Project management is a crucial part of every business. Brainstorming sessions, key project milestones, overall project goals, daily tasks, deliverables, project kick offs, timeline and Gantt charts are a few tasks that project managers may face on a daily basis.
A study by PricewaterhouseCooper, which reviewed 10,640 projects in 30 countries, discovered that only 2.5% of companies successfully completed their projects. They had also found out that 12% of project budgets were wasted due to poor management.
If project management is so important, why is it so often poorly managed? Humans have extensive experience with project management, which can be dated back to 2570 BC when the Great Pyramid of Giza was completed. Despite this, there are still projects that aren’t completed on time.
We all know situations when key tasks weren’t done because no one knew whose responsibility it was. Your team completed low priority tasks first while high-priority tasks were left for another day. As a result, a deadline passes because nobody was aware which then costs the business time and money. Proper planning can help avoid just this kind of scenario, but how? Let's explore it.
Read on: Improve your project management skills for success
Continue reading if…
… you’ve become swamped with tasks recently, as we might have a solution for you. First, have you considered the possibility that the root of the problem is not being overloaded with tasks, but rather becoming disorganized? Failure to prioritize your tasks can contribute to this issue as you become unsure of what tasks to do first and which ones are of higher priority.
Being disorganized can be overwhelming, not just for you but for the rest of your team. It results in missed deadlines, causing delays in projects and affecting overall productivity. You create a domino effect as there’s a chaotic atmosphere where everyone is stressing as they rush to try and finish their tasks before the due date, which can lead to errors and decreased quality of work. It also hinders career advancement, as consistent disorganization can lead to poor performance reviews and missed opportunities for promotions. Lastly, it can cause burnout due to constantly feeling overwhelmed by an unmanageable workload, negatively impacting both mental and physical health.
Read on: How would you eat an elephant? The art of prioritization and time management
Using a task board can reduce this stress as it provides you with a clear overview of your duties.
With the right task board, you can organize your projects better, collaborate with your team and track progress and goals.
What is a task board and what does it do?
A task board is a visual tool used to manage and organize tasks, typically structured in columns such as To Do, In Progress, and Done. It helps individuals or teams track the status of various tasks and prioritize workload efficiently. Task board software, like Trello, Asana, or Jira, digitizes this process, offering features such as drag-and-drop functionality, due date assignments, tagging, and collaboration tools. These digital boards enhance productivity by providing a centralized platform where team members can update progress, add comments, and share files. The visual layout makes it easy to see what tasks are pending, in progress, or completed, aiding in better time management and workflow organization. Task board software is widely used in project management, agile development, and daily task tracking to ensure tasks are completed efficiently and on time.
How does it help?
A task board can help prioritize your workload in several ways:
- Visual organization: It provides a clear, visual representation of all tasks, making it easier to see what needs to be done and prioritize accordingly.
- Categorization: Tasks can be sorted into different columns such as To Do, In Progress, and Done, helping you track progress and focus on current priorities.
- Prioritization: Tasks can be ordered by importance or urgency within each category, ensuring the most critical tasks are addressed first.
- Deadlines and time management: Adding due dates to tasks on the board helps you manage time effectively and meet deadlines.
- Flexibility: It allows for easy adjustments as priorities change, enabling you to quickly reassign tasks or shift focus as needed.
- Collaboration: For team projects, a task board enhances communication and coordination, ensuring everyone is aligned on priorities and responsibilities.
How Vault ERP’s task board can help you plan
Vault ERP is a modern and flexible ERP software that comes equipped with the tools you need to plan your tasks well – on both a personal and organizational level.
Let’s have a look at the features that can help.
Gain a clearer picture when looking at tasks
Vault ERP’s customizable task board will help ensure that you have a clear overview when looking at tasks. Create as many column names as you want and edit them to your preference - create a task board that makes sense for you and your team.
Are you concerned about missing deadlines? With Vault ERP, you will be able to instantly tell when the due date is or if it’s been missed. You are also able to add images or documents to a task, with a small preview of the attachment shown on the Kanban board. Get notifications regarding any changes to the task board via email, which will ensure you’re always in the loop.
Read on: How technology improves project management
Promote accountability
Being able to view whose part of a certain task is another useful feature that Vault ERP provides. When looking at tasks from the task board, you’ll be able to see who's responsible for what tasks and assess who is overloaded.
Task boards that allow for assigning tasks to different employees help reduce work overload in several ways:
- Balanced workload: Managers can distribute tasks evenly among team members, ensuring no single employee is overburdened.
- Visibility of task allocation: Team members can see the distribution of tasks, promoting fairness and enabling them to communicate if they are overloaded.
- Capacity management: Managers can easily assess each employee’s current workload and availability before assigning new tasks, preventing over-assignment.
- Prioritization: Tasks can be prioritized and assigned based on urgency and importance, helping employees focus on high-priority tasks without feeling overwhelmed.
- Delegation: Tasks can be reassigned or delegated to others if an employee is approaching overload, helping to manage capacity dynamically.
- Collaboration: The task board facilitates teamwork and resource sharing, allowing employees to support each other and balance the overall workload.
Customize to your liking
With Vault ERP, you can customize every feature of the Kanban board in detail. When it comes to setting the priority of a task you can create your own name for it, make as many priorities as you see fit, choose from over a thousand of different icons and 24 different colors.
Types is also another feature that you can customize with Vault. Add an idea, a task or a bug, create as many types as you want for your task board. As with the priority, you can customize your types and choose from several different icons and colors.
The right software is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to improving your workflow – your time management methods are also key. Learn more about the Pomodoro technique, the Eisenhower matrix, and other time management methods on our blog.
Ready to revolutionize the way you plan your work? Contact us to find out more about Vault ERP and how it can help your business achieve higher levels of efficiency and productivity.
