Project-Management.com’s Top 3 Software Recommendations
Here’s a brief checklist of what could be included in the project handover plan:
- Identifying and managing key stakeholders including the group who will receive the handover
- A clear date for handover of the project
- A communication plan that starts early in the life of the project and includes the target group
- Change management issues and how they will be handled
- Getting the target group involved as early as possible including someone being on the project team who also acts as a change agent
- Developing appropriate training for this group or ensuring it is included in the handover plan
- Clear risk management
- Having clear roles for the recipients in the department taking on the new work: e.g. it may not be your responsibility for organizing the training, it could be their responsibility
Your project handover checklist will no doubt be different having more project specific items. It does however reflect the need to develop a plan that works for your project and for the group taking on this new piece of work.
Some Project Managers may take a different approach: They see handover as one of the stages of the project, and have someone manage that particular aspect. They involve stakeholders and staff from the appropriate areas. In this case, the stage is seen as part of the overall project.
So next time you are working on a project; is a handover plan appropriate? If yes, have you taken key stakeholders along with you and are you managing all the change management requirements?
Project Hand-over Essentials
For each project you are about to hand over, make sure you cover the following things for the new PM.
- get the project charter if you have one or collect the project initiation documentation
- gather all business case information
- collect the documents involved in the initial offer, make sure to indicate clearly which one is the signed copy (important in order to understand initial, often commercial expectations)
- gather all change requests (amount, description and timing for each instance), this can be short but the key is to make a complete list
- write down what the roles are at the client’s office (who’s the sponsor, who will check the quality of the deliverable, etc.) if you have a RACI chart this can help
- list your contacts and their coordinates, write down how frequently you communicate with them and what topics to cover
- introduce the new PM to the client (very important if you are the single point of contact)
- introduce the new PM to the delivery team(s)
- suggest next steps for the new PM
Project Management Tools
A project handover is just one thing that can be developed using project management software. These tools help managers schedule tasks and distribute work among team members effectively. They provide integrations with other applications and allow teams to collaborate efficiently. Below are listed ten of the best project management tools.
1 Wrike
Wrike is the most powerful work management platform on the market, enabling teams to plan projects and collaborate in real time. Our award-winning software is trusted by 20,000+ companies across the globe, including Sony, Estée Lauder, and Siemens.
Wrike’s customizable features include Gantt charts, request forms, dashboards, cross-tagging, time tracking, and proofing. Integrate with 400+ apps from the likes of Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce. Automate repetitive tasks and achieve 50% faster planning. Work from anywhere with 100% access to your files via our mobile and desktop apps.
Whether you’re a small startup or an established brand, Wrike has the solution for you. Paid plans start at $9.80/user/month. Join our community of 2.3 million — start your free two-week trial today.
2 ClickUp
ClickUp is one of the highest-rated project management tools today. Use Docs, Reminders, Goals, Calendars, Chat, scheduling, assigned comments, custom views, & more with this all-in-one project management tool.
Used by 800,000+ teams in companies like Airbnb, Google, and Uber, it brings all of your projects into a single app! Built for teams of all sizes and industries, Our fully customizable & proprietary features make it a must-have for anyone wanting to keep project management in one place.
3 monday.com
monday.com Work OS is an award-winning no-code work management platform that helps teams manage projects and workflows more efficiently.
Used by 152,000+ customers worldwide, this fully customizable software lets you plan, manage, and track every project in one place. monday.com offers time-saving and easy-to-use features such as automations, time tracking, document sharing, and real-time collaboration. Multiple board views such as Gantt and Kanban help you structure and navigate tasks and projects the way you prefer, and dashboards give a high-level overview of your progress.
In addition, integrations with apps such as Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Gmail, and Excel, allow you to easily continue working with your favorite tools from within the platform. monday.com also offers dedicated solutions, such as monday dev and monday sales CRM, designed to answer the needs of specific industries.
4 Smartsheet
Smartsheet is a leading work execution platform that has real-time work management features, collaboration and automation tools. Users are presented with a familiar and easy-to-use spreadsheet-like interface. However, it has enterprise-grade capabilities that even Fortune 500 companies like Cisco, Bayer, HP, and PayPal are confident to adopt in their business. Strong project management features enable teams to utilize different views of real-time data, and switch easily from Gantt, card, grid and calendar views. Smartsheet has automatic update requests, and can be used for waterfall and agile projects, product launch, sprint planning, and more. The resource management feature provides users the visibility who is busy, and who is not, in real-time. They can also attach files, share sheets, get notified, view the activity log, export, email, and print.
5 Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects is an online project management application that helps its users to plan projects, collaborate with employees and clients, keep track of time, manage documents, and generate charts and reports. Users work on a central platform where they can keep track of progress, discuss ideas, communicate easily and stay updated. It is cloud-based and highly accessible, where user data is kept safe with stringent security systems. The software is also scalable depending on the number of projects, with the option to add more features. Zoho Projects is a cloud-based project management tool that helps you plan your work, track it efficiently, and collaborate with your team wherever they are.
6 Resource Guru
Resource Guru is the fast, flexible way to schedule teams and keep projects on track. Get full visibility of who’s available and who’s overworked, so people and projects succeed in harmony. Assign work, balance workloads, and edit schedules in seconds. Keep your team up-to-date with personal dashboards and daily schedule emails. Analyze utilization rates, clients, and projects for more accurate forecasts and budgets. Trusted by companies including NASA and L’Oreal. Try it free for 30 days!
7 Xebrio
Xebrio is a SaaS-based project management software covering every phase of project development, from requirements to releases, all under one roof. Xebrio helps teams achieve maximum productivity by enabling precise and comprehensive requirement analysis and tracking, milestone tracking, hassle-free collaboration and task assignment, issue tracking, and much more, ensuring that your team never misses a deadline and works efficiently.
It is a project management software that allows you to get a clear picture of product requirements and user stories, will enable you to include all stakeholders in high-level planning, lets you manage and assign tasks quickly, communicate and collaborate effortlessly, track issues, plan sprints, and releases and keep a close eye on the time and budget constraints too.
