How to choose a project tracking tool?

June 19, 2023

Choosing a project tracking tool may seem complicated, as there is a plethora of softwares out there, all of which seem to more or less fit the bill. However, this is far from being the case. They are not necessarily the same, and each has its own specific features.

To rightfully choose your tool, it's important to follow certain steps to avoid getting lost, and to ensure that the software you choose perfectly meets your specific needs.

An efficient project tracking tool allows you to :

speed up project completion,
identify and resolve project bottlenecks,
improve a project's profitability,
track project progress.

Prioritize your objectives to choose the right tool

Three objectives can be pursued in project management organization, profitability and communication.

Although these objectives are all important for teams working in project mode, the order of priority may differ.

Organization: this is a key objective of project follow-up. You need to be able to assign project tasks to the various players, and track which tasks have been completed, and which remain to be done.

Profitability and management: Even if the project isn't sold, there are always costs behind a project. Time spent is often the first item. This must be kept in line with the initial objectives, otherwise profitability will be affected. If the project is sold, this objective must be particularly closely monitored, and the various types of cost reported in the project follow-up.

Communication: Facilitating interaction between different project stakeholders (such as customers or subcontractors) can also be a major project management challenge.

Most project tracking tools can help you achieve all 3 objectives, but each has its own speciality.

Table of main project monitoring objectives :

Project organization	Project management (tracking time spent, monitoring costs against budget)	Communication
Turn to a task management tool, such as Trello, Asana or their equivalents.	Turn to a project tracking tool like Stafiz or Monday.	Go for a tool like MS Project.

Discover project management in Stafiz

Specify your functionality requirements

To choose the right project management tool, you need to define your expectations in terms criteria that are important to you.

At this step, you may decide to draw up a complete specification, or simply list the criteria you expect in detail, so that you can validate them in your benchmark phase.

width="100%" — *Aspects to take into account in your benchmark*

Project management criteria

In project management, it is first necessary to organize the project and split it into tasks to facilitate progress, and thus reduce the risk of project failure.

Overwhelmed by the offers available on the market? Choose and complete this list of selection criteria:

create and assign project tasks and subtasks ;
be able to set a target time or deadline for these tasks;
create a detailed job brief;
be able to plan the project and visualize the planning in a Gantt view ;
know the connections between tasks to identify possible bottlenecks;
be able to differentiate between types of task: follow-up points, one-off actions, scheduled or completed tasks.

If these criteria are met by the project tracking software, you'll be able to organize projects efficiently, and enable each player to manage his or her tasks and contribution to the project.

Criteria for monitoring project costs

A completed project is not necessarily a success. The project must also have been completed within the the original budget.

Good management allows you to record the various costs associated with projects (time spent in-house, subcontracting purchases, expenses, product purchases, etc.) and to inform project managers well in advance if the project is at risk of going over budget. risk of budget overrun.

List and customize the following criteria related to the financial management of the project according to your needs in order to verify that the project tracking software you are looking at meets your requirements:

track time spent on projects and tasks and calculate associated costs;
track subcontracting costs;
be able to charge back non-billable expenses (such as travel expenses);
track products sold (if any) and associated costs;
know the margin to date and to completion by calculating the remaining work to be done ;
be informed of any budget overruns;
monitor the value of production achieved and future production;
be able to invoice projects ;
track key project performance indicators.

If your project tracking software enables you to carry out these different actions, then you'll be able to better monitor project performance. You'll also be able to identify projects that deviate from their budget and you'll be able to take corrective action to improve margins.

For a more in-depth analysis, discover our ebook on project financial management.

Download the e-book

Criteria relating to communication between project participants

Project tracking tools must also facilitate collaboration between the various players involved in the project. Not only those involved in the project, but also subcontractors and end customers.

In a context of dispersed teams, it is imperative that the project tracking software enables actions to be tracked via "workflows", and makes it possible to facilitate secure access that can be parameterized according to each team's perimeter.

Here is a list of selection criteria for choosing a project management tool:

create workflows and notifications between the various people involved in the project;
follow a "thread" of discussion on projects and their tasks;
create rights and perimeters that enable you to securely monitor the progress of your teams;
give secure access to subcontractors.

How is the software supplier positioned?

In addition to the product's ability to improve planning, performance monitoring, organization and communication, there are other factors to consider when making your choice.

Choose software that protects user data

Opt for a software publisher that is not afraid to be transparent about how user data is handled.

To protect your data and that of your employees, here's a series of questions to ask.

Where are your data hosted?

Make sure your hosting company complies with your internal policy.

What is your security policy?

All software publishers must prove to you that they have taken the necessary measures to ensure the security of your data.

How do you handle personal data?

The publisher must also show a clear conscience when it comes to personal data, which is governed by current legislation.

Who can access your environment?

The publisher must also have an internal policy in place to restrict access to your project data.

Find out about support and services

Support during the deployment of your new tool is also an important element to take into account.

To get the most out of a project tracking tool, you need to be able to be able to configure it efficientlyimport your data, connect it to your existing tools and train users.

Only by the software publisher's teams or by an integrator or by an integrator can enable you to take full control of the tool. Ask publishers to explain how their projects work: who's in charge, how much time is spent helping you, and how support and maintenance work.

Benchmark project monitoring tools

Now that you've listed all the criteria, you can create a file to analyze each salesperson's answers.

Depending on importance, you can weight the answers to determine an overall score and rank the different solutions.

Take a look at our sample benchmark table in Excel!

Depending on the importance of each criterion, you can weight the answers to determine an overall score and rank the different solutions.

Download benchmark template

Negotiate with the tracking tool supplier

To secure your purchase, it is important to sign a contract contract governing your useand the associated rates.

Remember that you can negotiate with the solution vendors. You can obtain discounts, for example, by committing to a certain term.

Make sure you have validated the rates for the duration of the contract, and the amount invoiced for the project tracking tool deployment service.

Stafiz helps service companies gain visibility and better track their projects with real-time data. Projects are better managed, and deviations from budget are identified well in advance to facilitate corrective action.

To find out more about project management and tracking in Stafiz, visit the dedicated page.

Manage your projects with Stafiz