Can project management software save your company money?

In the last post I talked about trends in project management and mentioned the most up and coming trend being project management software. I wanted to expand on this topic and show how project management software is not only a trend in project management, but also an important tool in saving money within the project itself as well as a way to save your company money. In a sense, project management software puts business owners in the driver’s seat of the company’s profitability. It also helps businesses organize, promotes collaboration and provide the business with the ability to track and plan everything related to any project they may have actively running. Project management software allows the company to track the success of multiple projects occurring simultaneously, individually and collectively. For these many reasons and more project management software can be a great and successful tool in saving a company money.

In the business world time is money and getting employees up to speed on projects ultimately can cost a company a lot of money. If a new employee takes over an existing project or joins a project team, the time it takes to train him is money spent that can otherwise be avoided with project management software. PM software can save a company money by providing a quick and simple way for employee to gather the information they need on a project and have a time-line provided for them of what has already occurred with the project and what still needs to be done.

PM software  also saves companies money by creating an Icloud based filing system. Rather than a company wasting time and money searching for notes, files and documentation, everything exists within Icloud storage system for the PM software making it easily accessible for all that may want to look anything up at any time. This type of filling system makes it much more more comprehensive than a standard filling system and allows for less error and more money savings in the physical filling.

PM software can also serve as a training tool for the business as it is self-contained. This process can save a company a lot of money as well that would otherwise be spent on trainers or on salaries of existing employees to train new employees or staff. The software has the ability to teach employees on how the company manages projects and the tasks that go into completing each and every project.

The final value savings can be found in correcting PM mistakes and making sure they are not costly ones. Mistakes can cause a company to not only loose profits but also customers which in turn causes a future loss of income to the business. Mistakes also require a company  to spend time correcting the mistake that could have been spent working on new tasks or finalizing the project. PM software can help prevent all of these issues and ultimately saving the company money.

As pointed out in these many cases, project management software is not only crucial in managing a project easier and with less confusion, but it is also a key component in cost savings which is on every companies agenda now a days.

http://quickbase.intuit.com/blog/2012/12/26/three-ways-online-project-management-can-save-time/

http://www.jobnimbus.com/blog/2012/09/21/leveraging-project-management-software-to-earn-more/

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/can-project-management-software-save-business-money-1074.html

http://www.tasktrakz.com/blog/whentimetouseprojectmanagementsoftware

 

Project management trends in business

Project management began with its roots in IT and over the last few years has transitioned into the vast majority of the business world. These days’ project managers can be found in all aspects and job functions within the business world. With this transition there are several other trends that can be found that are shifting the direction of project management in the near future. These days many business organizations are becoming more creative by modeling the typical project management role, that use to be found within IT roles, into all functions of the business to ensure successful project completions. With these changes we have seen several trends that are shaping and guiding the principles of project management. These new trends include the move to cloud based project management systems, online project management and collaboration tools, more reliance on resource management, and geographically distributed teams.

The move to cloud based systems is becoming the norm as we move further into 2014.Most companies are allocating resources in order to move to cloud-based project management tools in order to be able to support project scheduling and collaboration of ideas and tasks. Companies have created highly functional and Innovative tools such as LiquidPlannerAtTaskProjectManager.comWrike, Gantter and of course the leader in the market Microsoft Project. These companies will continue to re-engineer their project management programs domain as more firms take advantage of web-based project management tools.

LiquidPlanner example

PMscheduling-121813

As mentioned above the use of online collaboration tools is on the rise and many companies are moving in this direction. Collaboration platforms are taking over the typical and old fashioned web-based document sharing business solutions that have been around for several years. These seamless platforms are just another innovative trend in the simplifying of project collaboration. The most used and popular collaboration tools used in project management are tibbrAsanaTrello, and Siasto used manage tasks and assist in project management document sharing and organization. As the project management collaboration application business develops, most platforms will begin to provide an integrated collaboration suite instead of separate document management, sharing and messaging tools.

Resource management has always been a key component of project management, but with newer trends it has become a very important aspect to take into consideration. With most company’s scheduling and project data in a central location, resource management becomes a very realistic and possible option. The integration of project schedules with task tracking and time keeping, can all be used to obtain a overall project view and always have the ability to view project checkpoints

The final trend we seem to find is that of geographically distributed teams. As companies leverage the use of collaboration platforms they also have the ability to view into the project at any time as well as the visibility to view all aspects of the project virtually. With the trend available, the trend in virtual/distributed teams will grow with the ease that project management platforms offer. Collaboration platforms help facilitate the obstacles of communication, virtual meetings, and finding project management talent in remote locations. With communication, document sharing, virtual conferencing, and project visibility all being features within new PM software, the trend to remote project management teams is one we only see growing in the near future.

 

http://www.batimes.com/elizabeth-larson/2014-trends-in-business-analysis-and-project-management.html

 

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/it-consultant/five-project-management-trends-to-watch-in-2014/

 

http://www.itbusinessedge.com/slideshows/top-10-project-management-trends-for-2014.html