5 Tips For Better Project Management

A post on the GoCo’s blog could be a great place to start if you’re looking for some answers around better management. Certainly, software options are enabling managers to do things we just couldn’t before. 

While these solutions are revolutionizing the game, they’re just one part of an overall picture we ought to keep in mind as managers. In the final reckoning, projects need leadership skills that come from various sources. 

Your Key Requirements

There is no known substitute for precise and thorough planning ahead of time. Having a detailed sense of what’s to come and how to handle it is what the job is all about. It’s about what your goals are and how they can be attained. 

Having a clear landscape is essential before any foundation trenches can be dug, and it’s how any project needs to begin. At the outset, the ground must be cleared in such a way that all those involved can see the same thing you’re seeing. 

Your Best People

Once you have the ground primed and ready for the first foundation stone, you’re going to need people. Good people. Management doesn’t only apply to a given task but also to the people performing the task. Both sides need to be managed. 

So, selecting the right staff is absolutely crucial. Bringing even one wrong person on board can altogether scuttle the project, particularly in cases where the work is complex. The more intricate the remit, the more cautiously you have to pick and choose. 

Knowing the Software 

Knowing your tools has always involved a balance between two extremes. Again, there’s a strong emphasis on planning things out here. Too little, and you can’t get going. Too much, and your project gets bloated.

What You Need

Carefully assessing your needs will allow you to make good choices about the software you implement for your team. You should delineate each component of the project so that it gives you a clear idea of the most suitable choices to fit the desired result. 

It can be tricky at times, but figuring out the ideal fit for your team and the desired goal is absolutely critical. It may require some initial tinkering to land on the right choices, but if that’s what it takes, then so be it. 

How Much is Too Much?

It’s a very modern problem, but software bloat is a real issue. When you install too many overlapping solutions, they stop being solutions at all. Urgent communications get lost in the ether, and tasks go unfulfilled. 

At times, it’s appropriate to leave a functional gap rather than having too many options running simultaneously. It’s preferable that a little extra effort goes into conveying info instead of that needed data languishing between servers somewhere. 

Some Great Options

Workast

Combining with the Slack platform, Workast is an innovative option for any project manager looking to forge a truly integrated team. Its smooth design lets you prioritize the work that has to be done, all in one neat package. 

It’s bound to be a real software contender for your own project, so it’s well worth assessing its merits. When it comes to tracking projects, assigning work, managing timekeeping, and running important meetings, you’ll see how effective Workast can be. 

Backlog

Here’s another great option that seeks to minimize the bloat by bringing everything under one roof. It’s a software package designed to seamlessly track and relate progress to all crucial parties, so that needed work doesn’t fall through any cracks. 

What’s really great is that you can try it out for free to see if it’s a fit for your project. Chances are, Backlog will provide you with the kinds of answers you’re looking for. 

Solution Scout

Bookkeeping can quite literally make or break any project. Solution Scout offers real answers for projects that are struggling to keep everything under control, from resource allocation to taxation management. 

It’s a real solution catering to all kinds of projects, particularly to those that have a more complex accounting structure. Keeping an eye on where the dollars are going is vital, and it’s exactly what this software does best. 

Jira

Coming from the renowned provider Atlassian, Jira is making waves in the project management sphere right now. It’s a serious player in the recent drive to find integral systems for the management of remote teams. 

As with our other suggestions here, it is well worth checking out. The software offers a range of tracking options as standard but also lets you create your own unique structure. In this way, you can tinker with it until you’ve hit on your best procedures. 

Basecamp

So far, we’ve been looking at the larger end of the spectrum, but Basecamp is an option specifically tailored to those smaller teams. The platform is laid out in a way that lets you see everything at a glance. 

Just by logging on, you can instantly see who is doing what, and where it’s being done. At the click of a mouse, you can survey your whole project panoptical in real-time. If you’re in this smaller, tighter kind of team it can be the very best solution for your project. 

Collaboration isn’t Spatial

It used to be the case that collaboration implied a shared space. By this view, each person would be pretty much within the eyesight of every other involved person. This is old hat now, and collaborative ventures are seldom of this type anymore. 

Getting to grips with the operation of remote teams is a central part of the job description, and it can be made to work well. If properly set up, your remote team can function like clockwork, so the effort will pay dividends.

Some Last Thoughts

It’s an exciting job, even if it can be overwhelming. That’s why we do it. Folks who move into project management relish that kind of challenge, and the good ones rise to the top of success in doing so. 

With the requisite time and effort, it’s the kind of job that richly rewards us. With the tools and techniques at our current disposal, anything you can envisage can be achieved too. 

This article is a guest blog written by Kyla Stewart. To contribute a guest post to Workast.com, please complete the expression of interest form here.