What are the best project management tools?

The choice of a project management tool requires special attention.

If they represent a real springboard for performance, choosing a software that is not suitable for your business is a risk that should not be neglected so as not to lose your investment.

 

Once the needs of your company have been specified, a study of the different types of project management software available on the market is necessary.

To help you, we present the different categories of tools, as well as the best tools for each problem.

 

What are the 4 categories of project management tools?

Resource management software

Resource management software helps allocate resources—people, technology, budgets, or investments.

By providing a holistic view of the project or project portfolio, these solutions help strategically allocate resources.

 

Indeed, resource management consists of analysing availability, skills and appetites in order to distribute them as well as possible. Controlled coordination of resources is essential to achieve project objectives and ensure that budgets are respected. As a result, resource management becomes particularly strategic. All the more so for cross-functional teams, who have to work on several projects at the same time.

 

Project portfolio management tools

Project portfolio management software offers a holistic view.

These tools present a macro view through reporting features and project management dashboards. Thus, they help to create an optimal combination in order to achieve the strategic and financial objectives of the company. 

 

PPM tools have several functions: to help evaluate the pipeline of projects, to prioritize them according to their urgency or importance, or to ensure that the objectives for each project are met.

As a result, portfolio management software is essential to enable the company to develop several projects simultaneously. 

 

Project financial management software 

Project financial management tools focus mainly on achieving budget objectives.

These solutions make it possible to analyze, control and anticipate thanks to advanced reporting, reporting and forecasting functionalities.

 

In addition, some tools integrate new technologies such as artificial intelligence in order to push simulations and forecasts further. 

Project financial management software thus helps in decision-making or corrective measures. 

 

"Simple" project management tools

In this article, we define simple project management tools as solutions that are primarily dedicated to project management, from a micro perspective.

With generally simple interfaces and few advanced features, these tools allow you to schedule tasks and track them as efficiently as possible. This type of solution is particularly suitable for small structures, freelancers or even for use in a personal context.  

 

Stafiz: the best project management tool

🏷️ Tags: Service company, resource management, PPM, FP&A, SMES and ETIs

🗂️ Categories: resource management software, project portfolio management software, project financial management software

Features 

Stafiz is an all-in-one solution organized in 3 bricks: resource planning, project management and activity management.

On the project management part, the software includes the following features: 

• task and cost tracking,
• management of the forecast (forecast vs. actual situation),
• Real-time data visibility,
• alert system.

 

Stafiz offers other features for managing the resource planning and management of the activity: 

• Load visibility,
• Assignments of resource planning Automated
• financial impacts of planning changes,
• analysis of the time spent.

 

Why choose Stafiz? 

Stafiz offers a solution that allows you to manage projects and portfolios thanks to interactive and comprehensive dashboards.

Financial management is facilitated thanks to a real-time vision, facilitating comparisons between the actual and the forecast. This study of the progress of the projects is used to calculate a realistic landing.

Its strength lies in its ability to anticipate and prevent risks.

 

Designed specifically to meet the needs and challenges of professional services firms, the tool is designed to adapt to your scalability.

Whether you're a small team or a large international group, its intuitive interface is easy to use, and allows you to manage your projects from one view to another for more flexibility.

👥 Users: VSEs, SMEs, large companies, marketing agencies, consulting firms, software publishers or integrators, architectural firms, IT Services and IT consulting firm, training organization.

 

Planview: a solution for program management

🏷️ Tags: in terprise, PPM, resource management

🗂️ Categories: resource management software, project portfolio management software, project financial management software

Features

More than a project management tool, Planview presents itself as a task management, project portfolio, and product software.

This tool offers these features: 

• Earnings tracking,
• performance analysis,
• calendar for programs,
• visualization of dependencies,
• Executive dashboards,
• financial forecasts,
• scenario planning,
• Forecasting capacity requirements.

 

Why choose Planview?

Planview positions itself as a powerful software suitable for large enterprises. Indeed, it is particularly effective for program management and portfolio management.

In addition, its financial planning features support executives in their decision-making. Planview helps improve productivity in large structures.

 

However, it should be noted that the implementation of this solution can be cumbersome, as well as the configuration for integration with other tools. 

 

Alternative

The Acuity PPM software offers a relevant alternative, less cumbersome in terms of implementation and handling.

 

Workday Adaptive Planning: Amodule dedicated to planning

🏷️ Tags: resource management, FP&A, Enterprise, EPM

🗂️ Categories: resource management software, project portfolio management software, project financial management software

 

Features 

Workday Adaptive Planning is an EPM software, i.e. "Enterprise Performance Management".

It is part of the Workday software suite, composed of several bricks organized into a dozen products: Finance, HR, Planning, ERP, and operations for industries.

 

The Workday Adaptive Planning solution provides the following capabilities: 

• budget planning,
• workforce planning,
• operations planning,
• modelling, reporting, analytics,
• what-if scenarios.

 

Why Workday Adaptive Planning? 

Workday Adaptive Planning puts planning at the heart of the product. Everything is intertwined in a complete structure with many other functionalities, accessible in the Cloud.

Relatively expensive and cumbersome to set up, this planning-oriented project management software is aimed at companies that are already mature. Indeed, the implementation and the handling may require some time.

 

Alternatives 

Other planning tools are proving to be credible alternatives to Workday Adaptive Planning. 

 

Anaplan offers a platform organized by functions: finance, sales and marketing, supply chain, HR, and workforce.

She specializes in financial markets, consumer goods, manufacturing, technology, media and telecommunications.

 

Adobe Workfront is part of the Adobe suite. This solution for creating workflows is dedicated to 3 main functions: marketing, IT and project management and services.

 

Smartsheet: An Industry-Wide Platform for Work Management

🏷️ Tags: any sector, task management, resource management

🗂️ Categories: simple project management software, project portfolio management software

Features 

Smartsheet is a work management platform that offers the following features:

• Workflow automation
• dashboards,
• commerce
• workload monitoring,
• portfolio management,
• workflow.

 

Why Choose Smartsheet? 

Smartsheet is aimed at small and medium-sized businesses as well as large companies. 

This software enables project management and project portfolio management.

Focused on collaboration, it allows for high responsiveness through real-time visualizations.

Smartsheet is suitable for industries in the public sector, construction, financial services, healthcare and higher education. 

 

As this tool is focused on project management, it does not allow for advanced financial management.

However, two complementary products in the suite complement the basic functionalities: the digital resources and human resources management module. 

 

Alternative 

The Basecamp project management tool is an alternative to Smartsheet.

This project management software focuses solely on project management: "not everything under the sun, just the stuff to get it done".

 

A simple task tracking tool: Trello

🏷️ Tags: small and medium-sized businesses, task management

🗂️ Categories: simple project management software

Features 

Trello is a tool for managing the tasks of a project organized into columns and cards, inspired by the Kanban model.

It allows you to track tasks and offers the following features:

• assigning members and dates,
• Automations
• kanban view,
• models.

 

Why choose Trello? 

Trello is a simple, intuitive, and collaborative tool.

Organized in a table-like format, this software does not offer advanced features. Indeed, with this task tracking software, no calendar vision, limited reporting, no management of interdependencies... but an appreciable ease of use.

 

This makes it ideal for managing low-complexity projects, for small teams, freelancers, and even for personal management of everyday tasks.

 

Alternative

An alternative to Trello could be Notion, which is also focused on project management. However, Notion works more like an interactive, collaborative notebook and offers more features.

 

 

Monday.com and its module dedicated to project management

🏷️ Tags: Task management

🗂️ Categories: resource management software, project portfolio management software

 

Features

Monday.com is a tool organized into several bricks to deal with work management, CRM and development.

 

The work management solution offers the following features: 

• task management,
• resource management,
• portfolio management,
• Views
• dashboards,
• Automations
• work process.

 

Why choose Monday.com?

Like Trello or Notion, Monday.com is a widespread tool, especially in the startup world. As a result, documentation is rather extensive and resources are numerous. 

Monday.com is suitable for both small and large teams. This multi-sector project management tool is comprehensive and easy to use. 

 

However, it requires some time to get started, and its relatively high budget makes it a software intended for companies with a large budget. 

 

Alternatives

Airtable and Liquiplanner are relevant alternatives to Monday.com.

Airtable works as an interactive database that facilitates collaboration. Liquidplanner is a project management tool focused on risk management.

 

Oracle Primavera, software designed for program management

🏷️ Tags: FP&A, resource capacity planning

🗂️ Categories: resource management software, project portfolio management software

Features

Oracle Primavera is one of Oracle's solutions dedicated to planning. It enables resource management and provides the following features:

• program planning,
• Modular views,
• Reporting and alerts.

 

Why Oracle Primavera?

Like Planview or Workday Adaptive Planning, Oracle Primavera is a planning tool for large organizations.

This project management software allows you to prioritize, plan, manage and execute projects as well as project portfolios and programs. 

As such, this solution is designed for large projects that require advanced project management and detailed financial tracking.

 

Expensive and difficult to use, it is aimed at complex industries such as construction, energy, aeronautics or transport. 

 

Alternative

Microsoft Project is an alternative to Oracle Primavera that is easier to use and integrated with the Microsoft suite of tools.

 

A task management tool: Asana

🏷️ Tags: Task management

🗂️ Categories: resource management software, project portfolio management software

Features

Asana is a project tool with the following features:

• resource management,
• Objectives and Reporting,
• Project views: tables, list, calendar, Gantt chart,
• dashboards,
• Automations
• multi-project tasks,
• Centralized communication.

 

Why choose Asana?

Intuitive and flexible, Asana is an easy-to-use project management software. It facilitates team coordination and allows for easy task tracking.

Like Trello, it is more aimed at small, agile teams that require a lot of flexibility. 

 

In addition, it is one of the widely used software such as Trello, Monday.com, Notion or Airtable and thus benefits from extensive documentation. 

 

Alternatives

Wrike and ClickUp are good alternatives.

Wrike makes it easy to manage projects, especially in an agile context.

ClickUp offers a complete interface for project management, product development, documentation and resource management.

 

A complete project management software: Zoho Projects

🏷️ Tags: Project Management

🗂️ Categories: resource management software, project portfolio management software

 

Features

Zoho Projects presents itself as a task management software with the following features:

• Portfolio dashboard,
• task automation,
• task views,
• time tracking,
• Charts and reports
• task workflows,
• dependencies and recurrences,
• Reminders.

 

Why choose Zoho Projects? 

Zoho Projects is part of a complete solution for project management. This project management software offers powerful collaboration features and adapts to any size of company. 

Its interface can be complex and less easy to use than other tools such as Asana, which is much more widespread and therefore better documented.

 

Alternative

Freshworks is a good alternative to Zoho Projects. A complete suite integrating customer service, IT service management or CRM, Freshworks is based on generative AI.

 

Choosing the right project management tool is a major project. Consider carefully the needs of your structure as well as your budget.

Indeed, the more features the software offers, the higher the cost and the longer the learning curve is likely to be. 

 

While opting for the most comprehensive software may seem tempting, it can actually be counterproductive. You must consider not only the implementation time of the tool, which may sometimes require the involvement of partners, but also the adoption time of your teams. 

We recommend clarifying your company's expectations, testing the solutions with the free versions and above all, involving the teams to facilitate adoption.