You must have heard this phrase ‘Well begun is half done’. This is even applicable in the case of project management. If planning is done properly, you’ve completed half of your project progress.
Planning is a stepping stone in project management. It involves the development of team strategies, identification of goals, project assessment, and mitigation of risks. It also involves setting project objectives, creating schedules, and planning tasks in order to accomplish the set objectives. However, project planning can become intimidating if it is done manually. This is where project planning tools step in.
There are numerous tools for project planning available in the market. And they offer practical solutions via Gantt chart, calendar, PERT chart, etc. The tools ensure timely and efficient delivery of project deliverables within the intended time. Hence, it can be righteously said that project planning tools reduce the chances of errors and missed deadlines.
This article will present to you a list of 10 useful project management tools that will help you manage your tasks efficiently and effortlessly. But before that, let’s understand the purpose and importance of these tools.
Significance of Project Planning Tools
Project planning and management tools help managers in planning, scheduling, executing, and controlling the overall project tasks. With these tools, it is easy to check each task, mark their completion time, and balance the workload.
Full Highlight on the Overall Functionality
With the rapid pace of technological growth, it’s no surprise that there are numerous project management tools to serve every aspect of a company’s day-to-day work. Proper project management ensures success and builds brand equity.
Accuracy management
The determination of meeting deadlines calls for the need of setting realistic project milestones. The objective of project management tools is to assist in milestone tracking so that no work-related issues take place in the future.
Online project management software makes it easy to handle data concerning work and due dates. A reliable project planning management tool helps to estimate the time of project completion.
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Capacity Planning
These tools help in measuring and organizing your team’s capacity. The best part of cloud-based project handling tools is that they offer you convenience while setting necessary parameters to gauge the project’s success.
Optimization
PM tools help to monitor the usage and availability of resources with high precision. The automated software aids in assigning tasks among project executives. Plus, you can evaluate your team’s capabilities with aplomb.
Budget Management
It is essential to have a keen eye on constraints related to a project budget. Project management tools could be a convenient solution in this scenario, as they lend a hand in budget planning and management.
Risk assessment
These tools monitor and assess the risks associated with a project. Measuring potential risks with a high degree of meticulousness is highly important with respect to project progress. Besides, there are monitoring procedures to find exact solutions at the desired time.
10 Best Project Management and Planning Tools
Here are top project planning tools that’ll allow you to take your project in the right direction:
1. ProProfs Project
ProProfs Project is a simple project management tool that helps you plan project details and meet deadlines faster. It facilitates the creation of tasks and setting task dependencies. It also allows file sharing, discussions, and comments within tasks. You can read the full review here.
Salient features
- Intuitive dashboard for project tracking.
- Task priorities to handle project-related urgency.
- Task dependencies for team collaboration.
- Automated invoicing for error-free billing.
- Smart and 24/7 accessible reports.
Know more about ProProfs Project
2. Timely by Memory
Timely is a robust project planning management tool that ensures smooth project tracking. It finds time sinks, balances the workload, maintains a detailed record, and helps in setting deadlines. These aspects are enough to understand that you can secure ideal work management.
Salient Features
- A powerful dashboard allows seamless project tracking and project management.
- This easy-to-use tool allows scheduling and reporting across multiple projects.
- Native integrations with Google Apps and Microsoft Office.
- Automatic email alerts, critical path analysis, etc. aid in monitoring the project’s progress.
3. Monday.com
The visually intuitive tool is the best for the project planning program. It serves as a perfect schedule tool that offers a gamut of collaboration features. The tool is highly customizable and clarifies the sequence of work. It offers you the best way to trace the status of your projects. You can read the full review here.
Salient features
- Set timelines to make sure your team is progressing in accordance with the project plan.
- An effective dashboard to manage projects and workflows.
- Task priorities for ideal project kick-off.
- Shareable boards enable both internal and external stakeholders to work in collaboration and in an effective manner.
4. Celoxis
This project planning management tool offers convenience while handling comprehensive project scheduling and management. Moreover, Celoxis provides a bunch of powerful planning strategies and aspects to monitor and build effective plans.
Salient features
- A fully-customizable dashboard secures an immersive user experience.
- Project accounting offers real-time visibility with regards to budget spends, receivables, and profitability.
- File sharing and internal commenting ensure you enjoy smooth project development.
- Effortless integrations with over 400 popular business applications.
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5. Hive
Hive is a powerful project planning and project management tool. Thanks to AI-based analytics, it facilitates proper planning. In addition, this tool offers integrations and flexibility with the project views.
The vital part of Hive’s project management system is that it streamlines work. Its centralized platform supports smooth project tracking and boosts the chances of timely delivery. Different companies with teams ranging from 10 to 1,000 people can implement Hive to monitor their work styles.
Salient features
- Time tracking shows how effectively your project executives utilize their working hours.
- Action templates make sure you take care of repeat tasks properly.
- Flexible project views like Gantt chart, Kanban board, etc. empowers you to secure organized workflow.
- The luxury of adding external users promotes collaborative work, which further improves overall efficiency.
6. ProjectManager.com
It is a fully-featured project scheduling software and can be used for excellent customer support. Multiple project management is accessible at a time. It is well known for planning and scheduling.
Salient features
- Task management feature lets you handle all project activities in the best possible manner.
- Insightful reports can be created and shared in PDF, Word or Excel format.
- Timesheets enable you to monitor the productivity of your project team on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
- A single click generates real-time reports.
- The real-time dashboard lets you check project progress and show who is working on what.
Know more about ProjectManager.com
7. Forecast
The management planning tool paves the way for convenient and streamlined project scheduling. The forecast provides forecasting and capacity planning with the inbuilt integrations. The brilliant tool is a combination of parameters to provide resource and project management. The machine lays the foundation for both short and long term management.
Salient features
- Reports on project progress with real-time data.
- A powerful dashboard for the supervision of projects.
- Seamless integrations with a multitude of business applications.
- File sharing for perfect execution of strategic decisions.
8. Mavenlink
The innovative platform is a great one to monitor the period for service delivery. The combination of PM and PSA in one tool broadens the client’s understanding of project management. It sets modules for scheduling and management of the concerning project. Accounting, business intelligence, resource management, and team collaboration works with a well-organized system of dashboards.
Salient features
- Live time and expense tracking.
- Task and subtask assignment to maintain proper workflow.
- Gantt chart lets you monitor the project progress in an efficient manner.
- 24/7 accessible reports comprising actionable data.
9. Hub Planner
Who doesn’t like the idea of using a well-designed online scheduling tool? Hub Planner is an accurate resource reporting software that offers planning, scheduling, tracking, and booking of resources. High-level view, capacity, and utilization seek progress and profitability. Powerful features offer filtering with drag and drop options. It can be incorporated with analysis and scheduling.
Salient features
- Useful templates are available for custom reporting.
- Powerhouse management features remove the uncertainty of planning, scheduling, handling, and help to secure timely project delivery.
- The tracking system formulates strategic and informed decisions.
- Team scheduling is easy with a simple network of enterprise-level features.
10. FunctionFox
Easy to use and user-friendly project management software offers the convenience to handle schedules and charts in time. It makes it effective to track traffic meetings along with production reports. Project schedules can now be quickly followed with the incorporation of interactive Gantt charts, resources, and to-do lists. This web-based platform helps to track the project-related metrics seamlessly. It is intuitive and helps with the allocation of work through action assignments.
Salient features
- Milestone tracking enables you to check the performance of your team throughout each phase of project management.
- To-do lists let you stick to project timelines.
- Interactive charts can be created as real-time data is on the offer.
- A customizable dashboard makes sure you keep track of each project in your own way.
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Closing Note
Project planning is no longer a cumbersome and confusing affair when you have the right tools at your disposal. By deploying any of the above-mentioned tools, you can improve projects progress significantly and delight your clients with timely deliverables. Organizing tasks and tracking their progress will be easier, which is quite an achievement in itself, right?
So, what are you waiting for? Give a try to any of these tools and enjoy a painless project development process. In case you have any doubts with regards to the aforementioned tools, make use of the comment section. Thanks for reading!
Web developer and SEO specialist with 20+ years of experience in open-source web development, digital marketing, and search engine optimization. He is also the moderator of this blog "RS Web Solutions (RSWEBSOLS)".
