Work smarter, not harder with project management software
It's not unusual to feel the stress of managing a project. Big or small, a tough project can leave you emotionally (and maybe physically) scarred.
Was the last project harder to complete than it needed to be, or go over budget? Were you behind on timelines, or was team collaboration not as good as it could've been? Or did everything go great, but you can't figure out how to replicate the success?
Find out how project management software can help your team stay on top of a project from the start, through execution, to the wrap-up.
Start with HEART
Getting started is the most crucial step to a project. A good project kick-off ensures that everyone is bought in, understands the goals, and is ready to deliver. As a project manager, a great acronym to remember is HEART. See how "hearting" a project can help get your team started and move forward.
Hear
People want to be heard, not told. So before you jump into the project, put in the time to listen to your team's initial ideas and concerns. Project management software makes it easy for your team to share ideas and research, and collaborate.
Encourage
Not everyone on your team will jump into the fray with their ideas. Project managers should encourage participation and gather viewpoints from those that might feel intimidated or uninvested at the outset. Encourage conversation through inline comments within your task management software. Point out specific areas where you want your team's expertise and resolve comments after feedback.
Alert
Great project managers alert the team when there's a misalignment. If someone is missing critical information, is unclear of objectives, or has a blocker, use @mentions to let them know something needs their attention. Project management software is a great way to bring the right people in at the right time.
Record
A single source of truth for a project will save you (and everyone) time. Online project management tools, like Confluence allow you to record and organize all the important details of your project – meeting notes, product requirement docs, research, project scope, milestones, and everything in between.
Transition
Get your team up and running on the project as quickly as possible. Online task management solutions like Jira Core and Confluence allow you to assign tasks and transition easily to execution and tracking.
Using project management software for execution and tracking
Now that you've kicked off the project, it's time to start executing and tracking. Project management software lets you assign tasks and allows you and your team to stay on top of due dates and statuses. Although tasks are assigned to individuals, it takes a whole team to provide feedback and manage approvals. Use a project management tool like Jira Core to prevent delays and deliver projects on time.
How does Jira Core help track projects?
Managing projects and tasks in project management software starts with a workflow. Workflows define your process and enable your team to track tasks. Visualize your process so your team knows how projects and tasks are progressing. Here's an example of a workflow your team can follow in Jira Core.
1. To-do
Assign tasks that need to be completed.
2. In progress
The assignee has begun working on the task.
3. Under review
The task is almost completed and is waiting for approval.
4. Reject
If the task is not approved, it goes back to "in progress".
5. Done
Task is approved and complete.
Each task in Jira Core has all the relevant project and task details in one place including: which team member is working on it, collaborative comments and feedback and due dates. As a result, each team member has visibility on the entire project.
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Workflow management
Defined workflows let's everyone know the steps from to-do to done so that no tasks are left behind.
Task details
All the task information and feedback is tracked so that everyone knows what's going on.
With Jira Core dashboards, you can get a high level view of the whole project. Now, project managers can be armed with the tools they need to orchestrate the project and ensure that things get done on time. Project management software, like Jira Core, helps you make sure that the plans you make turn into tasks and projects that actually get done.
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Reporting
With information all in one place, teams can truly report on their project and task progress and ensure that nothing slips.
Integration
Confluence and Jira are designed to work together by adding the context of the project, which is housed in Confluence, and the status of the execution, which is in Jira Core.
Wrapping up your project
So you've started with HEART, and have executed and tracked your work and finally shipped your project. The hard part is done, but make sure to wrap everything up and store it in your project management software. By linking files, assets, and if appropriate, results, you ensure that everything is searchable and future teams will be able to find, and benefit, from your work.
Summary
When project management software is used properly, it can help you deliver your projects on-time with a minimum amount of emotional scars. We'll call that a win. Spend less time hunting things down and more time making things happen with Confluence and Jira Core.