How to choose the best project management software?
When a company is looking for project management software, it will find various alternatives on the market. How do you choose between all these project management tools? Which is the most appropriate tool in each case?
In any company, projects must be completed as quickly and economically as possible. To achieve this, a series of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are used. Key Performance Indicatorsthat cannot be lost sight of, and a series of tasks to be tasks to be carried out to ensure that they are carried out on time and in the right form.
The best project manager will be the one who responds to the selected KPIs, processes them and delivers the functionality most appropriate to each company's objectives, priorities and values.
What is a project management tool and what is its function?
A project management tool is a planning tool that helps organize and optimize resources to execute a task plan with the best possible results.
Its main function is to ensure that project actions are carried out as efficiently as possible, in line with the objectives set.
Let's imagine that a company intends to implement a new cloud computing system on which the applications used by its employees will run. The organization sets itself the following objectives for this project:
- Implement the new solution within deadline six months.
- Keep the current system active until the new system is implemented.
- Avoid overtime in the development and IT teams, to control payroll costs during the process.
- Maintaining a good working atmosphere in the department, by distributing the workload arising from this new project fairly.
In this case, the project manager's role will be to organize all the tasks and processes so that the project can be completed in less than six months. This will enable workloads to be distributed workloads, control overtime costs and monitor the working environment in the department.
What are the criteria for choosing project management software?
When choosing such software, the company must pay particular attention to :
- The key key performance indicators.
- To tasks and functions that will be managed from the management program.
Depending on the company's KPIs and priority tasks, one tool or another will be more appropriate. All of them try to cover most of them. But rigorous analysis leads us to conclude that some tools are more suitable than others, depending on the company's objectives.
For example, if accounting and resource planning are crucial to the company, Stafiz would be the best choice. But if we're trying to organize projects linked to ticketing systems (a common operation in IT departments), it will be more appropriate to use managers such as Jira and, more particularly, its Bug Tracking model.
1. Project management KPIs to track
Below we break down several KPIs that may be relevant to project management. Not every company needs to track all of them exhaustively. It all depends on the objectives and values that take priority in each case.
Four main groups of KPIs
These are data that are closely monitored because they are indicators of good or poor performance in a given element of the process.
In the case of project management, indicators can be grouped into four main groups that are fundamental to effective project planning:
- accounting/finance,
- personnel management,
- productivity and efficiency,
- organization.
Find out more about KPIs for project management.
Accounting and finance KPIs
At Stafiz, we believe that knowing how to implement project accounting is the foundation of effective project tracking. When properly implemented, it enables project managers and directors to use management control techniques in the same way as a finance team might, but this time on a day-to-day basis, throughout the project. If the company manages a large number of projects and customers, it will need to turn to project portfolio management software. This will enable it to compare them in order to identify the most interesting projects or customers, as well as the best practices to be implemented across the entire portfolio.
| KPI | Definition | Purpose / Usefulness |
|---|---|---|
| Completion rate | Ratio between the theoretical time a project needs and the time it actually takes. | Measure actual performance against budget. |
| Unbilled production | Production achieved (either in value or in time) which has not yet been invoiced to the customer. | Useful for better cash management. |
| Commercial pipeline | Sales opportunities detected but not closed. | Forecast sales and anticipate the resources needed to cover them. |
| Actual vs. forecast sales | Calculation of income based on the portion of the project completed (percentage of completion). | Account for revenue based on the percentage of the project completed. Enables economic quantification of the time invested in the project and its profitability. |
To find out more, read our detailed article on 12 project financial indicators to keep an eye on for project management.
Personnel management KPIs
| KPI | Definition | Purpose / Usefulness |
|---|---|---|
| Time control | Track the hours stipulated in each employee's contract. | Take into account the hours set out in the contract to optimize the workload appropriately. This is also a legal obligation for all companies. |
| utilization rate (TACE) | A percentage that determines the time spent on billable projects in relation to the employee's total working time (excluding vacation periods). | Ensuring that teams work profitably. |
| Staff rates | Same as above, but including total time spent (both billable projects and other activities, e.g. in-house projects). | Control global workloads. |
| External personnel costs | In good project management, the production capacity, utilization rate and costs of external personnel must also be measured. | Adjust workloads and workflows more effectively, using external resources, which can be a great help in achieving objectives and better managing staff. |
| Turnover rate | Number of people leaving their jobs and moving to another company. | Alert to possible malfunctions in work methodology, which are not necessarily an incentive for workers. Their departure generates an increase in labor costs and a loss of productivity. |
| Vacations and vacations | Employee absences | Quantify the economic and productivity impact that the absence of a certain profile has on a project. And to be able to reorganize resources and compensate, if necessary. |
| Feedback | This is qualitative information which can nevertheless be very useful for decision-making. | Improve the efficiency of processes and tasks that are part of a project. If, during feedback sessions, a high percentage of employees reveal the inefficiency of a certain piece of software, we'll have precise information that will help us to assess the cost of replacing it, the impact on productivity, and so on. |
Productivity and efficiency
| KPI | Definition | Purpose / Usefulness |
|---|---|---|
| Production capacity | It measures the time spent on a project and is multiplied by the value of a working day. | It shows whether the company can take on more projects, and at what level. If a company has ten developers, with a work value of €700 and working 240 days a year, it will have a production capacity of €1,680,000. It should look for contracts of at least the same value. |
| Potential productivity | Number of hours which, a priori, are necessary to carry out an action, segmented by type of job profile or function. | Estimate the number of hours (and their cost) that will be needed to undertake a given project task. |
| Real productivity | Actual time required to complete an action, segmented by type of professional profile or position. | It is compared with the previous figure to assess a project's actual profitability in terms of the difference between potential and actual productivity. |
Organization
| KPI | Definition | Purpose / Usefulness |
|---|---|---|
| Communication | Number of meetings and time spent on communication actions. May include time spent on Slack, e-mail or similar applications. | Knowing how much time a given profile spends on this issue, so as to allocate it to projects appropriately. Qualitatively, it is interesting to extract information from employee feedback, to corroborate that this time spent is of real use for greater process efficiency... |
| Tasks | Number of actions that must be carried out to implement a project correctly. | Estimate how long a task will take, how many employees will be needed, how much time each of them will have to invest, how long a project will take... |
| Projects | Number of projects underway and their progress. | Knowing how many projects are running in parallel, what resources they consume, what sales are expected... |
2. Tasks & features of project management software
Depending on KPIs and objectives, companies should prioritize project management tools that have the functionalities they need to achieve to achieve them.
A simple but easy-to-understand example: let's imagine that a company has enough manpower to run five projects in parallel, so it sets itself the goal of managing this number of projects. But the selected project manager limits the number of projects on its platform to a maximum of two. This company will not be able to use this tool. On the other hand, it is suitable for a freelancer working for a single company.
So, the second parameter to consider is: what's most important for achieving objectives and tracking key performance indicators? Or, to put it another way, what functionalities and tasks does the company prioritize in project management? Among the most relevant are :
- Schedule and task management.
- Resource planning.
- Communication.
- Project reporting (BI)
- Ticket management.
- Budget monitoring.
- Project documentation.
1. Schedule and task management
This is a very important feature in project management, as it allows us to visualize the overall status of tasks, workloads, estimated completion times, etc. in a fast and agile way. The two most common representations are the Gantt chart and Kanban.
- The Gantt chart is an online diagram system that represents the tasks that need to be carried out to complete a project. In addition to the interrelation with other tasks, the time allocated to each task and the person responsible for each task. So, if one task falls behind schedule, the tasks that depend on it will have to start later. Compared with the initial schedule, it allows us to quickly visualize whether the project is on time or behind schedule. It also lets us know whether resources need to be reallocated, workloads modified or time adjustments made.
- Kanban is another planning methodology which, in this case, is represented by columns. Each column is associated with a status, for example: "In progress", " In progress", "Completed".
This proposal is just one example. In project managers who integrate Kanban models, tasks can be easily organized and notes such as priority, responsible person, estimated completion date, dependent tasks, etc. can be added. In this way, the project manager can check progress at a glance and make decisions about task organization.
2. Resource planning and allocation (resource planning)
Resource planning is the process of assessing resource requirements and aligning appropriate resources with them, like a game of supply and demand: this is capacity planning. The aim of this phase is to provide the company with adequate human resources capacity to deliver present and future projects with the expected level of quality. In concrete terms, for the process to be effective, the tool must integrate profile and skills management functions: sourcing, labeling and organizing profile requests.
Resource allocation and the link following planning. The aim is to allocate existing resources to projects and optimize utilization rate (TACE) while satisfying employees. To achieve this, the tool will need to integrate scheduling functions, and simplified or automatic manual allocation. The interface should be intuitive, with drag and drop where possible to facilitate modifications.
A project manager who contributes to a good allocation of resources will facilitate the correct distribution of workloads, avoiding inequalities that can affect the working environment.
With the right project management tool, the company can quickly visualize the status of the project in relation to the scheduled completion date. If employees are performing well, but not meeting deadlines, the company will have a warning signal to analyze whether technical resources are the most appropriate, for example.
3. Communication
Fluid, high-quality communication is another fundamental aspect. The communication skills of the executive, manager or project leader are essential. But having the tools to make this communication truly effective and efficient is a must.
Because in good project management, communication must be sufficient, but not excessive. Excessive communication, too many meetings or unproductive follow-up sessions can be detrimental to projects, which is why they also need to be controlled.
4. Project reporting (BI)
Project reporting (BI) is essential, especially for service activities, as it gives you a real-time view of the status of a project and helps you understand the causes of problems.
It is also essential to have functionalities that can corroborate the cost of this time, according to the human and technical resources invested. In this way, the company obtains invaluable information for optimizing budgets and projects in the most cost-effective way possible.
5. Ticket management
This functionality group is important if your project is oriented towards software development, and therefore includes bugs or features to be developed. This type of software often integrates repository management (repositories). These tools respect agile development methodologies (scrum etc.).
6. Staying within budget
The budget compliance is essential, and a good project management tool helps to control, organize and optimize costs.
In order to successfully complete the project, project managers will need access to operational expenses, costs derived from external derived from external resources, contracts with partners, purchases, license acquisitions... All these elements need to be updated at the same time as the queries are made. In fact, the closer the budget monitoring is to reality in terms of time and value, the better the project orientations and adjustments will be.
It is also important toIt is also important to have a forecast of what these costs will be at the end of the project. at the end of the project, depending on the type of task to be carried out, how long it will take, whether or not more resources are needed... And always in comparison with the initial budget allocated to the project.
7. Document the project
Project documentation is the key to to transparent and reliable project management. It's a criterion that often doesn't get the attention it deserves. Yet it is crucial for two reasons:
- For the project itself. It is sometimes necessary to revisit a certain step that was taken several months ago, but which is essential to solving a problem that is currently arising. It is therefore particularly relevant in projects involving interdependent tasks. If you don't document the project properly, you run the risk of wasting a lot of time and money trying to find a solution to a problem that stems from the way a certain issue was handled in the past.
- As reference for future projects. Sometimes, project managers are faced with circumstances that they or other teams have had to deal with in the past. Proper documentation will speed up the decision-making process and increase the profitability of future projects.
Other functions also relevant to the choice of a project manager
In some projects, it is necessary to pool the work of several the work of several departments. A highly user-friendly solution, which is easy to implement and can be used simultaneously and in real time by several users, will be the key to facilitating inter-departmental relations.
Another important aspect is that the project management tool has a good support and easy integration with other programs. with other programs. The more information a company has at its disposal, the better its strategic decisions will be. What's more, centralizing all processes on a single platform is an excellent way of saving time and, consequently, making projects an even more cost-effective and efficient process.
And, of course, the price of the solution itself will be another point that the company will need to analyze before making a final decision on which project management system is best for it.
Find out more about the best project management software by category in our detailed article.
Final thoughts
First, companies need to determine the key performance indicators they wish to track. Only then must they identify which project management software integrates the most appropriate functionalities and tasks to achieve them, without losing sight of a whole series of global recommendations to help meet project duration and profitability targets. These include, for example, proper planning, comprehensive monitoring and realistic, data-driven post-project analysis. Issues for which project management software becomes a fundamental ally, capable of accelerating and optimizing work management and, consequently, stimulating business growth.
