Table of contents
- Importance of online project management platforms
- Benefits of project management software
- The Teamwork approach
- The Asana approach
- Ready to decide?
When companies advised their employees to work from home as the world grappled with the pandemic, millions of first-time remote workers have only vague ideas of what it meant. As a result, teams worked on different schedules, coordination became difficult, and projects missed their deadlines. However, companies that were already using online project management platforms like Teamwork or Asana were able to adjust quickly and transition to the new normal business hours more smoothly.
Importance of online project management platforms
Online project management software are cloud-based productivity platforms that are highly accessible to remote teams. They provide a virtual workspace so individuals who are separated by distance and time zones but need to work together can communicate and collaborate securely for work and business continuity. This Teamwork vs. Asana article compares similar features, unique approaches, and different tools to help you choose the right project management software.
Benefits of project management software
Remote teams face new challenges in managing their own schedule, separating personal and professional hours, and battling distractions. But with the help of team project management software, they have a centralized digital workspace that promotes structure and supports focus for important goals, tasks, and schedules. Online project management software provides key work management benefits that include:
- Regular tracking of project performance
- Direct communications to team members and other stakeholders
- Safe storage and easy access to project documents and other files
- Organized discussion and collaboration with clear context to tasks and dates
- Visibility of project progress and current status
- Transparency of project goals, milestones, deadlines, and issues
Read also: Top Remote Working Software and Tools for 2021
The Teamwork approach
Teamwork is an online work and project management software that is simple to use, includes modern features, and is scalable to a variety of project sizes and complexities. Teams use it for project management, professional services, product management, marketing campaigns, and client work management. The project management platform lets users easily add other Teamwork tools such as helpdesk, chat, CRM, and document management as well as third-party applications.
Task management
Teamwork has robust task management features that let you break down the project plan into smaller, more manageable tasks and sub-tasks. You can assign tasks to one or multiple team members, add due dates, and view its progress with different perspectives using task lists, Gantt charts, or Kanban boards. You can easily visualize task progress with a Kanban board to map out the workflow and automate the process. Customize the view, track tasks at every important stage, and use triggers to automate task assignment or completion marking.
Gantt chart
Teamwork lets you create a Gantt chart so you can keep your projects on track. The Gantt chart provides at-a-glance information of a project breakdown, important dates, and responsible persons. A visual representation of the project timeline shows the order and dependencies of tasks. The interactive chart has a drag-and-drop interface for easy updating of tasks and schedules. Share the chart to all stakeholders and keep them informed with notifications and at-mentions.
Read also: What is a Gantt Chart?
Workload
Delivering projects successfully depends very much on the project team’s ability to complete the tasks. You can manage and optimize team resources with Teamwork’s Workload feature. Get a quick overview of each team member’s capacity in real-time with the option to drill down for details. Manage and level out resources to avoid overload. The software lets you reassign tasks quickly to avoid bottlenecks or re-prioritize tasks to help the team work at an optimum pace. The Workload feature provides you with team insights to help you make better business decisions.
The Asana approach
Asana is a cloud-based work and project management software for all types of teams. Companies in a wide range of industries use the software for their project teams, product teams, sales and marketing, customer service, and IT operations. It supports different methodologies, whether working with sequential approaches for process-based improvements or iterative practices for launching new products to market. The software provides different views for progress tracking, customizable workflows, rules-based automations, and integrations to popular apps.
Goals
Asana includes a Goals feature to help teams connect goals to actual work and track progress clearly. Project managers can guide team members easily towards the goal while members can work on the right tasks that bring the project nearer to the goals. The software lets you breakdown large goals into sub-goals and further to supporting projects and tasks. The visibility helps the team make better decisions and improve efficiency.
Timeline
Asana provides users a Timeline tool, which is their version of a Gantt chart. It is an interactive chart that lets you connect tasks and deadlines with a bar graph against a horizontal timeline. Adjust the bar graphs with click and drag to make quick changes. You will not find a list, but the Timeline also include assignee information, dependencies, and color-coded bar graphs that show due date and date ranges. Re-schedule tasks in bulk, zoom in on the Timeline according to days, weeks, months, quarters, half-years, or years, or share it with a link.
Read also: Top Asana Alternatives
Workload
You can make sure your team has the resources for the tasks at hand with Workload. Asana shows you individual team member capacity with a line graph that indicates workload in real time. You can drill down to see details, and color-coded graph helps show easily who needs help and who can take more work. This feature will let you reassign tasks and re-balance overall project team capacity with a simple drag-and-drop interface. Estimate efforts by task count, hours, or points.
Ready to decide?
Both Teamwork and Asana are applicable to businesses of all sizes. They both offer a free plan for a small number of users. Both have Portfolio management features for managing groups of projects and native mobile apps for project management on-the-go.
Teamwork is ideal for client-based project management with its built-in time tracking, robust task management, and workload feature so you can better understand how and where your team is spending time and make sure you meet your schedules and account for efforts with accurate billing.
Asana is a team project management software with made-for-enterprise features such as portfolios, goals, divisions, timelines, and sections for better organization, goal-setting, and administration. It works with a greater number of integration for greater end-to-end workflow management.
