Project management planning is needed for business growth. The need to create a scaling business model in products and services businesses necessitates using project planning tools, to help all team members to complete work on time and generate profits. Hence, businesses need to implement systems that ensure faster completion of projects in a manner that attains customer satisfaction. Notably, the best method to grow business is to have many customer referrals, which is only attainable when multiple projects are completed within the set timelines. Thus, your business needs project planning software to grow.
Project planning software tools
A project planning software exceeds the normal spreadsheets, commonly used for project management. You will need project management tools (PMS tools) that help you to create project plans. Moreover, the PMS software will help you to make work progress reports, which may be shared with the client. Besides, the team members need to work towards common goals, which are defined in the project description. Using Finclock PMS tools, a manager can create a project and give a project brief to the team members. The team members are assigned duties as tasks, which goes to each person’s account. When one logs in, they see the task description and take the right steps towards completing the tasks. Thus, the best project planning software comes with PMS tools to create projects, report work progress, and evaluate the input of each team member.
How to use project planning software tools
A project planning software has multiple features, which are meant to help you manage work and initiate consistency in projects. The first step is to add the task plan, whereby one defines the common tasks completed in the organization. Then, one can create a project by defining the name, the budget, and the project manager. Notably, you will be able to assign any team member, the role of a project manager. When one is assigned such a role, they get an SMS, which triggers the action to login to the project management website. The website is secured through SSL and anti-spam tools, enabling efficient management of projects. Furthermore, one may access the system using any browser, such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari browser. Thus, the first step when using project planning software is to log in to the online account and create a project.
When creating a project, you type the project brief or description and assign the project status. Here, the project status includes planned projects, active projects, and completed projects. When you create a project, you will proceed to select the tasks to be completed under the project. Since the task plan contains all the common tasks in your organization, you will just select the tasks applicable in a given project. The next step is to set the task timelines, whereby you will select the start and end date. Then, you will add a description of the task, which is commonly known as a task brief. Hence, the second step is to use the online task management software tools to select the tasks that apply to a given project. The final step in project creation is to assign the tasks to people. In this step, you will see the workload screen, indicating the number of active tasks assigned per person, and select the most appropriate person to complete a given task. When assigned tasks, the team members will receive SMS notification, which gives them instant information about the task assigned to them. Hence, the team members will log in to their accounts and start working on their tasks.
Task reporting using project planning software
The people assigned tasks will log in to their accounts and view the tasks assigned to them. They will be able to click on the task reporting feature, whereby they can input the work reports. Notably, the task reporting allows adding of many reports under the same task. These reports include the actions taken under a project, including attaching the files used or generated in a given task. Moreover, one may attach images and input text descriptions of the work done. Furthermore, one can select the work progress, which is given as a percentage of the total work, from 0 to 100%. Another important feature is cost reporting, whereby one inputs the amount spent when completing a given activity. The project costing software will automatically calculate the total expenses in the project and compare them with the project budget. Consequently, the project report will include the profit margins in a given project.
Team communication using project planning software
Using the tool of the request, the team members can make requests under a given project. The requests include the project information, finance, and other requests. When one creates a request, the recipient gets an SMS, which shows that they have a request from a team member. The recipient can respond to the request and mark the new status of the request, such as approved, rescheduled, or rejected. Another important tool in the project planning software is automated notifications when the status of a task or a project is changed. This feature allows the team members to review the next action. Moreover, the task dependencies are automated, such that when one task is completed, the next action automatically changes the status to active. These PMS tools help team embers to communicate smoothly and complete projects on time.
Project reports using project planning software
Project reports help the business to evaluate the work and financial performance of projects. Using the tools provided on the project management website, the manager or business owner can download project reports and review the financial performance of the project. Notably, the costs incurred in the project are input as the project continues. Ultimately, the project will be completed and the total costs automatically calculated. The project financial report indicates the profit in a project, by comparing the set budget during project creation and the total expenses incurred during the project lifecycle. Another important report is the staff performance report, which indicates the tasks assigned to a person, the late tasks, and the completed tasks. The system also calculates the percentage performance of the team members and ranks them from the highest to the lowest performer. Thus, the reports generated in the project management software enables business growth by increasing profits and productivity.