4985 views 7 mins 0 comments

What is Task management Software: Analysis of types and features

In Tech
April 30, 2020
Task management

In order to succeed, companies today need more than just the workforce. They need to look into efficiency and productivity matters as well to ensure that the hired workforce is worth the investment. For this purpose, industry-wide task management software is used. It helps you execute large projects effectively and on schedule.

Types of Task Management Tools

Depending on the need of your organization the task management tools can be divided mainly into three types:

Manual Task Management Tools

Manual task management tools take us back to the essential tools that need no virtual assistance. Tools can include things like spreadsheets, markers, or long stretches of paper fixed on walls. There is no digital way of interaction with them; thus they are called manual.

The manual way of managing your tasks works efficiently if you are working in a small team. Companies or industries with a large number of employees in their staff can face some difficulty if they rely on the manual task management system. Due to their limited application and ability to scale to more complex tasks, it slows down the productivity of the entire organization.

Electronic Task Management Tools

Electronic tools provide the much-needed functionality and flexibility that the manual task management tool fails to. Despite their small and compact physical appearance, the electronic task management tool provides users the ability to add as much information they can. Also, unlike the manual tools, electronic tools allow you to carry them anywhere with you.

The electronic tools are easy to use, maintain, and upgrade whenever necessary. They can be easily used in any complex multi-level tasks that you are working on with your team.

Online Task Management Tools

When you combine electronic tools and the vast, limitless expandability of the Internet, you get the online task management tool. These tools give you the independence and freedom to organize and manage your tasks from anywhere. Online task management tools are essential for teams who take on complex tasks with varying descriptions and priorities and have to coordinate efficiently with other team members. Most online tools are cloud-based so the users can backup their critical data without overloading their internal networks.

If you are planning to learn some cloud-based tools like Salesforce, Amazon Cloudwatch, or Microsoft Cloud Monitoring then you can sign up for Cloud computing courses.

Features of Task Management Tools

Task Planning

Effective task management starts with breaking down available resources, time, tasks, and timeline in a way that can be structured appropriately. A useful task management tool should be able to showcase you all the available entities needed so that you can efficiently utilize all.

With a tool that has the ability to break down complex tasks in more straightforward steps, then they can be executed much quickly without any confusion.

Prioritize

After listing all the tasks, it is vital to list them according to their priority. There are going to be some tasks that demand your immediate attention, and others that can wait. All this is necessary to manage you and your team’s time efficiently and here is where the task management software can help you.

The software allows you to see everything that you have been working on. This way, you can figure out which tasks you want to complete first and which tasks can be pushed down for later on the list. The project deadlines can be monitored and taken care of that they are no missed.

Collaboration

When managing a team, communication is two way thing, and it needs to be transparent, to begin with. It is vital to acknowledge what tasks are assigned to them and what their deadlines are. The software should have a dashboard that can be updated using files and messages by all the members that are involved in the project so that everyone can remain in the loop.

Calendar

The task management tool you pick should be able to integrate with your schedule for easy access easily. Through a calendar, you are better able to manage all the tasks and can also keep a view on your project timelines.

 

Giving access to the team members, they can also follow up with the project progress or any of the scheduled meetings and conferences.

 

Time tracking

A resource that is limited in every company, either big or small, is time. You need a task management tool that can keep track of how much of time is spent on each and every task performed. This way, you have an efficient way to keep track of which tasks are time-consuming and what overall impact they have.

 

Some companies also provide payroll based on the time logged in by their employees so the tool can be useful in such cases. The hours worked by the team member can be logged on to timesheets and reviewed by the management accordingly.

Reporting and visualization

Reporting and analysis is part of task management. This is needed to keep an eye on the deadlines and to regulate the workflow smoothly. An accurate report generated by the management tool can give you a lot of required overview of progress made by your employees and monitor them accurately. Most open-source task management tool includes this feature.

Author Bio: I am Greg Wilson, a Content Writer working with GoodFirms, a research and review platform for service and software companies. I am passionate about blogging, creative writing, social media, and content marketing. I write blog posts for GoodFirms about SEO software, Cloud computing, IoT development, and many more such categories.