Negosentro.com | 4 Must-Have Features in a Project Management Software | When you’re deciding on which project management tool to purchase, make sure you keep the features in mind. A construction management system is extremely helpful in making your project management more efficient, productive, and secure but only when you keep a careful eye on the kinds of features that your software has. 

Every software comes with different features but there are a few features that are essential in ensuring you made a smart investment. Here are some features that every project management software must have.

• Versatility 

A project that needs to be managed effectively will need to cater to a variety of people. Your team comprises of team members that all require different ways of understanding ideas and working with the software. When team members aren’t able to understand the way a software displays information, it won’t boost your team’s overall creativity and efficiency. 

A software with different project and task views enables people to work with the software according to how they best see fit. They’re able to manipulate the view and modify it so that they can work with the software more comfortably. 

What does versatility in views mean? It means that a software has the option to showcase the same data in different ways so that everyone on the team can take in the information in the most effective way for them. A productive software will have table view, timeline view, list view, and board view options that caters to the needs of project managers and team members alike.

• Task Management 

Another essential feature that a good general contractor project management software has is task management. Task management is required to keep everyone up to date on the developments taking place within your project. It gives you the option of setting a schedule, defining the to-do tasks that your team must carry out, and define which tasks are the most important. 

It also helps you get a better understanding of where your project stands. This means you can keep a watch on deadlines, pending tasks, who has been assigned what task, and how much time your team needs before completing a certain task. This is very important for project managers because they can have a more holistic view of how their projects are panning out.

Task management features also have an option of creating and viewing reports. These reports make it easier to understand whether your project is meeting the deadlines and goals you had set and whether any of your teams are performing better worse than the others. It enhances decision making because you can take more informed action.

• Collaboration 

Naturally, a project management software must provide the facility for all your team members to collaborate and work together with the help of a collaboration feature. A single team can have numerous people, and for everyone to be able to contribute with their ideas, creativity, and solutions is essential for a successful project.

There will also be instances where some members of your team have to share their work with the rest of the team, and to keep everyone on the same page, you’ll need a proper platform that everyone can access. A software with collaborate features will have the following options:

• File sharing, as mentioned above, is vital for a well-connected team. You should be able to share calendars, files, lists, and have the option for anyone else on the team to access it. You can even check to see if it has extra cloud storage so your team can access information anywhere, anytime. 
• Communication: A software needs a good communication feature that allows your team to interact with one another through an internal messaging option. This helps everyone stay updated on any recent changes or developments and keeps your team integrated. 
• Task Assignment: Working with several team members can make it difficult to allocate tasks to the right people. It can also be confusing to find the team member with the appropriate skills for a specific task when you’re dealing with a larger workforce. In this case, an automatic task assignment feature makes it easier to assess who is more fit for the role, place certain people in charge, and allocate them with the team they need to work with.
• Dashboard: Last but not least, an effective communication feature will also have a dashboard that ensures everyone on your team can view their performance, future goals, and any announcements. When everyone on the team has a clear idea of how well the project is going, it gives them the ability to make any appropriate changes and effective decisions. 

• Budget Management

For more expansive projects, you also have to work with a larger sum of money which needs to be documented and managed. Poor financial management can lead to significant losses of money within a project and can even act as an obstacle between understanding how efficient your team really is. If you can’t identify how much money you’re investing and how much you’re getting in return, you won’t be able to make more sustainable and cost-effective decisions. 

An effective project management software should have a feature that creates reports for your budget. It should be able to tell you how much money you’ve spent on your project, everything that has been costing you money, and how much you have available. It helps you identify whether you’re going over the budget as well, so you can make the necessary changes. 

Final Words

There are numerous project management software options available today. Some have many extra features that often don’t come in handy, are difficult to understand, or aren’t necessary for the kind of work that your team is carrying out. 

However, there are certain features that every project management software should have if it is worth investing in. You have to keep in mind that it will be accessible to several people and hence should be as user-friendly as possible, so that all your team members can adjust to it and use it effectively.