Life is often full of chaos and we often find ourselves dealing with disorganization. Similarly, project management frequently involves more chaos than management (ironic, right?), and there is really only so much we can do in order to get things done without being completely immersed in the thick of it.
Project managers have a daunting task on their hands. Managing several different clients, projects and the life cycles within each of those projects gets to be a significant job in and of itself, with intricacies and complexities that require more than a notebook and your lucky pen. Effective solutions would make this management task easy and give us the option of working off of our desktop or mobile device.
While these tools are widely used on custom web development and seo projects, you’ll certainly encounter your fair share of both pros and cons when using them:
1.Trello
Trello is a collaboration/project management tool that organizes projects by boards, while allowing you to then organize those boards by the stages of that project’s life cycle. The system is simple and easy to organize for better visibility, while notes, ideas and other helpful tools are simple to access on the right-hand toolbar.
To round things out, assignment cards are straightforward and easy to use. Overall Trello is fairly solid application with no evident downsides.
2. Podio
Podio is incredibly flexible and easy to customize, allowing users to set up assignments and workflow however they choose. Yet, the application lacks any archiving functionality for completed projects or any time tracking features. It can also be slow if browser updates aren’t watched carefully.
3. Evernote
Evernote is known for their cataloging and searching system, which is incredibly sophisticated by productivity app standards. The design is simple and productivity solutions are easy to learn and use.
The only real gripe with Evernote is that the desktop version reminders feature only gives you the choice of email. However, this isn’t a problem on the mobile app.
4. Asana
One of the nicest features of Asana is that it’s free for up to 30 users. For most situations, this is more than enough room to grow. Additionally, it provides you with a low learning curve and an increased ability to communicate between team members.
It does, however, lack some of the advanced features of the other solutions and can be sluggish during heavy usage.
5. Azendoo
Azendoo works off a tag system that allows users to follow topics the same as they would a hashtag on Twitter. This means that projects you aren’t a part of don’t take up space in any of your “topics” or the central pane. This puts Azendoo above the fray when it comes to organization and visibility, because as of now, it’s the first productivity app to implement such a system.
It’s true that Evernote has a robust tagging system, but it hasn’t been coupled with task assignment functionality.
Azendoo brings the two together with little to complain about.
A Work in Progress
Managing projects and clients through desktop and mobile applications is still a somewhat young and evolving concept in our world. While there are many ways of affecting change, project management is crucial part of it, particularly for businesses looking to make the most out of their SEO efforts. As your strategies become more complex, learning how to effectively manage multiple projects will be a necessary skill and invaluable skill.
By using the right tools and by setting aside some time to learn how to utilize them, solutions like these will continue to be useful and relevant. They may be a work in progress, but they’re certainly taking a step in the right direction and are useful for today’s technology-focused productivity.
What tools do you use for project management? Share your comments below!
Twitter •