Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay
After the whirlwind of the past year, there’s a whole new crop of trends in project management in 2021. For example, a Gallup poll from January revealed that approximately 56% of employees in the United States are working remotely. This presents a greater need for project management tools that provide use outside of the walls of a traditional office. More organizations are incorporating AI and hybrid project management methodologies into the mix, paving the way for increased efficiency and improved engagement and stability.
A Gallup poll from January revealed that approximately 56% of employees in the United States are working remotely.
Along with new trends, there are also a host of new challenges to face. But when you’re armed with the right tools, you can handle both more seamlessly. No matter the size of your organization or the scope of the projects you typically handle, there are options out there to help you.
Trello
There are more than 1 million teams already using Trello, including well-known names like Squarespace, Fender and Google. Particularly popular for beginners, this Kanban-based project management system offers an easy-to-use interface ideal for individuals and small teams. You can manage ongoing workflows and individual projects, and once you're done with a card or board you can archive it for the future. Although there's minimal reporting available, Trello offers a solid lineup of what you need for basic project management.Trello offers a variety of features, including:
Boards and cards to organize work, create task assignments and timelines, view productivity data, track tasks, share things with teammates.
Automation for things like scheduling assignments, moving lists and creating custom buttons.
Integration with many other Power-Ups, such as Dropbox, Google Drive and Confluence.
Monday.com
For those new to using Agile project management, Monday.com is a popular solution. More than 100,000 global businesses, including Hulu and Coca Cola, already use this project management tool. It can be used in-office or remotely, allowing teams to easily collaborate and access information all in one platform. It’s also simple to set up — most users implement it in a matter of minutes.
Users can choose from ready-to-use or customizable templates and seamlessly integrate with other tools, including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Adobe Creative Cloud and Google Drive. It offers simple tracking so project leaders can track budget approvals and progress updates. Users can set project goals and access visual data with Monday.com's Kanban boards and maps.
Wrike
For users looking for project management tools that offer features beyond the basics while still maintaining easy-to-set up implementation, Wrike delivers on both fronts. It’s the preferred tool for more than 20,000 organizations around the world, including Air BnB, Estee Lauder and Google. Millions of professionals use this project management tool to automate reports, plan projects and collaborate in real-time no matter whether they're in the office or working remotely. Some of the standout features include:
Customizable tools to empower teams with exactly what they need, including request forms and custom dashboards and workflows.
Instant collaboration, easily share files, access reports and visibility across departments.
A variety of templates for OKRs, phased projects, Agile projects, Kanban projects, product launches and more.
More than 400 integrations, including the Google Suite, Microsoft Teams, Tableau, Salesforce and Jira.
Basecamp
One of the best project management tools for collaboration, Basecamp offers an all-in-one solution that's particularly helpful when dealing with remote or hybrid teams. From this single platform, users can schedule things, update calendars, send private messages, store files, chat in real-time and more.
Every project has its own set of tools to empower teams to accomplish their tasks with message boards, to-do lists, scheduling, group chat and file/document sharing. Each project also has automatic check-ins, which can give owners and executives the highlights of what everyone's doing. Managers can view everything that's happening, including tasks that are due soon, upcoming milestones and overdue tasks. The “My stuff” menu lets individual team members view everything assigned to them, drafts, activity and things they've bookmarked to stay on top of everything or catch up quickly.
Smartsheet
This project management tool can be used by businesses of all sizes, including enterprises and Fortune 500 companies such as HP and Paypal. It delivers everything the team needs, with real-time features, collaboration tools and automation capabilities. It offers a spreadsheet interface and the ability to gain insight from real-time data. It's appropriate for use with Agile projects, waterfall projects, product launches and more. Some of Smartsheet’s features include:
Core capabilities designed to make it easy to manage, report and automate, including data capture, automated workflows and the ability to create and share dashboards.
Connectors and integrations to empower stakeholders to view the most updated information across all systems
A Control Center for automatically setting up projects and processes, delivering reduced risk and increased consistency
Workzone
Founded in the early 2000s, Workzone is among the first project collaboration tools. It was created when its founders saw that marketers needed better ways to collaborate and manage projects. Features include to-do lists, project templates, Gantt charts, workload reports, time tracking and more. Everyone on the team can ask for others to share information, or they can share, review and approve files and documents right within the platform, from anywhere. Automated email reminders and personal to-do lists help keep all team members on track. The project dashboard provides a high-level view of all projects, including who's responsible, project progress, start and end dates, and notes.
Microsoft Project
For users embarking on large-scale projects, it’s hard to beat the capabilities of Microsoft Project, which is designed for users heading up and working on complex projects. It has the appearance of other apps within the Microsoft Office Suite, but it provides comprehensive features, including powerful reporting capabilities. It has a steeper learning curve and higher price-point than many other tools, but it provides granular details for every resource and task. It also offers customizable and pre-built reporting options, with reports that users can export to Powerpoint for use in meetings with stakeholders. Other features include:
Dynamic scheduling to help make staying on track easier
Power BI_ visualization that enables the creation of interactive dashboards
Automated workflows allow users to create mobile or desktop experiences with this secure, Azure-based platform