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Your 5 Step Plan to Search for Project Management Software

Your 5 Step Plan to Search for Project Management Software

By Steve Pogue

So, where should you start searching for project management software? How do you sift through all the choices available to you?

You probably already have…

…but don’t just Google “project management software”. It’s going to hurt your brain. There are so many choices out there that serve every industry imaginable (or say they do) and track projects in different ways. You’ll be overwhelmed almost instantly.

This search can get discouraging from the start so that’s why I’m writing this hyper-specific blog post.

This blog post is designed to sharpen your focus to the most important part of the project management software search: What are my needs, and how do I solve for them?

Find Your Top 3: Identify Your Project Management Needs

Like anything else project management, you want to start with a plan. Where things go awry is when you go into an effort like this without a plan. What your job should be is to identify your team’s biggest needs and target the companies that solve those issues. These 5 steps will get you to your top 3 needs.

Step 1: Admit it.

You found this post so you’ve admitted to needing help at some level, so Step 1 is complete!

Step 2: Let it all out.

What are your problems or biggest needs managing projects today? Throw a bunch of issues out on the table. Write them on a whiteboard or a spreadsheet. Just let it all out.

For example: “I never know what we’re working on” or “We can never find the most up to date documents” 

Step 3: Rank ‘em.

This is the most important step.

You’ve let it all out. Now, rank the most important problems you have. Your top 3 should drive your search from now on. Everything else is a distraction.

Step 4: Analyze your rankings.

How do your rankings translate into a software’s offering?

Let’s look at a common Top 3:

  • Ashley doesn’t have time to keep training everyone
  • Managers need to know what’s going on
  • We need to better organize incoming requests from other departments

Possible conclusion:

“We need software that has great training resources, has advanced reporting, and can route incoming project requests automatically.”

Another way to look it:

“We need software that is easy to use, shows a high level overview of all projects, and a project request dashboard to manage.”

Apply the same simplicity to your rankings and you’ll know exactly what to look for in a project management tool. Line your needs up with your budget and you are now ready to find the right tool.

Step 5: Don’t stray from your priorities.

It can be very hard to get distracted as you look at demos or do trials. You’ve simplified your understanding of what you need so stick to it. Compromising on your Top 3 needs can lead to dissatisfaction and derail your long-term success.

What are your Top 3 needs? Book a meeting today and we’ll see if Workzone can help your team be more productive.

Steve Pogue is the Marketing Operations Manager at Workzone. He writes about project management tips and the buying process. When not at Workzone, you can find him playing vintage base ball or relaxing with his family at home.