In this presentation, you’ll learn about the essential features small businesses should look for in a project management tool.

1. 1
The Essential
Project Management
Features Your
Small Business
Needs

2. 2
Introduction
In this presentation, you’ll learn about the essential features small businesses should look for
in a project management tool.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
● Essential-for-All Features: These are key and indispensable functionalities that every business needs.
○ Task management
○ Collaboration
○ Project planning
● Essential-for-Some Features: These functionalities become important based on your business type or size.
○ Bug/issue tracking
○ Document management
○ Time tracking

3. 3
Essential-for-All Feature: Task Management
● Basic, must-have
functionality.
● Helps to create, assign and
track tasks.
● Improves employee
productivity.
● Real-time updates of task
status is a critical
requirement.
● Task management offers
this and more—a major
upgrade over commonly
used spreadsheets.
Business Value to SMBs
● For simple task
organization, use a tool
such as Wunderlist.
● For advanced tools, check
out our Buyer’s Guide.
Our RecommendationWhat Is Task Management?

4. 4
Essential-for-All Feature: Collaboration
● Critical functionality for
project success.
● Promotes business-wide
collaboration.
● Features include internal
chat, messaging boards etc.
● Facilitates the adaptability
and creative capacities of
employees.
● Members are able to
communicate effectively
and overcome challenges to
a project.
Business Value to SMBs
● A real-time messaging tool,
such as Slack, should be
used for immediate
communication.
● For less urgent
communication, a simple
email can suffice.
Our RecommendationWhat Is Collaboration?

5. 5
Essential-for-All Feature: Project Planning
● Helps schedule tasks.
● Used for setting task
timelines.
● Effective for estimating
project budget and scope.
● Inefficient planning is a
major cause of project
failure.
● A project management tool
with effective planning
capabilities can help
mitigate this.
Business Value to SMBs
● Use Gantt and PERT charts
to visually map tasks and
milestones.
● For planning resources,
tools such as Clarizen or
Mavenlink can be useful.
Our RecommendationWhat is Project Planning?

6. 6
Essential-for-Some Feature: Bug/Issue Tracking
● Helps identify and resolve issues
with products.
● Allows customers/employees to
raise a ticket online.
● Teams can log the ticket as a bug
in the system.
● Bug tracking helps software
development firms find and
eliminate errors in the product.
● Useful for companies developing
a new product, upgrading an
existing one or handling customer
tickets.
When It’s UsefulWhat Is Bug/Issue Tracking?

7. 7
Essential-for-Some Feature: Document Management
● Helps store files in a central
location.
● Allows project members to
securely share project files.
● Most tools offer integrations with
with Dropbox and Google Drive.
● Document management helps
small businesses easily access
project documentation.
● A built-in file sharing tool helps
projects members track all files
and documents that are integral
to a project.
When It’s UsefulWhat Is Document Management?

8. 8
Essential-for-Some Feature: Time Tracking
● Tracks an employee’s time spent
on tasks.
● Helps track billable working
hours.
● Offers visual reports, such as
charts and graphs.
● For internal projects, time
tracking reports help measure the
performance of team members.
● Time tracking in external projects
is useful for creating billable
hours reports for clients.
When It’s UsefulWhat Is Time Tracking?

9. 9
Sources 1. “The Essential Project Management Features Your Small
Business Needs” -
http://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/essential-proje
ct-management-features/
2. “Compare Project Management Software” -
http://www.softwareadvice.com/project-management/
9

10. 10
Additional
Resources
To further help you understand the landscape of project
management software, we’ve created a number of detailed
buyer guides. Here’s a quick list for you to check out:
By Application:
● Task Management Software
● Project Portfolio Management Software
● Resource Management Software
By Industry:
● Construction Management Software
● Marketing Project Management Software
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11. 11
@PMSoftAdvice