Project Management Tools

Maven Link: https://start.mavenlink.com

Maven Link is a project management software that is able to integrate into numerous applications which makes it desirable off the bat. After all, project management poses enough challenges without worrying about integration being limited or inaccessible to the necessary tools needed to complete the project.

There are workspaces within the program that allow project members to coordinate and collaborate. This helps to diminish distractions via long email chains, as well as the need for an abundance of status report meetings. Project team members can simply access the tool and be up to date with what is yet needed, what is complete, and where the project is tracking in terms of completion, budget, and timeline. One example had group members sharing concerns via a message board and document sharing. This also helps diminish time in meetings because responses can be researched, thought out, and then shared to ensure everyone remains on the same page.

For me, this would be helpful for cross departmental projects where I’m working with more than just my small team. It would allow for greater collaboration, further updating, and a solid place to house all materials, tracking reports, etc. One challenge I often find is that necessary documents maybe be housed in several places and if I do not check each folder within Dropbox, the remote desktop, or other locations, that I may miss a key step or piece of information. Maven Link removes that by allowing the pertinent project information to be stored within the tool.

SmartSheet: https://www.smartsheet.com

SmartSheet is a tool that allows for templates and various tracking sheets to be housed in one location. This makes the information readily available across the team and ensures the pertinent information is relayed as it relates to these categories and areas-schedule, budget, task hierarchies, tasks, and the use of some custom reporting as well. In addition, it integrates with a number of common tools that most companies use. SmartSheet also allows for collaboration within the tool lending to communication again being housed in one centralized location rather than a string of emails, conversations, or separate documents. This streamlines the process to ensure communication is clear and concise as well as related directly to the project.

This tool would also be a great tool to use for project management that is both interdepartment as well as cross departmental. I like the use of custom fields and templates to ensure the categories would fit what I would need as opposed to being static and unchanging which could lead to some confusion later on.