Top 5 Project Management Tools (& Why Your Team Needs Them)
Working together on a project? Are you having trouble managing time or deadlines? Is this new work-from-anywhere system causing a few hiccups in your workflows?
If any of these questions are ringing true, it sounds like you and your team are in desperate need of a project management tool.
Luckily for you, Soda PDF has reviewed the best project management tools so all you’ll need to do is choose the one that’s right for you & your team.
But first…
Table of Contents
What exactly is a Project Management Tool, anyways?
What are project management tools? PMT’s (yup, I just made that up) are platforms or software solutions that allow you and whomever you’re collaborating on a project with to keep track of tasks.
For example, your goal is to launch an album release. Well, first you’d start by making the music that would go on the album. You’ll need to find your band members, get your instruments, book jam space, find time to practice, rent studios or booths for sound recording sessions, and a whole lot more!
As you can see, your project (or goal) is to create an album. Perhaps you have a certain timeframe for when you want to go from idea to selling or promotion, but all of the tasks listed above are steps you’ll need to take to ensure you’re moving towards your goal.
As with any project, even if you think you can do it all alone (which you might but…), you’ll eventually need a helping hand or at least someone to coordinate with. For all these reasons, you’ll wish you had a trusty project management tool you can rely on.
Or perhaps you’re simply a Project Manager who’s looking for a simple & easy way to keep everything on track. After all, that is what a Project Manager is supposed to do!
No matter what your reason for needing a PMT (there it is again…) we’ve got you covered:
#1: Hive
Hive takes the top spot in our list of project management tools (insert newly minted acronym here). Why Hive?
Hive is one of the newer project management tools in the vast sea of project management tools. You could say they’ve had time to fine-tune their platform, but they’re also a very intuitive tool too and that’s something they’ve done all by themselves.
Let’s say you’re more of a kanban board type, Hive’s got you covered. Want to use tables instead? Hive can do that, too! You can set up your project map however you wish and choose from a list of options that allows you to see your project layout how you want it to be seen.
Furthermore, Hive has what’s called Action Templates. Are you tired of always repeating tasks or always needing to type them out, over, and over, and over again? Well, Hive’s Action Templates allow you to easily repeat tasks, repeat tasks so that you can simplify your workflows even more!
Remember when I mentioned you’ll likely need to bring in external collaborators eventually when it comes to your projects? Well, Hive’s also thought of that, too. With Hive, you can easily share your project or board with an external collaborator or users and have them work on your project management with you in real-time.
Speaking of time, how often have your projects been delayed by needing more time or perhaps not allotting enough time or resources into certain tasks? You guessed it, Hive’s tool allows you to easily allocate time and resources to certain tasks or projects with ease. Blockers begone, I’d say!
Furthermore, Hive allows you to receive and send emails directly from your project board. That’s right, Hive lets you incorporate your Gmail or Outlook account within your project management tool.
Hive is like the only tool you’ll ever need to manage your project effectively!
#2: Soda PDF
OK so perhaps Hive’s not the only tool you’ll need. Next on our list of the top project management tools is none other than our very own software solution: Soda PDF!
Soda PDF is a fully-featured PDF software solution that’s packed with all the tools you need to manage documents with ease. Whether you’re looking to edit, create, convert, merge, split, secure or add digital or electronic signatures to your documents, accomplish all of those tasks with one simple PDF solution: Soda PDF!
But what does a powerful PDF software have to do with project management tools? Well, consider the fact that you can import spreadsheets or form data into Soda PDF for a moment. You can easily add sticker note comments to your PDF document, pencil draw directly on PDF or even modify the text, layout, and structure of your project management spreadsheet with ease.
After all, in the end, these boards are simply colorful Excel spreadsheets with a few more bells and whistles added to the mix. Instead of using Excel, you can use Soda PDF as a means of mapping out your project in which other project management tools cannot.
For example, perhaps the project you’re working on is to come up with a new website. You can try using Hive to map out all of the tasks, or you can use Soda PDF instead which allows you to insert links, add images, and even manipulate and modify any element within your document.
We highly recommend using Soda PDF if you’re a creative team in need of a more flow chart project management tool. Best of all, Soda PDF is available via a Desktop application, or can be easily accessed from any web browser via our Online app!
#3: Monday.com
You’ve probably heard the old utterance of “If you manage a team, you need…” and yes you might require Monday.com. This is probably the only project management tool you’ll want to use and never feel like you’ve got a case of the Mondays again.
Monday.com is probably the most flexible project management tool on our list. When you sign up or create a new account, Monday will walk you through every step and ask you questions to tailor your board and project management needs to your specific goals.
Are you a project manager? Monday’s got a pre-generated board dedicated to your goals. Are you a creative and designer? There are a few templates you’ll enjoy using. Perhaps you’re a human resources professional in need of a simple way to track candidates or create new work charts. Yup, Monday’s got you covered too.
Best of all, each line within your project management board becomes a collaborative space. Click on the task line and tag your employees or teammates. Upload documents, provide feedback and document revisions and collaborate within the board you choose to create.
With Monday.com, you’ll never need to fear leaving your project for the weekend again.
#4: Asana
Next on our list of the top project management tools you should be using is none other than Asana.
Asana is one of the best project management tools around. It has a simple, easy-to-navigate user interface for starters, and much like Hive or Monday.com, you can create different boards or project maps to your specific project managment needs.
You can also try Asana for FREE and in doing so you’ll get unlimited storage. That’s right, unlimited storage! So instead of adding one document to each line of task, you can easily store all of your documents or important pieces to your workflows in one centralized place.
Furthermore, Asana’s calendar option is perfect for long-term planning. I personally found their calendar to be one of the most effective aspects of this project management tool.
For example, if I was preparing a film shoot, my go-to project management tool would undoubtedly be Asana since I can easily view the days I will be filming in a calendar mode. I can add the location of the shoot, the props I would need, the actors I’d want showing up on set, and the shot list for the director of photography all within one calendar day. I can then map out the rest of the shooting days and block off time for post-production within this calendar as well. That’s a wrap!
#5: Jira Software
Finally, the last project management tool we’ll recommend you use (if you haven’t used the other ones on this list already) is Jira Software.
Build by Atlassian, Jira Software is a project management tool like no other. For example, if you’re a project manager who prefers to work in sprints, then this is the tool you should use.
You can create personalized or documented spaces using their Confluence section, which is perfect for outlining all of your project details in one centralized place.
Furthermore, if you’ve used another project management tool that didn’t make our list (sorry, Trello) you can easily integrate those kanban boards directly into Jira Software. Did we mention working in sprints? Use Jira’s tasks to assign specific work tasks or stories within your epic project and manage every aspect of the project you and your team is working on effectively.
Go from assigning a task to someone as a “To Do”, to that person receiving the task and reading the Description of the task you’ve assigned and then putting that task “In Progress”, to “Completed” in just a few clicks–that is, if the rest of your team can keep up with their tasks!
Soda PDF: More than just a PDF Editor
Curious to learn more about Soda PDF? We thought so!
Soda PDF, as mentioned earlier, isn’t strictly a project management tool. Instead, it’s a document management solution. Actually, what Soda PDF is a productivity hack.
You can easily convert any file format into a PDF. Why would you necessarily want to do that? Because PDFs are the professional standard when it comes to documents. Let’s say you’re about to present your project proposal. You wouldn’t want to show it off in Word as that is a file that’s easily editable and doesn’t have the same polish and professionalism that a portable document can provide.
Soda PDF, therefore, is an excellent software to use to create stunning professional documents that are packed with all the information you need to push your project forward.
Insert images, add links, secure file permissions with passwords or by setting modification permissions, add digital signatures for irrefutable agreements, electronically sign contracts, invoices, or other important documents, create fillable forms, and much more—all with one simple software solution: Soda PDF!
Best of all, when you create your FREE Soda PDF account, you’ll get access to our entire suite of PDF tools & services for a full 7-day trial! Try Soda PDF directly from your Desktop or if you prefer to work from your web browser you can access our Online solution instead! Be sure to use Soda PDF for all your document needs.
