The historical perspective
The project management known to us does not go as far as one would expect – although the very embodiment of ambitious projects with humanity, of course, is long overdue. The mid-20th century is considered the starting point: the formation of the first corporations and the strengthening of the technological potential of the countries opposing the Cold War. And yet, this is the time of the first space operations (it was in NASA that the life cycle management of programs appeared). It is considered that “project management”, as specific knowledge, first took shape in the US Air Force and their own Navy.
One of the most well-known
projects, where the methods of modeling and coordinating the work package were
first used, is the project to develop the Polaris rocket system, launched in
1957. In a short time, within the framework of this project, it was necessary
to develop, assemble and test a significant number of unparalleled components.
The project, which brings together about 3,800 major contractors and consists
of 60,000 tasks, was entrusted to the US Navy’s Main Armaments Department. To
this end, a special work scheduling method was created based on the optimal
logical scheme of the process, called the method of analysis and evaluation of
PERT programs (Program Evaluation and Review Technique). Using the PERT method
allowed the management of the program to know exactly what should be done at
each moment of time and who exactly should do it, as well as the likelihood of
timely completion of individual operations. As a result, the management of the
program was so successful that the project was completed before set term. After
this method of control began to be used in all US forces and was so successful
that it was classified for the certain time.
Industrial corporations began
using this method of management almost simultaneously with the military to
develop new types of products and modernize production. This brought a
significant gain in time, which was freed from the use of exact mathematical
methods in the management of complex sets of works. But in 1960-80, only large
players in the market could afford such luxury, because processing a large
amount of digital data was performed on expensive computers.
In the 1980s, a new generation of
computers and information technologies provided advanced features to use
project management methods and tools more simply and efficiently: planning,
scheduling, monitoring and analyzing time, cost, resources — became available
not only to large, but also small and medium firms. And by the 90s, there was a
reduction in the price and availability of computers targeted at a wide range
of consumers. And you can now design and plan almost anything at home.
Today, effective project
management is impossible without the use of modern software – project sizes
grow, the frequency of their implementation increases, the amount of
information increases, in addition the number of employees of one company
around the world working on the same task.
What such software offers today
Nowadays for those who faced with
the need to choose software for program management, rather, there is an
opposite problem with no alternative — a huge choice.
Before you dive into the search,
you need a clear understanding of exactly what goals you want to achieve with
this tool and, as always, what your budget is.
Depending on the size of the
budget, which you ready to invest, the programs can be divided into groups –
paid, free, and paid, which still offer for review the free version with
limited functionality.
It depends on the software and how much and where your employees are, as well as the amount of control you need in work. It is also important in what field you work and where the starting point of your project begins. For creative industries, collective sketching of ideas can become a priority task, whereas in construction there is often a clear plan where you need precise distribution of tasks and control over their implementation. Mass communication apps are commonly used for construction management as on-site employees are not at their desk; urgent project updates are communicated quickly.
Not aiming to cover all existing
offers on the market, based on the comparison table on our
website, we will describe the key parameters of products from Trello, 37Signals
/ Basecamp, Asana, Wrike, Genius Inside, Doist, Microsoft, Zoho, Clickup,
monday.com.
On the site you can find a more
detailed comparison, and even create your own.
Trello
At the moment, the Trello application is one of
the most popular project management systems online. The organization of work is
based on the “kanban” method (from Japanese – just in time), based on a clear
distribution of tasks among employees. In fact, this is an analogue of work
boards with stickers on it, only in a web application. Thanks to its simplicity
and virtually unlimited free functionality, Trello managed to win universal
love.
To whom it suits: small
companies, startups.
Technical parameters
Payment: free / paid (monthly or annual
payment). It is worth noting that the freemium model of the Trello allows you
to work fully, with a little bit reduced functionality.
Where is available: Web,
IOS App, Android App.
Integration with other
services: MailChimp, Slack, Dropbox,
Google Drive, Google Hangouts, InVision, Evernote, GitHub, Bitbucket Cloud,
Jira, Salesforce, Zendesk, other.
Variants of access to the
project : personal project, group
project, open project, project with joint access.
Live chat: no.
Detailed reports on the implementation of tasks: no.
Project templates: no.
Basecamp
Basecamp
is a simple and effective project management system. The application contains
tasks, calendar, discussions, profiles, wiki documents, files, project log.
Basecamp will fit into the workflow, if it involves the constant transfer of
media files, for example – when coordinating the design or content with visual
content. Basecamp features a rather large functionality of polls, control in
real time.
On the company’s website there is
a whole showcase of cool projects created using this software, so you can try
your luck in such free mutually beneficial advertising.
To whom it suits: managers and
managers who need the ability to follow many actions within a single project;
projects requiring the transfer of media files and communication online.
Technical parameters
Payment: monthly.
Where is available: Web,
IOS App, Android App, Desktop App.
Integration with other services:
Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, One Drive, other.
Variants of access to the project: group project, project with joint access.
Live chat: yes (+
automatic polls).
Detailed reports on the implementation of tasks: no
Project templates: yes.
Asana
A feature of the application Asana is that
the work in it takes no more than an hour a day. In fact, you go into the
application, familiarize yourself with the details and deadlines of the project
and… go to implement it. Only the user responsible for the project conducts
full-scale work in Asane – distributes the load, sets/transfers dates, controls
the execution of tasks.
To whom it suits: small and
medium-sized companies; team with clearly defined responsibilities.
Technical parameters
Payment: monthly.
Where is available: Web, IOS
App, Android App.
Integration with other services: MailChimp, Slack, Dropbox, Google
Drive, Box, One Drive, GitHub, other.
Variants of access to the project: group project, project with joint
access, personal project.
Live chats: yes.
Detailed reports on the implementation of tasks: no.
Project templates: no.
Wrike
The Wrike platform allows to create tasks, group them by project, and track their
progress. The main advantage of the service is a more advanced collaboration
functionality compared with competitors. Wrike is great for immediate project
control.
Of the nice features of the
platform is offline mode. In the absence of a network, you can sketch tasks or
comments without fear that the information will not reach the recipient: as
soon as a connection appears, the application will figure it out.
To whom it suits: those who
need control over the daily execution of tasks and detailed reporting.
Technical parameters
Payment: free / monthly.
Where is available: Web,
IOS App, Android App.
Integration with other services:
GitHub, Jira, Slack, Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, One Drive, Evernote,
Salesforce, Zendesk, Adobe, WordPress, other.
Variants of access to the project: group project, project with joint access, personal project.
Live chats: yes.
Detailed reports on the implementation of tasks: yes.
Project templates: yes
(positioned as one of the application features).
Genius
Project
The Genius Project offers a very wide range of customization – without losing ease
of use. Also, the company provides you with its consultants, allowing to
optimize the program exactly for your needs.
The application is virtually
unparalleled in providing reports of all kinds, schedules, there is also the
possibility of online communication – and this is not just chat rooms, but
access to creating online conference rooms. And since the servers where data is
stored belong to one of the IBM companies – be sure that your information is
protected 24/7 very carefully.
To whom it suits: medium and large companies, corporations.
Technical parameters
Payment: monthly
(discounts available for the duration of use).
Where is available: Web, iOS
App.
Integration with other services: SAP, Salesforce, Oracle JD Edwards, IBM Lotus Notes, Microsoft
Share point, Microsoft Office, Google Drive, other.
Variants of access to the project: group project, project with joint access.
Live chat: no (for
real-time communication there are online conference rooms).
Detailed reports on the implementation of tasks: yes (+ all sorts of tasks visualization)
Project templates: yes.
Todoist
Todoist is a
simple and beautiful online scheduler that supports almost all mobile and
desktop platforms. It works in mail programs and services. Allows groups to
interact on tasks, receive reminders and alerts. Its simplicity and
attractiveness made it popular not only in the business environment, but also
in personal use.
If the real-life Trello
equivalent is a reminder board on it, Todoist is your virtual business
notebook. With apparent simplicity, the program has a lot of options – a
breakdown of tasks into subtasks (and projects into subprojects),
prioritization. But many of the features are not available in the free version,
for example, notifications, comments, project templates.
To whom it suits: small and
medium-sized companies; for personal use.
Technical parameters
Payment: free of charge (version with
reduced functionality) / monthly
Where is available: Web,
IOS App, Android App, Windows Desktop App, Linux Desktop App.
Integration with other services:
Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, One Drive, other.
Variants of access to the project: group project, personal project.
Live chat: no.
Detailed reports: yes.
Project templates: yes.
MS
Project
MS Project is a complex software
which in the market of single-user and small solutions takes about 80% (about
20 million people).
Work is carried out with the
following options – “task”, “resource” and
“assignment”. With these set values, the software visualizes the data
in graphs, charts, tables, sheets. A huge advantage is the widespread use of
the program, and as a result – a large number of guides and training materials
to improve and make the use to be maximum productive.
To whom it suits:small
groups, with a small number of projects; those who need strict and detailed
reporting
Technical parameters
Payment: monthly.
Where is available: Windows
Desktop App.
Integration with other services:
Microsoft Share point, Microsoft Office, Skype, other.
Variants of access to the project: group project, personal project.
Live chats: yes.
Detailed reports: yes.
Project templates: yes.
Zoho
Zoho Sprints is a tool for Agile planning. The service simplifies work in
fixed cycles, the so-called sprints. For flexible management, various panels
are available, measurement of progress. The system works through priority
planning, backlog and sprints, task boards, timetables for tracking hours,
dashboards, reports, meeting management, and event tape. The user has access to
all project boards, so everyone can keep track of what stage a particular task
is at.
To whom it suits: the
application is focused on the work on the principle of SCRUM, so it will be
interesting to groups with small number of users.
Technical parameters
Payment: for each
user (over five).
Where is available: Web, IOS App, Android App.
Integration with other services:
GitHub, Jira, Zapier, other.
Variants of access to the project: group project.
Live chat: no.
Detailed reports: no.
Project templates: yes.
Clickup
The ClickUp application provides users with three different options for viewing tasks: in
the form of a board, a table and a box. Here you can create your own statuses
for each unique project that can be edited, reorder the boards in accordance
with the needs of the organization. The ClickUp panel provides an Agile view,
developed under the SCRUM, providing a simple but at the same time highly
informative representation of the data.
To whom it suits: small
teams, where you need to track processes and ease of use.
Technical parameters
Payment: free of
charge (reduced functionality) / monthly / annually.
Where is available: Web, IOS App, Android App.
Integration with other services:
Slack, GitHub, Google Drive, Dropbox, GitLab, Bitbucket, other.
Variants of access to the project: group project, personal project.
Live chat: no.
Detailed reports: yes.
Project templates: yes.
monday.com
The monday.com service allows to
visualize data and draw timelines for fulfilling tasks. There is a rather rare
feature here – the ability to invite a client to track the process, advanced
search. The service offers 71 templates of work boards for various tasks – from
a large project to the work of a sales department. From the logic point of view
doing one or another tasks, the templates are well thought out and the task
functionality is already configured with regard to their features, which
simplifies the start of work.
To whom it suits: small and
medium-sized companies that want to save time on customization and get to work
right away; companies that want to make the work process transparent to
customers / partners.
Technical parameters
Payment: free trial period, then annual
payment.
Where is available: Web, IOS
App, Android App.
Integration with other services:
Slack, Google Drive, Dropbox, Zapier, Trello, other /
Variants of access to the project: group project, personal project
Live chat: no.
Detailed reports: no.
Project templates: yes, one
of the main features of the program.
As you can see, regardless of the
size of the company and its financial position, management software is diverse and
accessible to all. It remains only to choose and… work, but now in several
times more efficient.
—
Author: Natalka Chekh, for ROI4CIO
