DSPAK-PMS (Project Management System)

Whether you are talking about productivity at the workplace or trying to organize a team or plan a vacation, or getting everyone at the office to work on the projects and priorities, you will get many project management systems that can be of great help.

For years, project management as a practice is taking the success of projects to a new level and  the project management tools & software are the way to natural progression.

To truly benefit from a project management system you need to not only know how to use it buidt also be cautious when picking one for yourself. In this article, we look at some of the unique features of the best project management software systems that make project management effective.

What is a Project management system?

Now, you must have developed a good understanding of project management and it’s time to move a step further and know about a project management system.

As you know, project management deals with various aspects of a project such as dividing the whole project into smaller tasks and subtasks, allocating resources to tasks, assessing risks that can cause delays, communicating project status with clients and stakeholders, etc. that collectively decides the success of the project.

The prime function of a project management system is to assist managers with their everyday project management responsibilities.

Summarizing the modern project management system, you can consider it as an assembly of tools that help you to accomplish various activities within project management. Some of the most common activities that a project management system can assist you with are as follows:

• Project scheduling and task management
• Budgeting and cost control
• Risk management 
• Developing team coordination and collaboration
• Project report creation

You will find that there are myriad of project management systems available on the web. However, not all of them are full-fledged PM systems because they do not incorporate all the tools necessary to undertake project management.

On the other hand, a tool leading project management software system like DSPAK that makes available all the essential features required for managing projects as well as teams comes like a breeze. With a project management software like DSPAK, there’s no need to switch between different tools as you can access everything from a single interface.

Why Use a Project Management system?

People from every industry today relies on online solutions for client satisfaction and better results. There are multiple reason to use of a project management tool, but keeping it precise, the three main reasons are:

1. Visibility: View progress across all your projects, identify projects at risk, monitor timelines, and share project status in real-time.
2. Accountability: Timely project updates to people at all levels, summary view of all projects, overdue tasks, avoid missing deadlines, and no more confusion regarding individual roles and responsibilities..
3. Organization: Keep workflows tools in one place, central location for all project details & updates, store project file in a secured location , and project get the templates to stay consistent.

So, now you know the main reasons to invest in a project management system, it’s time to understand the importance of selecting the right project management system and features that you should look for in it.

Choosing The Right Project Management System

You probably cannot afford to make a mistake when choosing the best project management system. As a project manager, you need to prepare a project plan, define the scope of projects, and schedule everything in the tool.  So, it’s important to select a project management system wisely.

Let’s find out the essential features that a system should possess to make project management effective.

1. Risk management

A risk is any uncertain condition that might affect your project. There is particularly nor project without risks. From the start to the stages of development, there is a chance  unforeseen of situations to emerge and leave big impacts on the project. Therefore, project managers use the process of risk management to minimize any potential problems that may impact a project’s timeline. Your system should be able to identify and manage risks in the project plan and calculate all risks in advance.

2. Resource management

Resource allocation planning is the process that describes what type of resource is needed and at what time that is critical for resource management. So, it is convenient to use a tool that offers resource management. For every project, resource management is an integral part that will make aware of the whole project cost and other related things. Therefore, it becomes really convenient to have a resource management function on a project management tool to calculate expenditures and distribute well the tasks along.

Example: Mavenlink offers solutions for resource planning, collaboration, and financial management.

3. Dependencies, milestones, and critical path

It is quite common to dig into a project where the tasks are connected to each other, like the 2nd task may be connected to the 10th task. In these cases, tasks cannot be done separately from each other. It is fair enough to have a system where you can define all the development stages of a project along with, task dependencies. Also, setting milestones to mark specific points in a project will make sure if your project is moving in the right direction.

Example: Gantt charts

4. Ease of use

Ease of use is a priority requirement for project managers who unquestionably have to juggle numerous projects and people at the same time. They generally don’t like using tools that can be difficult to use and drain the resources of small businesses. A project management system should be easily accessible to employees using multiple devices, it should have a minimalistic design with a simple drag-and-drop interface, easy functionality, and smooth maintenance and support.

5. Third-party integrations

With teams depending on a project management system every day, it makes sense that your tool should be able to synchronize data with other apps. An integrated suite offers functionalities that are relevant to various businesses for various purposes. This is one easy and direct way to take your project management to another level. Project managers should look for a  project management system with integration support for popular appss like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Box. All of the top picks like DSPAK  include integrations with Google Drive, Dropbox, FreshBooks, and many more.

6. Agile workflow system

Agile is a methodology of project management, which is among the most popular methods of managing projects. According to the Project Management Institute and its Pulse of the Profession 2015: Capturing the Value of Project Management 2015:

• 75% of highly agile organizations met their goals/business intent
• 65% finished on time
• 67% finished within budget

It is clear that agile organizations grow faster than non-agile. An Agile project management tool will maintain smooth workflow, ensure better transparency, bring agility and flexibility, and help teams to be more productive.

7. Using boards to manage projects

Project management boards are the decision-makers that will be helpful in connecting people who are working on the project. It focuses on the status of tasks, by which the task can be moved through different stages of the project. The teams working on projects can track what’s in-progress at a glance and, manage projects in a visual way. Boards in a project management system like DSPAK will help sustain a steady flow of tasks in a sequential manner, thus speeding up the process of task delivery.

8. Effective time tracking

More and more managers are longing for time tracking as an important feature for better planning, accurate time estimation,  and working with great precision on project tasks. A project management system with a time tracking tool will improve the way projects move forward.

9. Customizable workflows

Every team has to work using different techniques and tools because one-size doesn’t fit all. Customization is the way for modern teams to work effectively. According to the team’s needs, a system should be flexible enough to adapt to a unique process that tracks work progression. Custom workflows in a project management system will track work progress accurately. It becomes easy to know who is working on what and which stage of the workflow it’s in for easy monitoring.

10. Native mobile app

Project managers are often on the go, in meetings, or running errands. Nobody wants to limit themselves to laptops. Mobile apps are becoming the need to stay in the loop every minute. Project management mobile apps is a comfortable way to keep track of tasks, milestones, and deadlines.

11. Collaborate easily

Collaboration is a big part of project management and when you’re using a project management system, it should be easier for you to collaborate on all the projects. The system should allow you to share documents, files, status, timelines, and tasks easily and quickly with a large number of people.  Discussions and chat should be easily done with respect to both remote and in-house teams.

12. Delegate tasks easily

When you’re managing a group of people, it’s good to delegate tasks to each individual for ensuring the successful completion of the project. Your project management system should let you easily assign tasks across all team members. You can assign roles to each person in the team and provide them access to the relevant task information.