How TaskOPad Enhances Project Management With Advanced Features

Remote working is accepted as a new norm across the world. But, this concept has its pros and cons. Many remote and in-house teams find it difficult to access documents in real-time. Even if companies use project management software, they may need other applications for sharing documents or getting real-timesheet tracker reports and measuring the productivity of the team members. Switching between these apps is not only time-consuming but also affects productivity. 

At TaskOPad, we listen to the pain points of startups, SMBs, and large businesses related to project management. As a robust team task management tool, we keep on improving the performance and adding new features to make project management more effective. In line with our continuous effort to make TaskOPad highly useful for meeting diverse and complex requirements, we have recently introduced two key features. 

We are going to discuss these two features in detail and see how they can enhance clarity in your tasks and add value in your business. We will start with the ‘Reporting’ feature- 

Reporting-

It is one of the most beneficial features for enterprises. It facilitates project managers to get a bird’s eye view on various ongoing projects.  Also enables you to visualize the progress of your team members quickly and in the real-time using graphs and charts. Admins and team members can easily see the progress of tasks and individual’s current status. 

Reporting is useful in checking the team’s productivity based on daily, monthly, and hourly frequency. It can save your team’s time and enables you to understand the critical business insights in the real time. The reporting feature also saves you and your team’s time while offering the real-time data visualization. 

Original Source : How TaskOPad Enhances Project Management With Advanced Features

How Project Management Software is Useful for Creative Agencies

One of the biggest challenges creative agencies face is finding time for creativity and innovation. Here, creative agency project management software can help with planning, coordinating, and organizing tasks to save a lot of time and effort. A project tracker tool can assist the agency to handle team members, finances, deadlines, and all necessary aspects of the business. 

Project management software is a robust and user-friendly tool with a number of enterprise-friendly features. Be it delegation of tasks or tracking the progress in real-time, the project management software can handle all the tasks effectively. Companies can meet tight deadlines while addressing the client’s demands and increase productivity with this software. 

But then, it is fair to mention that all project tracker tools are not capable of maintaining a subtle balance between creative and business needs. If you run a creative agency or a working as a project manager in a creative agency, you need to look for the top five factors in the project management software. Let’s dig deep into these factors so that you can easily select the right project management tool for your company. 

Top Elements of Project Management Software Creative Agencies Need

1. Software Integration

Usually, creative agencies work on multifaceted, multiple projects at once. It requires a comprehensive approach and collaboration across different departments. For example, a full-service creative digital agency can provide web design and development, graphic design, and branding services. When it comes to scaling businesses, project management software can integrate into multiple other software or applications that are useful for the agency and streamline the project workflow. It is necessary for accomplishing projects on time. 

2. Remote Work Functionality

As per the Stanford University survey, 42% of the US labor force was working from home full time by mid-2020 and beyond. Flexible workspaces and other facilities are available in remote working practice. Though working from home or remote working is gaining ground rapidly, it is necessary for enterprises or businesses to take all the aspects into consideration for enhancing remote work functionality. A team task management tool with features like real-time communication, updates, and monitoring of tasks can make remote work more productive.

Original Source : How Project Management Software is Useful for Creative Agencies

Step-by-step Guide to Create an Effective Project Schedule

All types of projects consist of multiple layers and include many tasks as well as deliverables. Even the slight delay in a single element can lead to catastrophic sequences including missed deadlines and unhappy clients. Here, effective project schedule management lends a helping hand. It not only assists companies or businesses to manage resources effectively but also ensures a timely project completion.

We are going to discuss the role of a project schedule and tips to make an effective schedule in this article. But, before moving forward, let’s understand the concept of a project schedule.

Project Schedule — Definition and Scope

A project schedule is a tool that outlines all the individual tasks associated with the project, required resources, and other necessary details. With an effective project tracker tool, it is easy to manage all the documents related to the project’s timeline. Managers can add milestones, deliverables, and budget-related information in the detailed project schedule. It enables stakeholders including team members, clients, and investors to get all the details with ease.

Businesses can either use task management software or project scheduling software for making a proper project schedule to keep tasks on the right track. Shockingly, as per an official survey, only 35% of organizations mostly or always accomplish projects in a given deadline. The project schedule management enables organizations to achieve this objective and motivates your teams to achieve success.

Another important benefit of the project schedule management is it assists companies to remain under their predefined budget. You can easily estimate the time and resources in advance to save effort and money. Also, you can identify possible bottlenecks in advance. The project scheduling software can help you set deadlines and send real-time notifications in case the delay occurs in any tasks.

Let’s go through a step-by-step guide to build a project schedule.

Handy Guide to Create a Proper Project Schedule

Be it a large project or a small one, fundamental steps for creating a project schedule remains the same. These points are-

1. Define the Scope

A project scope is a comprehensive document that includes all details that client will get. It has necessary information including project deliverables, technical requirements, tasks, and acceptance criteria. It can keep your team on the same page and every member has a clear understanding of the project. Simply put, the project scope gives answers like what, why, and how for the project.

2. Make the List of Tasks

It is imperative to make a project schedule in line with a WBS (Work Breakdown Structure). It can break larger tasks into smaller and more manageable tasks. Let’s take an example of a mobile app development project. This project is broken into the tasks like- making a wireframe, creating a mock-up, graphic designing, and usability testing. All such tasks should be listed properly.

Also Read- Six Steps of Project Time Management in Workplace You Need to Know

3. Define Dependencies

Most tasks are dependent on multiple team members. A common task dependency shows that one task has to be completed before starting another. It is essential for project managers to define task dependencies while building a project schedule. At times, some project needs third-party assistance. Here, it is necessary for managers to define dependencies accurately.

Original Source : Your Step-by-step Guide to Create an Effective Project Schedule

Top Seven Benefits of Project Management Software for SMBs

Managing projects remains a herculean task for project managers of both SMBs and large companies. While handling multiple projects at once, managers need to juggle with people, processes, and objectives to ensure timely completion. When we consider various aspects of project management software for small business across multiple projects, chances are high that all end up in chaos. Here, project planning and management lend a helping hand.

Project management software for small business can save a lot of time in performing repetitive tasks and other little things. It can also enhance collaboration among teams by providing a real-time facility for data sharing. Simply put, a project tracker tool can keep the team members organized at work and managers can handle projects effectively. Let’s go through the top business benefits of project management software.

Seven Benefits of Project Management Software for Small Businesses

The project or task management app has all the necessary features to ensure proper planning and execution of projects, managing resources, and keep all the team members on the same page. Its key benefits include-

1. Improved Planning

It all starts from effective planning and scheduling irrespective of the project methodology and overall strategy. Project management software can show the previous record of the members so that managers can get the necessary information about resources with ease in line with the current project. Also, the project tracker tool enables one to complete some activities including identifying dependencies, allocating resources, and creating project deliverables in a short time.

2. Efficient Remote Working

Remote working becomes the need of the hour during the pandemic age, and it is here to stay in the post-pandemic period as well. With the project management software for small business, it is possible to track activities of the scattered workforce and managing team activities effectively. Even remote projects can be managed properly with the help of a project tracker tool. Managers can lead their remote teams while staying connected every time.

3. Effective Delegation

It is always a daunting task for managers to assign tasks to members as per their efficiency and expertise. Thankfully, a project management tool enables managers to delegate tasks to all team members as per their past records and skills. Members, on the other hand, can check the software to start working on their tasks as per their priorities straightaway.

Most project tracker tools also send real-time notifications to team members so that they can accomplish assigned tasks on time and ensure seamless operations.

Original Source : Top Seven Benefits of Project Management Software for SMBs

Guide to Project Management for Startups and Entrepreneurs

Be it a startup or a large enterprise, streamlining operations always remains a daunting task for entrepreneurs. It is necessary to manage teams, work procedures, and communication methods properly to accomplish all the projects on time. Here, are project management skills that remain handy for managers and project management software for startups and entrepreneurs. 

Let’s go through some of the practical tips for effective project management and achieving success in all projects. We will keep these tips limited to startups as they are facing more issues in project completion and management than established enterprises. Though it is always beneficial to use robust project management tools for startups, these steps will certainly assist you to manage every task properly. 

Top Project Management Tips for Startups

Here is the step-by-step guide for entrepreneurs to managing projects effectively and start establishing their business. 

1. Set Achievable Goals

As an owner of a startup or an entrepreneur, your role is not limited to setting goals. You need to set realistic goals that are achievable for your team members. Such goals can give them a sense of happiness and accomplishment. You can initiate with a strong foundation for achieving goals. This foundation depends on multiple factors including the client’s requirements, proactive approach, and a robust road map. 

You can also define short-term and long-term goals while making a plan. It can help you take necessary actions in real-time and guide team members effectively. 

2. Convert Setbacks into Success

Whether you own a startup, an SME, or a large company, setbacks are obvious and you need to transform them into success. In other words, it is imperative for startup owners to make stairs out of stones thrown at them. Talking about project management software for startups, if there is a slight lapse in task execution or planning, a setback becomes obvious. 

Other issues include complaints from stakeholders, missed deadlines, and heated conversations in the team. These hurdles can prevent your projects to run smoothly. As an entrepreneur,  you can anticipate these obstructions and convert setbacks into success to ensure the growth of your company. 

Original Source : Quick Guide to Project Management for Startups and Entrepreneurs

How to Keep Your Team Motivated When Things Get Tough

Managing projects is like using a double-edged sword. If you can accomplish it on time, it can be a thrill, but if something goes wrong, you will easily get stressed. Successful project managers just do not afford to succumb to the tough times. Even if things do not go as per plan, managers need to keep the right approach to keep the team intact and strengthen teamwork in the workplace with project management tool. 

Here are the key ways you can use to keep your team motivated and keep everything on track no matter what happens. 

Five Ways to Keep Your Team Motivated Every Time

It should start with setting small goals. You can also use project management software to delegate and track tasks. Here we will also see the role of the software in following these ways. 

1. Keep It Small

It is quite normal in SMEs and big enterprises that employees get overwhelmed and lose motivation for the project. Your team members can easily get lost in between multiple projects. Here, scope management comes into the picture and it is necessary for project managers to keep all the tasks as small and achievable as possible. 

Small tasks can make the entire project less daunting for every team member. Even if things are not going as per your expectation, as a project manager, you can simply encourage team members to stay focused on their tasks. Once their attention will go to smaller tasks they will certainly put their effort to complete them as soon as possible. 

2. Celebrate Every Milestone

It is always beneficial for project management tool to reward your team members along the way. In other words, you can celebrate every milestone to encourage your team. It is not necessary to wait till the end of the project to acknowledge success and praise your team members. It is fair to mention that no team members would like to work for such managers or project leads. 

Original Source : How to Keep Your Team Motivated When Things Get Tough