Choosing the best project management software for your business

Plan

Project Management software is a perfect solution for any business, as it offers a means of streamlining the various aspects that make running a larger company difficult.

You can lower the costs of operations, improve your reporting capabilities, data security, productivity, and many more. Choosing the system that is the right fit for your business, however, may prove to be a challenge. Here are a few guidelines on the steps you should take into consideration when choosing your Project Management software solution.

Establish your expectations

Knowing what your problems and challenges are and what you wish to overcome is crucial, and it will help you choose the best PM Solution. You need to be specific now: what do you want to achieve with the help of this piece of software? Knowing what you need and want will have you more “in control” over the whole decision process. Another crucial point is having your team involved – this way, you will have a higher chance of getting them on-board with the change you wish to introduce.

Find options on the market

You need to see exactly what the market has to offer in terms of PM Solutions. Make sure you read about them, discuss with your team (ask for advice from the people that will use it), compare and take notes. How would they integrate with the systems your office is already using? Make a list of PROs and CONs and see at the end what the best option is for you. Getting the Team involved is key, as they will be the ones actually using the system on a daily basis.

Make a list

Having a shortlist of vendors that fit your needs (the most) is important for the decision process. What do you want the software to do? What essential criteria should the software match? What should the Project Management Software do? Would you like it to do Project Management, Workflow Management, solve communication issues and improve your team’s collaboration? What are your team’s sensitive areas? How can the system help you solve that without creating more chaos?

Project Management Software Demos

Constant connection with your team is key, so discussing with them the strengths and weaknesses of each project management software, after each demo, is a healthy habit to stick to! You should ask as many questions as you can and track down the answers you receive – take that back to your team and discuss it again. Also, ask if the demo is recorded and request the recording so you may show it to your team.

Price Comparison

After you had a look at the shortlist, make another list: shorter! Take a look also at the optimal price. Taking into consideration the prices is good, but it should not be your number 1 factor of decision. Think of the long-term benefits and your long term goals when making this decision. Price is not everything!

Project Management Software References

If possible, you should ask the vendor (or maybe check online, even on their website) how well the system worked for similar companies like yours. Ask around and see what challenges they faced with the system. How did the vendor address the challenges? Are there any articles, blog posts or whitepapers on this subject?

Decide on what is best for your Business!

Last step: you have taken into consideration many important factors and now you are ready to make your decision! Note things down and make sure the contract is equally advantageous. Finding the right PM fit is hard, but once you have it right you will never want to roll back!