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Adobe Workfront
Vendor Name: Adobe Workfront
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Basecamp
Vendor Name: Basecamp
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BillQuick
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Birdview PSA
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Celoxis
Vendor Name: Celoxis
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Deltek Vision
Vendor Name: Deltek
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WorkBook
Vendor Name: Deltek
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FunctionFox
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Jira Software
Vendor Name: Atlassian
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KeyedIn Projects
Vendor Name: KeyedIn Solutions
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KPI Fire
Vendor Name: KPI Fire
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LiquidPlanner
Vendor Name: LiquidPlanner
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Mavenlink
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MindGenius 20
Vendor Name: MindGenius Ltd.
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NetSuite OneWorld ERP software review by Better Buys
NetSuite PSA
Vendor Name: Oracle
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Planview Clarizen
Vendor Name: Planview
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Podio
Vendor Name: Citrix
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Project Insight
Vendor Name: Metafuse, Inc.
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Project Time Tracking
Vendor Name: Replicon
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Saviom
Vendor Name: Saviom Software
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Trello
Vendor Name: Atlassian
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Unanet A/E
Vendor Name: Unanet
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Unanet
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Upland PSA
Vendor Name: Upland Software
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WorkOtter
Vendor Name: WorkOtter
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Workzone
Vendor Name: Workzone
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Zoho Projects
Vendor Name: Zoho
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Project Management Software Buyer’s Guide 

Introduction 

Many companies have projects that vary from simple single-person assignments to complex programs involving multiple components, teams and budgets. Tracking all aspects of a project can be overwhelming, which is where project management software comes in. 

Project Mgt. Statistics 

What is Project Management Software? 

Project management software helps businesses plan and organize projects from start to finish. 

Solutions range from simple task-tracking tools to complex programs. Depending on the software, features include billing and invoicing, task management, collaboration, resource allocation and more. Project management software can either be deployed on-premise (where the software is installed on the company’s servers), in the cloud (where the vendor hosts and maintains the data) or both. 

Project management software ranges from free apps to enterprise-level solutions. Some popular vendors include Asana, Jira, Trello, Monday and Basecamp. 

Project Management vs. Project Portfolio Management (PPM) 

A common term in the project management market is project portfolio management (PPM). These terms are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference between the two. Project management refers to managing a specific project that includes many tasks, while PPM refers to managing multiple projects (i.e., a portfolio of projects). 

According to Learning Strategic Initiatives, there are eight distinctions between project management and PPM. One of those distinctions involves the risk management approach: Project management views risks as threats to projects, whereas PPM regards them as opportunities. Project management relies on a set timeline for the start and finish of a project, but PPM does not. 

Project Management Software vs. Task Management Software 

Another term often used when referring to project management software is task management software. 

Unlike project management software that focuses on all aspects of a project, task management software specifically targets the tasks themselves. Task management solutions are ideal for companies that may not have specific projects (or need a dedicated project management software) but want an electronic solution that helps them track tasks.  

Common Project Management Software Features 

Project management software includes many different features. Depending on the type of software and vendor, some features are standard, while others are not. Here are several of the common features. 

Task management: The task management feature allows users to create tasks and assign them to others. Users can also track the milestones, statuses or deadlines of each task within the software. 

Budget and expense management: With the budget and expense management feature, users can set budgets (e.g., labor, materials) during the beginning of each project and track both the budget and expenses incurred during the life of the project. If there were similar projects done in the past, project management solutions provide accessible historical data to help set budgets for current projects. 

Resource management and allocation: The resource management feature allows the project manager to determine availability of resources (e.g., staff, materials) before dedicating them to specific projects. Details about each resource, such as an employee’s job title or a cost of inventory, are available to help determine how they should be allocated. 

Gantt charts: A Gantt chart is a bar chart that illustrates a project’s schedule. The chart can be used to set tasks, project start and end dates, and statuses of each task. 

Time tracking: The time tracking feature helps businesses monitor labor costs by having employees track the time spent on each task. This feature is most common in professional services where hours worked are billed to the client. Employees can track their time in a timesheet format or with another time collection method, such as integration to time clock software. 

Collaboration: Collaboration is becoming more common in project management software, considering users often need to share information or ideas relating to a project. Examples of collaboration include file sharing, providing feedback on tasks and sending status updates. Some software includes a social networking-like feed for sharing and commenting on project information. 

Document management: With the document management feature, users can store various files relating to specific projects. They can also share files with other users and set permissions for access, such as read-only or ability to edit. 

Reporting: Reporting helps make a project more transparent for executives and clients. With this feature, reports can be created with real-time data using either built-in or customizable templates. Depending on the vendor, reporting (or even advanced reporting features) may be offered in a higher pricing plan. 

Top Benefits of Project Management Software 

Using project management software has several benefits, including: 

More automated workflow: To prevent tracking project details from being too time-consuming, project management software uses built-in alerts and other automated workflows. For example, alerts can be sent to remind team members of deadlines for specific tasks. 

Better management and insight on project costs and budget: Most projects have a budget involved, and project managers need to be able to manage their expenses to stay within the budget. Some project management software has a feature where users can set a budget and receive alerts if the project is in danger of going over the budget. 

Improved collaboration and document sharing among teams: Since a team typically works together on a single project, collaboration is important. For that reason, project management software often includes collaboration and document sharing features. A project manager can assign a specific task to a user and find out the status of that task straight from the software. Users can also share documents that others can easily edit. 

Better organization and more standardized processes: For companies that work on several similar projects (such as multiple projects for the same client), it’s vital to have a standardized process that can be automated to reduce the time involved in project tracking. Project management software has templates that can be reused multiple times, depending on the nature of the project, so users can simply update the template with any new information. And all resources relating to the project are centralized, which keeps projects more organized. 

Ability to integrate with other systems: Many project management solutions, especially cloud-based ones, can be integrated to other systems and applications. They’re often compatible with Microsoft Office programs, accounting software, customer relationship management (CRM) software, enterprise resource planning systems (ERP), Google apps and social media sites. 

How to Choose a Project Management Solution 

There are many project management solutions out there that vary in features and pricing. It’s key to research all of your options before purchasing a software. We’ve listed four important steps below. 

1.) Knowing your company’s needs 

Before researching any vendors, you’ll need to consider your needs and requirements. One great way to do that is to get feedback from your project manager or key users. For example, do they have bottlenecks in their workflows that project management solutions will help? Are they looking to streamline specific tasks? Or does your company have a current project management system and are you looking to switch vendors? 

You’ll also want to ensure that your IT staff and top executives are on board with implementing a project management solution. 

2.) Creating a shortlist 

Once you’ve established your objectives for a project management software, create a shortlist of vendors that best fit your needs. We recommend listing out the must-have features, as well as the nice-to-have ones, to help determine the type of solution you’re looking for. 

In addition to features, you’ll need to consider the vendor’s deployment options (e.g., on-premise, cloud), implementation processes and customer support. 

3.) Contacting vendors 

Once you’ve established your shortlist of vendors, it’s time to reach out to them. Explain what your objectives are and what features you require in a solution. You’ll also want to request a demo of the software with real-data scenarios, if possible. Vendors offer virtual demonstrations but it can also be useful to ask if a vendor is willing to meet with you at your office. Another way to test the software is to participate in a free trial, if there is one. Most vendors offer a 14-day or 30-day free trial. 

You’ll also want to compare different price quotes you received. We explain more on pricing in a separate section below. 

4.) Conducting due diligence 

Once you’ve selected your top two or three vendors, ask for references from their current or previous clients. While vendors tend to give you the clients with the most glowing recommendations or experiences, ask to speak to clients that are in the same industry or are the same size as your company. You’ll want to see not just the positives of the solution or vendor, but any issues the client has experienced as well. 

Pricing 

Project management software vendors use two popular pricing models: subscription hosting plans (cloud) and perpetual licensing (on-premise). Here’s a look at each. 

Subscription plans – When the vendor hosts the software on their servers (also known as Software-as-a-Service), the company typically pay a monthly or annual subscription fee. This is beneficial for companies that don’t want to host and maintain their data. The standard pricing structure is per user, per month, which is usually based on the number of employees that access the software. Most project management vendors offer scalable subscription plans that are based on the number of users and the types of features included in each plan. 

Some subscription plans are pay-as-you-go (no contracts required) that can be canceled anytime, while others may require a contract. 

Perpetual licensing – With perpetual licensing, the company hosts the data on its own servers, so it only needs to pay for the software upfront. It may also pay a recurring cost to the vendor annually for support or product upgrades. Perpetual licensing may be an attractive option for businesses who are concerned with data security or have complex needs (e.g., large organizations). 

The perpetual licensing fee varies based on the number of users. 

For more information about specific vendor pricing, head over to our project management software pricing guide 

Challenges of Project Management Software 

While a project management solution has its benefits, it also comes with challenges, including: 

Getting buy-in from key players: Getting buy-in from top executives, IT, managers and users are critical to purchasing software. But these key players may be resistant or have concerns about a project management solution. For instance, IT may have concerns about data security if a vendor hosts the solution, or they may not want the responsibility of hosting and maintaining the software on-premise. 

Top executives may have concerns about spending the money on a solution if there’s no return on investment. And project managers and users may be resistant to a software if they’re used to managing their projects in a specific way. 

Only needing to use a few features at most: Some businesses, especially smaller businesses, may only need two or three simple features and not an elaborate project management software. However, there are software vendors that offer different pricing plans that can be scaled up or down. The key is to figure out what features are important for the business. 

Execution issues: Project management solutions help users manage projects, but they don’t replace the manager’s responsibility to ensure deadlines are being met and tasks are executed. Even with automated alerts, a team member can still forget to complete a task by the deadline. 

Market Trends 

Like many other software markets, the project management market has experienced changes in recent years. We’ve listed a few key market trends below. 

Big data and analytics become more prominent in project management: Tracking data within projects is more than running reports. Users need to be able to drill down into the data to find key insights. Normally, they would have to purchase a business intelligence solution. Now, more project management software vendors are including analytics integrated into their products – for example, users can rely on data from an old project to help determine if a new project should be different. Users are also able to analyze large amounts of data (big data). 

Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will be a key feature: Better Buys asked industry experts for their thoughts on project management market trends, and a common theme is that AI and ML technology is likely to be a feature in project management software. However, it is still too early to tell just how impactful these technologies will be. One expert we interviewed mentioned that most organizations are not prepared for AI and ML technology and will hopefully take steps to correct that. 

Companies have become more agile (more flexible): Agile project management is an alternative to the “waterfall” methodology where tasks in a project are done sequentially.  It’s a trend in large and enterprise companies because clients’ and stakeholders’ project requirements change constantly, but the projects must still be done on time.  

Project management teams are more remote: One big trend in the project management industry is an increasingly remote workforce. Software vendors have capitalized on that trend by providing cloud-based solutions, as well as collaboration and social networking features. 

Recent Project Management Software Blog Posts 

To stay up to date on what’s happening in the project management software market, check out our recent blog posts.