Project Management Softwares such as JIRA are the future of software development projects… No, they are the future of project management, regardless of what type of project you’re working on.
You see, companies (big and small) used to handle their projects through a series of different platforms and systems, including but not limited to: Emails, spreadsheets, manual reports, phone calls, and regular meetings.
Now, all of this is put together in a single platform known as project management software, a place where teams can easily plan, manage and go through projects in an easy, accessible way.
What software management can do for you?
Basically, what this software do is provide you with a whole environment where you, and your team can communicate, collaborate and work together on the tasks ahead in order to successfully finish a project.
There are a bunch of different PMS currently on the market, all of them offering you different features, however, here at Rootstack we use JIRA software as our main PMS, and it is one of the main technologies we implement here at our company.
In short, JIRA is a massive software platform that focuses on the management of business projects, and it allows you to supervise, manage, track and handle all types of projects within your own company.
Now, as to what exactly these types of software do for you and your company, it’s very simple, they give you an online platform where you can perform certain tasks:
1. Plan your whole project and every step included in it
2. Tracking project evolution, current status, visualize any problem, keep track of what step is next, etc.
3. Have a better time management
4. Manage budgets, costs, expenses
5. Communicate and collaborate with your workforce
6. Share documents and files.
Keep in mind these are just some of the things you can do with a project management software, but they can vary depending on the type of software you end up choosing.
Six advantages of using a Project Management software
1: Optimize and centralize your current project management strategy
Handling big projects the require the help of several people from your team usually means the project itself will take a lot of time, especially with many people collaborating in the tasks.
With a project management software, you get to centralize your tools and systems into one single platform, allowing your team to be more organized and optimize your efforts in order to achieve a cleaner, more organized planning strategy than before.
This is possible due to the fact a PMS gives you all the tools you can possibly need in a single platform, making everything easier for absolutely everyone involved in the process.
2: Improve collaboration amongst your team
Usually, in a project, everyone is given a specific tasks which they have to perform in order to move on with the general project. Meaning everyone does a job that is part of the bigger picture, but no one is actually involved or aware of the other’s task.
By implementing this type of solution you give your team the tool they need to collaborate on the same project and actually work together by visualizing the current state of every task, being able to communicate between them, share information, help each other and so on.
3: Encourage internal communication
This has a lot to do with the previous point, but basically, project management softwares are there to help you encourage and improve internal communication between the project’s team.
Usually, these softwares allow team members to leave comments on the different tasks, easily share important information, upload vital documentation and all around improve the existing communication systems, providing you with a platform that can unite your team while simultaneously working on improving the efficiency levels during the project.
4: Handle your budget
Creating and managing budgets is perhaps one of the most important tasks of any project, especially when you consider your budget has to meet the expectations of your client.
A project Management software gives you the opportunity to plan your budget but also distribute it properly across all the expenses that come with the project itself, helping you (and your team) handle money in a much smarter way than before.
5: Monitor every step of your project
The best thing about working with a project management software is that you get to actually see every step of your project, the current status of every task, and even visualize what steps come next.
This is a major advantage, especially for big projects that require long-term commitment and constant task monitoring in order to achieve a bigger goal. And that’s exactly what you get with these types of software, an insight into the current status of your project at any time.
6: It supports SCRUM methodology
SCRUM refers to the framework methodology that is used on software development projects with a single objective in mind of delivering a new software solution on a short period of time.
Working with a Project Management software can be extremely beneficial for companies who use the SCRUM methodology and trust Agile software development when it comes to their development project since the software itself acts as a tool that makes agile development easier for everyone involved.
We know managing projects can be difficult, but a PMS is a right way to go when you’re looking for new, better ways to handle your projects, have better results and continue to satisfy your clients.
