"Man
is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is
all." - Thomas Carlyle
Software tools
facilitate Project Managers to perform proficiently. There are countless
numbers of Softwares available in the market. You don’t require to learn all
the software, just pick according to your requirement and get mastery on it.
Please keep in mind that its Project Manager’s knowledge and skills which makes
a project successful, not just the tools. Tools are for support purpose. Most
of the people are average users of an application. The Project Manager should
be an advanced user and use it to improve their productivity. These tools
should be used up to its full potential. Only the optimum usage can make these
softwares significant for a Project Manager. Below is the list of softwares
which are essential for every Project Manager:
Project Management
Software
Project Management
Software is used by a wide range of industries for project planning, resource
allocation and scheduling. It enables project managers to track progress,
control their budget, analyze workloads, quality management and all
documentation exchanged throughout a project. It also provides various reports
based on input. There are various types of desktop and web-based project
management softwares available in the market. Microsoft Project is an example
of a widely used software.
Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a
computer application for organization, analysis and storage of data in tabular
form. Microsoft Excel is the industry-leading spreadsheet software, a powerful
data visualization and analysis tool. You can also collaborate with an online
version of Microsoft Excel. Save spreadsheets in OneDrive. Share them with
others and work together at the same time. Get a mastery on its various
features like calculation, formulas, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro
programming language also called Visual Basic for Applications. Project
Managers working on small to midsize projects can use Microsoft Excel to
visualize, plan and track their projects.
Presentation Software
Presentation software
is designed to allow the user to present information in an engaging way such as
with texts, pictures, sounds and videos. PowerPoint is an example of
presentation software. You can also develop chart and pivot tables in excel and
transfer it to PowerPoint. PPT is the best friend while showing project status
to the higher management or showing product feature to a customer.
Communication Software
Communication is the
key to Project Management. Communication Software provides us with several
features like call, instant messaging, share screen, record sessions, distance
learning, online meeting and collaboration. During COVID-19, people can work
from home with the help of communication software. Some famous communication
softwares are MS Teams, Zoom and Google Hangout. Learn all the features of
these softwares to make your communication convenient.
Email and Calendar
Email is the persist
means of communication. This is fast and effective. Take the advantage of
advanced features in an email software like set a predefined template for
common emails or set the rules. You can also automate email communication.
Often email software comes with the calendar feature and helps to schedule
appointments and meeting requests. You can also see other person’s availability
before scheduling the meeting request. Microsoft Outlook is a commonly used
email software.
Incident and Defect
Tracker
Incident management is
the process of managing IT service disruptions and restoring services within
service level agreements. The opportunity of incident management starts with an
end-user reporting an issue and ends with a service desk team member solving
that issue. Defect tracking tools are applications which help us to record,
report and monitor the bugs in a software development project.
We can use various
applications to track and manage incidents, service requests and bugs tracking.
Servicenow, JIRA and
Azure DevOps board is commonly used as incident and bugs tracker tools.
Customer Feedback
Collection
The customer
satisfaction survey is an integral part of Project Management. This enables you
to evaluate the teamwork based on the customers’ outlook. This will help you to
rectify any mistakes that may happen in future, improve your work regularly and
give you an efficient team. The complete life cycle of CSS is - Analysis of
Survey Questionnaire, Development of the Survey form, Circulation of Feedback
link, Analysis of collected data and Action Plan on CSS feedback. We can use
Survey Monkey or Google Forms for this purpose.
Sprint Lifecycle
Management Software
Sprint Lifecycle
Management Software facilitates you to work in an Agile environment. It helps
you to plan, track, and release Sprint. It has features like Scrum Boards,
Kanban Boards, Roadmaps, Reporting and Set workflow. You can create story,
feature, backlog, sprints and query items. You can also optimize it with automation
and integration with other tools. Microsoft Azure DevOps Board and JIRA are
some of the are Sprint Lifecycle Management Software.
Document Management
Software
Document Management
software automates the process of managing documents from creation to storage
to distribution throughout an enterprise. It tracks all the changes and
maintains different versions of the documents. We can also use this as a
Knowledge Management system. SharePoint, One Drive and Google Drive are few of
the document management softwares.
Process Automation
Software
Process automation
will improve your efficiency. If any work is repetitive, you can automate it.
Some examples of repetitive work can be sending a reminder mail to the team
members for the report data every Monday or sharing weekly report in a
predefined format with the customers. You can free up your precious time for
other important tasks. Excel Macros, SQL Jobs, Community version of UI Path and
Automation Anywhere can be used for task automation.
These tools not only
save time but also make you an efficient Project Manager. You can multitask and
save up on a lot of unnecessary tasks during a project. Optimum usage of these
softwares helps you acquire new skills and promote smart working rather than
hard working. As the trends change, people in the corporate world appreciate
efficient software usage over legacy technologies.
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