Top 5 project management tools rated highly by project managers in 2022

Project management has always been the most challenging position; decision-making is not easy when it affects the masses, so you need all the help you can get to make things ease. Over the years, software developers have developed multiple tools to assist and automate project management to eliminate time loss in workflow management.

All these solutions and software have certain limitations, one might be the best fit for one organization, but a complete nightmare for the other. To evaluate some of these tools and discuss project management in general, I have drafted this blog based on the experience and understanding I developed by studying the practices of some top organizations around the globe.

Simply put, project management methodology is a way to extract optimum results through a set of principles, processes, and practices, which are injected into the workflow.

Over 5000 project management methodologies are currently in existence since every organization tweaked some features of a parent methodology and developed a new one. This left project managers in agony to selecting from tons of project management methodologies,

But this is where my experience with these tools comes in handy; let me share the mantra of selecting from the pool of project management tools.

Deciding factors while determining the project management software:

Think thoroughly before jumping into the smorgasbord to pick one for your organization, there can be several deciding factors, but I have listed five deciding factors while selecting a methodology.

Financial aspect:

Most of these tools are paid, depending on the number of users and features you desire to unlock. After studying the complete details of the project and allocated budget, you need to decide on the software you want to go for.

You also have to forecast the scope of going beyond the expected expense, like suddenly there is an increase in the number of users, so be prepared and keep an emergency budget for that as well.

Features Required:

The first thing you need to ask yourself is – what exactly are you looking for?

All the tools have a defined objective, which must align with your goals; do you need regressive automation, or you will handle things manually as well, you need client reporting to be part of the tool, or you will do it separately; you have to set the reminders or not.

These are the questions that must be answered, before going for the hunt. “Regret is the result of an unthoughtful act” so you write all the needs of your project, even the tiniest ones, to draft an effective workflow.

Team hierarchy and size:

The size of your team is also imperative while deciding on a tool; you also need to have a defined hierarchy system to recognize the authority that will be allowed to each individual.

List down the number of users to allocate access to the software and list them into groups. Each group will be assigned access based on their role in the project.

The number of groups and roles will also determine which software is more effective for the project.

Process of assigning and defining timelines:

As a project manager, you shouldn’t try to implement a process that goes against all the previous practices; you will encounter reluctance.

Intentionally or non-intentionally, every organization follows a workflow, so to induce a new tool, you must study the existing practices and suggest something similar.

Looking for a tool that will help define timelines and can easily exhibit the status of tasks is old school now organizations look for project management tools that offer a non-complex, easy-to-comprehend reporting system.

You don’t want designers to invest their time figuring out where to upload artworks and look for feedback rather than making designs.

Involvement of non-team members:

Will you be reporting to all the stakeholders through the software? – if yes, you need to see If the software allows a reporting solution.

You don’t need all the stakeholders to be able to make edits; most of them only want to know the progress regardless of who is doing what.

But this must be defined and communicated before selecting the software.

Make notes, compare the needs with the software features, and when you find the best fit, make sure to take the test drive; The software is not the elder wand that will select you, and you are not a harry potter either, so put the right amount of research before finalizing a software.

Prominent Project Management Methodologies:

When there is an existing process, you tend to study it and work accordingly, rather than wasting time figuring out ways to accomplish the desired results. The project management methodologies helped professionalize the workflow and thus define processes.

Let’s discuss five widely followed methodologies, proven to be the most reliable.

Waterfall Methodology:

As evident from the name, it’s more of a one-way process that only emphasizes moving forward sequentially, jumping on to the next stage after completion of one. It works best if you have clear objectives and defined goals, which won’t be changed, in the course of the project.

Agile Methodology:

After continuous failures out of the linear approach, developers found and drafted a methodology that eliminates all the concerns of the waterfall methodology.

Agile methodology is more collaborative, eliminates the margin of error due to continuous evaluation, all the stakeholders have a proper update about the project, and feedback can be incorporated in real-time.

The methodology further made way for more sub-frameworks like kandan and scrum. As part of the Agile framework, tasks are divided into small phases, which include continuous testing evaluation assessment before moving to the next phase.

Scrum Methodology:

The framework emphasizes more on teamwork, as the term also came from a team sport, rugby, where the formation of players to restart the play is called scrum.

Designed to ensure accountability, and carry iterative progress towards a defined goal, scrum is a brainchild of agile methodology, also known as agile scrum methodology.

The tasks are divided into cycles named sprints, and there is a defined deadline for each sprint; each sprint has its brief and deliverables.

Kandan Methodology:

Kandan methodology is also a brainchild of the agile framework, where the visual representation of tasks is visible on the kandan board. In this framework, stages are defined in columns, and there is always a backlog from which individuals can pick their tasks based on priority and availability of time

Scrumban Methodology:

Scrumban framework is the combination of kandan and scrum methodology. It helps teams save time, and the efforts they invest in deciding the next task after the completion of the previous, a backlog of tasks is formed just like in the Scrum framework, and scrumban allows the team to pick tasks as per the capacity of the team like it is in kandan methodology.

Why do most organizations prefer to go for agile project management methodology?

Easy – Reliable – Lesser margin of error – time-effective.

Project management no days is more about extracting more work using fewer resources and engaging them for a lesser amount of time with keeping complete track of each task.

And to allow project managers to attain this goal different automation is being introduced in agile methodology to help streamline the processes so that teams could give more time to their tasks.

Agile methodology played a crucial role in;

List Of Top Rated Agile Management Tools

There are tons of project management tools to pick from but based on the reviews and experience of top organizations I am listing 05 of the most useful agile management tools.

Monday.com

Monday.com work OS is where you can shape your workstation as desired and feasible. Organizations have the liberty to improve the processes the way it feels feasible.