If you manage work, you’re a project manager. But that wasn’t always the case. For many years, the only people responsible for managing projects were (unsurprisingly) project managers. These highly specialized roles used legacy tools that required extensive training and knowledge to use. Now, almost everyone is expected to manage their own projects, and these outdated tools are no longer practical. And while project manager roles and legacy softwares still exist, modern project management software has adapted to fill the needs of a more dynamic, collaborative workforce. Whether you’re a brand new business owner who just needs help with invoicing or you're operating a multi-national company, there’s a project management software that’s right for you. Read on to see which project management software fits your company's needs. <h2>What is project management software?</h2> Project management software is a tool that helps teams to organize, track, and execute work. In its simplest form, you can think of project management software as an interactive workspace, where you coordinate the way you work, collaborate, and communicate with others. But the best project management software goes far beyond that—connecting your most advanced workflows across the company and helping you achieve your biggest, boldest goals. It’s a broad category, and can be as simple as digital checklists or as advanced as a full work management platform. The type of project management software you choose—and the way you use it—will depend on the size, needs, and overarching goals of your organization. Why use project management software? These days, everyone manages projects, but they don’t always have the tools they need to manage projects effectively. This often leads to teams using a spreadsheet, which is great for organizing work but doesn't show real-time updates. Spreadsheets are extremely manual, and can actually impede cross-functional collaboration. In short, they lack the capabilities of project management software. That’s why project management software is so crucial to today’s working environment. Among its many benefits, project management software serves as the connector for work, teams, stakeholders, goals, and everything in between. <h2>The benefits of project management software</h2> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Focus your work. You’ll get more done—but more importantly, you’ll get the right work done. With project management software, you’re less likely to duplicate work or waste time searching for materials. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Reduce busywork. With project management software, you can connect every single task to goals that support the company’s biggest, broadest vision—so everyone knows how they’re driving the success of the company with every project. When employees understand how their day-to-day tasks impact the company, they’re even more motivated to produce their best possible work. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Connect your tech stack. Businesses need countless tools to operate in today’s workplace. With dynamic project management software, you can connect all your tools across one platform (think Slack communications, Dropbox files, and Google Drive attachments all in one place). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Create a system of record. Project management software serves as a system of record for all your projects and their related tasks. As a result, you can simultaneously store information while also making it easier for stakeholders and teams to access and use that information. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Increase cross-functional collaboration. Project management software is, at its core, a team collaboration tool. By bringing together work, goals, and people across projects, teams, and departments, project management software helps you build an interconnected, thriving cross-functional organization. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Store work safely. Ever delete a cell by accident in your spreadsheet? Or forget where you saved your latest to-do list? Keeping everything cloud-based both helps you stay organized and reduces the chance of you losing work—all while maintaining your privacy. <h2>The 11 best project management software &amp; tools in 2023 </h2> There’s a wide range of project management software available in today’s market—choosing just one can feel overwhelming. That’s why we compiled this list of the best products in the industry today, and the types of businesses they’re most likely to help. See how each one compares, and the different ways project management software can streamline and enhance your work. <h2>1. Asana: Best for enterprise companies</h2> Asana goes beyond traditional project management software to provide a full work management solution that supports the dynamic, changing needs of enterprise companies. Asana doesn't just help you manage your tasks (although you can do that too)—it connects all the work your company is doing to your highest-level goals and business strategy. With Asana, you get so much more than project management software, including: <ul><li>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Integrations to all your favorite tools and systems, so you can keep your work organized in one platform.</li><li>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Goals that connect to everyone and every task across your company, so you can ensure the work that gets done is always the most important.</li><li>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Automations for tasks, scheduling, assigning work, and much more—all designed to reduce the amount of time you spend on low-priority busywork.</li><li>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ready-made project templates so you can get to work on your most important tasks right away.</li><li>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Reporting dashboards that automatically update stakeholders and eliminate status update meetings.</li><li>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Security, privacy, and compliance features that keep your data safe.</li></ul> <h2>2. Trello: Best for simple project management</h2> Trello is a Kanban-board style project management software, owned by Atlassian. In Trello, you nest project tasks under boards labeled with an overarching theme. For example, you might have a board for “Not started,” “In Progress,” and “Complete.” The setup makes it easy to track project progress from board to board, which is helpful when you need a simple tool for small projects. <h2>3. Smartsheet: Best for spreadsheet lovers</h2> Think of Smartsheet as an advanced version of a spreadsheet, with more capabilities. This system can be intuitive for companies who traditionally used spreadsheets for project management, such as time tracking with timesheets. <h2>4. Jira: Best for Agile-specific project management</h2> Designed specifically for software development, Jira comes ready to launch for teams that use the Agile methodology to do their work. Owned by parent company Atlassian, Jira is often used for common development projects like bug tracking, as well as projects that use the Scrum process. <h2>5. Monday: Best for small businesses</h2>Monday offers a broad spectrum of apps that make it easy to implement and get started right away. This works for small businesses who are new to project management software, though once you rev up your work, company size, or collaboration across teams, you might hit a threshold for what’s possible. <h2>6. Clickup: Best for small teams or startups</h2>Clickup’s intuitive and colorful interface makes it easy to understand and adopt. ClickUp is a popular choice for startups with limited resources and smaller teams that may not need as many capabilities. <h2>7. Notion: Best for notetakers</h2>Notion is an elevated system to create and store dynamic documents, sheets, and note-taking. This works best for companies or individuals who just need a more organized space for thoughts and ideas, though Notion can feel limited in how you can work with others in the tool itself. <h2>8. Airtable: Best for those who want to build it themselves</h2>Airtable provides a flexible no- and low-code database you can use to build your own bespoke project management system (or other custom application). For those who prefer to oversee the backend development of their project management software, Airtable offers that option. <h2>9. Wrike: Best for client management</h2>Wrike offers stackable storage and security in an easy-to-use format, so both clients and internal teams can safely access information. This can be helpful when you’re working with external partners, such as clients, in addition to managing work as a company. <h2>10. Workfront: Best for marketing-only teams</h2>Workfront (owned by Adobe) is a project management software that was initially developed for marketers. They’ve built out their platform to be a tool for all teams, but because it’s so targeted, users may struggle to coordinate with other teams outside of the marketing department.&nbsp; <h2>11. Microsoft: Best for personal tools</h2>Microsoft Office is often labeled as a project management tool, but that’s mostly because their products are a staple at any company. Because we already know and understand how to use them, Microsoft Office products are often the first tool managers turn to when they start experimenting with project management. But the reality is, Excel spreadsheets and docs weren’t built for collaboration, so you’re better off using them in conjunction with full-fledged project management software.

Best Project management software and tools for 2023

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