Project Management Tools for Software Development

All businesses deal with a lot of tasks, projects, and teams that require good management.

In case a project starts living on its own life, it expands budget and time frames. Here come different tools and techniques, which are applied to handle projects effectively.

There are plenty of software development project management tools, and choosing the most suitable for your team can be challenging. Inoxoft is here to provide you with some tips. This article focuses on the most popular instruments in software development available on the market.

Why project management is important?

Software development project management tools are used for project planning, time management, performance tracking, and keeping the software development cycle on track.

What is Project Management?

It is the usage of specific, tools, techniques, and skills to ensure that a project reaches its expectations (budget, schedule, requirements, etc). And that workflows within the team run smoothly.

Types of Project Management

A variety of project management types was developed to satisfy the specific needs of different industries and types of projects. In software development, the most common approaches are:

● Agile Project Management

● Waterfall Project Management

● Lean Project Management

What is Project Management Software?

Project management software usually is a web platform that with help of different tools and features supports teams’ collaboration, keeps every stakeholder on the same page by defining tasks and responsibilities. It is used to prioritize tasks, provide an overview of all the projects, help project managers control costs and time, etc.

Here is a list of features we consider “must-haves” for project management software for development teams:

Cross-platform functionality
Task management
Documentation management
Schedule management
Invoicing
Reporting and analytics
Project budget management.
Issueе tracking

Here are benefits you achieve when using software development project management tools:

Easy Planning

One of the critical phases of the project development cycle is planning. Well-organized processes allow you quickly set a hierarchy of tasks, recognize their dependency on each other, and save time. Also, this makes it easier for the team to do their task as everybody is aware of their responsibilities.

Transparency and accountability

The right tools improve the performance level and collaboration within the team. Also, it allows everyone to stay on the same page, understand how their work connects and impacts their teammates. As a result, each stakeholder is involved and can monitor the whole development process.

Synchronicity

Management tools help team members not to miss any updates or changing requirements.

And, get the news that must be delivered immediately. All these measures are convenient and time-efficient for all sides.

Clear goals

As understanding the requirements is the most important part of the development process, each project includes lots of explanations, calls, brainstorming sessions, etc. (not to mention that requirements tend to change from time to time)

Easy Data Sharing

Projects in software development compose lots of data from different tasks. Thus, by supporting centralized data storage methods, management tools make this data available for the development teams. Instead of using tons of emails with attachments, each team member can easily access, use, and update files.

Remote working

As we all know, since 2020 the physical office location lost its relevance and does not affect project teams. With project management platforms, leading remote teams and managing projects is easy and convenient.

Best project management tools for software development

Good management is a pillar of work progress. Here is a list of the most popular tools Inoxoft uses to make team collaboration even more efficient.

Jira

Atlassian, Jira is a convenient tool for tracking task completion, designed for Agile development teams. Among other benefits, this tool allows you to:

Track project performance
Plan iterations
Create user stories
Manage issues
Distribute assignments across teams
Make integration with development tools like GitHub, GitLab, Jenkins, etc.

Zoho Projects

Zoho is another project management tool that offers features for teams of all sizes. With the benefits it provides you can:

Manage tasks
Track time
Manage documents and files
Make task lists for teams
See organization hierarchy
Set subtasks and milestones
Integrate with the G-Suite apps

Trello

Trello is a team’s to-do list tracker that organizes projects with Kanban boards. With Trello, it is possible to:

Create an unlimited number of tasks
Focus on specific tasks (date, a-z list, importance)
Personalize Kanban boards
Manage each task on a cardboard
Share ideas, files, and images with fellow employees

Trello can become a good helper in managing the team’s to-do list and its UI is super user-friendly to work with. Yet, among the cons, it has no Gantt charts and calendar integration is rather limited.

Wrike

Wrike is a management tool that offers a rich set of features and is simple to use. Works best for big projects.Its project management features include tools for planning, collaboration, reporting, and invoicing. Wrike also integrates with third parties (e.g. Gmail, Google Drive, Salesforce, and Microsoft Teams)

Here you can

Manage projects in spreadsheets
Design valuable project information in spreadsheet columns
Plan projects and dashboards
Track and report team performance
Get reminders about tasks
Track tasks updates
Have unlimited working projects

Asana

This management tool tracks assigning to team members and the PM can monitor who does what. Asana integrates with Chrome, Google Drive, GitHub, Dropbox, and other third-party services. Also, here you can

Create projects, tasks, subtasks, and sections
Assign them to team members
Add task descriptions and deadlines
Share details and comment tasks
Use reminders to finish tasks on time
Design workflow templates

Basecamp

It is another user-friendly project management application with great responsiveness and lots of plug-in services. However, Basecamp is free to use only with a limited set of features and for personal projects. With Basecamp you can:

Create to-do lists
Share files
Keep performance records
Plan dates and discussions
Report project’s progress

Redmine

It is an open-source project management app that supports different languages. With Redmine you can:

Customize projects with plugins and themes
Collaborate in forums
Create Kanban boards
Integrate with a CRM
Track time
Plan roadmaps

Тo matter what size your project or team is, based on Inoxoft experience, all of the tools that we have listed above bring effectiveness to your software team. The only thing you need to do is to test them and choose the one that fits you best.