Managing a project effectively is a complex task. It requires a lot of time and high capacity. This is why the implementation of a project management software possibly in the mother tongue simplifies the process.
This implementation becomes more and more essential, if we consider that companies have goals to achieve that can also be taken as a reference point to measure the overall level of success and growth.
The value in purely economic terms of the organization also depends on success, growth, and efficiency. It is clear that if a project management software can be simply used by all members of the team, it can facilitate the achievement of goals, becoming an indispensable resource for the company itself.
An effective general management of the project cannot depend only on the skill of the Project Manager in managing tasks and resources, but also depends on the possibility that the Team has to feel supported, to interact, and to check individual and group progress. All this and much more can be achieved only with the use of a good software in the mother tongue of the Team that helps the PM managing the entire project and the Team to carry it out.
CONTENT
- Project management software and its advantage
- Scheduling and planning of activities
- Management of the resources needed for the project
- Budget management
- Management of the project documentation
- Collaboration within the work team
- The choice of a project management software in the mother tongue
- Support
- Integration
- Cloud or Enterprise
Project management software and its advantage
Since managing a project is a complex and time-consuming process, streamlining it using a project management system is a valuable solution that can be applied to an increasing number of projects and organizations.
The main purpose of the project management software is to assist the team in planning and monitoring the project, taking into account the resources, components, and overall stakeholders.
This investment is economically advantageous in the long term, if we consider the amount that the company could lose with poor project management and if, as already mentioned, we consider the added value that the company has for every goal achieved.
Companies that are not yet using project management softwares are likely to do more work with less profits. This is due to the time wasted on adjustment activities.
If these activities have already been taken into consideration in advance and are already planned, the project manager, with his team, will have more time to concentrate on the fundamental operations for completing of the project.
Here are some reasons why a project management software is useful for organizations of any size:
Scheduling and planning of activities
Without a computerized system, it can be difficult for the team to meet deadlines due to the lack of a fixed guideline on what should be done, by whom and by when.
Even the overall visualization of the tasks to be performed helps. Time is lost when employees show up for work without knowing the tasks they should do.
The use of a software outlines the activities and makes them visible and clear to everyone in real time.
Setting deadlines and priorities, together with planning, avoids misunderstandings and overlaps of activities and schedules.
In fact, some of the indispensable functionalities in a project management software are a synchronized and shared team calendar that provides an overview of everything.
The Gantt chart is a tool that easily shows the timing of steps and milestones and also allows you to see the assignees of each individual task and the overall progress.
It is particularly useful if it has sufficient elasticity to realistically reflect the progress of project phases and the correlation between them.
Management of the resources needed for the project
Resource management is another reason why a project management software is useful.
Managing resources efficiently is important to ensure the proper functioning of the project activities and phases. Good management of the workflow does not waste anyone’s time.
This feature describes the resources that will be used and when they will be used.
Knowing the materials that will be used in a project allows you to work smoothly without blockings caused by a missing tool or equipment.
The calculation of the use of a resource must also be present. This allows, in a cost saving perspective, not to forget certain resources and to avoid their excessive use.
It is clear that this leads to a reduction in expenses and ensures the payment of resources only when they are really needed and used.
Budget management
Each project comes with a budget that also counts contingencies and profit.
The goal of a project manager is to keep the actual cost below, or at least equal to the estimated cost, in order to maximize the profit earned by the company for the project.
To manage expenses efficiently, the simple creation of an Excel spreadsheet will not be enough.
In this case, some essential functions that a good PM software should have can be the monitoring of the time spent on the various activities. The monthly and weekly reports on expenses, a financial reporting dashboard and, in some cases, the automated billing option will become valuable references for the Project Manager.
Management of the project documentation
Many organizations use excel spreadsheets, others, probably the smallest, can even use pen and paper to track project progress.
However, these methods expose to potential errors. A research shows that 88% of the data in a spreadsheet contains errors that are alarming for organizations that use it as a reference tool for managing business operations.
The use of a project management software guarantees an accurate documentation based on the data collected in a detailed and methodical way.
A project management software can therefore definitely help you get the projects under control and and the team work moving in the right direction..
Collaboration within the work team
When managing a large project, each member of the team is designated with individual activities.
To ensure that everyone has the same focus, it is necessary to use a project management software to simplify team collaboration.
When a member has questions or concerns, he must immediately get the right answer by communicating internally to the team. He must communicate with the right people within the right project, without wasting time looking for other sources. Therefore, it is almost essential to have an internal chat within the software.
This reduces the time spent searching for answers
A chat also optimizes the sharing of documents, timelines and status updates to notify everyone of important information such as the amount of work done and how much time is left to complete it.
Some features not to be underestimated can be the possibility of file sharing, sharing of customer data, a chat for each project integrated in the system, and a dashboard for each team that provides an overview of the progress of each single piece within the project.
The choice of a project management software in the mother tongue
In short, thanks to a project management software, it is possible to maintain the management of the group and the project.
But this can only be done if all the members of the Team will be able to use it to its full potential. And how will all this be possible if not all the members of the team fully understand the language of the software?
When choosing a project management software, the language is often underestimated, while playing a key role instead.
Having a software available is certainly important, but it’s not just about having it… You also need to know how to use it and make it work.
There are some aspects related to team management that are strongly related to the language. They are aspects that are a great part of the success or the inexpensiveness of a project.
The software, in the realization of a project, is an almost indispensable resource, and for this reason is important to use a project management software with a multilingual version or a project management software that contemplates the mother tongue.
Certainly, many project managers will understand English, given the amount of foreign terms in the sector.
However, when we talk about other collaborators and team members who have to deal with the system, the situation changes. It is essential to make sure that the chosen software is available in the mother tongue.
It would not be nice if, due to a bad interpretation of a term, the workflow of a given project was somehow interrupted. Interpretation is the enemy of efficiency.
Choosing a project management software in native or multilingual language is essential to ensure the use of the software itself. If the team finds a pleasant environment, where the barriers to use are not present, it will definitely be more inclined to use the tool. Clearly, this will guarantee a constantly updated and performed project.
But there are other aspects related to the language that have to be taken into consideration. Let’s see them together.
Support
Assistance must also be an aspect consider when choosing a software.
In fact, if you choose a project management software in your mother tongue, you can also have mother tongue language support. Any need, any doubt will not leave room for interpretation, the understanding will be immediate and the intervention of the PM will not be necessary.
Integration
The software becomes a tool of great value if integrated with the production processes. For this reason, the language becomes strategic in allowing the team to switch from one application to another without having any kind of shock.
Cloud or Enterprise
When choosing a software with a multilingual version, it is essential to think about the evolving company.
Today, choosing whether to install the software or keep it in the cloud is a strategic choice, but it must not become a constraint.
Usually companies start with cloud projects and then evolve towards enterprise solutions. This is why it is necessary to start immediately with a project management software in Italian.
Only thanks to this choice, whatever the evolution of the company, the software can be enjoyed serenely and without barriers by the whole team.
Do you use a project management software? Are there certain fundamental benefits for you that we have not shown in this article? Share your opinion with us!