Project Management
Software
Manage the entire lifecycle of work—from planning to completion—using processes and tools to deliver work on time and on budget.
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Project Management is Broken Into 5 basic Phases
Conception
Start by outlining the project purpose and potential benefits and identifying the resources you need to complete it.
Planning
Define the project constraints—scope, timeline, and budget—to determine how the project fits into your current list of priorities.
Exhaustion
Next, distribute tasks to your team members and set up project deadlines and expectations.
Measurement
Regularly compare project status against the planned completion date. If needed, adjust resources to keep work moving forward.
Completion
Evaluate the project retrospectively to determine success or identify where and how things went wrong.
How is technology changing project management?
Out-Dated Tools
Whether you realize it or not, you are probably already using some form of project management. Emails, status meetings, sticky notes, to-do lists, spreadsheets - they're all informal project management strategies.
While these simple approaches might seem helpful, they weren't designed for managing digital work, it's not always easy (or fast) to get the right information to the right people, at the right time.
Modern project management processes incorporate digital tools to automate and streamline the different phases of work. Digital tools allow you to standardize your processes, optimize your resources, and improve reporting accuracy to increase project success rate.
Managing Projects in the digital age
PM Software
Effective project management begins with a well-thought-out intake process. You need to be able to manage requests in one place - no more work assignments delivered via email, sticky notes, or in meetings. Once you have the ability to see all the work that's coming in, you'll be able to accept the right work, prioritize and assign tasks correctly, and keep your team focused on the most important work.
Manage Resources
No company's wallet or talent pool is infinite. At some point, you'll need a way of balancing project timelines and budget with limited resources. This requires you to be able to see what people are working on and quickly assess when they'll be able to take on more work. Evaluating projects and breaking them down into manageable pieces is the first step, but you also need real-time visibility into task turnaround times.
This will help you address the issues that cause gaps between planned vs actual hours. With this information, you'll be able to make smart resource management decisions that have a positive impact on your organization.
Organize Tasks & Portfolios
The modern enterprise needs more than a tool that just logs tickets. Project management software allows you to organize your work in a way that aligns to business goals. Building hierarchies like programs and portfolios gives you visibility into the status of work happening across your team, leaving you more time to deliver true value.
project management with Workfront
The right software empowers you and your team to do your best work. Workfront's project management software helps you balance expectations with aggressive goals. Your team is able to get more done, without sacrificing quality or running themselves into the ground.
Automate Workflows
Manually handling repeatable workflows such as routing, reporting, documenting approvals, updating work, and enforcing compliance processes slows you down. Automate project steps and processes, including online proofing, with a tool that allows you to build custom templates and assign work based on role, availability, or skill set.
Facilitate Collaboration
Collaboration is the cornerstone of innovation, but in many ways, being truly collaborative can slow work down. Sending emails back and forth, scheduling meetings or conference calls, and relying on instant messages make it feel impossible to keep everyone in the loop and keep projects moving forward.
Your project management tool needs to have built-in collaboration, so your team can have discussions, make decisions, and track progress in a single location—all within the context of work.
Deliver Reports & Insights
To remain competitive and prove your team’s value, you need to be able to quickly analyze performance and make improvements. You’ll never be able to streamline processes if you don’t have accurate information about your projects, portfolios, and resources. Keep executives in the loop and make sure you’re able to demonstrate your successes or make corrections where projects might be going off-track.
Project management methodologies
Traditional project management really only works with Waterfall. That leads to disparate tools with siloed information. You need a way for teams to remain centralized and collaborative whether they use Agile, Waterfall, Kanban, or something in between.
Agile
Agile helps teams prioritize work and rapidly deliver high-quality results. It adheres to the principles found in the Agile Manifesto. Most teams choose Agile because of its flexibility.
Kanban
Kanban is a framework built on the Agile methodology. It uses visual boards to improve workflows and allows teams to adapt quickly to shifting priorities.
Scrum
Scrum uses short repetitions called sprints to manage moving parts of a project. It is most often used for long, complex project because you can adapt to change and iterate quickly.
Hybrid
A combination of two different methodologies that creates a more collaborative model. Hybrid is a great solution for teams that need to work across departments without disruption.
Waterfall
Projects are completed in a sequential, linear order. This approach is very structured and clearly defines milestones, making it easy to track and measure progress.
Resources to gain a competitive edge
11 Lessons That Will Make Your IT Team Faster, Happier, and More Productive
What IT Execs Want Most from Project Managers
The Manager's Guide to Avoiding 7 Project Portfolio Pitfalls
- Automate workflows across teams and departments
- Connect your tools and applications in one location
- Streamline your digital asset management