The ability to strike the perfect balance between team productivity and project management is critical to the success of any project. Due to the outbreak of Covid-19, most businesses have shifted their work and teams online, adopting the now famous “home office”. However, with this shift undoubtedly comes a string of different challenges that must be overcome by both management and team members alike. This is where project management software comes into play. While the use of such software is by no means a new phenomenon, the pandemic’s global spread has certainly highlighted its usefulness and necessity. Yet, the pandemic has been a useful case study to assess the viability of PM software in remote working environments. Not only must this software accommodate a wide range of different project teams and their needs, but it must also ensure that working remotely is not a hindrance to both project development and team communication.
As such, it is important to delve into the importance of PM software, especially when adopted as a remote working tool.
What is project management software?
Project management (PM) software is intended to facilitate the workflow of a team working on the same project. When successfully adopted and integrated, it can be a powerful tool for making remote work more manageable.
In the traditional sense, project management software assists project managers in managing and tracking their projects, as well as ensuring that their entire team is on the same page throughout the life cycle of a project.
PM software is applicable for both small start-up teams and large organizational teams working at various levels. It also supports any project management system, including Scrum and Agile methodologies. The software can perform a variety of functions depending on the needs of the project team. The ability to assign and reassign tasks, easily track deadlines and project progress, and manage everything (from the project to the team itself) from a central location are usually the most basic requirements.
Any business can use project management software to link specific tasks to specific projects. By connecting these tasks, the software facilitates the creation of timelines, productivity analysis, and communication among team members.
There’s also a clear distinction between project management software and task management software. Task management, unlike project management, is not all-encompassing during project development. Instead, it operates on a smaller scale, dividing components within the same project, outlining individual efforts, enabling self-management, and assigning deadlines.
What are the benefits of using project management software for remote teams?
For a remote project team to be successful, a few requirements must be met. While many are very similar to the needs of in-house project teams, there are some that are easily overlooked, especially if you are new to the world of remote work.
Some obvious parallels between in-house and remote work requirements include clear data tracking and transparent goals. However, aspects such as cyber-security, centralized workflows, and file access and sharing are critical to project development but are not always prioritized when work is done remotely. As a result, project management software is a critical component in establishing a productive, connected, and safe remote work environment. Because of the variety of productivity tools housed under one roof, it does an excellent job of instilling a productive environment. Not only does this improve decision-making, but it can also increase overall project productivity and inclusivity.
Remote teams can also benefit from being cyber-secure when using PM software. While being safe online is always a must when using any type of digital platform or electronic appliance (except perhaps the toaster), PM software often does an excellent job of ensuring that your work is safe and remains your work. Zenkit, for example, uses two-factor authentication and secure servers hosted in Germany to ensure that all team and project data is always secure. Not only that, but Zenkit protects all data through compliance of the GDPR, another key security feature that has swept the digital world since its implementation in 2018.
What’s wrong with traditional PM software for remote teams?
A good project management tool is one that fits into the organization’s culture rather than the other way around. That being said, the primary goal of a good project management tool is to reduce friction and frustration during project collaboration.
When project management solutions first hit the market, they were designed to address very specific project management issues (organization, project planning, etc.). However, as time passed, it became clear that existing project management software couldn’t always cater to every project in development. After all, each project is unique and will have distinctive needs and requirements. This, combined with the growing popularity of remote work, meant that traditional project management software had to evolve quickly in order to keep up with the ever-changing demands of project development. As a result, developers attempted to make their product as appealing to every type of project and team as possible, resulting in the widespread development of “all-in-one” PM software solutions.
However, this is where the cracks begin to appear, as all-in-one solutions, while providing some great benefits such as accessibility, suffer from being too general, lacking in specialization, and not always being data secure (such as compliance with the GDPR). While all-in-one solutions can certainly be a viable option for smaller teams or even personal use, the flaws of the all-in-one solution become more apparent as the team grows and the project becomes more complex. After all, all-in-one solutions try to fill every project niche and can suffer from pushing project teams to bend to it rather than the other way around. As a result, the software may fail to adapt quickly enough to the project’s growing needs.
The most important thing to remember is that each organization has its own set of requirements. There is no ONE solution for project management.
How is the Zenkit Suite different from traditional PM software?
Perhaps the best place to begin is with “Who is Zenkit?” Zenkit is a platform that focuses on productivity and teamwork. It has spent the last six years developing its Suite, a collection of various project management applications housed under one roof (or rather under one data platform). The Suite, which is constantly expanding, covers everything from project and knowledge management to team chat and no-code web forms.
So, how does the Zenkit Suite differ from traditional project management software? Zenkit was created in response to “all-in-one” project management solutions. When investigating what PM software was made available for project teams both in-house and remote, the “one-size-fits-all” approach to project management was seen as a major flaw. As previously stated, most software solutions were simply incapable of meeting the demands of the projects Zenkit were managing nor were they data secure. On the other hand, some of Zenkit’s team members’ needs differed greatly from those of others yet were forced to complete their projects while using the same software as other teams or departments. When a more modular solution was established instead, it quickly became clear that other tools (often or not from other providers) were required to achieve peak performance. It was not only difficult to find tools for time tracking, reporting, team chats, and calendars, but there was also the added challenge of ensuring that everything could easily integrate with one another (and that team members could be trusted to learn how to use so many different tools effectively).
As a direct result, Zenkit developed the Zenkit Suite. The Suite is a collection of useful project management tools, sharing the same data platform and is completely GDPR compliant. This means that all your work from one Zenkit application is readily available in another, with no risk of data loss, corruption, or theft. As such, the Suite can meet the needs of various teams and departments while also keeping the entire company unified under one safe and secure PM software.
The true “pièce de résistance” was, without a doubt, Zenkit’s inclusion of switching project views. Zenkit pioneered the ability to view the same project across multiple “views” as a result of digital advancements. Gantt charts, Kanban boards, mind maps, tables, lists, and hierarchies are examples of such views. This simple yet innovative addition meant that projects were quickly and easily accessible for various team members and their individual needs.
The Suite is Zenkit’s way of righting the wrongs of current PM software. With its continued expansion, Zenkit hopes to achieve its goal of instilling project success and promoting peak productivity in teams and businesses alike.
How has Covid influenced the development of Zenkit’s goals?
While Zenkit’s overarching goal was to promote productivity and inspire successful project development, the outbreak of Covid-19 at the end of 2019 began to change the company’s perception of its project management software. The pandemic’s rapid spread and the resulting disruption to project development (particularly with the sudden displacement of project teams) compelled Zenkit to reconsider its approach to project management software. Suddenly, the company was faced with the challenge of developing software that not only kept teams truly connected (despite their geographical separation) and easily accessible, but also kept team members as engaged and productive as possible (even if their home office is a small corner in the bedroom).
Software was prioritized throughout the pandemic to meet these requirements. Zenchat was created as a solution to promote team communication over long distances. It not only improves team connectivity, but its built-in task development features also help to improve project productivity by allowing tasks to be easily created from team comments found in group chats or on specific projects.
Zenkit Projects is yet another shining example of how Covid’s challenges helped reshape Zenkit’s approach to PM software. Zenkit Projects was created to provide a clearer oversight and greater depth to all those involved in larger projects and project teams with multiple projects on the go. This not only increases productivity, but also adds transparency, accessibility, and tracking to all team projects. As such, remote working becomes more manageable. Literally.
How can companies get in touch with Zenkit?
You can contact our sales@zenkit.com directly or book a demo to learn more about the platform.
All the products in the Zenkit Suite are also free to use, so you can try Zenkit risk-free and explore all the features for yourself.
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