Project management software is an essential part of how we work together. It supports collaboration, makes teams more efficient and helps businesses meet their objectives. However, with hundreds of tools on the market, reviewing the options and deciding which one is right for your organisation can feel overwhelming. To help you, we’ve put together this short, practical guide that includes an overview of project management software, the factors to consider when making your decision, and common pitfalls to avoid.
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What is Project Management Software?
Project management software is a digital platform specifically designed to help teams plan, organise, and execute projects from start to finish. By centralising resources, schedules, and communication in one place, project management software streamlines project management administration and allows project managers to focus on the strategic delivery of the project.
Popular project management tools include Trello, Asana, Clickup and Factorial. These tools all support teams to:
- Assign tasks and share resources.
- Set deadlines, monitor progress and track milestones.
- Communicate in real time and in the most efficient place.
- Visualise the project’s progress through dashboards, Gantt charts or Kankan boards.
- Automate updates and reminders.
- Celebrate successes and identify issues easily.
- Reduce human errors caused by manual tracking.
Why Choosing The Right Project Management Software Matters
With so many options available, it can be overwhelming to know where to start when choosing project management software. It can also be tempting to think that each option offers the same level of support for your business. However, choosing the right project management software is a strategic business decision. It becomes the foundation for how your team work together to deliver your business objectives and should grow with your business. In contrast, using the wrong software can create friction within the team. It can add complexity to your work, fail to integrate with your existing HR or finance systems and make it harder for employees to communicate with each other.
A well-chosen project management system will ensure:
- Accountability: provides clear visibility on ownership, progress and milestones.
- Productivity: reduces time on administration, creating more time for strategic delivery.
- Consistency: standardises processes across teams and departments, streamlining work.
- Scalability: provides a strong organisational foundation that grows with your business.get advice on choosing the right project management software, discover the features to look for, and understand the pitfalls to avoid
Factors to Consider when Choosing a Project Management Software
When you start the process of choosing the best project management software for your business, the first step is to understand how your business operates, where any inefficiencies lie, and your organisation’s strengths. The right software will enhance what you already do well in project management and support improvements in the more challenging areas.
Choosing project management software involves considering technical, practical, and team-related aspects of the work the system will need to do for your business. Here we break down the key factors to evaluate:
Project and Team Needs
Understanding what you need is the first task when choosing the right project management software. Think about the following questions:
- What are the types of projects you are managing and what are their specific requirements? For example, construction projects might need task dependencies to link tasks, whereas a tech project, such as the onboarding of an HRIS, is often better supported by an agile board.
- What is the size of your team/s and how are they structured? Some programmes with simple task tracking are better suited to smaller teams, while bigger teams may require customised workflows, analytics and permissions management.
- How does your team work together? For some groups, file sharing is key, whereas others need real-time collaboration.
Outline Workflows
Once you understand the problem the project management system will solve, spend some time mapping how your teams actually work. Finding a tool that aligns with workflows will increase the likelihood that employees will fully embrace it. Think about:
- The workflow for projects: initiation, approval, and execution.
- How tasks move through the different stages from planning to execution, and then review.
- If tasks involve multiple departments.
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Whether your teams already follow a specific methodology, such as Agile, Scrum, or Waterfall approaches.
Functionalities and Features
Once you have a clear idea about what you need the project management software to do, you can turn your attention to how the platform’s technical features will give you that support. The following list includes some of the features and functions you will find in a high-quality project management system:
- Management of tasks and workflows using tools like Kanban boards, Gantt charts, agile templates and time tracking.
- Tools for tracking performance, budgets and milestones to enable reporting and analytics and keep an overview of the project.
- Automation functions ensure that repetitive administrative tasks, such as approvals and notifications, can be completed without manual intervention.
- Resource management, including time-tracking and scheduling tools, helps allocate staff, materials, and time most efficiently.
- Compatibility with other software, such as email, calendar or accounting programmes, that form part of the project work.
Accessibility and Usability
The successful integration of a project management system into a workplace depends on the software being easy to access, use, and understand. The system should:
- Have an intuitive interface that requires minimal training to use.
- Be accessible via the cloud wherever employees need to use it.
- Offer customisation options to fully tailor the software to the business’s unique workflows and needs.
- Provide a clear plan and communication channel for onboarding guidance, troubleshooting and customer support.
Compliance and Security
In today’s world, it’s essential to have a project management system that keeps your data safe and helps you comply with the regulations relevant to your work. While you may think every platform will meet these requirements, it’s important not to take this for granted.
- Data protection: check user access controls, compliance with GDPR regulations or industry standards and encryption details.
- Cloud storage: check the location of storage, especially if you work in a regulated or particularly sensitive industry.
Cost
Understanding how much a system will cost you to implement and use is a key part of deciding which project management software is right for you. The following questions will guide your thinking on this aspect:
- Which pricing model works best for your business? Some offer subscriptions, whereas others have a one-time fee. Consider whether the model will grow with your organisation without adding excessive cost.
- Is there a free trial? Being able to test options before committing to the investment will give you peace of mind that you got it right.
- What does the base price include? What will need to be added on if you need them? Some costs can increase significantly if you add too many bespoke elements.
Compatibility with Organisational Culture
Last but not least, when choosing the project management support that’s best for your business, consider your organisation’s culture and how the platform you select will both integrate with and support it.
- Does your team have a strong culture of working together? Some tools are better suited to a transparent approach, while others work with a more hierarchical structure.
- How does your team respond to new challenges? If you have team members who struggle with change, choosing a platform which is very easy to use will be a key driver in your decision-making.
Compare Different Project Management Tools
Once you’ve considered all the different factors involved in choosing the right project management software, it’s time to narrow down your short list. As much as possible, include your end user in these evaluation phases. Their feedback is key to highlighting issues you may miss in your decision-making role.
The following framework can help you compare your options. Keeping a simple comparison sheet to score each platform across the following areas can help you make an objective decision.
- Trial: is there a free trial?
- Pricing: does the structure work for your business, now and in the long term?
- Interface: is the user experience intuitive and accessible?
- Support: what does customer support and community look like?
- ROI: does the programme provide a good return on investment?
- Risks: are there any issues or challenges with the programme that you need to put in place a plan to mitigate?
- Integrations: does the platform work with the other programmes you use?
Common Mistakes to Avoid
If you’ve followed our guidance, it’s unlikely that you will fall into any of the common pitfalls that managers can experience when choosing a new project management system. However, we’ve pulled together this handy list of things to steer clear of as a reminder:
- Making your decision based on price alone. As with many things in life, the cheapest option may not be the best in the long run.
- Ignoring the end user’s needs. It may be tempting to think you can change the way your team works by introducing a new system, but ignoring what happens on the ground in real life can create significant issues later.
- Ignoring your current systems. It’s key that the system you introduce integrates with existing systems to avoid duplication of work and the potential to introduce errors.
- Skipping training or planning how to implement the system. Finding the best project management tool isn’t enough. Proper onboarding is required to deliver results.
- Not considering scalability. A new system is a significant investment. If you don’t think about whether it can scale as you grow, you may find that your choice has limited your options.
- Focusing on the wrong thing. For some companies, ease of use is key to supporting system adoption and use, while others may prioritise performance and reporting. Make sure you are using the right criteria to make your choice.
Final Thoughts on Choosing the Right Project Management Software
Choosing the right project management software is more than simply a technical decision. Getting the right platform will empower your team to work smarter, not harder. Indeed, the right platform will not only support efficient project management across teams but also integrate into your broader business operations.
Scalable platforms such as Factorial provide project management support across HR, finance, and performance management, centralising your operations into one place and helping teams be more efficient, focused and strategic. Factorial’s project management tool is part of its all-in-one business management software. It connects task tracking, time management, and budgeting in a single dashboard, helping companies of all sizes gain visibility into the people, time, and resources involved in all projects.
👉 Book a demo today with one of our experts to find out how Factorial’s project management tool can support your business.
