Top 4 Project Management Tools and Software in 2024
Are you struggling with project progress and day to day coordination in your project team, my dear, you are not alone. Despite continuous efforts by project managers, organizations often find it difficult to manage project tasks and track the progress and if you are still using traditional methods of keeping the records like Excel spreadsheets, you are probably wasting a lot of time which can be utilized in more strategic tasks. This is when organizations are required to invest in project management tools.
Project management software tools are used to help the project management teams to plan and organize the projects effectively. They not only automate the day to day activities which are repetitive in nature, but also manage tasks, resources, and communication throughout the project lifecycle. While for project managers this results in saved time and reduced stress, choosing the right tool for your organization requires planning and analysis of different options. Let’s look at some of the most widely used tools you can use for the better performance of your projects
Role of Project Management Tools:
Project management tools provide a wide range of benefits for organizations making them valuable assets. They can help you make your entire project management process much smoother from planning stage to execution till project analysis stage. Here are a few points that help us understand how project management tools are helpful at different stages of stage of project management:
Project Planning
Project planning generally starts with defining your project goals and once you have done that, you can use project management tools to break down the objectives into small tasks which can be easily managed. You can also set deadlines and workflows to provide clarity in the project team.
Project Execution
During the execution stage, team members can collaborate with features like shared calendars, task updates, and instant messaging for better communication. These tools can also automate repetitive tasks like sending reminders, creating reports, etc. This can free up a lot of your valuable time for more strategic tasks. Finally, the most important feature is to provide project progress monitoring to make informed decisions based on actual data.
Project Reporting and Analysis
Project management software and tools can also generate reports and dashboards that provide actionable insights into project performance. You can use data gathered from the tool to make informed decisions, identify areas for improvement and track your project KPIs to measure your project success ultimately leading to better results.
Top 4 Project Management Tools and Software:
1) Asana
Asana is quite a popular web-based project management tool. It also comes with a mobile app. It is mainly used by small project teams because of its simple interface. It can help your project team to organize, track, and collaborate on different tasks. Asana comes with many features like it can create lists and visual boards for better presentation. You can also use it to break down large projects into manageable tasks and assign each task to different team members along with due dates. So if you have a small team and simple project to work on, you can go for a user friendly tool like Asana for better productivity. While this tool is easy to use, It lacks features for managing large and complex tasks. It is basically a task management tool to used for small projects. .
2) Microsoft Project
Microsoft Project is one of the most popular project management tools used by many organizations from different industries. It comes with many features and a simple interface that makes it suitable for all types of projects from small and large.. It can help you in planning, scheduling and tracking of projects which are of different sizes and complexities. It also integrates well with other Microsoft products like Teams and Power BI. It may be difficult for a beginner without training but once you go through training, it will be easy to adopt. Suitable for small and large teams alike, it comes with different plans available. You join Microsoft Project Training to learn basic to advanced applications of this extensive tool.
3) Jira
Jira is a software which can create, assign, and track issues throughout the project lifecycle. Other than this, it also focuses on software development and agile methodologies like sprint planning and tracking. The primary benefit of Jira is its custom workflow due to which it can be adopted to various project management needs. The issue you may face in adopting this software in your organization is its technical requirements. In order to use JIRA, some level of technical knowledge is required. If your project team is not technically well versed, they may find it difficult to learn and use it. Also, it is suitable for software and agile projects but you may find it difficult to use JIRA in traditional projects.
4) Primavera P6
Primavera is an advanced tool used for planning, management and reporting the projects of different sizes and domains but its advanced features make it particularly suitable for large and complex projects like construction and manufacturing. It can be used for activities like project timeline management, risk management, project portfolio management, project reporting and analytics, scheduling and information dashboard creation, etc. It can be used for managing multiple complex projects at the same time with up to 100,000 activities and goes from the highest level of management down the line of project members. However, its complexity and cost make it accessible only to large-scale ventures. To learn more about the tools, you can join Primavera Training and learn the application specific to your project requirements.
How to Choose the Right Project Management Tool?
Four main factors that you need to consider are the size of your organization, type of your projects, size of your project team and your budget. Jira is useful for Agile development and offers a high level of customisation but it also demands high investment and learning due to which it may not be very suitable for less technical project teams. Asana is a user-friendly tool which is perfect for basic task management and collaboration. However, for complex projects you may find its features to be very limited. For large and complex projects, Microsoft Project and Primavera are veterans. MS Project provides robust planning and scheduling capabilities with features like Gantt charts and resource management while Primavera is ideal for complex projects as it offers advanced features like cost control, earned value management, planning and risk analysis, etc. Let us compare these tools with the help of a table below:
| MS Project | Jira | Primavera P6 | Asana | |
| Description | MS Project is one of the most popular project management software known for various features to create schedules, project plans, project tracking and manage resources. | Jira is an agile Project management software which is widely used for implementing different agile methodologies like scrum, kanban or mixed as per your requirements. | Primavera P6 by Oracle is a very popular project, program and portfolio management software designed for both large and small projects for different industries for overall project planning and execution. | Asana is a basic and easy to use project management tool which can be used by both individuals as well as groups to plan and collaborate on different project tasks. It is a web based tool and also comes with a mobile app. |
| Key Features | Robust planning and scheduling with Gantt Charts, Dependencies, Resources Management, portfolio management, Sprint planning, Kanban boards, team collaboration and project calendars | Customizable workflows and agile boards for smooth execution of Agile Projects, team collaboration | Robust planning and scheduling with Gantt Charts, Dependencies, Resources Management, Risk management, portfolio management and Monte Carlo Simulation. High degree analysis | User-friendly interface and workload management and a mobile app for team collaboration |
| Suitable For Agile Project | YES | YES | NO | YES |
| Suitable For Traditional Project | YES | NO | YES | NO |
| Suitable For Complex Projects | YES | NO | YES | NO |
| Learning Requirements | It requires proper training to use this software due to multiple advanced features | It requires proper training and technical knowledge of Jira software and how to use it for Project management | It requires proper training to use this software due to complex features and interface | It does not require any formal training as it is a web based tool and comes with a simple interface |
| Licensing | One time purchase or Subscription. One month free trial available. One user can install a subscription license on 5 PCs | Free with limited features & users. For proper use, you need to buy proper subscription | One time purchase or Subscription. | For proper use, you need to buy proper subscription |
| Cost | Perpetual license could be expensive. Subscription licenses that include Project Online is quite reasonable. | You can start with less cost however as you add features and additional users, it can become expensive. | Quite expensive. Recommended for big projects | You can start with less cost however as you add features and users, it can become quite expensive compared to the features it offers. |
Conclusion
Looking at the features, costing and usefulness in various project models (Traditional, Agile, Hybrid), we recommend Microsoft Project. Microsoft Project is quite flexible, feature rich, and can be used for traditional, agile or hybrid types of projects with equal effectiveness. A Plan 3 license gives a full fledged enterprise project management system. Due to the low cost of a Team member license, the cost does not increase significantly as team members increase. It requires training to get started however post training, it is quite easy to adopt it. It will be a value for money
For Agile projects, JIRA can be preferred. Its custom workflow may be quite complex and has a learning curve. It requires training and may take time in adopting even after training. Use it for Agile collaboration and using workflows.
For large projects, you can use either MS Project or Primavera P6. If you need to perform risk analysis or simulations etc, then you should prefer Primavera P6.
Asana can be used for very small casual project management. It is basically a task management software. For serious project management, you should go to MS Project.
By using project management tools, you can experience significant improvements in organization in terms of project planning, collaboration, efficiency, risk management, and reporting. This can ultimately lead to better project outcomes. In the complex business environment and ever increasing competition, companies are continuously looking for upskilling opportunities for their project team and are adopting new methods to streamline their project activities to make them more efficient. If you are one of those project professionals who want to be ready for the future, this is the right time to upskill and learn these tools to excel in your work.
You can join the PMP Training Program for an extensive learning experience and understanding project management concepts. You can join MS Project Training to learn scheduling with MS Project and attend Primavera P6 training to learn Primavera P6.