Just like there are different types of projects, different types of project managers abound. Whatever your needs and capabilities, you alone know how best a tool can work for you. If you’re on the lookout for a project management solution to boost your team’s productivity and simplify project management execution, this article lists five project management tools to consider.
#1. Casual PM
If you’re a non-professional or casual project manager of a small and growing team looking for a tool that works like a visual mind map, and lets you plan, organize and get the job done with minimal or zero learning curve, Casual PM is worth checking out. Simple and straightforward, its key feature is its visual interface that allows you to plan, delegate and execute projects as simple workflows.
Task dependencies can be spotted at a glance, as well as team members, their tasks, and how the project overall is faring. For project management tasks and workflows that are repetitive, Casual supports template saving so that users can reuse old project maps.
After the 14-day free trial, Casual charges $9 per month for a team of two users and $49 a month for up to 10 users. It is free for media representatives, also for public school and non-profit work.
#2. Comindware Project
Comindware Project has a broad base of solutions for a variety of needs and is great for mid to large-scale enterprises. It’s best suited for project managers handling teams in IT, human resources, finance and administration, sales and marketing, education, and government.
Built on top of a social collaboration framework, Comindware Project’s key strengths are its adaptive yet intuitive drag-and-drop interface, built-in predictive Gantt charts, WBS (work breakdown structure) charts, and automated priority-based planning.
Comindware Project has both cloud and on-premise versions. Cloud subscription starts at $23.99 per user per month. Prices for custom needs are available by contacting the sales department.
#3. Wrike
A real-time work platform where teams can collaborate, Wrike is ideal for managers working in publishing, digital and web design, advertising, marketing, and public administration. The software is equipped with a built-in document editor that allows members to edit collaboratively and be aware of changes made in real-time. The tool also lets consultants and/or clients share in the process through feedback by giving them customized access to the platform.
Aside from Gantt charts, Wrike makes use of baseline charts that afford project managers the ability to compare real-time execution progress against the initial plan, and to make changes or corrections accordingly. With the performance chart, managers see the ratio of planned and completed tasks to comprehend how far ahead or behind their teams are with tasks.
Wrike’s Free plan is available for teams of five users and offers basic organization features. The Professional Plan is priced at $49 per month for five users and $99 per month for up to 15 users, if paid annually. Enterprise can accommodate up to thousands of users, and pricing is available upon request.
#4. AtTask
Built for small to large organizations, AtTask is a specialized project and portfolio management software with a design best suited for IT, marketing and enterprise work management. The AtTask Enterprise Work Cloud is equipped with unique 256-bit encryption technology, and its development team is committed to delivering high-end security features and emphasizing best practices through trust.attask.com.
One of the software’s unique features is its Business Case Builder where managers create business cases to understand the costs and rewards of each project request. This way, they avoid accepting and allocating resources to projects whose risks are greater than the rewards.
AtTask offers role-based licensing plans that start at a monthly $30 per user for Work licenses. The Plan package includes 15 licenses and costs $60 per user per month. Pricing for Collaboration licenses and Enterprise Plus upgrades can be requested.
#5. Mavenlink
Mavenlink is a project management software that goes beyond project management. One of Mavenlink’s defining features is its emphasis on expense and ROI forecast and management. Whether per project, per team or per individual, Mavenlink shows detailed budget and time tracking information, giving managers a real-time overview of the total running costs, as well as time spent per project down to the individual level, complete with payment tracking and automatic tax calculation per invoice.
Mavenlink offers a 10-day free trial for both Teams and Premier packages. When the trial is over, Teams is pegged at $4 per user per month, while custom pricing can be requested for Premier. Special rates are given to qualified larger organizations based on total number of users and contract terms. Non-profits receive a 50% discount.
Which project management tool are you using? Does it satisfactorily address your project management needs?
Images: ”Project Management concept with globe on blue world map background/ Shutterstock.com“
