In Project-Management.com, we have published over 200 software reviews. Some articles reviewed more than 10 different project management software for a specific industry, application, or other criteria. The PM software market is very competitive. Therefore, selecting the right PM software to fit your business or team is difficult. The somewhat ambiguous project management software category makes it difficult to choose the right software. Software that features collaboration but not full PPM functionality is considered PM software.
5 Types of PM Software
Genius Project, a software company that manages enterprise projects, has published a whitepaper to help you navigate the PM/PPM software market. It categorizes the software on the market into five types. These include project collaboration, project management enterprise project management, portfolio management, professional services automation, and project management. Each category is tailored to a specific type of customer organization and provides certain benefits. While some features may overlap as they all support project management, the priority and approach may differ.
Project Collaboration
Software that is categorized under project collaboration allows for basic communication and sharing of project information, documents, and emails to optimize project results. This software is great for startups that are looking to centralize information. This software is great for small businesses that don’t have formal PM processes in place, but still use tasks to complete work such graphic design projects. This software has many benefits for users. It is easy to use and quick to implement. Data is stored remotely in the cloud. It also provides quick turnaround times, minimizes email usage, and displays shared calendar views.
Project Management
According to the whitepaper, project management software is the most well-known and most difficult to use. It is a tool that allows you to manage people, scope, budget, and project activities in a way that is best for you. It is designed for organizations that need to plan projects and manage tasks, share documents with others, resolve issues, and track time. It supports the role and responsibilities of project managers to create and manage a plan, schedule and tasks, as well as deliverables. They can also create progress reports and manage resources. Gantt charts, document management and social team collaboration are just a few of the features. Dashboards, reporting and time tracking are also available.
Enterprise Project Management
Software that is classified as enterprise project management (EPM), such as Genius Project, takes a holistic approach to managing projects. They consider the impact on people, process, corporate objectives, and create an environment based upon interrelated goals. It is the most important tool in an organization or company to manage multiple projects simultaneously using shared resources. It offers powerful resource management and dashboards, as well as strong scheduling and dashboard capabilities. It provides a comprehensive view of projects’ status, resource availability, and alignment with strategic organizational goals.
Project Portfolio Management
EPM software is closely related to PPM software, but it uses a different approach. PPM software uses a top-down approach to strategically aligning and optimizing active and potential projects. These projects are grouped into portfolios that correspond with corporate objectives and resources. It is a software that works well with people who have a lot of resources.