How Task Management Software Adds Value

There's been a lot of noise recently about project collaboration software. With the growing geographic dispersal of the workforce being so successful, it's becoming increasingly important to get the right people, the right information. I know some of you may be dragging your feet a little bit, feeling that task management software is just another tool that no one will learn, but I want to change that.

Social task management software is an incredibly powerful tool. Not only is it easy to use, but also the benefits of use are quickly and easily identified. For those a little skeptical, I want to outline and share several key benefits of social task management software with you.

Easy to learn and to use

One of the largest problems with getting value out of a tool like this is getting employees to use it. Normally when new software is introduced there's that large sigh by everyone as it usually means added work and effort learning how to use it. Those who put the time in to learn it are annoyed because well, it's more work, and then there are those who never even attempt to try it. This is where most tools fail. With this next generation of task management software, it has finally overcome the impossible: they are actually easy to use! Wonder why so many of these tools have activity streams? Well with over 900 million users, it's safe to assume that almost everyone is familiar with Facebook's news stream. The combination of pulling elements from other widely-used tools and investing in solid user interface has made these tools easy to learn and to use.

Synchronization of Project Tasks

We all know that most projects are broken down into multiple subtasks that are assigned to various team members. It's essential to synchronize all these tasks if you want to complete the work in the allotted time. With task management tools, subtasks are inputted, dependencies are outlined and progress on the tasks are indicated. This way, even in the absence of a manager, individuals working on a project can check the status of tasks via the software and co-ordinate with each other to troubleshoot possible problems that may arise.

Accessible Anytime, Anywhere

Most social task management software are cloud-based solutions, allowing users to access them anytime, anywhere. Every project team member can access and update task status, ask questions and offer feedback while working remote or while on the road. One of the largest benefits of tools like this is that there are no time related constraints. Members are able to update project tasks around the clock. All of the information of their progress, questions and accomplishments are recorded, allowing other users to login and instantly have an understanding of where everyone is with their tasks, which is great if your team spans multiple time zones.

What you need to know, when you need to know it

One of the problems with the traditional way of managing tasks is information overload. Long email strings are inevitably created as team members ask questions and managers ask for status updates. We're already having a tough enough time managing all of the information thrown at us daily, so why add this on top as well? Social project management tools greatly help in managing the volume of information that projects typically create. For starters, only members working on the projects can access that project's data. Because of features like activity streams, and progress update indicators, emails are not needed to keep track of what each team member is doing.

In this super competitive era, getting the right information to the right people can be the difference in project success and failure. So give social task management tools a try and I promise you won't regret it.