Key takeaways
- Core features like Task lists, Milestones, and Gantt charts deconstruct work into manageable chunks
- Time tracking modules and comprehensive reports give clarity on progress, productivity, and bottlenecks—critical for informed decisions.
- Chats, file sharing, and comments enhance communication and foster teamwork.
Managing projects today means exchanging your sticky notes and spreadsheets for a trusty project management tool. However, finding the right software isn't an easy process; with a wide range of options at different price points, it can be challenging to distinguish between what's essential and what's a gimmick. In this guide, we help you break down the essential features of capable software in ten easy steps, so you can make a choice you're excited about.
1. Task management: Breaking down complexity
One of the core fundamentals of project management software is the functionality of task management. In fact, it's the key differentiating feature that makes these tools stand out. While this must-have feature helps teams with task creation, assignment, and monitoring, it also breaks down large projects into smaller, manageable chunks that can be assigned to teams and tracked effortlessly, all while maintaining context and ensuring cohesion.
Example
Let's take the case of a product launch. The work breakdown structure deconstructs this project into small portions (content review, ad campaigns, design for copies) that are prioritized, tethered to well-defined objectives, and have clear-cut parameters. Once these tasks are assigned to teams, work flows smoothly without intervention, ensuring timely delivery and unstoppable productivity.
How Zoho Projects helps
Zoho Projects organizes tasks as cards over drag-and-drop Kanban boards that visualize and streamline workflows for more effective execution, keeping teams on the same page. If that's not your game, we offer the simple work breakdown structure that slices your projects into neatly portioned, hierarchical work items for easier adoption and assimilation. And if you're a spatial learner, visualize progress over the Gantt chart, where you can set dependencies between related tasks and create critical paths that highlight important tasks.
2. Collaboration tools: Keeping everyone on the same page
When project teams are consistently in the know and know what's expected of them, you see effective communication at play. Facilitating such communication among global teams takes more than just a basic tool. Group chats, team workspaces for virtual meetings, and file-sharing features are some of the many capabilities that a well-rounded project management platform should offer.
Example
To run a successful campaign, marketing teams can coordinate with design and product teams, share fresh updates, and circulate ad creatives all on a single project management platform. This means no switching between windows and saved mental energy. Collaborative features lead to instant feedback. The result is powerful campaigns, rolled out effortlessly.
How Zoho Projects helps
Whether your teams are spread across the globe or sitting next to one another, occasional communication mishaps are inevitable. While miscommunication cannot be entirely done away with, Zoho Projects offers you quick solutions to mitigate its risks. Built-in chat rooms keep conversations going even in your absence, and its cloud-storage capabilities allow you to secure up to 120 GB of folder data.
3. Time tracking: Optimizing productivity
Time may be fleeting, but it still warrants tracking. Look for a tool that helps you compute team efforts so you can bill them and ensure accountability. Time tracking is also useful for client billing and cost analysis.
Example
The time-tracking feature can help a consulting firm account for its team's working hours and assure no effort goes to waste with daily and weekly time logs.
How Zoho Projects helps
Zoho Projects' comprehensive timesheets track time, bill clients, and help with invoice generation, while also serving as evidence for finished work.
4. Gantt charts: Visualizing project timelines
Whether you wish to get a bird's-eye view of your project or drill down into the particulars, Gantt charts are your best friend. Your virtual go-to for project updates, Gantt charts ensure you dodge bottlenecks, plan for dependencies ahead of time, and make adjustments to schedules.
Example
Construction companies can massively benefit from using a Gantt chart. Dependencies can be set so that tasks like laying a foundation are only started after site preparation is complete. These tasks can also be mapped along the critical path so they are hard to miss and completed on time.
How Zoho Projects helps
Projects aren't without risks and unexpected roadblocks. Zoho Projects' Gantt charts account for any surprises by letting you tweak timelines along the natural course of your project.
5. Resource management: Balancing workloads
Proper workload management optimizes team work and ensures no one is burnt out or feeling underutilized. Healthy resource management fuels productivity, promotes transparency, and drives efficiency.
Example
IT companies can use Zoho Projects' workload report to spread work across teams equally based on skills and bandwidth. This ensures fairness and maintains efficiency.
How Zoho Projects helps
The workload report gives an overview of team size, number of tasks assigned, and whether employees are over or underworked. This helps ensure a balanced and transparent workload, so changes can be made as needed, and members have a say in how much work they take on at once.
6. Automation: Saving time on repetitive tasks
Automation reduces manual effort by handling repetitive actions like sending reminders or updating task statuses. This feature helps streamline workflows and reduce errors.
Streamline workflows and reduce the time that you spend working on repetitive tasks by automating them. This allows you to focus on strategic work, generate new ideas, and make an impact while delivering meaningful results.
Example
Sales teams can automate weekly meetings and follow-up notifications, and trigger reminder emails to team members who are running behind on their schedule.
How Zoho Projects helps
The Workflow Rules feature allows you to set triggers and execute actions that automate the mundane, so you're able to set aside more time for work that matters. For example, tasks can automatically be marked as critical once they approach specific deadlines.
7. Reporting & analytics: Data-driven decisions
Reports analyze project progress, assess problem areas, and provide insights for the road ahead. Real-time reporting enables teams and key project participants to quickly exchange information so that everyone is informed of pivotal details.
Example
Dashboards and reports can help analyze, track, and forecast the fate of numerous fundraising campaigns for nonprofit organizations. Compare the results of these campaigns and use the compounded data to decide on future budget strategies.
How Zoho Projects helps:
Customizable dashboards and reports in Zoho Projects provide insights that can be applied while making key decisions about fund allocation, resource management, and the way forward.
8. Integrations: Connecting your ecosystem
The best project management software creates synergy among all your favorite apps, ensuring a seamless flow of data by eliminating silos, reducing context switching, and simplifying migration to your new tool.
Example
Whenever a lead transitions into a definite customer, your team can manage their trajectory in both Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects. A project is automatically created the minute a deal is won, eliminating the need for laborious data transfer.
How Zoho Projects helps
If you use Zoho Projects, you are creating a unified ecosystem that can help you run your business, not just your projects. It's integration with Zoho Books for finance management, Zoho Desk for ticket management, or Zoho Analytics for comprehensive reporting makes Zoho Projects your ideal project management tool.
9. Mobile accessibility: Working on the go
Mobile project management applications help you run your projects and remain productive even when you're away from your desk. Whether you're stepping into a cab, grabbing a coffee, or taking the stairs, you and your projects stay on the move.
Example
Teams on the field can use the Zoho Projects application to update time logs, modify task statuses, and stay on top of urgent tasks without needing to open their laptops.
How Zoho Projects helps
Zoho Projects lets you take your projects anywhere, encouraging project management on the go.
10. Security & compliance: Protecting your data
Your project management software should take security and compliance seriously, so your sensitive data is always protected. This is necessary for industries that deal with confidential information that needs to meet regulatory standards.
Example
Healthcare organizations can shield patient data from the dark web when project management tools conform to security standards.
How Zoho Projects helps
Zoho Projects' enterprise-grade security protects all your project data from expensive leaks and theft.
Let teams work smarter, not harder. If you've chosen Zoho Projects, congratulations on one of the many best project management decisions you'll ever make—and we're only just getting started! Now that you know the top ten essential features that can ensure seamless productivity from start to finish, try Zoho Projects, an intuitive project management platform that manages your projects for you.
How can Zoho Projects help here?
Zoho Projects brings together essential features, from automation to collaboration, empowering teams to maintain optimum productivity levels without burning out in the process. Businesses of any size can benefit from Zoho Projects through seamless integrations with native apps and third-party applications. For projects big or small, Zoho Projects provides the scalability and flexibility that you require.
Zoho Projects is a powerful project management software that stands out through its extensive ecosystem, adapting to various business requirements. With its user-friendly interface, easy-to-implement features, and numerous customizations, Zoho Projects is an invaluable asset for half a million SMBs and enterprises worldwide, helping them scale up and achieve enhanced efficiency.