10 points on which to choose a project management tool

Here are 10 points that a project management tool should meet. And at the end of the article you have some pre-selected solutions.

But first, answer the following questions:

• Do you have processes set up in your company that you follow? Or are you still building them?
• What skills do the people involved in the projects have in handling the tools - basic, or can they handle more sophisticated settings including conditional events?
• What is your budget for purchasing the tool?

Now let's look at the individual points.

1. Ease of use

Try the tool yourself first and then let someone else try it. Do you all understand how to navigate and use it? Will you be using it online or do you have to install it somewhere?

For the tool to serve its purpose, it must be quickly adopted by all users. This will speed up not only the training but also the actual use.

2. System robustness and scheduling features

Do you really need all the functions offered? It is common to find that you like all the features, of course, but end up using only the basic settings. And these extra features will only make the whole system more cluttered. Moreover, the more sophisticated the software, the more emphasis there is on training people and their ability to use it.

3. Tasks and subtasks

The tool should definitely have the ability to divide tasks into subtasks. This is a basic requirement of a good project tool. Think about this especially if you will grow with the number of people-users.

4. Time tracking for tasks

If you are an agency paid by the hour or hire contractors, you should have and use this feature.

5. Integration

It may seem like you'll never use this. However, sooner or later you'll want to have a project created as soon as you close a new deal in your CRM. Or you may want to automate billing right away. In this case, it's a good idea to check if the tool you choose is on the Integromat marketplace (a platform for creating automations) or at least has RestAPI documentation.

6. Teamwork

If more than one person will be working on the project, you will definitely appreciate the possibility of comments on individual tasks. You will also benefit from the ability to assign tasks to other team members and set deadlines.

7. Reporting

Tool maturity indicator. It is recommended to have one person in the company who will be in charge of the tool - this person then works with reporting and makes sure that everyone is using it as they should. And for this, statistics and reports are needed.

8. Scalability and reliability

You can use the tool to handle common tasks. But what if something really big comes up? Can your tool handle these excessive tasks? This is especially important to consider if you expect your projects to get bigger in the future.

9. Price and schedules

You often start with a small amount or even a free version. But think ahead. Do the plans for the tool match the future budget you'll be paying for it? Sometimes cheap or free can be very expensive in the long run.

10. Security

If you will have sensitive data in your projects, this should definitely be one of the items on your checklist. Make sure the tool meets your needs and your customers' expectations. GDPR is the bare minimum that a tool must meet.

At Giving, we've tried dozens of project management tools. We've attached our toplist.

Czech tools

• Freelo - ideal for very small things
• APUtime - project management with artificial intelligence

Foreign (preferred by us if you have no problem with English)

• ClickUp - our number one choice, meets all needs from a small company to teams of dozens of people
• Monday.com - a sophisticated tool, but needs to be set up very carefully
• Asana - before ClickUp came along, it was the number one choice, but this tool has its limitations
• Jira - a common project management tool for software development
• Trello - a golden classic, but more likely to be used as a personal task management tool than for project management