Many people like to dream. Some people manage to make dreams come true by launching a change that brings about success.
Today you will find inspiration from well-known founders and CEO’s who have all dreamed big, people who didn’t let fear hold them back to pursue the big ideas and turn them into reality.
Infographic brought to you by Wrike project management web based software.
A project leader has much influence over a team’s productivity. Therefore, it is always good to ask yourself: “How can I help my team to be more productive?”
You want to empower people to solve their own problems, and to be self-sufficient. You want to encourage collaboration, sharing and trust.
Consider taking a coaching approach where you listen more, ask good questions and be slower to rush to action and advice. Also understand the dynamics of behaviour change. The fact that habits are the building blocks of good behaviour, means that you want to encourage good habits and set the example.
Below you will find 10 specific ways to help your team be more productive and motivated to perform optimally, with compliments from Wrike.com.
Whether you’re a project manager of a small or a big, complicated project, one outcome you’re always striving for, is for the project to be successful.
Looking at statistics from historic projects, there can be many causes of project failure, as can be seen in the Infographic below. Failed projects lead to wasted time and resources, unsatisfied customers and of course, it will cause damage to the project manager’s reputation.
One of the most common causes include lack of executive support in the form of absent or inexperienced sponsors, or sponsors who don’t make timeous decisions. Another common cause of project failure is lack of skills or personnel for effective strategy implementation.
There are remedies for failure, depending on what the cause of the failure was in the first place.
To address the Sponsorship issue causing lack of executive support, you need to ensure that the organization has a culture that supports active sponsors on project. Expect them to be advocates for the project, to engage actively with key stakeholders and to use their influence when necessary in support of the project. Watch this video from Worldfinance.com to find out how to get the best out of executive sponsors.
Study the infographic from Wrike.com for a prescription for project success, think of it as the medicine to cure the main causes of project failure.
By Victoria Zhlobich
Project plans made easier to do and to share
If you are in the market for a software that helps to make project planning and the sharing of those plans really easy, you may like GanttPRO.
GanttPRO is an online Gantt chart software used for project planning, task management, collaboration, team and resource management as well as cost management. The software is highly estimated by professionals thanks to an intuitive UX/UI design, a short learning curve, and robust features. Worldwide 350K+ managers and other project participants already tried the solution and made sure that project planning and management can be fast and enjoyable.
The software is mainly used by teams. However, managers and individuals use it for personal projects and purposes too. The tool has a 14-day free trial with all the features available so that anyone can decide whether GanttPRO is a good fit for them.
The software is able to become a powerful and affordable alternative to Microsoft Project. In case you already planned your project in MS Project, you have a chance to import it to GanttPRO and see for yourself all the advantages.
In GanttPRO, there are ready-made Gantt chart templates designed for a variety of professional spheres: software development, construction, marketing, design, manufacturing, etc. They include typical tasks and offer a typical structure for an easy start. However, templates are fully customizable.
Transparent task management
You can create tasks literally in seconds from one menu defining:
All this information is available directly in the task settings menu. In the project grid, you can add columns or hide those you don’t need.
One of the most useful features in GanttPRO that distinguishes it from competitors is the possibility to add Custom columns. They do not limit project participants to certain settings and allow working with personal information available through Text, Number, Date, List, Checkbox, and Color columns.
GanttPRO online Gantt chart maker allows working with real team members and virtual resources. Team management is available via email invitations only on the Team plans. At the same time, virtual resources are created just in a few clicks and available even on the Individual plan. If you are not deeply engaged in team management, virtual resources can be a working way-out. The tool offers the following time working units for team and resource management: per hour, per item, and cost.
GanttPRO makes provision for the following roles: an Owner, an Admin, and a Member.
Collaboration in GanttPRO allows team members to be fully aware of current updates in tasks. Project participants can:
The Gantt chart software allows having a physical project at hand thanks to the advanced Export feature as well as showcasing plans to third parties thanks to Sharing via URL feature.
Export in GanttPRO is very powerful. On the screen, you can see how your chart will look like after exporting.
You can choose the following options:
Sharing via URL allows presenting to third parties, even not registered in GanttPRO, two states of a plan: a dynamic and static ones.
The dynamic option means that a plan is updated even after sharing when changes happen in a project.
The static option means that a plan remains the same as it has been at the moment of creation. It does not reflect changes.
Conclusion
GanttPRO is a tool for everyone who needs powerful planning, team management, and collaboration. It is all combined with an intuitive interface and an affordable pricing policy.
Project management software refer to all applications that were designed to facilitate project delivery and make it more efficient.
Here are some interesting facts about the type of teams using PM software, how companies choose PM software, the most used features and what improvements will lead to satisfaction with PM software.
Enjoy the Infographic brought to you by Wrike project management web based software
In today’s demanding world, we need to consider wellness in order to be productive and to stay present, focused and positive in the chaos we’re often confronted with.
We want to strive for well-being so that we can know ourselves better, have more fulfilling relationships, personally and professionally, and reduce stress.
Wellness will lead to happiness and studies like the Harvard Business Review have reported that happy workers are 31% more productive and three times more creative than the rest of the workforce.
Find below 13 ideas to build a happy and consequently, a more productive workforce, with compliments from Wrike.
Most organisations have websites and some have an e-commerce presence where they sell their products online. In addition, there are many consulting agencies providing these type of web services to customers. Regardless whether you are doing projects in the e-commerce space for your own organisation or for customers, you need to have a solid understanding of Online Marketing terms to be of better service to your customers.
Below you will find an Infographic explaining the common Online Marketing concepts, an excellent resource for future reference.
With compliments from Wrike, a project management and time tracking software.
By Joseph Harisson
Project management is changing every year as new approaches stem from the new ideas and technologies. Staying on top of your game is becoming harder for Project Professionals without keeping up to speed with the latest technological developments.
Many companies are looking for new ways to improve their development cycles. The technology trends of 2019 can help you make the right decisions about investments, team building, and reorganization. Here’s a collection of viral trends that may make a difference for your business strategy this year.
This trend has been on the lists for the past several years, and is still here in 2019. The potential of these new technologies is so huge, each industry is discovering its abilities in regards to project management solutions.
AI can help your project management capabilities by making predictions about the tasks completed within certain periods of time, the resources used to get the projects done, and automation of numerous tasks thus optimizing the process, and much more.
In fact, all of the above is just the beginning. As AI and Machine Learning are taking over the tasks we used to designate dozens of people for, project financing is possibly having a bright future.
Internal or on-site servers are becoming outdated at the speed of light. Cloud is the trend, and it’s not going anywhere. More and more companies are switching to using project management systems in the cloud. In 2019, anyone who hasn’t done that is likely to feel the pressure and experience profit reduction.
The only industries which may avoid cloud project management solutions, may be those with extreme secrecy factors. Most companies will soon realize how much faster and cheaper the cloud-based systems are for their needs. And SaaS companies will need to focus on more targeted SEO solutions.
When it comes to cross-company interactions, a cloud is a must-have. The work can be done without providing another company access to the internal solutions. In 2018, the number of cloud project management systems has already exceeded the local systems’ demand. In 2019, the difference will become more obvious.
In 2019, data analytics requires an upgraded approach with project professional being on the lookout for tools, which can help them analyze data and present it in the right manner to executive management.
While such project management software as Trello and Asana are helping managers present the data and organize the work process, they don’t connect the presentation layer to the real data. In 2019, we can expect a rise of data-rich presentation layers since the need for data and its analytics is growing within the project management context.
Information gathering tools are expected to be top of the list of technologies employed by project professionals. The specific type of accurate market research acquired in a short timeframe can put the company ahead of the competition (with the right analytics, of course).
Cloud-based software which tracks the team progress and allows interactions isn’t enough anymore. In 2019, we’ll be looking at technology constantly updating and adapting itself to the market’s changes. Data is always changing. It’s important to track the changes and avoid outdated and ineffective information.
With AI and Machine Learning helping the teams optimize the workflow, the desire for automation processes is on the rise. Workflow automation tools are expected to be in high demand in 2019. Freeing team members from the routine tasks is vital for project management needs since it’s becoming harder to find the right staff.
The demand for project managers will likely exceed the “supply”, thus making automation tools a necessary solution. Older and experienced project managers are retiring while new employees are lacking experience. When looking for workflow automation software, it’s highly important to check if it’s adaptable to market changes.
With the rise in cloud systems, virtual collaboration is slowly becoming more predominant than physical communication. Online team software systems are expected to suit the requirements of the virtual team and work processes. With that the need for physical offices will decline.
The software designed for connecting team members from all over the world is in high demand. Skype for video conferencing is likely to stay in the past. Many enterprises will be investing in customized teamwork software to simplify the collaboration while cutting many unnecessary costs, such as office rent.
Cloud-based project management is becoming easier to access. Many businesses are adopting an Agile development framework. Research has shown that the Agile method improves employee communication, allowing the teams to inspect and adapt to changes faster and easier. Agile has a high ROI for small and medium-sized teams.
In 2019, enterprises are likely to adopt Agile faster than small businesses. With the appearance of workflow automation software, Agile is becoming more useful for teams of different sizes.
Modern technologies will help companies adopt hybrid PM methods (mixing Agile and Traditional approaches) to complete projects depending on the context.
Some of the most common reasons why many projects fail, are poor time management, lack of resources, the project complexity, and absence of specialists. The new technologies are helping project managers solve the majority of the above-mentioned problems.
If you manage to stay ahead of the trends and improve your project management skills while keeping the ever-changing industry demands in mind, you are likely to succeed in 2019.
If you’re still deciding on the best project management software to use, visit this All Project Management Reviews site.
About the Author:
Josh Harisson has 10 years of experience in IT industry as a web developer and cloud computing expert researching extensively for techendo.com. He frequently writes about IT and branding efforts. In his free time, you will often find him taking a walk, or playing video games.
Software review by Tzvi Zucker from Proggio
Every project manager knows that clarity is paramount for project management. The more the team understands their roles, tasks, and the project as a whole, the higher the chances of success. But many project management tools available are either based off Gantt charts, or Kanban boards – and neither of those are an all-in-one package. Gantt charts sacrifice clarity, and agility. Kanban boards sacrifice timeline planning and project visualization. Proggio is the first tool that gives you something better – the Projectmap.
The Projectmap is exactly that – a map of your project, that can be understood at a glance by anybody. Instant clarity – show someone a Projectmap, and immediately they know exactly what the project is about, who’s doing what, when, and even how.
Proggio project management softwarewas founded in 2016 and built around the success principles of leadership, team dynamics, communication, collaboration and momentum.
Proggio boasts customers like Sodastream, McKinsey, Decathlon, and Verifone and its online project management software is a favourite for teams of all sizes, and sectors – from non-profits like World Anti Doping Agency to biotech leaders like MySugr to industry titans like SK Telecom, everyone loves Proggio due to the clarity it provides.
Proggio makes a small change in its approach to project management, with a world of a difference. Project management tools are task-based. Your typical Gantt chart lists tasks along the left hand side of the chart. Kanban card sorting systems are built by task. Proggio puts the team heart and center in your project planning and management – in today’s business environment, it isn’t just about what there is to do, it is increasingly important to know who is doing it.
With “flow to work,” SAFe, and agile teams, being able to plan around the team, rather than the tasks, is a tremendous asset. A timeline of tasks is inefficient – but a timeline OF tasks can be a revolution!
Proggio is designed with the project team in mind. A fully featured, cloud-based, online project management tool, Proggio can be used by your team whether they are in the same room or on 7 different continents. All work is seen in real time, shared in real time, and updated in real time. When Kevin finishes the webinar? You’ll see it updated on your Projectmap. When Gina marks her task as “done”, you’ll see that on the Projectmap, too.
Every team member, and every view in Proggio, is actually the same data set – each person on the project is actually interacting with the project, itself. Always.
The interface is clean, modern, and straightforward – the buttons are where you intuitively expect them to be. Within days, you can be using Proggio as if you’ve used it for years.
Proggio comes with some exceptional features that makes it special!
Plan vs Actual:Every project has delays, or schedule changes. How do you track them? With a Gantt chart, tracking even a few changes becomes a Herculean task. With Proggio, it literally takes just a few clicks.
All you need to do is set a reference point, and whenever you want to track changes, a click of the mouse will bring up your reference point saved in the Projectmap to compare to the current plan. You can set multiple reference points! Tracking your plan vs. actual project has never been simpler.
Print Project Plan: Ever try printing a Gantt chart? It will take reams of paper, or you’ll have to shrink it to a size where it’s illegible. Thanks to the Projectmap, you can easily generate screenshots of your project plan that you can share with anybody. There’s a handy “screenshot” button at the bottom of your Projectmap interface, and you can use it anytime.
JIRA Integration:Proggio boasts a full integration with JIRA, which when used properly will end the software development silo and increase visibility across the organization. JIRA Project management doesn’t have to be a contradiction!
The JIRA Listener tool lets you pull data from JIRA into activity boxes on the Projectmap – you can track progress in JIRA without ever entering the platform! If you’re using Proggio for enterprise-wide planning and collaboration, you no longer need to silo software development teams and run after them for progress reports.
We all know the hidden inefficiency in project management tools: the data within is only as good as the data your team puts in. And guess what? Most of the time, your team hates your project management tool and don’t want to spend additional time on it.
Think about the features you love in your project management software: budget tracking? Your team doesn’t care about that. Gantt chart? Your team doesn’t look at those, and doesn’t understand them to begin with. Resource loading? Is that a tool for the team, or for you?
Your team spends their day looking at the task management interface of the program, and that is the reason they hate most project management tools. They’re being asked to use a tool that was not designed with them in mind, and offers them nothing in their work.
Proggio, however, was designed with the team in mind. The task management tools are built to make the team’s life easier, starting with multiple task management views customizable by each team member. The Projectmap is designed to impart clarity to the entire project team. The collaboration tools are built to give the project momentum towards successful delivery. Proggio is all about the team – and the team can tell.
Proggio offers three subscription plans:
Starter:Perfect for small teams, the starter package is only $8 per user per month when billed annually. This package allows 3 ongoing projects and comes with 200MB of storage. There is a minimum of 3 users for this account.
Business:The business plan is only $15 per user per month when billed annually, and allows for 25 ongoing projects, 5 viewers, and 5GB of storage. There is a minimum of 3 users for this account.
Enterprise:The Enterprise plan is unlimited – unlimited projects, unlimited storage, and unlimited viewers. Pricing is available upon request.
When you think of best practice, it can be defined as the most efficient (least amount of effort) and effective (best results) way of accomplishing a task, based on repeatable procedures that have proven themselves over time for large numbers of people. Wikipedia defines best practice as a technique, method, process, activity, incentive, or reward that is believed to be more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc. when applied to a particular condition or circumstance.
Naturally, in the domain of Project Management many standard practices have evolved into best practices over time. It is after all about developing and following a standard way of doing things!
In the Infographic below, you will find a reminder of 10 PM best practices that will help you be more successful on all your projects in a consistent and predictable way, with compliments from Wrike project management softwares.
With project management becoming more demanding because of higher expectations from clients, more efficient tools were made to help project managers. One such useful work management solutions, is Wrike which was introduced in a detailed software review before as a software that makes a difference. This article will take a closer look at Wrike’s add-on to Gmail.
The whole purpose of Wrike is to make task management easier, these are some of the main ways Wrike can help you:
With Wrike, you can easily view all of your tasks, including their respective details. Other than that, you can also edit the tasks. You can change the details or the descriptions, and you can mark them as “done” or “in progress”, as well as add notes to your tasks and attachments.
Aside from monitoring and editing your existing tasks, you can also create new ones from your Gmail, and you can use Wrike to make emails as tasks. There is an add-on panel with which you can use to make your new tasks.
In order to make collaboration between you and your teammates easier, Wrike has a thread specifically for making comments. With the use of your Gmail, you can leave comments for your members and receive them too.
Since this is a Gmail add-on, you can use it across different devices by accessing your Gmail. Whether you’re using a computer or a smartphone, you’ll be able to use this tool.
Another way in which Wrike is helpful is through providing notifications whenever there is an update. You will receive notifications if there is a completed task or a change in the details of the project. This allows you to remain up to date on the progress of each of your tasks.
Other than the main functions of Wrike, there are also other creative ways to utilize the CRM system. Here are a few other ways for you to use this tool to your full advantage.
This function allows you to create email templates, which are really important as they showcase your company’s branding. With an email template creation option, you can send customers emails that are consistent and those that help hold your brand.
If you’re handling blogs or other platforms that make use of content, Wrike has a unique workflow publication feature that allows you to monitor and plan when content is published. You’ll also receive notifications when content is published and when they are edited.
All products will go through a product life-cycle upon creation. With Wrike, you can create a product life-cycle and visually represent it with a graph that you can share to the rest of the team.
Create and Manage SubtasksAside from creating main tasks, you can also easily create subtasks. Usually, you would have to run through each of your main tasks to see what the subtasks are, however; with Wrike, you can easily access your subtasks and manage their details. You can even turn an existing main task into a subtask.
You can create private folders where you restrict the access to certain teams, members, or departments. This is very important if you are passing sensitive data amongst your team members. You can also change the permission settings in the event that any of your team members get transferred or resigned.
This is probably the most useful feature that Wrike offers. With the use of tags, you’ll be able to see the name of your folder at the top of the dashboard. If you want to access a report or file from a particular folder, you can just make a tag. From there, you can just click on the tag and all the information you’re looking for will be made visible.
As the review is showing, Wrike is a highly recommended work management solutions for project management. With its user-friendly interface and its wide array of features, Wrike can be a great additive to your Gmail and your office tools in general. With Wrike, you can track your tasks with utmost efficiency and communicate with your teammates effectively, while making your work easier and more impactful overall.
Let us know in the comments section if you have experience using Wrike or any other similar tools that you would want to recommend.
By Adrian DeGus
Every company struggles to manage projects and teams effectively. From small startups with tight deadlines to large conglomerates making long-term strategic moves, they all need to balance resources with requirements, and future work with current operations. In my experience with this whole range of environments, I’ve had varying degrees of success with project management tools. I’ve used big, cumbersome legacy tools and compared them with small, simple, free apps.
Nuvro, a new option that was recently released, promises to offer a balance. I’ve been trying it out, and it has a great, clean interface, but also intuitive options to get all the way down into the details. Nuvro is sleek like Asana, but has Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) features similar to Wrike. Teams of all sizes can reach peak performance using Nuvro as their tool of choice.
The tools I have experience using all include task assignment, organization, and tracking. Most of them consolidate project management and collaboration, not always with the most effective result. They have a lot of similarities, which helps becoming familiar with them. I have several frustrations with the options on the market today, and they all seem to share those frustrations, as well. Nuvro offers a fresh look, solving several of my frustrations.
As with most modern software, no one person or office uses every single function available. There is some degree of customization just by focusing on those PM features important to your organization. Nuvro, likewise, has numerous features, and here are the most important and game-changing for me and my organizations.
Projects, tasks, and task details are the first thing you see when opening Nuvro. Each is neatly organized in its own column, to get a quick overview. Each shows progressively more detail, and the amount of detail is selectable. Specifically, the project folders in the left-most column can be expanded and collapsed to your preference. The middle tasks column is high-level, while the right column with task details gives you the opportunity to address more immediate or short-term concerns.
I was quickly able to start a list of tasks, and see the convenience of the main page layout. Every single feature is not immediately visible, but that is actually preferable to many project management layouts. You have what you need, when you need it, and can quickly navigate throughout the site to find a plethora of options.
Nuvro is one of the few that gets the subtleties of an activity feed. I have used many project management tools that flood their executive displays with distracting, irrelevant activity feeds. Technical support might need a full audit trail of activity, which Nuvro provides, but we don’t all need to see it all of the time. Nuvro makes it available with a simple click of a tab in an expanded view for clarity. This is just one example of the right information at the right time.
Throughout the modules of Nuvro, this thoughtfulness for end users comes to light. There is great flexibility, while making the default view the most useful and intuitive one. I appreciate Nuvro treating me as a professional, with mature processes and practical demands for workflow management.
When I logon to Nuvro, it shows project folders and tasks. It also shows me a calendar of my assigned tasks organized by due date. This is convenient, because I can concentrate on those that are overdue or shortly due.
Often, the short-term tasks are paused, or have dependencies that do not include me on the critical path. Then, I can focus on tasks due in the next week or later, and begin to complete my portion of those duties. It makes sense to see immediate concerns up front, followed by less pressing issues.
Nuvro is leading by example in this area. Not only for myself, but for each of my teammates, these dashboards allow us to coordinate and plan for competing workloads. We can attend team meetings to discuss who has slack in the schedule and who is overworked. Our management can redistribute the load based on a simple layout that is consistent across the team.
There are numerous time management and relationship management techniques for optimizing email, because many people get overwhelmed with it. Messages get lost, associates feel ignored, or opportunities are missed.
Nuvro improves on the old idea of email. It connects to tasks to make sure things don’t get forgotten, and limits the audience to only those already on my project team. I can concentrate on project details in Nuvro, and switch gears when I have to address the real world.
The methods and techniques you learn for managing your Inbox can be useful in Nuvro, but they should no longer be necessary. With its integrated solution, Nuvro messages are directly connected to calendars, coworker dependencies, and tasks.
Nuvro presents organization and individual performance information in a unique and novel format. Unlike any other tool I have used, Nuvro tracks performance in real-time, visible to the appropriate levels of the organization hierarchy. As with workload, managers can access this information in a consistent format across our teams. Performance dashboards show current productivity as a predictor of future results.
Managers can spot problems with individuals, make corrections, and establish team goals. Executives can use the performance information to evaluate teams and the entire organization. My organization is competitive in a friendly way, so executives sometimes challenge teams to push relative performance above each other.
The standard format of these charts allows management to compare and discuss issues across the organization. Tech support managers can discuss underperforming teams with engineering. As a group, managers can compare best practices for improving performance with a full history. This history can be aligned with major management style changes to identify when effective behavioral measures started and finished.
If you’re like most of us, you have brilliant ideas for how to organize your life, but the execution of those ideas leaves you sometimes disappointed. Some of us use sticky notes. Some use cell phones. Some use personal assistants, whether paid or unpaid, such as overworked spouses and family members.
Nuvro offers to consolidate that information, too. Instead of feeling disconnected at your desk, it has helped me realize my job is where I can reach the pinnacle of organization and scheduling. The todo list app is invaluable for projects as well as personal items.
To Do lists stay private from your associates, so you can feel free to include sensitive information. Of course, that is limited to compliance with any applicable laws and regulations. It helps me to see work To Do items for the beginning of my day organized next to extracurricular items for later. That way, I can remember to pickup snacks for sports on the way out of work, and I don’t need someone to bug me about it constantly from home.
Like a network share drive, Nuvro’s online document manager hosts files that are common to the organization and team. Due to its tight integration, however, I find that I prefer keeping files in Nuvro. That way, I don’t have to open a separate window to upload or check on someone else’s uploads.
At the organization level, we stay consistent by maintaining:
Nuvro has helped inspire confidence that we have a firm grasp our projects, our progress, and our future. At the management level and the executive level, we feel more secure in citing precise numbers for individual projects, employees, and the organization overall.
Nuvro helps me personally feel settled, since I can focus my efforts on one tool, instead of multi-tasking through various software, apps, and mobile and desktop formats. The front line of the company can also relax, since I approach them less often for reports. When they periodically update the Nuvro site on their specific responsibilities, we can see that information rolled up at the top level.
Nuvro has improved the morale of our teams, and helped change corporate culture. It highlights the shared responsibilities of the team, but also frees diligent members from catching flak if a couple coworkers are causing the team to perform below average. We can use the performance graphs to identify precisely which parts of the team need corrective action.
Conclusion
Nuvro has built the better mousetrap. Although it’s inconceivable that email or spreadsheets will ever be replaced, they are constantly supplemented by tools that excel at their specific responsibilities. Nuvro does several things better than other PM tools, and integrates all of its features very tightly.
Nuvro makes online project management surprisingly easy with the mission to help you and your team improve work efficiency by providing easy, intuitive, enterprise-grade project management software.