The specialized software used to manage teams and projects helps enhance collaboration, bolster the coordination of work, and boost team productivity and work quality. Team management software has quickly become a critical tool in the workplace to help organizations achieve their business goals.
Team Project Management Software – Top Picks
The team at Project-Management.com has reviewed several of the top team project management platforms and compiled a list of our top picks. Each of the companies listed below have passed our rigorous vetting process. A summary of their features are listed and you can click through to their individual websites for further details.
{{ TITLE }}
What Is Team Management Software?
Team management software is a category of application which provides an organization with a centralized view of project-related tasks, employee activities, collaborative discussions, and necessary files. The goal of these programs is to make the management of both a project, and the team working on the project, simple and concise.
What Does Team Management Software Do?
The range of features provided by team management software varies from vendor to vendor. The most basic, and often free, programs provide a place to track projects, prioritize individual and group tasks, and store assets and documents related to the project. These features are often paired with cloud storage utilities so team members in multiple offices (or remote workers) can be more easily accommodated.
More robust platforms, often for larger teams and projects, will include additional feature like enhanced reporting and data visualizations, third-party software integrations, greater data security, budget management tools, and more.
Are Team Management Software and Project Management Software The Same?
No. While related, these two categories of software are different. Team management software was first developed as an extension of project management software. While the tools are similar, most team management software includes features specifically designed to help managers understand their available resources as well as the current state of multiple projects. Additional tools such as time tracking, budgeting, file sharing, and task scheduling often set team management software apart from similar products.
What Features Are Available?
Team management software covers many different features that may also be found in other software. Check to see that your preferred team management app has all the right features with this list of essential tools.
- Task Scheduling – Built-in task scheduling gives teams control over who completes which tasks, when those tasks are completed, and what priority those tasks take. These task management features are a major part of any project management tool, but with team management tools, you will often see these features with an integrated calendar to ensure the timely completion of tasks within the context of other priorities and projects.
- Time Tracking – For a manager to accurately understand their team’s resources, they need to be able to budget their time well. Time tracking tools in team management software provide insight into the amount of time each team member spends on a project, the number of billable hours that can be charged to a client, and where the team might need additional resources in order to complete the project on time. Robust team management software might also connect time tracking to billing and invoicing tools, either as integrated features or via an API connection.
- Communication – Accurate and timely communication is the hallmark of any team management software. Whether through integrated messaging systems or power video conferencing tools, many of the best team management programs boast powerful communication utilities.
- File Sharing – An efficient and organized team should be able to access all project-critical assets as needed regardless of time of day or location. Team management software lets users store vital documents and files in a shared folder or separated by projects. When reviewing this feature, look for tools allowing varied access levels for different team members so the right people have access to the right files.
- Budgeting – Quality team management software will help you coordinate client-based work, which often requires a robust budgeting tool to ensure that resources are invested correctly. Budgeting features will allow your team to set overall, departmental, and project-specific budgets. They can also include work order, invoicing, and payments tools, although you may need to connect to your accounting software in order to take full advantage of these features.
- Reporting – “What gets measured gets managed” and this idiom means even more where reporting is concerned. Businesses today depend on data, and easily accessible and publishable reports are vital to productive team management. The best team management software incorporates prominent reporting dashboards with customizable views and the option to publish these dashboards to stakeholders. Alternatively, if the tool does not include built-in data reporting, look for one which allows data exports to business intelligence tools or .CSV files that can be used to transfer data into another program for further analysis.
- Project Management Features – As mentioned earlier, team management software and project management software are closely related. As such, many team management systems have project management features built-in. This will help you assign and organize tasks, visualize due dates across projects, automate approvals, and understand resource allocation throughout the life of your projects.
Best Team Management App for Projects
It can be challenging for companies today to choose the right team management app from numerous solution providers. The following is a selection of the best productivity, team communication, task management, and project management software with built-in team management feature.
Wrike
Wrike is project management software that allows users to customize the tool to match their business needs. It provides real-time team collaboration through commenting, notifications, live editing, dashboards, and reports. This allows quick sharing of project information to all team members and stakeholders. As an integrated project management tool, it provides visibility from start to finish to help teams plan, track, anticipate, and act accordingly.
Wrike team management software helps streamline workflows across departments and organizations. It provides a unified workspace or central hub for collaboration. Users can easily organize tasks, share files, and give instant feedback. Shared team calendars and Kanban boards simplify schedule management and team monitoring. Other features are visual proofing, @mentions, time tracking, and security standards compliance.
Pros
- Task management
- Team scheduling and monitoring
- External collaboration
Cons
- Needs additional visualization tools
- Users wish for a more streamlined UI for navigation and other activities
monday.com
monday.com enables teams to create online applications for their specific workflows. Teams in advertising, IT, software development, or marketing can customize the software using flexible tables and other highly visual components to build a solution for their project management, team management, task management, or CRM needs.
monday.com includes team management app features for organizing tasks, tracking project progress, and simplifying collaboration. A timeline feature allows the project manager to plan which team member will be responsible for particular tasks. Task tracking and automated reminders ensure on-time completion. The software also has time tracking, dashboards, reports, templates, and mobile apps.
Pros
- Task management and prioritization
- Project management and tracking
- Intuitive and customizable UI
Cons
- Users worry of feature bloat and corresponding price increase
- Needs improvement in automation capabilities
Asana
Asana work and team management software enables users to easily manage projects and tasks for a wide range of workflows and use cases. Users can plan, track, and manage team projects from start to finish using a single application. A marketing team can create and launch campaigns, a creative team can design and review seamlessly, and a remote team can collaborate and finalize work from anywhere.
Asana includes tools to collaborate, communicate, and rebalance team workload as needed. Multiple work views include timeline, board, and and also a workload view that provides a real-time overview of how busy team members are across projects. Other features include task comments, task update followers, visual status indicators, private messaging, project conversations, and team announcements.
Pros
- Integrated team workload management
- Project collaboration
- Free plan for a small team
Cons
- Subtask assignment needs improvement
- Workload, customization, and other powerful views in higher business plan
Smartsheet
Smartsheet project management software provides workspace collaboration for a various teams, organizations, and industries. Teams can plan projects and automate workflows for on-time and on-budget project delivery. The software enables teams to improve efficiency and customer experiences, streamline operations for increased business resiliency, or help optimize resources and reduce organization overhead.
Smartsheet includes features that enables leaders to share the vision to their team members as well as help them perform and execute the vision. It has multiple work views including a Gantt chart and calendar for shared project plan and schedule, a card view for task management and tracking, dashboards and dynamic reports. The software also includes file attachment, content collaboration, conversations, document generation, and mobile app to help teams connect and communicate.
Pros
- Task management
- Team schedule planning
- Multi-platform and device access
Cons
- Most sheet, report, and dashboard features are in the higher plans
- Users wish for file attachment preview capability
Zoho Workplace
Zoho Workplace provides a unified team communication and business productivity platform. It provides a central place where users quickly understand the context of any business information to make the right decision and do the necessary action. Information from any department in the organization or from any team member regardless of location is accessible and tracked to ensure continuity.
Zoho Workplace includes apps for email, file management, spreadsheet, word processor, and presentation for office productivity. It also has built-in chat, social intranet, and online meeting to support real-time team collaboration and communication. Users can store on the cloud and share files with others. It also comes with an email suite with tag, calendar, task management, notes, bookmarks and contacts.
Pros
- Team communication
- Real-time collaboration and editing
- All-in-one productivity tool
Cons
- Zoho Projects is not included in Workplace
- Users wish for additional controls in tracking changes
Jira
Jira Work Management, formerly known as Jira Core, is a friendly and intuitive team management app for all business teams, not only for technical teams. It enables teams in marketing, HR, and finance to connect with their IT and software development teams and work together within a digital platform.
Jira provides users multiple work views like list view with in-line editing, calendar view to add time context to work, timeline view that highlights connections and dependencies, board view that shows a task list according to workflow, and forms view for easy coordination of requirements. It also has templates, reports, dashboards, and automation.
Pros
- Support for multiple project management methodologies
- Task creation and assignment
- Powerful search tool
Cons
- Limited customization of status
- Missing Roadmap view available in Jira
Types of Team Management Software
Team management software is any system, tool, or feature that provides an organization a shared view of a group and its members’ activities, tasks, files, and discussions. Today, team management is a functionality found in many solutions.
Cloud-Based Project Management Software
Online project management software functions as a project team management app. It provides a central workspace in the cloud where teams can plan projects, capture data, manage tasks, hold team conversations, and report on status, progress, and issues. It supports project management best practices of increased project transparency, including real-time team performance, capacity, and workload for efficient resource management and utilization.
Collaboration Software
Task and project management go more smoothly when teams can communicate as often as needed without any hassle. Collaboration software acts as a hub to allow teams to organize the workspace and customize the workflow to reach their common goals. It also provides the channels so teams can communicate in their preferred way, whether by chat, work comments, voice calls, or video conference. All these information are accessible and searchable at any time for reference.
Business Process Management Software
BPM software improves operational efficiency through custom automation of work processes. Since business processes belong to a department in an organization, the team responsible for that process also needs the tools for team management. As such, BPM tools come with team-friendly features such as a dedicated and shared workspace, task assignment and management, document collaboration, and team communication with automatic notifications across devices.
