the feature to integrate with other apps you use.
- Effective Reporting System:
Features such as KPI tracking and progress helps in saving time for collecting and organizing data. You can opt for a tool that offers a dashboard where the information about the progress is displayed.
