Project Management Software vs. Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets have their place, you can use a spreadsheet for displaying information and manipulating information and the use of macros and other such features enable you to create business programs for stock control, Profit and Loss, Accounting packages to name a few and other business uses besides. Spreadsheets really build business components to aid the business user and produce data to inform how different areas are functioning. But if you want to run Projects with many people as project contributors, meet deadlines and organize your employees wherever you or they are consider using project management software.
A Project Management Software package enables you to run your projects effectively. Being able to schedule the tasks in priority order and change that priority when the needs of the project change is vitally important when delivering a successful project. The use of tracking the project from start to finish is an excellent attribute to have, this consists of being able to track when someone has changed information within a sheet or changed the responsibility to someone else, amongst other functions.
The Gantt charts that come within the package are great for setting start and end dates for tasks, appointments and final deadlines, using this facilities should ensure you will never miss a deadline, not only that but if a task is behind everyone knows so maybe someone else can step in and finish it.
Project Management Software Accountability
Tracking Accountability is another big plus with this software as you can see how much of a task someone has completed, who has contributed the most to the project and who maybe is not doing as much as should be done. You can use this to target strengths and weaknesses within your team. Should something on the project have been completed well you can award credit in the right place and should the opposite be apparent this can be dealt with accordingly.
The Tracking feature allows you not only to track deadlines but also costs of the projects to date, progress of different tasks, priorities and resources. All of these components can be amended throughout the course of the project.
You can convert the Project Manager Software reports into spreadsheets and PDFs so People without the software, outside the business, can still view them. These can be sent to people via email attachment within the software itself.
The Project Management software also allows for others to assign tasks to one another, prioritize tasks and create to do lists. This can be done wherever your workforce is based. Essentially someone in china could change or assign tasks to someone in India and someone in the UK could see what’s going on. This is a huge bonus for global companies, being able to manage their workforce over such a large expanse and with such precision.
Spreadsheets are powerful tools when used in the right environment and can be invaluable for accounting and other such business needs, Project Management Software definitely has its place in the global business market and would prove invaluable to companies working on large projects with tight deadlines and large teams.