Project management (PM) can be applied to nearly any industry where a project is involved. While PM has its roots in the construction and engineering industries, PM practices and principles can be applied to everything from baking lasagna to shooting a Hollywood blockbuster (both the lasagna and movie would probably turn out great).
Project management software has been around for as long as the computer has, but in the past two decades or so they have become profoundly sophisticated and there are countless vendors at your fingertips.
Cloud PM software like Easy Projects truly shines in highly technical industries such as IT, where multiple tasks requiring rigid organization and attention to detail are necessary for company success. The IT sector is also notoriously plagued by projects running over-budget and past deadline.
You have probably come here for one of those reasons:
- You are interested in implementing cloud PM software in your company for the first time
- Your IT department is unsatisfied with your current PM software provider
- You are currently satisfied, but a colleague recommended that you check out Easy Projects
Whatever the reason, trust us, it was kismet – your destiny to discover how Easy Projects can improve PM for your IT department. Today we are going to show you three ways that Easy Projects makes IT projects organized, faster to complete, and thus a more competitive force to be reckoned with.
Global access for all IT team members
IT is the single most outsourced business sector, accounting for 60% of all globally outsourced jobs. Even if your company is a law firm, you need an IT team in the digital age to make sure things run smoothly and quickly, and need a project manager to make that happen.
No matter what time zone your company is located in, it is more than likely that you have IT professionals working for you in India, China, or even across several global locations. Whatever the case may be, Easy Projects makes communication between IT team members and managers a breeze.
In the cloud, project managers have seamless communication and supervision while managing the IT team, regardless of where or when they are. Easy Projects provides a centralized location for all task monitoring/assignment and communication, even if your IT team is decentralized.
Email? Shmemail!
While email is still used for basic digital messaging, it is far too messy for rapid-fire task management. If you have an IT department of, say, 20 people working on 10 different tasks for two clients, email is going to be one heck of a headache for everyone! As tasks are assigned, questions arise, changes in direction happen, etc., inboxes will flood and, inevitably, information will be lost. As seen, below, the time spent on email also costs companies lots of $$$.
(source: atlassian.com)
For managing complex IT projects, Easy Projects provides our custom messaging service built into the software itself. The tagging system for intra-project communication streamlines the communication process. No need to CC task members and track them in your inbox, and no need to volley between email and PM windows – it?s all there in Easy Projects.
If you do however need to use email, for client communication for instance, it can be seamlessly integrated with Easy Projects.
Unparalleled time management abilities
IT projects are complex by nature. You may have teams working on coding, design, troubleshooting, and checking platform compatibility. Across multiple tasks, you need to assign timelines and monitor team progress effectively to ensure your IT project is delivered on schedule.
Time management has never been easier than with Easy Projects. The following features are designed for IT PMs to take advantage of:
- Resource loading reports and simulations
- Interactive Gantt charts
- Project calendar
- Alerts/notifications
For example, let?s get into the Gantt charts and resource loading:
Across complex projects, the manager assigns the tasks and subtasks (which are unlimited in Easy Projects, by the way) and expected task completion dates. Using our interactive Gantt chart, the manager has access to everyone?s timelines and progress in one place. In many cases, IT projects are cross-dependent on team members so if one person falls behind it impacts the entire success of the project. If someone is lagging, it?s conspicuous for the manager to note and take steps to remedy the situation.
Speaking of remedying, Easy Projects? resource loading helps IT project managers do just that, and swiftly. The loading reports monitor not only physical resources, but how much each teammate has on their plate (or not). Using our unique loading simulation feature, the manager can, without delay, find out who is free in the IT department to lend their services to a struggling person.
Both are not only helpful for solving short-term complications, but also planning long-term future projects, and tracking who completes which tasks at which rates. Once informed on the company?s future project, your manager can ask who will be available to work on what, when, and what their specializations are. This saves enormous time on project planning and all but erases the downtime between projects after each one is completed and the next begins.
Made by IT for IT
Easy Projects can be used for managing projects in any industry, but we live and breathe IT. Every feature of our software was designed for IT projects being completed with quality assurance, speed, and ease in mind.
The three ways we discussed above are just a part of the plethora of features at an IT PM?s disposal when using Easy Projects. Whether you are a seasoned member of the IT industry, or if you are a startup looking for your first PM software, we provide full training and customer support gratis until our clients are entirely comfortable running the ship on their own. The Easy Projects team has been where you are, knows what it?s like, and wants your IT projects to be as painless as possible.
If you want to know even more about why our software is perfect for your IT projects, drop us a line anytime.