If you’re looking for some assistance managing your projects, you may consider project management software. If you aren’t sure whether you should use these applications, looking over the pros and cons could help you decide whether getting one of these programs is ideal for you.
Pros of Project Management Software
- Collaborative: Project management software allows you to collaborate across multiple platforms to increase productivity and decrease the amount of time spent on each task. Not only can you share documents, but most programs implement an easy-to-use communication system so you can speak with other members of your team without the use of a phone.
- Cost Management: One of the most important aspects of a project is cost. With project management software, overhead can be tracked using graphs to help you keep an eye on costs. Some other tools that assist you with cost management include forecasting, estimating, and more.
- Mobile: Many project management applications let you access your information through the cloud, making your project mobile. You can access your information whenever you want, every time you need it. While this does require an internet connection, it allows people to collaborate and monitor from any platform.
- Reduce Time: Using project management software has the chance to reduce project time significantly. Not only can you assign tasks to individual team members, but you can also effectively communicate how the job should be completed. Set up tasks and watch as team members finish assignments given to them.
Cons of Project Management Software
- Expensive: There are many project management programs available that are completely free, but unfortunately, these applications have limited use. For businesses or a complete program, you need to spend money. Most cloud- or web-based programs are relatively cheap and can cost as little as $19, but you can’t access your project offline. If you buy a desktop version with offline accessibility, you could potentially spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
- Learning Curve: Project management software can be very complicated, especially since you have to add tasks to each project, assign tasks to team members, and more. While some programs are geared toward people who don’t have much experience with technology, most will experience a learning curve with the majority of the software geared toward tech-savvy people.
- Time Consuming: If you aren’t familiar with project management software, you may find that it takes even more time to complete a project. Not only do you need to create projects, but you also need to add team members, set up tasks, monitor tasks, and so much more that can easily lengthen the amount of time you spend managing and creating a project.
