6 Reasons Why Project Management Tools Are Important for Your Business

Project management tools are incredibly helpful in making the planning process easier, boosting the productivity of your team, and improving overall efficiency. 

It’s no wonder that effective project planning relies on these tools. One study from Finance Online shows that a whopping 77% of high-performing projects make use of project management software. 

And that’s not all. Out of those projects, 40% achieve the expected results, and 35% of organisations are absolutely thrilled with the level of maturity in their project management practices.

Clearly, project management tools play a significant role. This is because project planning can often get complicated and confusing, especially when you’re juggling multiple tasks and team members. 

But, the right planning tools can come to your rescue. They offer a range of benefits that can make a real difference for your business.

So, let’s dive in and explore how these planning tools can give your business the boost it needs.

Why Do Businesses Need Project Management Tools?

According to a 2020 Wellington survey covering 111 organisations in 29 countries, 25% of project teams reported needing the right tools for collaboration, and 36% of respondents said manually compiling project status information took up to 5 hours a day.

Using a project management tool provides significant benefits. Here are some reasons why your business needs a project management tool:

1. Increase Productivity

Project management tools help increase productivity by providing the necessary structure and organisation for managing projects.

Features such as task assignments, scheduling, progress tracking, and reminders help teams focus on the tasks that must be completed.

The features also ensure work moves on schedule.

2. Optimise the Use of Resources

Project management tools help you manage resources more efficiently.

You can track and control the use of labour, equipment, and materials required in the project, so you can avoid resource shortages that can impact the project’s progress.

It also enables better coordination between team members. With this tool, your team members can see their assigned tasks, keep track of deadlines, and collaborate with other team members. This helps avoid overlapping duties and improves teamwork efficiency.

3. Improve Communication and Collaboration

The Digital Project Manager mentions that one of the benefits of project management tools is that they can improve team communication and collaboration.

You can share information, discuss and coordinate in real-time, reducing communication errors and ensuring all team members work in the same direction. You can use the chat feature for this.

It also facilitates collaboration across teams and strengthens working relationships between team members.

4. Better Risk Management

Project management tools help in identifying, managing, and mitigating risks in projects.

You can track potential threats, develop risk management strategies, and take the right precautions.

Continuous risk monitoring allows you to anticipate problems and take the necessary steps to reduce their impact.

5. Improve Transparency and Accountability

By using a project management tool, all project-related information is transparently available. This includes task progress, schedules, and other records.

This transparency allows teams and stakeholders to track progress in real-time and understand individual contributions to the project. It also strengthens accountability and motivates your team to achieve project goals.

6. Facilitate Reporting

Project management tools provide reporting features that allow you to generate project reports automatically.

You can easily collect data, create graphs, and present project information. This helps you communicate project progress to stakeholders and make informed decisions based on accurate information.

Tips for Choosing a Project Management Tool

According to Forbes, there are nine factors to consider when choosing a project management tool, which include:

• Business needs
• Required tasks for the team
• Features and functionality offered
• User-friendliness of the tool
• Integration capabilities with other tools
• Data security in project management tools
• Communication methods within the team
• Consideration of team diversity
• Availability of customer support

Considering the factors above, you can choose a project management tool that suits your business needs.

Project Management Using VirtualSpace

VirtualSpace is an all-in-one project management platform that can improve team communication and collaboration more effectively, thereby preventing a lack of productivity in a team.

The following are some of the benefits and features offered by project management tools using VirtualSpace:

1. Effective Team Collaboration

VirtualSpace allows project team members involved in the same project to collaborate effectively, even in different locations.

They can share information, discuss and work together in real-time through communication, such as group chats.

2. Access to Centralised Information

In VirtualSpace, all project information, such as schedules, budgets, project-related documents, and files, is stored centrally.

This makes it easy for team members to access the information they need anytime and anywhere, reducing confusion and doubt.

3. Progress Monitoring

You can assign tasks to team members, set deadlines, and monitor the progress of each job.

This ensures that all team members clearly understand their responsibilities, and project managers can track progress in real-time to ensure projects are on schedule.

4. Resource Management

VirtualSpace provides scheduling features that allow project managers to schedule projects, set priorities, and manage available resources.

By looking at the overall schedule, project managers can identify resource conflicts or overloads and take the necessary actions to optimise resource use.

5. Integration with Other Tools

VirtualSpace can be integrated with other tools used in your business. This feature allows you to connect with other relevant applications or software, enabling a smooth information flow between different systems.

Here are some examples of integration features in project management using VirtualSpace:

• Integration with Communication Tools: Virtualspace can be integrated with communication tools like Gmail, Asana, and other business communication platforms.
• Integration with Calendar: With calendar integration, project schedules in VirtualSpace can be automatically synchronised with personal or team calendars.
• Integration with File Storage: VirtualSpace can connect with cloud storage such as Google Drive or Dropbox.

To End

Efficient project planning is the cornerstone of successful project execution.

Utilising the correct project management tools taking into account multiple business needs factors, allows teams to simplify the planning process, increase productivity, and improve overall project efficiency.

Feel free to read the full article here: The Importance of Project Management Tools for Your Business