If you want to manage a project efficiently, project management software is an absolute must. But with all the options available, you may have found yourself sifting through countless software names to find the software that offers all the features you need. Can there really be a tool that has everything you need?
As it turns out, yes. Read on to find out more about how Vault ERP covers all your project management needs in one tool.
What is project management?
Project management is the process of applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to initiate, plan, execute, monitor and close a project. Businesses use a variety of project management methodologies and a broad range of software tools to help them to manage projects through their lifecycle.
This article is for business leaders who want to know what features to look for in a project management system.
The benefit of good project management in your company
Project management software will help you improve team collaboration, streamline workflows and enable team members to easily navigate a shared digital workspace. The best project management solutions will automate a plethora of tasks, so projects are delivered on time and within defined budgets. Project management software will help you to maintain a schedule, centralize communications, make reporting easy, and increase overall efficiency.
What project management software features are there and how do they help your business?
Project management features are the capabilities of a project management system that allow you to complete a project efficiently and on time. You will need to understand your team’s needs and how different tools work to decide which solutions are best for your business. Here is a quick guide to features you should look for in a system:
Easy to use – Choose a solution with an intuitive interface that your team can get started with straight away. No time should be wasted on a lengthy training.
Real-time collaboration – A key feature that allows teams to communicate with one another and clarify issues as they arise.
Project scheduling – Allows you to define and assign tasks and set start/end dates and their priority level. Gantt Charts are commonly used for scheduling.
Customization – Your chosen solution should allow for flexibility to meet your specific needs. You should be able to add widgets to boards, attach files, assign personnel, set dates, add text, and leave comments where appropriate.
Resource management – A good software should allow you to plan and allocate resources (workforce, equipment, time, and funds). This feature allows you to distribute work evenly and to monitor capacity.
Budgeting – An important feature in project management. You should get a visual budget overview as well as be able to track the cost and make real-time updates.
Time tracking – This provides transparency about how the team spends time. It is a key element for billing and creating cost estimates. A time tracking feature will allow you to identify the value of executed tasks.
Project views – The team should be able to use their preferred collaboration tool and switch between Gantt charts, Kanban boards or calendar views. Different project views allow the team to visualize their work in a format that works for them.
Reporting – An important feature for communication with stakeholders and to view how the project is progressing. Real-time visual data tells you whether the project is on track or needs adjustments.
Integration – The best project management software will integrate third-party applications into one shared space.
Mobile app – People are working on the go, and sharing a task or view updates wherever they are allows for a works tyle the team will appreciate.
Automation – Multiple working hours a week can be saved by automating tasks. Your chosen software should allow you to set up automation and to customize your parameters.
Read on: Key benefits of automation in project management.
Security – You need to protect your work and the client, so you should never compromise on security features. A good project management software will have admin control, encrypt data from and to the platform, and regularly back up your data to protect against loss.
Project management software features that make your project successful
Vault ERP offers all the tools you need to manage your project with ease. Let’s have a closer look at its features, and how can they help you save time and successfully deliver projects.
Project basic info
This is a form holding all the essential information about a project. You can edit the form, assign a color to a project for easy identification on the dashboard, add or remove project members, add parent project, and much more.
Access control
Grant access to projects in Vault ERP by adding roles to team members from their profile page. The roles and companies will be set by the system administrator.
Project dashboard
A project dashboard will provide you with a quick overview of key project information such as tasks execution, absentees, KPIs, and other valuable data. Also, a project RAG status will alert you about any issues. You can customize the dashboard view by adding dashboard widgets of your preference.
Project dashboard widgets
You can add up to 12 widgets to any project dashboard including the following default widgets:
- Client Project Info
- Project Members
- Created vs Resolved
- Task Board Tasks
- Absentees
Project KPIs
You can add an analytics widget to your project dashboard. The projects list allows for a customized view. You can choose from many categories to view as much information about a project as you need to. Adding transaction stats will display a summary of budgets and spending.
Task boards & task lists
Projects in Vault ERP can be broken down into boards and tasks. Open a project to view all project boards, showing the number of new and open tasks. A bar visualizes the task progress with green for done and in blue for in progress. Click on any board to get a Kanban view. The task tab will open task lists (milestones) and expand any title to view all tasks and related information.
Personal workspace in boards
Everyone involved in project task execution can create their personal workspace in boards.
Board email notifications
Any updates on boards will automatically trigger email notifications as per your specifications.
Gantt chart & dependencies
The schedule in Vault ERP allows you to customize the view by periods, and you can zoom to fit, copy, edit, export, or delete the schedule. A Gantt chart will enable the entire team to collaborate and view task dependencies. The “i” tool tip reveals quick info about how to use the schedule.
Phases & milestones management
Open a project board to access versions. You can choose from the following fields to customize the view:
- Description
- End Date
- Is Locked
- Is Released
- Name
- Release Date
- Start Date
- Task Count
From here you can create a new board for any project, add new milestones and create tasks.
Statuses
View all project statuses under the Status tab. Adding a new status is easy. Use the calendar tool and select relevant field options such as status color, schedule, risks, issues, and resourcing. You can leave comments, add text, drop files to attach, and more. You can choose the status from the dropdown or add a new status. All statuses can be edited or deleted in the project’s status history window.
Project recurring tasks
Vault ERP allows you to use templates and set automation for recurring tasks according to your set parameters.
Project contracts & documents
Keep all documents under the project’s documents tab for easy access. You can filter your search by tags, year or month. From here you can deactivate, edit, or share project documents.
Client profiles
Click on the Client Project Info widget on the project dashboard to access a client’s key information. An interactive map will show your client’s office locations. The contacts can be customized to a list or card view. You can also create an email template here.
Read on: How to choose the right project management software.
Whether you’re looking for better project management tools or an all-in-one solution the tips above should help you to choose a product that matches your criteria, budget and your specific needs. Keep in mind that investing in the best products will get you the best ROI in the long term and help you to free up or extend your capacity. You could take on more projects, increase your revenue, and motivate teams by using the top collaboration technologies.
Why not start looking now? Contact us to find out how Vault ERP can help your projects.
