Best Project Management Tools for Software Development Teams
Back in the old days, employees used the pen-and-paper approach to managing tasks. People wrote down assignments in notebooks, and there were flip charts in every office room. But as satisfying as crossing a task off a to-do list with your own hand is, such an approach was hardly effective.
In an attempt to keep up with the ever-changing business environment, many companies have adopted project management software (PMS) solutions. These are the digital tools designed to track and manage tasks. They help team members organize remote work, collaborate productively, and run effective external communications.
The PMS market is growing at a rate of 10.67% and is predicted to reach $9.81 billion by 2026. PMS solutions are especially prevalent in the IT sector. Let’s look at some of the best PMS products in the 2022 software market and find out which one is a perfect fit for your business model.
Must-Have Features of Project Management Tools
Every PMS solution offers a slightly different set of functionalities. However, there are some universal features any project management tool cannot go without:
- Project planning and scheduling allow users to create, prioritize, and assign tasks.
- Team collaboration. It is a set of collaboration channels through which employees and clients can exchange information.
- Documentation management. It is a feature designated for creating, sharing, and hosting project documents.
- This feature is also called the “KPI dashboard functionality.” It allows getting an overview of a team’s overall performance across standard metrics like meeting objectives and time spent on it.
- Resource management is meant for project budgeting and controlling resources. This feature may also include automated billing and invoicing functionalities.
An actively growing software development company, the Diversido development agency, shared that they consider task scheduling, tracking, reporting, and commenting functionalities crucial for their workflow.
Jira
Jira is an Atlassian product that holds roughly 41.87% of the PMS market as of 2022. It was initially designed as an issue-tracking solution for software developers. Now Jira is a full-fledged PMS solution widely used even by non-IT teams.
Here’s the list of reasons to choose Jira:
- Supports integration with third-party plugins
- Can be used by any user type regardless of their tech literacy
- Is highly customizable to fit any kind of project
- Is compatible with Agile methodology and supports both Scrum and Kanban frameworks.
This software comes with a few drawbacks to consider:
- Has an upload size limited to 2 GB per file
- Has a rather overwhelming user interface
- Performance speed is low even after the 8.0 update.
Over 100,000 organizations worldwide are current Jira users, so it is a well-established PMS.
Trello
Trello is a super-easy task completion tracker rather than a full-fledged PMS. It includes boards, lists, and cards — basically, it is a digital flip chart.
Here’s the list of reasons to choose Trello:
- Has a user-friendly UI that follows the Kanban approach
- Responsive design across all platforms
- Allows to add checklists to cards
- Supports the integration of Chrome extensions.
This software comes with a few drawbacks to consider:
- Not a good fit for complex projects with dozens of sub-tasks
- Limited activity log
- Has an upload size limited to 250 MB.
Trello is a smart choice for small teams, where each member has a pile of individual tasks to complete.
Zoho Projects
This is another easy-to-use PMS that presents a web-based environment for collaboration. Zoho Projects is positioned as a versatile solution that includes all the must-have project management features.
Here’s the list of reasons to choose Zoho Projects:
- Supports integration with accounting software
- Has a built-in time tracker that allows you to record non-billable and billable hours
- Is feature-rich by default but still can be enhanced with third-party plugins
This software comes with a few drawbacks to consider:
- The bug reporting feature does not always work correctly and may not allow attaching screenshots
- Dashboard functionality is limited and does not allow inputting and exporting data easily
Zoho Projects is an effective tool that many teams may consider an alternative to Jira.
Asana
From a certain perspective, Asana is an advanced to-do list. It allows you to create large tasks and break them down into sub-sections that are easy to communicate over.
Here’s the list of reasons to choose Asana:
- Can easily integrate with third-party extensions
- A handy Gantt-style view for task scheduling
- Has decent functionality even in the free version
This software comes with a few drawbacks to consider:
- Does not have a built-in time tracker
- Does not support assigning a task to multiple team members
Some teams may find Asana to be even more convenient than Trello for their small to medium-sized projects.
Wrike
Wrike is a management tool that can be adjusted to suit both small and large-scale projects perfectly.
Here’s the list of reasons to choose Wrike:
- Supports assigning tasks to multiple projects at once
- Includes customizable templates
- Offers advanced analytic and workflow automation tools
- Has a built-in time tracker.
This software comes with a few drawbacks to consider:
- Is overwhelming for new users and may complicate onboarding
- Performance speed leaves much to be desired
- Lacks task prioritization settings.
Wrike is positioned as an excellent choice for mixed teams that contribute to complex projects.
Which Project Management Product to Opt For?
In essence, the choice of a PMS heavily depends on the type of projects your team is working on. Jira is one of the most popular options due to its versatility and suitability for various tasks. However, other options can compete with Jira in the number and nature of the provided features.
Whichever tool you choose, it can greatly streamline your team’s workflow and increase overall productivity.
