You don’t need the best project management software of the world, you only the software that’s best for your own business. So, how do you cut through all the noise and find the right project management system for your business? Well, here are a few tips to get you started with the selection process:
- Analyze Your Project Requirements
Your first step should be to chalk out your functional requirements and expectations from the project management system. Map out the areas of project management in which you need help. Do you need help with project cost tracking, project budgeting, project time tracking, project performance management, project reporting, or some other aspects? Once you have an outline ready for your project management needs, you can streamline your choices to the ones that meet these needs.
- Check the System’s Scalability
Think about years from now, when your organization has probably multiplied many times in size and is handling more projects than ever. Would your prospective project management system still be able to serve you with the same efficiency as now? This should give you a good idea about the scalability potential of the software.
- Ensure the Software is Easy to Use
You don’t want to burden your employees with a software that they find too difficult to use on a day-to-day basis. To avoid such a scenario, give your team members a chance to use the system on a trial basis first. See what feedback they have to offer about the software’s usability.
- Assess Deployment and Integration Convenience
Ideally, a cloud-based system would be the best way to go, since you wouldn’t have to worry about any software installation or maintenance related work in this case. You can start using this web-based system in no time. Also, you should make sure that the project management system that you’re choosing can be easily integrated with your current organizational systems, like your ERP. This will help in keeping your IT operations coherently inter-connected.