Choosing The Best Project Management Software For Your Team
I’m a simple girl who likes just a few good options to choose from. A wedding invitation asking if I want chicken, meat, or vegetarian … great! The Cheesecake Factory with their book-like menu, on the other hand? That many options to choose from can be a bit overwhelming.
That’s how I felt when looking for the right project management software for my team. With 300+ tools available, how do you know which one to choose?
Questions To Ask When Choosing A Project Management System
- Who will be using the system?
- How many users are there?
- What is your budget for a new tool?
- What are the different views each user will need?
- What key features are important to you?
- Do you need to give non-core team members (i.e. clients and freelancers) access?
Even asking yourself these questions can leave you looking at hundreds of possible tools for your team. Here are some of my favorite project management software tools and what sets each of them apart from the crowd.
AirTable Review
While trying to select a project management software for my team, I spent a good amount of time playing around in AirTable. This software often pops up in “Top (Insert Number Here) Project Management Software” articles — and for good reason. While it ultimately wasn’t the tool we chose for our team, it’s powerful and might be a good choice for your organization.
What I Like About It
- With its highly aesthetic interface, AirTable is beautiful as well as functional.
- AirTable’s robust template library and functionality means it can be used for multiple purposes. Project and task management, customer relationship management (CRM), even social media calendars can be housed in AirTable.
- While it has a wide variety of functions, you can use it in a way that matches the scope of your team and projects — it can be simple to start, but it can grow alongside you.
The interface is intuitive, and the system is relatively easy-to-use from the get-go. With the breadth of what it can accomplish, it can be easy to get bogged down in the technology, but ultimately AirTable is really only limited by what you can imagine — and manage.
Asana Review
I’m a big fan of Asana. I’ve personally used this project management software to communicate with a web development partner. Full disclosure — my appreciation for this tool could have something to do with the great partnership I had with this web developer, but that aside, Asana was key to our success.
What I Like About It
- I love the ease of attaching files to a task and the ability to have a back and forth conversation using the “ask a question or post an update” box for each task.
- There is a space to enter time estimates for a task. This is especially useful for partnerships where you have a regular allotment of hours for a specific time period.
- When a task is completed, Asana automatically categorizes it as “Done,” greys out the font, and includes a fun little celebratory animation because, why not?
In the particular partnership in which I used Asana, what helped us most was a clearly defined workflow. I would enter in the specific details for a task, my web development partner would give me a time estimate for completing the task, and then I could gauge if that task fit into our hours allotment for the month.
Monday.com Review
Another tool that caught my eye was monday.com. This software can be used for project management, as well as HR and recruitment, sales and CRM, or marketing. With over 200+ different workflows, your team may find just what they’re looking for.
What I Like About It
- Monday.com allows you to set up automations to limit the amount of work you have to do yourself. Setting up an automation is as easy as writing a sentence, like: “On this date, send this email.”
- Regular updates and integrations with other tools continually expand the possibilities for what monday.com is capable of.
- Clients can submit “project requests” which automatically create new tasks for approval.
With a complex pricing structure, monday.com may give you exactly what you need, or it may create confusion for you and your budget. Depending on what your specific requirements are, this tool may be a good fit for your organization.
SmartSheet Review
This is the tool my team and I use for our day-to-day activities. Smartsheet is essentially a suped-up excel spreadsheet. It’s not the prettiest option out there, but what it lacks in aesthetics, it makes up for in functionality.
What I Like About It
- One key feature of Smartsheet that made it work for us is the ability to share links to sheets with clients, without them having to create a login.
- You can attach documents or add comments to a specific task, making it easy to maintain communication and follow conversations.
- There is a SmartSheet Gmail extension available that turns emails into tasks. If you have trouble keeping track of emails, this is a huge plus.
There is definitely a learning curve with this tool. For this reason, we chose the package that included an implementation manager to ensure we could get off the ground without fumbling around in the dark.
Trello Review
Trello is great for its user-friendly and intuitive design. Back in the day when our company was a purely content marketing agency, we used Trello exclusively. This tool is great for simple projects with smaller teams.
What I Like About It
- Trello is easy to use and doesn’t require a lot of time upfront to get acquainted with its intuitive interface.
- The simple card view of tasks organized in columns allows users to see all the team’s tasks by person, by status (i.e., Not Started, In Progress, Completed), or other relevant categories.
- The straight-forward card design makes its mobile application easy to use.
We continue to use Trello alongside our other project management tools to give us a high-level view of all our clients. This helps our CEO see the full plate of projects we have across the entire team and helps new team members see the full scope of our company’s work.
Comparing Features
|
Mobile Application |
Live 1:1 Demo |
Free Trial Available |
Price Per User |
Gantt Chart View |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AirTable |
Yes |
Yes: Live 1:1 demo available |
Yes: 14 days |
$20/month |
Yes |
Asana |
Yes |
No: Workshops available |
Yes: 30 days |
$10.99/month |
Yes |
Monday.com |
Yes |
Yes: Live 1:1 demo available |
Yes: 14 days |
$16/month |
Yes |
SmartSheet |
Yes |
Yes: Live 1:1 demo available |
Yes: 30 days |
$25/month* |
Yes |
Trello |
Yes |
Yes: On-demand demo |
Yes: 14 days |
$10/month |
Yes |
*Not all users need a license
The Bottom Line
I initially felt overwhelmed with all the project management tools out there and wasn’t looking forward to the time and effort it would take to find the “right” one for my team. You may find yourself in the same situation.
Here’s what I learned:
- Request live demos to see the tool in action, and include your teammates who will actually be using the system.
- Many systems are free, and those that are paid have trial periods. If you’re interested in trying paid systems that offer free trial periods, block off time on your calendar to really get in there and play around with it.
- Get down to the core requirements for your team and keep it simple. Don’t get distracted by the bells and whistles that a lot of systems offer but you may not really need.
I’m a big proponent of minimizing “stuff,” and I felt pressure to find the one system that fit all of our needs. But I learned from this experience that it’s not always possible to find the one system that does it all.
Using a few different tools works for us, but figuring out what works best for your organization takes time. There’s no perfect tool, only the perfect tool for your team.
Looking for a team to make your content goals a reality? Let us know.
3 Ways To Increase Productivity — Yours And Your Team’s
You have 20+ items on your to-do list, looming deadlines, calendars packed with meetings (which will lead to more to-do items), colleagues asking for your feedback, people asking you for status updates on projects, and important personal life events to attend to (doctor’s appointments, kid’s school events).
Does this sound familiar to you? It does to me, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the sea of competing demands on your time.
Time is the one nonrenewable resource. We feel like we don’t have enough of it, but when we have more of it, we find ourselves frozen, unable to make good progress towards our growing to-do list. Here are 3 tips on how to make the most of your time.
1. Prioritize
The first part of prioritizing is knowing your queen bee role (QBR). A queen bee in a colony has one singular, important job that only the queen bee can do — to lay eggs. The way our team uses this analogy is that each of us has a queen bee role, and one person’s role isn’t more or less important than another’s. We’re all needed — just in different ways.
The importance of the QBR is that it’s something that we are solely responsible for. And if we don’t do it well, the whole colony suffers. So take time to reflect on what your queen (or king) bee role is. and protect your time to focus on these tasks.
The Eisenhower Matrix can help you prioritize tasks and take the right action. Dwight D. Eisenhower was a commanding general during WWII and President of Columbia University, led NATO forces, and served two terms in office as the President of the United States. He was known to be highly organized and productive (How else could he accomplish all he did in one lifetime?).
His gift to those of us who want to be as productive as him is the Eisenhower Matrix.
Grouping tasks into four quadrants determines your course of action.
Quadrant 1 (Top Left) – Urgent, Important = DO
These are the items that are highest priority and are part of your queen bee role. They are time sensitive and something best completed by you.
Quadrant 2 (Top Right) – Not Urgent & Important = SCHEDULE
These are items that are important for you, but not needed right away. Be sure to set realistic and specific deadlines for when to complete these. The more realistic and the more specific the deadline, the more likely it’ll get done on time.
Quadrant 3 (Bottom Left) – Urgent & Not Important = DELEGATE
These are items that are time-sensitive but are either not important or part of your QBR. The latter half of that statement is where you need to do some honest self-reflection. If you like to be in control (like me), it may be hard to consider moving tasks into the bottom left (delegate). The thought goes something like this, “This is not part of my queen bee role, but I’ll just do it real quick because I know how; it’ll be quicker and easier than explaining it to someone else.”
But if it’s an urgent task that can or should be done by someone else, then pass it along to the right person. This may be hard at first, or you may need to train someone in a new task, but in the end, it’ll be worth it. And you’re giving opportunities for others on your team to contribute.
Quadrant 4 (Bottom Right) – Not Urgent & Not Important = DELETE
If tasks fall into this category, get rid of them and free yourself up for more important tasks.
2. Manage Your Time / Check-in Before Diving In
You spend hours on a project. You finally get to a point where you feel great about it. Then when you’re just about done and ready to present your “finished product”, your boss/client/colleague swoops in with unhelpful comments that derail from the point you’re trying to make.
At Atlassian, they call this seagulling.
Seagulling (verb): Where someone comes into your work, poops all over it, and then flies away.
Nothing saps productivity and moral quite like the feeling that you wasted precious hours, days, months, of your life on something that wasn’t appreciated. While you can’t control what people will say or the feedback they will have, you can control when the feedback is given and incorporate different viewpoints before reaching the end of a project.
To avoid this pitfall, we recommend having 3 key check-in points during the project.
In The Beginning – 30%
When you have initial ideas for the project that need to be fleshed out, create a detailed outline or rough sketch and share with relevant stakeholders. Solicit feedback on the concept, audience, scope, and goal alignment.
Be clear with the team that this is not the time to go through with a fine-tooth comb. So, no checking for grammatical errors, sentence structure, or nitty gritty details. That time will come, but right now the focus is to ensure the right direction and approach for the project.
To use a baking analogy, this is when you decide what kind of cookie to make, start gathering the ingredients, and gather the materials you may need, e.g., mixing bowl, cookie cutters, rolling pin, etc.
In The Middle – 60%
When you’re about halfway into the project, call for another round of feedback. This is where the bulk of your work and feedback will occur. Be sure to include all relevant stakeholders at this point, so you don’t run the risk of the dreaded seagulling effect.
This is the time when any and all feedback is fair game. Making grammatical fixes, adding/deleting sections, moving things around, focusing on visual elements and layout, and checking to see that the first round of feedback was considered. At this point, you’re empowered to take feedback and incorporate it to ensure the goals discussed in the beginning are met.
You’ve mixed your dough, rolled it out, and have your cookie cutters ready. At this point, the dough is made but malleable enough that you can easily change the shape, color, or size of your cookie.
Toward The End – 90%
At this point, you’re almost done, but not quite (yay!). You still need to tweak a couple of things, so get the team back together to solicit feedback. This will be the third time folks are seeing your project, so there will be no surprises. It’s time for the finishing touches and not time to change the direction or concept of the project. Ask the team to look through for grammatical errors, sentence structure, and any other last-minute tweaks.
You preheat the oven and do one last check on the shape and size of cookies before popping them in to bake.
3. Minimize Distractions And Say No
The last point on staying productive is nothing new but — pardon me for sounding like an old lady for a moment — nowadays it’s definitely gotten much easier to have hours of your day high-jacked with media and entertainment available on-demand and at your fingertips.
Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein wrote a book called Nudge. They define nudges as small changes in our environment that make it easier for us to make the choices we want to make or others want us to make. The world we live in is constantly nudging us. That buzz or beep from your phone, the “You’ll Never Believe This…” link at the end of an article, the “50% off sale” subject lines in your email. All nudges take you down a path where someone wants to take your time, money, or both.
Be aware of the nudges around you, and create an environment that nudges you towards productivity. Turn off notifications on your phone/email while you work, put distracting devices in another room, and work in a library or coffee shop if you’re easily distracted at home or the office.
