Key takeaways

Whether you follow a formal or casual form of project management, a project closure checklist is one of the best ways to ensure you’ve tied up loose ends and completed a contract so you can move onto the next project. If you’re managing a larger project with multiple phases, a project closure checklist can work in conjunction with milestones, giving you the opportunity to release funds, collect payment, reallocate resources, and learn from mistakes.

What is a project closure checklist?

At the start of a project is initiation and project planning and at the end of it is project closure. The checklist includes a list of everything you need to make sure your team stayed on track throughout every phase. In some industries, a project closure package is built into a contract and must be delivered at the end of a project. 

The list typically includes tasks a project manager completes to show work was finished, stakeholder approvals were acquired, and subcontractors, if there are any, have been paid. You may also include a summary or report of the completed project with comparison between the planned and actual deadlines and costs, plus clarification of changes throughout the project’s life cycle. If you’re familiar with scrum, think of the project closure as a retrospective performed at the end of each sprint.

Step-by-step guide to creating a project closure checklist

You can create your own project closure checklist in Excel or Google Sheets, for example. However, some of the best project management software usually include a premade template of a project closeout checklist for various industries. Here are the steps you should take when creating a basic checklist: 

1. Cross-reference the project scope or project plan and contract to the finished project to confirm all deliverables have been finished, approved, and accepted. Include milestones or phases in your list to keep track of your comparisons.
   • This may also include inspections or certificates of occupancy, depending on your industry.
   • As project owner or manager, you should obtain approval from clients and stakeholders at this point.
2. Ensure there are no outstanding tasks. Add a full list of all tasks you can refer to to make sure you haven’t left anything unstarted or unfinished.
   • All industries are different, so there may be some caveats to this, such as ongoing change orders a general contractor needs to handle that go beyond the scope of a project.
3. Compare planned versus actual timeline (start/end dates, dates of deliverables, milestones, etc.). List out the dates from the timeline side by side or use a chart to show when you hit deadlines and when you missed.
   • Providing transparency builds trust with all parties and helps you identify areas of improvement.
4. Make and collect final payments. Start with a list of all the financials and include receipts or invoices to be sure you don’t miss any. This is also a good time to submit your final invoice to the client.
   • In some cases, you may need to request lien waivers after payment and these should be included in the project closure report.
   • Pay all invoices and subcontractors.
   • Submit final invoice to client.
5. Collect all project documentation. Include a space for documents that may not be deliverables, such as receipts, waivers, permits, and the like.
   • A project closure report should include budgets, logs, and any other documents that your specific project would require.
6. Take note of failed or late tasks, early completion, and changes in the scope throughout the project’s life. This can be a summary or bulleted list of what went well and what the team could’ve done better that you can apply on your next project.
   • You can start with a survey to your team and clients, which will help guide a retrospective or end-of-project review to help you learn lessons to take to future projects.
7. Celebrate a job well done. You could include an extra checkbox in your list to remind you to take a breath and praise your team (and yourself) for the finalized project.
   • Use the end of the project as an opportunity to praise the team, conduct performance reviews and promotions, and then reassign team members to new projects 

Once you’ve created and completed all items on your checklist, it’s time to pass everything to a client, owner, or hand it over to another team such as operations. Some companies require project closure reports, while others do not.

There are several benefits to creating and following a project closure checklist.

Benefits of a project closure checklist

Project management is made up of multiple methodologies, even more methods, and basic project management phases, but each one tends to include a form of project closure. Without a project closure checklist, you risk letting tasks or documents fall through the proverbial cracks, which could delay payment, at the very least, or kill repeat business, at worst.

Leaves no stone unturned

When you force yourself to sit down and cross-reference the project scope and contract with the work done, it is easy to determine whether you and your team missed anything. It’s a tedious process, but it’s one of the best ways to make sure a product is completely finished before you deliver it.

To not use a project closure checklist is one of the biggest project management mistakes. Think of it as quality assurance in project management. 

Allows you to reallocate resources

In the process of checking all the boxes on your project closure checklist, you may find a few unfinished tasks. Consider how much of your team you need to finish tying up loose ends and then switch to a skeleton crew. This will free up extra resources to get started on a new project and still focus on completing the current project.

Show actual vs. planned results

Most projects don’t go according to plan, and that’s okay. It’s important to pivot as needed and deliver a well-designed end product on time. There are plenty of tasks that get pushed back and still get done without harming the bottom line or the final due date. Showing planned vs. actual numbers offers the transparency your team needs and it can tell you where you may be overtaxing resources.

Helps you learn from mistakes and improve future projects

Sending a survey to your team and clients is a great way to get constructive criticism. What went well and what didn’t? Use a web-based form or send via email to all those who worked on the project, as well as project sponsors and clients. Give yourself enough lead time and make sure you add a deadline for responses. Helpful questions to ask include: 

• How effective were the efforts to manage issues related to the project?
• How would you rate the project documentation? 
• How would you rate the training received for the product?
• How effective was the project manager’s performance?
• How well did the project team execute the work required?
• On a scale of 1–10, how well were your expectations met?
• What worked well during the execution of the project? 
• What were the biggest issues during this project? 
• What lessons did you take away from the project?
• What questions should’ve been asked but weren’t? 

Of course, these questions are just suggestions. You may need to ask more specific questions about timing of permits, delays on deliverables, or quality of work. Take the responses as lessons you learn from a project and use them in the next. Mistakes happen, but you can take preventative measures to ensure you don’t overload a couple of workers or overlook important dates for inspections, for example.

Speeds up processing of final payment

Large and long projects are often split into phases and you may get paid along the way such as at each milestone. That final payment doesn’t come until you deliver a final project, though. A project closure checklist can help speed along the process so you get all stakeholders to sign off on the final project and the line on that final check.

Creates opportunity to formally celebrate

Orphaned or neverending projects can be demoralizing to any project manager and team. When you close out a project properly, you can formally celebrate it as a win. Whether that includes dinner out together, bonuses, or a couple days off, it’s always beneficial to pat your team on the back for a job well done. A project closure checklist makes it much easier to put a project to bed and prepare for the next.

Project closure template examples

Depending on your industry or company, a project closure checklist could look very different. Use this project closure template as a starting off point. We kept it general to fit most basic projects, but you can tweak it to include multiple files or documents, inspection dates, code, or other deliverables.

FAQs

The post Project Closure Checklist: Overview, Examples & Template appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

• Quality management consists of four main aspects: planning, assurance, control, and improvement.
• Predictably quality management is bound by the Triple Constraint.
• Quality management can be built into your project plans.

From manufacturing, to B2B services, to computer technologies, product teams often talk about the triple constraint. You know the one: “Fast, cheap, or good—pick two.” (Yes, we know that the third one is often scope, not quality; just humor us). 

We often use it as a way to communicate to higher ups that they can certainly ask for all three, but there’s no way for a team to deliver on it. 

What tends to get ignored, though, is how staff involved in project management are essentially being asked to balance the three priorities against each other. Just as there’s never a situation where you can hit all three (at least not reliably), there’s rarely a time when you can flatly ignore any of them altogether. Though product/project quality is the most common of the three to draw the short straw.

You don’t always have a surplus of time, resources, or skilled labor to throw at that conflict. But projects don’t just magically produce quality output without some help. So let’s see if we can’t provide a bit of guidance that might assist you in your efforts (without demanding too much from you).

What is quality management?

Let’s start by paying some of our SEO dues. After all, if we let the bots completely dominate the content marketing industry, it’s only a matter of time before they move on to bigger and better things. Like world domination.

Like so many terms in business, “quality management” can be a reference to more than one thing, so for clarity’s sake, we’re going to lay out some definitions. First and foremost, we’re not referring to “Total Quality Management,” or TQM. That movement was a response to the rising success of business in Japan during the 70’s and 80’s. Western businesses started to worry when companies like Toyota started leveraging methods like lean manufacturing to achieve higher quality at lower costs.

TQM died out in the early ‘90s, with most of the initiatives and approaches that were effective being absorbed, subsumed, or superseded by the International Organization for Standardization, and their quality management systems. 

These days, quality management is a broader term referring to the methodology of pursuing increased quality within a business context. It’s an umbrella termthat encompasses everything from specific frameworks used as a quality management system, as well as distinct business functions like quality assurance and quality control.

Quality management is generally accepted to have four aspects: planning, assurance, control, and improvement. Not every organization leverages all four, but as far as business terminology, anything in these categories would fall under the larger linguistic umbrella. 

Basically, quality management is the “quality” analog to strategies designed to improve speed/efficiency (like Agile development), and minimize costs (e.g. just-in-time inventory). In some cases, like lean manufacturing mentioned above, a particular framework may function across all three constraints.

Triangular tug-of-war

Whoever first picked the word “constraint” was certainly onto something, weren’t they? Each person on the team, no matter the project, is only human. And even the most powerful machines have hard limits. It is, as they say, a zero-sum game. Feel free to raise your hand if you feel like you’re winning said game, but we won’t hold our breath.

Dynamics differ from project to project, but it’s not uncommon for project managers to act as both  facilitator and coordinator, without actually being directly involved in the production. You’re handling logistics of labor the way a…well a logistics team would plan and schedule the shuffling of physical assets. 

Where does this leave you? Well, kind of like you have three different groups of “bosses”:

• The people in finance, who want things done cheap
• The managers and supervisors, who want the work completed quickly
• The customers, who want the product they’re paying for to be the best

Beyond that, the hard limits on these constraints will usually be defined by people other than you, such as when executives set strict budget limits, clients set hard deadlines, or production teams needing something as silly as meal breaks or sleep. Which, of course, leaves you stuck trying to create quality products with one metaphorical hand tied behind your back.

Still, who doesn’t want to be proud of the work they’ve done, or to be part of a project that demonstrates high levels of skill, workmanship, and quality? So as you play this zero-sum game, you’ll have to try to make the resources at your disposal stretch as best you can, if you want to hit quality targets.

Without, you know, going over budget, burning out overworked staff, or dragging projects out further than is permissible.

Learn more about the five phases of every successful project

A quick and dirty guide to quality management planning

Like the triple constraint itself, there are a few foundational realities you need to balance as a project manager.

Prioritize progress over perfection

Try as we might, there’s no such thing as zero-error processes. There will always be goofs, mistakes, glitches, defects, and the like. The goal isn’t elimination, but mitigation, monitoring, response, and continuous improvement. If there is a finish line in this race, it’s “best it can be,” not “without flaw.”

What does that look like in practice for project managers? In large part, it’s a matter of choosing the right success metrics (which we’ll talk about more below). Remember those three sliders of value: quality, speed, and financial efficiency. You’ll want to use those (and how they’re weighted in the value judgments of the management team) to select the data points you want to collect, and then use that data to measure effectiveness in three areas:

• Do our processes successfully build the product/products?
• Do the products work as intended/deliver on promises?
• Do our customers/target audience report satisfaction with our product?

Now, here’s where the rubber hits the road: “effectiveness” and/or success is not a pass-fail test. You’re measuring degrees—to what degree do we build our products on time, under budget, and to specifications? To what degree does the product perform as desired, and to what degree are customers satisfied with it? 

Take customer satisfaction as an example. Maybe you’re measuring things based on reviews and ratings (though that method leaves a bit to be desired). Maybe you’re tracking customer retention rates. Maybe you’re tracking sales growth. Whatever you’re using as a meter stick, it’s not going to be 100%. 

Instead, there will be some combination of “Yes!”, “No!”, and “eh.” The negative values aren’t failures; they’re diagnostic data, and they can be used to help guide efforts to optimize, improve, refine, and otherwise try to improve success rates. Even then, though, the objective is still not to hit 100%. It’s to reach an attainable and acceptable threshold, and then make continual adjustments to maintain that performance.

Learn from critical feedback

There’s no pleasing everyone. There will always be at least one person (and, more likely, a whole contingent of people) who will be unhappy with the results of the project. It may be customers/clients, executives, or even yourself. That’s ok, and it’s to be expected. Remember, negative feedback doesn’t equal failure. It’s diagnostic data. So it’s best to have systems in place to identify why they’re dissatisfied. 

We used customer satisfaction as an example in the above section, much of which is also relevant here. But you may or may not have a finger in the pies responsible for actually managing quality assurance, making adjustments to products or target markets, or similar factors. If that’s the case, the data points we’re discussing here are largely for those who will be handling those aspects.

For you in project management, though, anything related to the process itself will probably be under purview, and those are things you can focus on. That means that, at least as far as customer satisfaction, your “customers” are internal—managers, production teams, and other stakeholders.

That means your goal here is to identify obstacles in the project process that make it difficult for teams to build for quality, work efficiently, and complete things on time. You’ll be mediating between the management team (who will likely be setting some of the standards for those values), and the production staff that has to meet the targets. 

Consult the staff on what’s creating the biggest headaches, and what ideas or solutions they think would be the most helpful. And confer with the big wigs on what’s flexible, what’s not, and the realities that the production teams are dealing with. Like the above section mentions, there won’t be 100% success in every area (or, more likely, any area). 

What you’re seeking is functional, successful compromise, ideally leading to external customer satisfaction.

Expect to fail (and plan accordingly)

There is no, and never will be, a single, surefire path to ensuring quality. And even if there was, it wouldn’t survive day one of production. As the old military adage goes, “no strategy survives first contact with the enemy.” 

But what might sound like impending doom at first is actually a reassurance. Bumps in the road are not just possible, they’re basically guaranteed. Incidentally, so are moments where you’ll have to make changes on the fly, saving more formal revisions for when they can be properly scheduled and accommodated. 

In other words, you can rest easy knowing that perfection wasn’t actually ever on the table, no matter what anyone on the team contributed to the effort. Even with the most effective systems or approaches, there are plenty of snags you can hit, and wrenches that can end up in the works. There will always be retrofits, adjustments, repairs, and a certain amount of slate-wiping. Plan as best you can, and build room into those plans to leave some margin for a few of those errors. 

After all, between a well-prepared realist and a poorly rehearsed optimist, the former nearly always sees better results in the end.

Planning quality into your project planning

Start with the standard

It’s hard to evaluate something for quality if you don’t know what qualifies as good or bad. So, as common sense as it might sound, we recommend that you start by establishing standards.

Some of this may have already been done for you. Industry standards, regulatory guidelines, and legal constraints are factors in a host of different contexts, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t encourage you to adhere to such mandates.

Once you’ve accounted for these (or determined that they’re not applicable), it’s time to look at your standards:

• The standards of your organization.
• The standards of your team and the relevant experts you have on staff.
• The standards you personally bring to the table from private and/or professional experience.

Lastly, you’ll want to be honest with yourself about how attainable any of these standards are. Some will be idyllic and borderline theoretical. Others will be aspirational—possible, but difficult or unlikely to be achieved. You’ll have realistic standards, ones that can reasonably be attained either currently or with a number of feasible adjustments. 

At the bottom will be your threshold for “minimum viable product” (yes, we know that’s not what MVP typically means in a product context, but we’re rolling with it here, and so should you). These will be the absolute floor, below which the product or project is genuinely dead on arrival. Products that don’t function or fall apart on first use, services that fail to actually fill their core purpose, that sort of thing. 

With your standards so organized, you’ll be prepared to judge not just if the project was a success, but also to what degree it was successful. 

Follow the numbers

Where possible, leverage historical data to inform your plans, strategies, and decisions. Trends from analytics and other records may highlight areas that need more (or less) attention from your quality management efforts. 

Different projects have different objectives, and different markets want different things. If you have historical data to refer to, you may be able to conserve resources by minimizing effort in areas that don’t add value, so they can be redirected to bolstering quality where it’s actually desired. 

Get organized

Once you have plans and processes in place, quality management effectively becomes its own project, more or less. Anyone who’s had to run a kanban board, manage Gantt charts, participate in scrum sprints, or the like is probably well acquainted with this already. Both you as the project manager, and the team you’re helping to coordinate, will have an easier time reaching objectives if progress is tracked via an external medium.

What’s more, you’ll see more success if you have reliable ways to monitor, record, review, and optimize the quality management processes themselves, not just the processes they seek to oversee.

Assign ownership

If you’ve been in PM for any length of time, this should be nothing new. But it’s important for someone to be in charge of and/or responsible for the progress and measurement of these efforts. Things easily get lost in the shuffle if there’s no one in particular who’s supposed to ask “Hey, where are we at with ‘X’?”

Critically, ownership doesn’t always have to be yours. There are plenty of situations where it’s feasible—optimal, even—to let someone else wear the hat. It gives production-level staff opportunities to practice leadership/collaboration skills, and gives them a stake in the quality of the end product, as success here reflects positively on them (and vice versa).

Learn from both victories and mistakes

We’ll end with the reminder that the only true failure is failing to learn from unsuccessful efforts. Beyond that, the faster you can learn—that is, the faster you can identify problems and respond to them—the faster you can reach an acceptable win state.

 As mentioned a few times above, whether something works or it doesn’t, that’s just another data point, helping you identify where to double down and where to tinker a bit more. 

Working in project management, you may not always be in a position to impact much beyond reporting on things that affect product quality and project efficiency. But even in these cases, you may be able to provide critical information that can be used to refine, iterate, or pivot as needed. 

Sometimes, the most valuable data points are the ones that help identify what went wrong, and point to possible solutions.

The post Tips on How to Plan Quality Management in Projects appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

We cover some of our hand-picked favorites below, but if you don’t see a product you like on this list, you can find more free and paid options in our Project Management Software Guide.

Top free project management software

Jira: Best for software development

Jira offers agile project management for teams that use scrum boards or kanban boards. Its task and workload management features can work for all kinds of businesses, but Jira focuses heavily on development teams.

While Jira’s paid plans get you some top-notch tools for managing dev projects (like a sandbox and release tracks), even its free version comes with great features for developers. You get essential agile tools, like a backlog and task dependencies. You also benefit from security settings, like encryption, disaster recovery, and account capture. In other words, you can manage your high-value development projects―and you can make sure they’re well-protected.

Jira pros and cons

Jira key features

Integrations: Jira offers more than one thousand software integrations. That includes popular development software like GitHub, Zendesk, Figma, and many more.

Reporting: Use data to plan, execute, and review projects with Jira’s out-of-the-box reports. From burndown charts to resolution time reports to time tracking reports, Jira can help you understand your project data better.

Security: Keep your projects safe and secure. Jira includes top-notch security features like data encryption, session duration limits, and password creation policies.

Trello: Best for ease of use

Trello project management software uses a virtual kanban board to organize your tasks. So just like with a real Kanban board, you create cards to represent tasks. Those cards move from one status column to another as the task (and project) progresses.

Trello kanban boards are simple to set up and to use. You can create new cards with a single click, add as much (or as little) information as you want, and then drag and drop cards across your board to mark task progress. Plus, Trello uses visible, clearly labeled buttons for most of its features. You won’t have to go hunting in menus trying to find a specific tool. That makes Trello easy for your team to adopt and maintain―whether you have a dedicated project manager or not.

Trello pros and cons

Trello key features

Unlimited users: Unlike many other free projects management software, Trello lets you have any number of contributors on its free plan. Paid plans get you more features―not users.

Kanban board: Trello’s kanban-style boards are both intuitive and very visual. Task cards and status columns make it easy to see where a project stands without needing to dig into the data.

Power-ups: Add extra features to your Trello boards or integrate with outside software using Trello power-ups. You can use as many power-ups as you want, even on the free plan.

ClickUp: Best for team collaboration

ClickUp offers work management software with a focus on team collaboration. It includes the usual project management tools, but it also has tools for team chat, document creation, 

management tools, time tracking, and more.

So with ClickUp, your team can do much more than just track projects. They can actively brainstorm new project ideas with ClickUp’s virtual whiteboards or collaborate on copy creation with its Docs word processing. Likewise, team members can touch base and trade ideas with ClickUp’s chat―without ever worrying about information getting lost in other software. It’s an all-in-one (or at least most-in-one) project management and collaboration solution.

ClickUp pros and cons

ClickUp key features

Whiteboards: Collaborate with in-office or remote coworkers with ClickUps’s virtual whiteboards. When you’re done, ClickUp can help translate your brainstorming into actual tasks.

Chat: Keep project-related conversations in your project management software with ClickUp’s built-in chat. Embed files, tag team members, and create channels for specific projects.

Docs: ClickUp includes a collaborative word processor. Multiple team members can view, compose, comment on, and edit a document together in real time.

Airtable: Best for project views

Airtable lets you organize your projects with advanced spreadsheets. Each cell contains data about tasks (like due dates or assigned people), with the option to add many columns’ worth of information. That means it can handle even very complex, data-heavy project management systems.

Airtable doesn’t just let you include tons of project data―it lets you look at that data in many different ways. The free plan lets you switch from the basic spreadsheet to a calendar, kanban board, or gallery view (and paid plans get you more options). Airtable also gives you extensive filtering and hiding rules, so you can focus on the data that matters in the moment. You can also use its interface designer to create visual dashboards for your project data.

Airtable pros and cons

Airtable key features

Unlimited commenters and readers: While Airtable’s free plan limits you to five editors, you can give other users some access. These users can view your Airtable base and leave comments.

Project views: Airtable gives you several options for looking at project data. Even on the free plan, you can choose from a chart, calendar, or kanban board layout. 

Interface designer: Make visual dashboards from your base data with Airtable’s interface designer. The drag-and-drop designer makes it easy to lay out your project data in new ways.

Asana: Best for file storage

Asana provides project management software with a focus on task management. Asana also includes plenty of tools for automation (one of the most innovative project management strategies) so you can save time on repetitive tasks.

Asana’s free project managing software has truly standout file storage. All Asana plans come with unlimited file storage, so you can add all the documents and images you want. Asana even lets you upload relatively large files of up to 100 MB on the free plan. Asana lets you create unlimited projects and tasks, too, all with their own files. So you can keep everything you need for your projects―from notes to data to files―in one convenient software.  

Asana pros and cons

Asana key features

File storage: Upload and store as many files as you want. Each file can be up to 100 MB―a relatively large file size for a free project management software. 

Activity log: See changes and updates to tasks and projects over time with Asana’s activity log. Other software limits you to a few weeks or months of activity, but Asana logs are unlimited.

Unlimited tasks and projects: Don’t worry about hitting a project or task limit on your free plan. Asana lets you add unlimited projects, tasks, and subtasks.

Choosing the best free project management solution

All five of our top free project management tools offer great features―so to choose the best one, think about what matters most to your business.

If you need to manage development projects, try Jira and all its dev-focused features.

If you need software that your team can quickly learn and set up, go with Trello’s easy-to-use software.

If you want to make it easy for your team to work together, pick ClickUp and its collaboration tools.

If you prefer to have flexibility in how you look at project data, choose AirTable with its multiple project views.

If your team needs lots of storage space for project files, use Asana for its unlimited file storage.
Or, if none of those free project management softwares fit your needs, explore more PM tool options in our Project Management Software Guide.

The post Best Free Project Management Software (2024) appeared first on TechnologyAdvice.

• Asana is better for task and workflow management as well as automation and integration opportunities.
• monday.com is better for reporting, robust analytics, and a reliable network of customer support resources.

Asana vs. monday.com: Which is better?

Asana: Better for task and workflow management

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Overall Score

3.76/5

Pros

• Unlimited projects, tasks, and storage on all plans.
• More integration options.
• Dynamic project structures and workflows.
• Individual, team, and company-wide goal tracking.

Cons

• Some customer support issues.
• Larger learning curve.
• Limited document management capabilities.
• Basic project dashboards.

Who should choose Asana?

Asana works well for a wide range of use cases, but it has a slight edge if:

• Your projects and workflows are complex.
• You have no budget for project management software.
• You have a team of 10 or fewer people.
• You want streamlined goal tracking.

About Asana

Asana’s flexible project management and task management tools will rise to the level of complexity you need. The platform allows you to monitor progress and stay ahead of potential risks by breaking down projects into multiple levels of tasks, subtasks, and even sub-subtasks. You also have complete control over project views, with options to group, sort, and filter tasks according to any field.

The software has other useful tools, like task dependencies, approvals, and batch actions. It also offers a great-value free plan, supporting up to 10 users at no additional cost. All in all, if you need to stay on top of many moving parts, Asana’s task management features are a strong choice for your team.

Key features

Project view customization: Control what details are displayed for your project and how. Organize by task type, status, owner, etc.

Task granularity: Asana allows you to break down assignments as thoroughly as necessary. Create tasks and subtasks with dependencies, then group tasks or establish dependencies to maintain the overall progress of your project.

High-level monitoring: Goal tracking and portfolio management features provide a birds’-eye view of progress and resources across multiple projects and teams.

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monday.com: Better for reporting

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Overall Score

3.2/5

Pros

• Comprehensive in-app document management.
• 200+ project templates.
• Strong multichannel customer support.
• Wide variety of highly customizable dashboard widgets.

Cons

• Frustrating limitations in free and low-tier paid plans.
• Restrictive task hierarchies.
• No prebuilt proofing and approval processes.
• No top-level goal tracking.

Who should choose monday.com?

Choose monday.com if:

• Your project structure is simple.
• You need a fast implementation timeline.
• You work well with hands-on customer support teams.
• You want intricate tracking dashboards.

About monday.com

monday.com bills itself as a “work OS” or a platform that can manage workflows for everything, from HR to design to software development. The platform includes lots of project management tools, but you can also use it as a CRM, workflow automation tool, or collaboration tool.

monday.com is a standout solution for building custom dashboards and data analysis widgets, especially for users who want creative and highly visual widgets that can be filtered and adjusted to their specifications. And while monday.com is generally considered a user-friendly tool with no-code customizability, customers can also benefit from multichannel, 24/7 customer support.

Key features

Project template library: Choose from hundreds of templates for unique use cases — including several industry-specific scenarios — to get your project up and running quickly.

Dashboard customization: Dashboards offer tremendous versatility and numerous options to fine-tune data visualizations to your requirements. Several widgets, like Llama Farm, offer highly creative and fun ways to track different metrics for project progress.

App marketplace: Browse hundreds of apps (not to be confused with integrations) that have been curated by monday.com’s developer community to extend the software’s native functionality.

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Asana vs. monday.com: Pricing

Winner: Asana

Here’s why: Asana and monday.com are structured similarly, with free-forever plans that graduate incrementally to custom enterprise packages. However, while monday.com offers slightly lower starting prices for its paid plans, Asana offers more value and comprehensive features in its free plan by a landslide (more rationale and analysis available in Analysis tab).

Comparison

*per user per month, with annual billing

Asana

Score: 4.25 out of 5 stars.

Asana has five main pricing tiers:

• Personal: $0 for up to 10 user seats.
• Starter: $10.99 per user per month, billed annually, or $13.49 per user per month, billed monthly.
• Advanced: $24.99 per user per month, billed annually, or $30.49 per user per month, billed monthly.
• Enterprise: Custom quote.
• Enterprise+: Custom quote.

The free plan allows up to 10 users, which means it could work for a small team that needs several project and task management features but has little or no budget available. Even in the free tier, Asana includes access to unlimited projects, tasks, file storage, activity logs, and messages.

Most teams, though, will want at least the Starter plan to meet their needs. Moving up to this pricing tier gives you access to workflow automation, unlimited free guests, Gantt chart views, and other tools that will level up your project management capabilities.

monday.com

Score: 3.25 out of 5 stars.

monday work management has five tiers:

• Free: $0 for up to 2 seats and several limitations.
• Basic: $9 per seat per month, billed annually, or $12 per seat per month, billed monthly.
• Standard: $12 per seat per month, billed annually, or $14 per seat per month, billed monthly.
• Pro: $19 per seat per month, billed annually, or $24 per seat per month, billed monthly.
• Enterprise: Custom quote.

monday.com also offers comparable plans for its specialized products, monday sales CRM and monday dev.

While monday.com does offer a free plan, its inclusions are too limited for most teams. For example, free plan accounts can only have two users, three boards, and no integrations or automations. Even the Basic plan, which is the first paid tier, lacks essentials like automations, calendar and timeline views, and guest access.

Most businesses should expect to pay between $12 and $19 per user per month for the mid-tier Standard or Pro plans. These plans both get you software integrations, workflow automation, and more project views, but the Pro plan gives you more of all of those. If your team needs extensive admin and enterprise security capabilities, you’ll want to talk with monday’s team directly about Enterprise plan pricing.

Analysis

Asana

You get pretty much everything an individual user or even a small team would need in the free plan, especially since this plan includes access to unlimited tasks, projects, messages, file storage, and activity logs (although not much in the way of reporting and dashboarding). The free plan also has a wide variety of project views, which is really helpful. Most importantly for project teams, this free plan is generous enough to offer access for up to 10 users. 

The way features scale up with each Asana tier makes sense, and I love that Asana breaks its plans down between those that are ideal for individuals and small teams and those that are ideal for businesses and enterprises. The Enterprise and Enterprise+ plans offer impressive features for administration, security, data management, and more. 

Asana’s paid-tier plans each have great features at mostly solid prices, though it’s significant that there isn’t really a pricing equivalent in Asana to monday’s Standard plan. Instead, pricing more than doubles when moving from Starter to Advanced, which isn’t ideal if you need to upgrade but don’t want to take such a huge leap with your budget.

Pricing for paid plans is also a bit misleading, so be aware. Both the Starter and Advanced plans require you to have at least two users on your account. So although the price technically starts at $10.99 and $24.99 for each of these plans, the real minimum cost is more like $21.98 and $49.98, respectively.

monday.com

monday’s packaging approach isn’t terrible but it also isn’t great, especially in the lower tiers. As an individual managing just my own projects, I was frustrated by how quickly I ran out of space in my workspace. Even just while managing work and tasks for one person, I ran out of space within a year; working within the confines of only 1,000 items and three boards is incredibly limiting. 

I also was frustrated by the fact that both the free plan and the lowest-tier paid plan didn’t have any views beyond the kanban view. I really wanted the calendar view to better visualize my deadlines, but since this feature is only available in the second of the paid tiers, I had to upgrade to the Standard plan to get what I needed. Unfortunately, that plan (and all paid monday.com plans) require you to pay for at least three seats, even if you only need one seat. Several other features are weak or missing at the lower tiers, so you pretty much have to upgrade to more expensive plans to get full functionality. 

However, reporting and dashboarding are pretty solid at the lowest tiers, as is customer support availability and team collaboration capabilities. Also, an important thing to highlight: despite the limitation of only two users per free plan account, all paid plans support unlimited users.

Asana vs. monday.com: Task and workflow management

Winner: Asana

Here’s why: monday.com’s project template library will help you jumpstart your project if you’re pressed for time, but its task management capabilities are relatively inflexible. Asana, on the other hand, gives you granular control over how your projects are structured and organized so your team can work more efficiently. It’s clear that Asana was specifically designed for task and task hierarchy management (more rationale and analysis available in Analysis tab).

Comparison

Asana

Score: 4.63 out of 5 stars.

Asana offers several compelling advantages over monday.com when it comes to managing complex workflows and tasks. First, Asana’s interface makes it easier to customize any project view to your requirements. You can group tasks by type, status, owner, due date, etc. and sort within those groups to see what’s most important in different circumstances.

It also lets you break down projects into units that make sense for your team, whether that’s tasks, subtasks, or sub-subtasks. Task hierarchy is extensive here, allowing users to set up as many as five degrees of dependent subtasks. 

However, you can’t assign one task to multiple people, which means you have to distill tasks into their simplest components. While some users are frustrated by this limitation, others appreciate that it forces a level of granularity that encourages accountability and clear communication. In comparison, monday.com’s capabilities are limited to one level of subtasks that struggle to show up accurately with reporting and automations.

monday.com

Score: 2.81 out of 5 stars.

monday work management isn’t as dynamic as Asana when it comes to task and workflow management. This is especially apparent when looking at monday’s task-setup capabilities. Only one level of subtask hierarchy is possible, and task dependencies, recurring tasks, and task multi-homing are all either only available in higher-tier plans or require users to do their own complicated customizations. 

However, despite these shortcomings, monday.com does offer an impressive range of pre-configured categories, which support easier tracking and collaboration down the line. For example, you can choose from more than 30 types of columns when building or customizing a board:

Some of these column types are slight variations of the same thing (Text and Long text, for example) that can be accomplished with customizations in Asana. However, some columns like World clock, Formula, Button, and Rating offer a unique functionality that would take considerably more effort to replicate in Asana. Columns in the monday app can’t be customized to the same degree as those in Asana, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if you don’t have the time or patience to fuss with building something from scratch.

To that end, monday.com’s vast library of templates range from broad use cases like marketing strategy to niche ones like real estate agency management. These templates demonstrate numerous ways monday.com can adapt to different industries, teams, projects, and workflows with little manual effort.

Analysis

Asana

Asana really shines in this category. Based on my experience with Asana, monday.com, and other similar PM platforms, I think Asana is the best overall for task and workflow management. 

It is an incredible tool not just for visualizing and setting up tasks, but also for setting up task hierarchies that make sense and break down the project so everyone can understand and take responsibility for their tasks and subtasks. Also, unlike monday and several other tools, recurring tasks and task dependencies are built in as features at all levels, including in the free plan, which is great for teams that really want to drill down into the specifics. The tool also offers a generous range of project view options, including in its free plan.

I was surprised and impressed by the granularity you can achieve with Asana task hierarchy. Users can develop a task hierarchy with up to five levels per task. Admittedly, this would probably be overkill for most projects. But for projects with dozens of teammates, complex requirements and dependencies, or a long timeline where details get filled in over time, this kind of hierarchy is likely to come in handy.

Asana’s project and task templates are available in all paid plans. Its templates are really well done and useful, though the available options and industry-specific templates are somewhat lacking. However, I would choose Asana over monday if I’m most interested in setting up custom task templates.

monday.com

monday.com can handle most of the basics pretty well and is especially good at offering useful project templates to its customers. However, it has some pretty important shortcomings for task and workflow management, especially when compared to Asana. Subtask hierarchy is nonexistent (although you can have multiple subtasks), multiple project views are only available in the top three tiers, and recurring tasks and task multi-homing can only be set up through complex workarounds that may or may not actually work even after all that effort. Storage is also limited.

monday’s limitations for project views are probably the most disappointing here. The kanban view is the only view available in its Free and Basic plans. Timeline, Calendar, and Map views become available in the Standard plan. And Chart view is only available in the Pro and Enterprise plans. The limitations here are a big reason why I ended up upgrading from the free plan, despite only being one user.

For users who want task and workflow management that makes sense and requires little configuration, though, monday is actually a great solution because of its well-designed project templates. The tool’s 200+ project templates — a really solid collection with a wide variety of coverage — are available in all plans. In my opinion, monday.com does a better job than Asana of categorizing and providing templates for industry-specific requirements.

Asana vs. monday.com: Reporting & analytics

Winner: monday.com

Here’s why: Asana’s analytics capabilities are sufficient for basic project reports, but monday.com offers more variety and customization in terms of data visualization. monday.com’s first-party data architecture, mondayDB, is also better for maintaining large, complex dashboards (more rationale and analysis available in Analysis tab).

Comparison

Asana

Score: 3.06 out of 5 stars.

Asana’s analytics capabilities are pretty basic. Each project dashboard has seven chart formats for data visualization:

• Bar charts.
• Stacked bar charts.
• Line graphs.
• Donut charts.
• Burnup charts.
• Lollipop charts.
• Numbers custom field sum charts.

You can tweak each chart’s axes and color palette, but it’s missing some of the controls monday.com offers for sizing, ascending/descending axes, and multi-dimensional charts. Similarly, Asana’s widget filters are less dynamic and can be a little tricky to configure correctly.

Asana has several reporting and analytics limitations, with the most important one being that free plan users do not have access to dashboarding or reporting features. In paid plans, Asana is also more limited in terms of widget quantity — each dashboard maxes out at 20 widgets, so if you need more depth or detail, you’ll need to export the data to a different platform. Thankfully, Asana’s Google Sheets integration makes this relatively easy.

Outside of project-specific dashboards and plan-specific limitations, though, Asana has some compelling analytics features, especially when it comes to team and performance management. The Goals dashboard, for example, is reminiscent of performance management software. You can set up cascading goals at the company, team, or individual level and drill into more granular sub-goals and related work. This setup makes it easy to see how individual projects and tasks contribute to broader goals without much manual configuration.

monday.com

Score: 3.38 out of 5 stars.

monday.com’s greatest strength lies in its analytics capabilities. In mid-2023, the company announced the launch of mondayDB, its database architecture that powers the software’s boards and dashboards. mondayDB is a more flexible and secure infrastructure solution compared to most alternatives — it’s still in its first version, so particularly complex queries on large datasets tend to lag a bit, but monday.com’s product roadmap promises better performance at a larger scale in the coming months.

Beyond the database infrastructure, monday.com’s dashboard widgets offer extensive data visualization options that are incredibly user-friendly and intuitive. You can choose from a large library of 40+ widgets to build a dashboard with the precise details you need to track what’s most important. It has all of the standard charts and graphs you’d expect, plus unique widgets for things like workload management, geo-mapping, and date countdowns. The app marketplace offers additional visualization options for niche use cases as well.

Like Asana, monday.com lacks the ability to generate ready-made, exportable reports, but you can export individual widgets as PDFs, PNGs, SVGs, and other file formats.

Learn more about monday.com’s dashboards in our 2-part video overview:

Analysis

Asana

Asana is really lacking when it comes to general reporting and dashboarding features, but it is a stellar performer when it comes to goals and milestones. It’s also pretty solid for usability, and it’s nice that certain plans support custom report fields (an advantage over monday). However, this tool’s reporting feels less user-friendly and is incredibly limited in the free plan. Especially for free plan teams that have as many as 10 users, I think this limitation would cause major longterm performance and progress tracking issues.

Its greatest strengths in this area are related to PPM reporting and milestone and goal reporting. For project portfolio management, portfolio workload reporting and dashboarding becomes available in the Advanced and Enterprise plans. In contrast, it’s unclear if monday’s work performance insights feature can be configured to do portfolio-wide reporting (though custom filters could certainly help).

Milestones are available in all paid plans, and Goals (as well as a full Goals project view) are available in the Advanced and Enterprise plans. While using this tool, I found that the Milestones and Goals parts of the platform were both easy to access and allow users to add a lot of detail. This is a clear strength area for Asana’s reporting and dashboarding that could otherwise use some improvements.

monday.com

While monday.com has some definite reporting and dashboarding shortcomings — especially for dashboard field customizability and goal/milestone reporting — it’s hard to beat the visual quality and usability of this tool’s reporting feature. What’s more, dashboards are available in all plans, including the free plan. Being able to use the basic widgets while I was still a free user of the tool gave me the confidence I needed to invest in a paid plan with even more high-quality dashboard widgets.

Unlimited dashboards are available in all plans. One board per dashboard is what’s possible for Free and Basic plan users. Standard allows up to five boards’ data to be combined and reviewed in a dashboard. Pro allows up to 10 boards. And Enterprise allows up to 50 boards. So although monday.com doesn’t directly advertise portfolio-wide reporting, the number of boards you can put on a Pro or Enterprise dashboard would fulfill most portfolio-wide reporting needs. 

I am personally a fan of the wide variety and visual quality of dashboard widgets on monday.com — it is one of its biggest selling points for me, because it makes reporting interesting and easier to manage, even for less-technical users.

Asana vs. monday.com: Automations & integrations

Winner: Asana

Here’s why: Both Asana and monday.com have user-friendly, no-code solutions for automations and integrations, but Asana wins for its sheer availability. Unlimited integrations are possible to set up in all plans, and automations can be set up in all paid plans. In contrast, monday.com only allows automation and integration setup in its top three plans (more rationale and analysis available in Analysis tab).

Comparison

*monday.com offers additional apps that are separate from integrations.

Asana

Score: 3.94 out of 5 stars.

With Asana, you get access to more than 400 popular app integrations like Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Figma, Jira, Slack, and Zoom. Most integrations are available n all Asana plans, but a handful of apps like Salesforce, Tableau, Power BI, and Adobe Creative Cloud are restricted to the higher paid plans. For the majority of use cases, though, the app you need to integrate is available for free.

Asana also offers open API access and works well with automation platforms like Zapier and Make. This is a nice workaround to automate basic processes for free, and it’s a must-have for complex flows that exceed Asana’s native capabilities.

On the automation front, Asana supports automations across all of its paid plans, allowing for 250 actions per month in the Starter plan, 25,000 actions per month in the Advanced plan, and unlimited automations per month in both the Enterprise and Enterprise+ plans. Additional strengths of Asana include proofing and approval workflows available to Advanced and Enterprise customers, forms in all paid plans, and a robust suite of AI automation and assistance tools via Asana AI.

monday.com

Score: 2.69 out of 5 stars.

monday.com’s approach to integrations is confusing at best and downright frustrating at worst. The integration library includes about 100 essential business apps that sync directly with your board, but you can’t actually use them unless you’re subscribed to the Standard plan or higher, where integrations first become available as a feature.

What’s more, monday.com limits both integration and automation usage — the Standard plan gets you 250 integration and automation actions per month, while the Pro plan bumps you up to 25,000, and even the Enterprise plan does not support unlimited integrations or automations. This structure can drive up costs quickly, especially if you have a large team that often works cross-functionally. Even connecting to a platform like Zapier requires a webhook integration, so there aren’t any viable workarounds like there are with Asana.

One advantage monday.com offers, though, is its app marketplace. While the integrations are primarily used to sync data with other platforms, apps serve to extend monday.com’s native functionality. Things like embedding Google Docs in an item card, for example, can be accomplished without setting up an integration. Another handful of monday.com advantages include forms and shareable forms in all plans (including the free plan) and a user interface for integrations and automations that is more intuitive than most — including Asana.

Learn more about monday.com’s integrations in our video overview:

Analysis

Asana

I can’t identify any real feature gaps here, just some limitations in lower-tier plans. Asana offers a great integration volume and range, solid proofing and approval opportunities, and a generous quantity of integration and automation actions at each pricing tier. Asana Intelligence seems to be one of the better AI assistants in PM right now. Limitations in lower-tier plans are about on par with most competitors.

Asana AI is available in all paid plans for AI automation and assistance, which is a huge plus. Features include smart statuses, smart goals, smart summaries, smart rules, the smart editor, smart fields, and smart projects. “Teammates” is a newer feature that gives insights about teams and tools and areas of strategic focus through the perspective of a virtual teammate, which also handles task automation and workflow orchestration. Coming soon in Asana AI are smart charts, smart onboarding, and AI teammate chat capabilities. From what I’m seeing, this is one of the best AI in PM solutions on the market today.

As far as ease of use goes, I would say that Asana is a great option for both technical and nontechnical users. It is particularly well suited to more complex integration and automation scenarios. Though, because of this strength, many users report that this tool could benefit from being more visual and that it has a steeper learning curve than some others, including monday.com.

monday.com

monday.com’s automation and integration features are great where they are available. No proofing and approval processes are built in, and no integration or automation opportunities are available in the bottom two plans. It’s kind of crazy to me that even the lowest-tier PAID plan doesn’t support these kinds of actions. Basically, you’re in a bad spot if you want integrations or automations as an individual user. However, despite these clear shortfalls, automations and integrations are relatively easy to set up and have a very visual interface with if/then logic, which is friendly to all user types.

monday AI is only available as part of the Pro and Enterprise plans at this time. Back when it was a beta feature, it was accessible in all paid plans, and I was able to use it in my Standard plan account, but this is no longer an option. Current AI features include AI templates and workflows, AI categorization, sentiment analysis, AI summarization, action item suggestions, content translation. I am especially impressed with the sentiment analysis feature and the general capabilities of this AI when it comes to processing large amounts of product data, including qualitative data.

Other than its user-friendly design, monday.com’s greatest strength in this category is its approach to forms. While forms are available in all paid plans in Asana, monday.com users can access forms in both free and paid plan accounts. Shareable forms are available across all plans, and unlimited forms are available to Pro and Enterprise users.

Asana vs. monday.com: Collaboration & accessibility

Winner: Asana, but just barely

Here’s why: Asana narrowly surpassed monday.com’s score with its impressive baseline features as well as its activity logs, admin console, and guest access features that support enterprise scalability. But what’s interesting here is monday excels in areas where Asana doesn’t and vice-versa. monday is great for multiple assignees and document management. The mobile app is also super easy to navigate, but its enterprise scalability across plans is less impressive (more rationale and analysis available in Analysis tab).

Comparison

Asana

Score: 3.13 out of 5 stars.

Asana’s built-in collaboration features are excellent across all plans, which is evident even in its free plan that allows up to 10 users to collaborate seamlessly. Users are treated to unlimited messages and commenting, unlimited assignees (though there’s no way to set up multiple assignees on a single task), relevant communication integrations, a capable mobile app version, and unlimited activity logs. The unlimited activity logs feature is a huge plus that allows teams to track their progress and hold different teammates accountable across different stages of a project. In contrast, none of monday’s plans offer an unlimited activity log option.

As far as weaknesses go, Asana falls short in an area where monday.com really shines: documents and document management. Sure, Asana users can attach files from external sources directly to tasks and workflows, but from there, there does not seem to be a central repository or workspace where users can access these documents; the only way to find them is if you click on them directly from the task(s) where they are attached. This is a definite shortcoming, but Asana works to mitigate it with its integrations with several cloud storage systems.

Speaking on general ease of use, Asana is a fairly easy-to-use tool but can be overwhelming to users with less PM platform experience. Incredible amounts of detail can be added to each task and subtask, and everything is very clearly labeled. It’s also really easy to add milestones and goals, so everyone knows what they’re working toward. Although this platform feels less visual and color-coded than monday.com, it makes up for it with all of the easy-to-access features and additions for task management.

monday.com

Score: 3.06 out of 5 stars.

monday.com is an excellent tool for collaboration and accessibility, giving users a colorful and customizable tool where they can clearly identify what teammates are working on. Multiple assignees for a single item or subitem are easy to set up regardless of your plan. This is a major advantage for tasks or groups of tasks that are owned by an entire team or several different team players; after all, it’s not always possible or prudent to break down ownership beyond that point, as Asana requires all users to do.

monday’s greatest strengths in this category lie in its approach to document management and the approachability of its overall interface. Embedded documents are available in all plans, and private docs are available in the Pro and Enterprise plans. Unlimited docs are available in all paid plans, and generally speaking, the platform offers really great doc usability through its intuitive interface. It’s not quite at the level of an office suite tool, but it has way more capabilities than you’d expect for a built-in document storage and management tool.

Compared to Asana, monday.com’s lower-tier plans have some collaborative weaknesses, with the most obvious being that only two users can be added to the free plan. Its approach to activity logs is perhaps the most frustrating for larger, data-driven teams. The most you can get for monday.com activity logs is five years in the Enterprise plan, while both the Free and Basic plans only provide activity logs for up to a week.

Analysis

Asana

While not all collaboration-focused features are available in the free plan, many are, and nearly all others are an option across all paid plans. Among these features is the admin console, which is highly capable and includes several different, adjustable controls. I will say, though, the interface for this feature is a tad overwhelming because of all the elements that come with it.

The guest access and guest access management features in Asana also stand out and are available in all paid plans. Unlimited free guests can be added to any paid plan, while guest invite controls are available in both Enterprise plans and trusted guest domains can be configured in Enterprise+ accounts.

iOS and Android mobile apps are available for all plans, and mobile data controls are available in both Enterprise and Enterprise+ plans. Generally, user reviews say that Asana’s mobile interface is clean and easy to read/use. I tend to agree based on my experience. 

I have to say, I was really surprised and disappointed by Asana’s approach to in-app document management — or its lack thereof. You can attach files from external sources to your tasks, including images and PDFs, but you’re really limited beyond that. For example, when I linked a Google doc to one of my Asana tasks, I found that it just goes directly to that doc and leaves the platform entirely, which disrupts the whole user experience.

Additionally, it seems like file uploads have to be directly attached to a specific project task — they can’t be universally uploaded. There also isn’t a folder system or way to categorize and organize these file attachments, and there’s no version control or advanced search either. However, there are integrations for cloud storage systems. Also, you can attach these files to approval and proofing workflows directly, which is convenient.

In sum, as long as you’re not trying to use Asana to replace or supplement your current content creation and collaborative workspace tools, you should have all of the collaboration features you need in this tool.

monday.com

I was generally surprised to see that monday performs best in areas where Asana doesn’t and vice-versa. This was especially shocking, considering how closely these two compete and try to outperform each other. Overall, monday is great for multiple assignees and document management. The mobile app is also super easy to navigate. However, its activity logs, guest access, and communication integration capabilities are quite lacking, especially in its lower tiers.

Sure, an activity log is available across all plans, but every monday.com plan has its limits. One week is available for Free and Basic, six months for Standard, one year for Pro, and five years for Enterprise. This could be crippling, depending on teams’ workflows and project timelines. Even in my solopreneur work, I quickly became discouraged by the lack of data I could access from my previous year’s client work. This is not a problem in any Asana plan.

I also don’t love monday’s approach to guest access. Limited guest access starts to be offered in the Standard plan, with four guests billed as one seat. Unlimited guest access doesn’t become available until the Pro and Enterprise tiers. To slightly make up for this weakness, monday does allow unlimited free viewers in all paid plans; these individuals are given read-only access.

monday.com really delivers when it comes to general ease of use, even when compared to the user-friendly Asana. The platform operates with an easy kanban-style interface; the other project views are pretty straightforward too, if you’re willing to pay for the higher-tier plans where they’re available. Color-coding, custom fields and columns, assignees and due dates, etc. all make it really easy to see what you’re doing, what your teammates are doing, and how projects are progressing. Its document and whiteboard features are also quite useful, especially since they help users to differentiate between formal project documentation and brainstorming space.

Asana vs. monday.com: Support

Winner: monday.com

Here’s why: Both monday.com and Asana have earned high marks for customer service and support in user reviews, but while Asana lacks some multichannel and 24/7 availability in certain plans, monday.com offers comprehensive support resources — both guided and self-service — across all of its plans (more rationale and analysis available in Analysis tab).

Comparison

Asana

Score: 3.25 out of 5 stars.

Asana’s support features are mostly high-quality solutions. The lack of phone support and limitations on 24/7 support were the biggest weaknesses here. I wasn’t a fan of the chatbot either. In general, though, I was pleased with its collection of self-service and self-help resources — especially its comprehensive documentation — and its live training setup.

Phone support does not appear to be an option for users on any plan, and 24/7 support is only available for Enterprise and Enterprise+ users, which is a major ding for its support reputation against monday, which offers 24/7 support on all paid plans. And while Asana does have a live chat feature, it quickly became clear to me that it is entirely bot-powered and not capable of answering even some of my simpler account questions.

But Asana really puts in the work for its Asana Help Center ticketing system and its Asana Guide knowledge base. It also has one of the more impressive collections of live trainings that I’ve seen. Several different live training options available for free, even without an account. Training is also available in different languages, including English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish.

monday.com

Score: 4.13 out of 5 stars.

monday.com is already an easy-to-use tool, but when you add in its top-tier support capabilities, I find it to be one of the most user-friendly options available today. There are very few limitations here. I love the multichannel support options, though there are some limitations on the customer’s agency, specifically for how phone calls work. 

monday.com’s 24/7 support is available to all paid plan users, which is a major advantage compared to many of its direct competitors, including Asana. Its live chat, ticketing, and knowledge base setups are also straightforward and effortless, giving fairly accurate answers to nearly all of the questions I could think of. I was surprised and happy to see that its email and ticket support resources were available to me even when I logged out of my account, though that may cause them to occasionally overcommit to lower-priority issues and questions.

The only disadvantage I can find with monday’s support approach is that certain premium support features, including a dedicated CSM, are only available in the highest-tier plans. Other than that, customers should expect a strong customer service experience, even during onboarding and implementation.

Analysis

Asana

I said most of what I needed to say about Asana support in the section above, but there is one weakness I want to highlight: its live chat feature was almost unusable for certain queries I posed, which is a serious problem. While configuring this analysis, I asked two questions in the Asana chat that should have been very simple to answer. 

Not only did the bot not answer me, it just provided linked articles and resources — and the resources provided were on a completely unrelated topic. I looked for ways to surpass the bot and get to a human representative for better support, but I could not find a way to do that. So if chat support is a huge deciding factor for you, I would probably look elsewhere.

At the same time, even as a new user, I was able to find the answers to most of my questions in Asana’s documentation. They have some of the most detailed documentation I’ve seen and do a great job of anticipating both general and niche questions buyers may have.

monday.com

The platform’s 24/7 support is available in all paid plans, and all of monday’s user-friendly self-service features are available to free plan users. Additionally, phone support seems to be a unique advantage that monday offers, though it’s set up in an odd way. From what I can tell, as long as you have a monday.com account, you can request a phone call from the monday team. However, you can’t directly call them, as no phone numbers are listed.

Live chat does seem to be available in all plans, including the free plan, and it’s given me pretty straightforward and accurate responses so far. As a note, I did ask one question where the bot said it wasn’t able to help and then asked if I would like to be handed off to a support agent for more details. When I said yes, the chat ran into “some sort of technical issue,” so the question was not resolved. I’m not sure if this is a typical experience or a one-time error that I experienced.

As far as live training goes, I think monday is actually better than it advertises. The monday.com pricing page says I can’t access live webinars without a paid account. To test if this was true, I logged out of my account and used a non-account email; from there, I was able to sign up for the live training they have today, so I don’t think this is an actual limitation. The main limitation is that they only show one live webinar sign-up option at a time, usually for that particular day, so it would be difficult to plan ahead.

Asana vs. monday.com: Ready to choose?

Both Asana and monday.com are popular project management tools that can help your team plan workflows, automate tasks, and track projects and tasks. However, they aren’t built exactly the same:

• Asana offers more robust task management tools overall. It also offers a better free plan that small teams can actually use, and it gives you more access to software integrations.
• monday.com, on the other hand, is a more straightforward project management platform with an analytical backbone. It’s a great solution if you don’t have the time, patience, or technical expertise to create a bespoke project ecosystem, especially with its top-tier customer support approach.

If neither Asana nor monday sounds quite right for your team, check out popular alternatives in our Project Management Software Guide.

FAQs

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Mind minds are ideating and visualization tools that can be used for everything from brainstorming to project planning to note-taking. Mind maps use hierarchies to organize ideas around one single concept or theme. In this guide, we explain what a mind map is and how it differs from a concept map. Then we break down the four steps to making a mind map and five use cases for mind maps. Finally, we wrap up with expert mind map design tips to help you create your own for school, work, and more.

What is a mind map?

Mind mapping is a visual brainstorming technique that orders ideas into hierarchies based on high-level themes or categories. Mind maps were popularized by author and educational consultant Tony Buzan back in the 1970s, and they are still an extremely popular technique today.

Each mind map should have one central idea, and then various sub topics and supporting ideas branch out from this. Because of this set structure, mind maps offer a visual way to display how ideas connect to each other while still keeping them organized. They display a broad overview of a single idea as well as the connections between subtopics related to that idea.

Compared to jotting down random ideas on a whiteboard or piece of paper, mind maps encourage lateral thinking while still keeping ideas organized by category — making them an excellent choice when you need to engage in creative brainstorming, do some complex problem solving, or plan out a project management system.

Mind map vs. concept map: What’s the difference?

A mind map is slightly different from a concept map, even though they may look similar. Concept maps often have one central idea or theme, but they may also connect multiple related ideas. Like mind maps, concept maps do show various topics are connected but don’t organize them into levels or hierarchies, unlike mind maps.

For instance, concept maps can link one subtopic to various parent topics — whereas in mind maps, a subtopic can only be linked to one parent topic at a time to keep the hierarchy organized. The connections between ideas may also be unclear or vague with a concept map, unlike in a mind map where the connections must be very clear and defined.

How to create a mind map: A step-by-step guide

Step 1: Choose the central idea

Each mind map should focus on only one central topic or theme, so the first step is deciding what idea or problem the mind map will focus on. If you need to explore multiple main ideas, then each one should get its own separate mind map.

Step 2: Select your parent topics

After you’ve settled on your main idea, it’s time to select your parent topics. These are ideas or themes that will act as major hubs for organizing smaller topics and subtopics. If you forget a parent topic, don’t worry, you can always go back and add more later, especially if you’re using a digital mind mapping tool that makes it easy to rearrange the layout on the fly.

Step 3: Add some subtopics

Once you’ve jotted down some parent topics to get you started, you can start building out your mind map by adding various layers of subtopics to the mind map. If you think of the mind map as a tree, then these subtopics will form the branches, twigs, and leaves.

Step 4: Connect related ideas

Eventually, you’ll have added all the parent topics and subtopics that you can think of. At that point, you can link up related topics and ideas using colors and/or lines to demonstrate connections. If you want to add even more visual appeal, you can also incorporate icons and photos into your mind map to help break up the text.

Use cases for mind maps (plus sample mind map templates)

Note-taking

If you typically take stream-of-consciousness notes during classes or meetings but have trouble organizing the notes after the fact, a mind map can be a great solution to this issue. Mind maps’ clear hierarchy lends itself well to note-taking, especially if each class or meeting centers around one topic or project. If you’re covering multiple topics, you can simply create a new mind map for each one.

To keep yourself from getting distracted, we recommend using a simple mind map template, like this mind map template by Miro. Using a simple template without a lot of bells and whistles allows you to focus on note-taking so you don’t miss anything in the moment. If you want more detail, you can always add more color coding or organization after the meeting or lecture is over.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming new ideas is another great use case for mind maps and one of the most popular applications. You can either use a mind map during the brainstorming process to keep ideas organized as you go, or sort your ideas into a mind map after the fact to clarify connections and hierarchies.

If you want to use mind maps for post-brainstorming cleanup, then check out the project management software ClickUp. ClickUp offers a cool feature called Re-Layout that will automatically realign brainstorming items to organize your mind map into a seamless structure so you don’t have to do it manually.

Project planning

The hierarchical nature of mind maps also makes them an excellent solution for project planning, especially compared to more flexible options like concept maps that are really only meant for brainstorming. Mind maps can be used to plan out various aspects of projects, including potential roadblocks and solutions, assignments sorted by team member, and subtasks for each deliverable.

To take your project plan to the next level, look for a mind mapping tool that integrates with your project management software of choice. For example, the visualization tool Mindmeister integrates seamlessly with its sibling MeisterTask, which is a project and task management software. You can even view tasks that need to be completed directly in the sidebar, without having to leave the mind map. 

Creating visualizations

Maybe you already have a bunch of information or notes gathered and you’re trying to find a way to make a visualization of this jumble of words. Mind maps are an excellent way to turn text-heavy content into a visually appealing graphic that is way easier to digest than a page of single-spaced text.

Fortunately, there are many options for creating an attention-grabbing mind map using a digital collaboration tool such as FigJam. In addition to its fun and colorful mind mapping template, FigJam also offers a bunch of other diagram types including flowcharts, project timelines, and even a weekly standup template. Using a flexible online whiteboard like FigJam, as opposed to a tool that only creates mind maps, means that you can centralize all your visualizations in one platform.

Presentations

Speaking of visualizations, mind maps are a fantastic option if you are looking to include some graphic elements in your next PowerPoint or presentation. Mind maps present an alternative to the typical list of bullet points while still offering a way to display text-heavy content. Add some color coding, icons, and even photos if you want to add even more flair to your presentation.

Some platforms such as Canva actually allow you to create mind maps and other images or graphics, then add them directly to a presentation — all within the same platform. If you’re looking for a more visually appealing alternative to PowerPoint that you can use to make many other graphics, definitely give Canva a try.

Mind map design tips and best practices

Looking to take your mind maps to the next level? Apply these mind map design tips and best practices to improve your next mind mapping experience and generate even better ideas. These tips can be used in almost any situation, whether you are brainstorming by yourself or with colleagues.

Try a warm-up activity

If you are specifically looking to brainstorm ideas, then try opening the session with a warm-up activity to get the juices flowing. One popular option is ideating alternative uses for a common object, such as a chair or paperclip.

Set a timer

Some people tend to get bogged down in their attempts to find the perfect idea and waste a good part of the brainstorming session as a result. Experiment with setting a timer and challenging your team to write down as many ideas as possible in a short span of time.

Keep an open mind

Whenever you generate ideas, it’s inevitable that some are going to be better than others — but don’t dismiss them right away. Instead, keep an open mind and write down everything that comes to you. You and your team can weed out the weaker ideas later, so don’t stifle your creativity up front.

Sort ideas after the fact

Some people find the structure of a mind map too restricting during the actual brainstorming phase. If that’s true for you, then wait to use the mind map until after you are done generating ideas. Then you can leave some time at the end so you can use the mind map hierarchy to sort and connect ideas.

Finish up with a clear plan

Mind maps are a great starting point, but they’re just that: a starting point. Whenever you wrap up a mind mapping session, you should end it with a clear plan that outlines what the next steps are and which team member is responsible for what tasks.

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What is a design review?

Definition and purpose

A design review is a formal process used to evaluate the design aspects of a project or product to make sure they meet the defined requirements and standards before proceeding to the next phase of development. 

The goal is to identify potential issues, validate design decisions, and establish alignment with project objectives, thereby minimizing risks and preventing costly changes later in the project lifecycle.

Objectives of a design review include the following:

• Ensure design feasibility: Confirm that the design can be realistically implemented within the project’s technical, financial, and time constraints.
• Validate requirements compliance: See to it that the design meets all the functional, performance, and regulatory requirements defined at the project’s outset.
• Identify and mitigate risks: Detect any potential design flaws or risks that could lead to failures or delays in later stages.
• Enhance stakeholder alignment: Ensure that all stakeholders are on the same page regarding the design, reducing the likelihood of misunderstandings or misaligned expectations.
• Facilitate informed decision-making: Provide a basis for making informed decisions about moving forward with the design, making adjustments, or revisiting earlier project phases if necessary.

Why does design review matter?

Design reviews are crucial because they serve as a quality control mechanism. They keep the project on track and aligned with its intended goals, making them a crucial consideration when defining a project management system. 

They provide a structured opportunity to catch potential issues early, saving time and resources by preventing costly rework. 

Key reasons why design reviews matter:

• Quality assurance: Design reviews help maintain high standards by ensuring the design meets all required specifications and quality benchmarks.
• Risk management: They allow teams to identify and address potential risks early in the process, reducing the likelihood of significant issues arising later.
• Cost efficiency: By catching errors or design flaws before development begins, design reviews help avoid expensive rework and delays.
• Stakeholder alignment: Regular reviews keep all stakeholders informed and aligned, ensuring that everyone has a clear understanding of the project’s direction and progress.
• Innovation and improvement: The review process encourages feedback and brainstorming, which can lead to improvements in the design and potentially uncover better solutions.

In essence, design reviews are a proactive step in project management that not only safeguard the project’s success but also contribute to more efficient and effective project execution.

Types of design reviews

Stakeholder design reviews 

A stakeholder design review involves gathering feedback from key stakeholders, including clients, end-users, and team members, to ascertain that the design aligns with their expectations and project objectives. 

During the stakeholder design review, the design is presented in detail, and stakeholders are invited to provide their input, ask questions, and express any concerns they might have. The goal is to make sure that all stakeholder perspectives are considered before the project moves forward.

Key aspects of a stakeholder design review:

• Alignment with stakeholder needs: Guarantees the design addresses the specific needs and requirements of all key stakeholders.
• Early detection of issues: Provides an opportunity to identify and address potential concerns or misalignments early in the process.
• Enhanced buy-in: Involving stakeholders in the review process fosters a sense of ownership and increases their buy-in and support for the project.
• Clear communication: Facilitates open communication between the design team and stakeholders, ensuring that everyone is on the same page.
• Decision-making support: Offers a platform for making informed decisions about design adjustments or approvals based on stakeholder feedback.

Peer design reviews 

A peer design review is a collaborative process where members of the design team or professionals with similar expertise evaluate each other’s work to ensure it meets the project’s technical and quality standards. 

This type of review is particularly valuable because peers can provide insightful feedback based on their own experience and knowledge, which can lead to improvements in the design.

The goal is to catch errors, improve the design’s quality, and ensure that it adheres to the project’s technical requirements.

Key aspects of a peer design review:

• Expert feedback: Leverages the expertise of peers who understand the technical nuances and challenges of the design.
• Error detection: Helps identify mistakes or oversights that may have been missed by the original designer, improving overall design quality.
• Knowledge sharing: Encourages the exchange of ideas and best practices within the team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
• Technical validation: Ensures that the design aligns with technical standards and project requirements, reducing the risk of issues later in the project.
• Collaboration and learning: Provides a platform for team members to learn from one another and collaboratively refine the design.

Customer design reviews

A customer design review is a process that involves presenting the design to the end customer for their evaluation and feedback. 

Unlike internal reviews, this type of review focuses on ensuring that the design meets the customer’s specific needs, preferences, and expectations. 

It’s an opportunity to verify that the design aligns with what the customer envisioned and provides them with a chance to suggest changes before the project plan advances to later stages. 

Key aspects of a customer design review:

• Customer satisfaction: Ensures that the design meets or exceeds the customer’s expectations and requirements, leading to higher satisfaction.
• Direct feedback: Provides the design team with direct input from the customer, allowing for adjustments that align more closely with their vision.
• Pre-delivery validation: Acts as a final checkpoint before the project moves into development or production, reducing the risk of rework or dissatisfaction later.
• Relationship building: Strengthens the relationship between the project team and the customer by involving them in the design process and showing that their input is valued.
• Expectation management: Helps to manage and clarify expectations, ensuring that both the design team and the customer have a shared understanding of the project’s direction.

Steps of the design review process

Whether you’re using an innovative project management strategy or employing a top-down approach, there are a few clear steps you should follow during design review.

Planning the design review 

This initial step ensures the design review process is focused and productive. During this phase, it’s crucial to organize all the necessary details such as the scope of the work, objectives, and participants of the review. Some of the main considerations during this step are:

• Defining the scope: Clearly outline which aspects of the design will be reviewed to keep the meeting focused and prevent it from becoming too broad.
• Setting objectives: Establish what the review is meant to achieve, whether it’s validating the design against requirements, identifying potential issues, or gathering stakeholder feedback.
• Selecting participants: Choose the right mix of participants, including designers, engineers, stakeholders, and possibly customers, to ensure a comprehensive review.
• Preparing materials: Gather all necessary design documents, models, or prototypes in advance so that the review can proceed smoothly.
• Creating an agenda: Develop a structured agenda that outlines the topics to be covered, the sequence of discussions, and the time allotted for each section.

Conducting the review 

Building on the foundation set in the planning phase, the review kicks off with a brief recap of the objectives and scope to ensure everyone is on the same page. Once the groundwork is laid, the design is presented for evaluation.

During this step, it’s essential to focus on a few key actions:

• Facilitating discussion: Encourage open and constructive dialogue among participants, making sure that all perspectives are considered and that the discussion remains aligned with the review’s objectives.
• Documenting feedback: Capture all the feedback, questions, and concerns raised during the review, ensuring nothing is overlooked and that each point is addressed in the next steps.
• Managing time: Adhere closely to the agenda to keep the review on track and ensure that each aspect of the design receives the attention it deserves without unnecessary delays.
• Clarifying next steps: Before wrapping up, summarize the main takeaways and clearly outline any follow-up actions or decisions that need to be made, providing a clear path forward.

Documenting and following up

Documenting the design review is crucial across all project management methodologies. 

Documentation and further discussion guarantee that all the insights, feedback, and decisions from the review are captured accurately. It also gives the team a chance to confirm any necessary actions are clearly defined. 

Some important tasks to focus on during this phase include:

• Detailed documentation: Compile all feedback, decisions, and action items from the review into a clear and comprehensive document. This serves as a reference point for the team and stakeholders moving forward.
• Assigning responsibilities: Clearly define who is responsible for each follow-up action or task, ensuring accountability and clarity on next steps.
• Setting deadlines: Establish timelines for when each action item should be completed, helping to maintain momentum and keep the project on schedule.
• Communicating outcomes: Share the documented outcomes with all relevant stakeholders to keep everyone informed and aligned on the next steps.

The role of a project manager in design reviews

A project manager plays an important role in design review. They organize the process, involve key stakeholders, and make sure feedback translates into actionable steps.

Facilitate effective reviews 

To begin, project managers prepare a clear agenda that outlines the key areas of the design to be reviewed. By selecting the right mix of stakeholders, such as designers, engineers, and end users, they guarantee that the review benefits from diverse perspectives and expertise.

During the review, project managers guide the discussion to stay aligned with the objectives, stepping in to refocus the conversation if it drifts off-topic. Effective time management is also a key responsibility, as project managers make certain that the review progresses according to the agenda, giving each section the appropriate amount of attention without allowing any part to dominate the meeting.

After the discussion, project managers are responsible for documenting the key takeaways, decisions, and action items, which ensures that the feedback gathered during the review leads to tangible improvements. Following up on these action items, the project manager helps to keep the team informed, maintaining momentum and ensuring that the project continues to move forward smoothly. 

Ensure stakeholder alignment 

Project managers make sure that all relevant stakeholders are included in the review process and that their perspectives are heard and considered. Before the review, the project manager clearly communicates the review’s objectives, scope, and agenda to all participants, seeing to it that everyone understands the purpose and expectations.

During the review, the project manager facilitates discussions in a way that balances differing viewpoints, helping to mediate any conflicts and guiding the group towards consensus. They ensure that all feedback is documented and that any decisions made are agreed upon by all stakeholders. Later, the project manager follows up with a summary of the key outcomes and action items, providing a clear path forward that reflects the input from all parties. 

Manage feedback and revisions

Building on the alignment achieved during the review, the project manager then takes on the task of managing feedback and revisions. They carefully compile all the feedback provided, ensuring that it is well-documented and clearly communicated to the design team. The project manager then categorizing the feedback based on priority categories like: 

• Immediate fixes 
• Essential changes
• Suggestions for future consideration

Once the feedback is organized, the project manager coordinates with the design team to develop a clear plan for implementing the revisions. Throughout this process, the project manager continues to monitor progress, addressing any new issues that arise and ensuring that the revisions are aligned with the project’s goals and stakeholder expectations.

Best practices for conducting effective design reviews 

To be successful during the design review process, it’s important that project managers focus on cooperation and make use of the right project management software for the job. 

Communication and collaboration 

It’s essential to create an open and inclusive environment where all participants feel comfortable sharing their insights and concerns. This begins with clear expectations at the start of the review.

Active listening is also key in communication during design reviews. Encouraging participants to listen carefully to each other’s input not only fosters respect but also helps to make sure that all viewpoints are considered. It’s equally important to facilitate a balanced discussion, where quieter team members are encouraged to contribute and dominant voices are managed to prevent them from overpowering the conversation.

When it comes to collaboration, project managers should see to it that all relevant stakeholders are involved in the review process. This includes not only the design team but any key stakeholders whose input is vital.

Using the right tools

Using the right tools is essential for conducting effective design reviews, as they help streamline the process, enhance collaboration, and ensure that all feedback and tasks are well-managed. 

Jira stands out for its ability to manage feedback and track issues, making it particularly useful in software development projects. By allowing project managers to create tasks or issues directly from the feedback gathered during the review, 

Jira ensures that every piece of input is actionable, and its integration with design tools like Figma makes it easy to document and trace design changes, thus keeping the project aligned with its goals.

Wrike offers a different set of strengths and is particularly good at providing a comprehensive overview of project progress. Project managers use Wrike to create detailed review workflows, assign tasks, and set deadlines, ensuring that feedback is addressed promptly. Wrike’s customizable dashboards and reporting features allow for real-time monitoring of revisions, helping the project stay on course and meet its objectives.

For teams that need to maximize flexibility, Clickup is an excellent choice. It supports design reviews by enabling project managers to create custom workflows that suit their team’s specific needs. 

ClickUp allows feedback to be organized into actionable tasks, with clear priorities and assigned responsibilities. Its collaborative features like real-time editing and comments help teams communicate clearly during the review process. ClickUp’s visual task boards and timelines also help project managers keep everything on track by making it easy to monitor the project.

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Project management is a lucrative, engaging field full of career prospects. With high demand across industries, project managers enjoy strong job stability, competitive salaries, and the chance to develop versatile skills that are valued globally.

That said, learning the project management basics is crucial. Without this foundation, you risk mismanaging resources, missing deadlines, and failing to meet project goals, leading to costly project management mistakes. Learning the fundamentals in this project management guide can help both current and future project managers build thriving careers.

What is Project Management?

Project management is the discipline of planning, executing, and overseeing the work of a team to achieve specific goals and meet specific success criteria within a defined time frame. It involves the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to fulfill the project requirements.

A key element of learning the basics of project management is understanding the general shape of a project. Project management is usually divided into five phases: 

• ​​Initiation: This phase is about defining the project’s purpose, setting clear goals and objectives, and securing the necessary approvals and resources to get the project started.
• Planning: In the project planning phase, a detailed project roadmap is created, outlining the scope, timeline, budget, resources needed, and risk management strategies to ensure the project is well-organized and achievable.
• Execution: This is where the plan is put into action, with teams being coordinated, tasks being completed, and resources being managed to work towards achieving the project’s objectives.
• Monitoring: This phase involves regularly tracking progress, comparing it against the initial plan, and making any necessary adjustments to keep the project on track.
• Closure: The final phase focuses on completing all project activities, ensuring that the deliverables meet the required standards, obtaining formal acceptance from stakeholders, and officially closing out the project.

Each phase is critical to the success of a project and requires careful attention to detail and coordination of resources.

Why is Project Management Important?

Project management provides structure and direction to any project, ensuring that goals and objectives are clearly defined from the outset. This clarity helps teams stay focused and aligned, preventing misunderstandings or deviations from the intended outcomes. Effective project management also allows for efficient use of resources such as time, money, and personnel, ensuring that everything is utilized optimally and avoiding waste.

By identifying and managing risks early in the process, project management methodologies help to prevent potential issues that could disrupt progress. The project management basics also play a critical role in maintaining the quality of the project’s deliverables, ensuring they meet the required standards and satisfy stakeholder expectations.

Time management is another of the basics of project management, as it helps ensure that tasks are completed on schedule, meeting deadlines, and keeping the project on track. Clear and consistent communication is facilitated through project management, keeping all team members and stakeholders informed and aligned. This, in turn, builds trust and satisfaction among stakeholders, leading to successful project outcomes and the potential for future opportunities. 

Responsibilities of a Project Manager

A project manager plays a crucial role in guiding a project from initiation to completion, ensuring that all aspects are managed efficiently and effectively. Among their key responsibilities is developing a clear project plan that outlines the scope, objectives, timeline, and resources required. This plan forms the foundation of project management basics, providing a roadmap for the entire project.

A project manager is also responsible for coordinating the efforts of the team, ensuring that everyone understands their roles and tasks. This involves effective communication, both within the team and with stakeholders, to keep everyone informed and aligned with the project’s goals. Monitoring progress is another vital responsibility, as the project manager must track the project’s performance against the plan, making adjustments as necessary to stay on course and avoid delays.

Risk management is a critical aspect of the project manager’s duties. They must anticipate potential risks that could impact the project’s success and develop strategies to mitigate them. 

Additionally, the project manager is tasked with managing the project budget, ensuring that expenditures are kept within the approved limits. They also play a key role in maintaining the quality of the project’s deliverables, ensuring that the final outputs meet the required standards and satisfy stakeholders.

Finally, as the project draws to an end, the project manager oversees the closing process, ensuring that all tasks are completed, sign-offs are obtained, documentation is finalized, and the project is formally closed with stakeholder approval. In essence, the project manager is responsible for steering the project to success from start to finish.

Project Management: A Step-By-Step Walkthrough

Let’s look at the project management basics across the 5 phases of a project.

1. Initiation

• Define the project: Start by clearly defining the project’s purpose, goals, and objectives. Understand what the project aims to achieve and why it is important.
• Identify stakeholders: Determine who will be involved in or affected by the project, including team members, sponsors, and end users.
• Create a project charter: Document the project’s objectives, scope, key stakeholders, and high-level requirements in a project charter. This serves as an official approval to proceed.

2. Planning

• Develop a project plan: Create a detailed plan that outlines the scope, timeline, budget, resources, and risk management strategies. The plan should serve as a roadmap for the entire project.
• Break down tasks: Decompose the project into manageable tasks and assign them to team members. Use tools like work breakdown structures (WBS) to organize tasks.
• Set a schedule: Develop a project schedule that outlines when each task will be completed. Use Gantt charts or other scheduling tools to visualize the timeline.
• Allocate resources: Determine the resources (people, materials, and budget) needed for each task and ensure they are available when required.
• Identify risks: Identify potential risks that could impact the project and develop mitigation strategies to manage them.

3. Execution

• Launch the project: Kick off the project by communicating the plan to all stakeholders and ensuring that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities.
• Coordinate tasks: Manage the execution of tasks, ensuring that team members have what they need to complete their work. Address any issues that arise promptly.
• Communicate regularly: Keep communication channels open, providing regular updates to the team and stakeholders. Use meetings, reports, and collaboration tools to maintain transparency.
• Manage quality: Monitor the quality of work being done to ensure that it meets the project’s standards. Make adjustments as needed to maintain quality.

4. Monitoring and Control

• Track progress: Continuously monitor the project’s progress against the plan. Use performance metrics and tools to track key indicators like time, cost, and scope.
• Adjust as necessary: If you identify deviations from the plan, make adjustments to bring the project back on track. This may involve reallocating resources, adjusting the schedule, or revising the scope.
• Manage changes: Handle any changes that arise in a controlled manner, ensuring that they are documented and approved before implementation.
• Control risks: Continuously assess and manage risks, implementing risk management strategies as needed to prevent issues from escalating.

5. Closure

• Complete deliverables: Ensure that all project tasks are completed and that deliverables meet the required quality standards.
• Obtain stakeholder approval: Present the final deliverables to stakeholders for approval, ensuring that they are satisfied with the outcome.
• Document lessons learned: Review the project and document any lessons learned, successes, and areas for improvement. This knowledge will be valuable for future projects.
• Close the project: Formally close the project by completing any final documentation, releasing resources, and celebrating the team’s success.

Best Practices for Project Management

Understanding best practices is an essential part of the project management basics. Here’s an overview of some of the most important:

• Clear project objectives and scope: Clearly define the project’s goals and scope to set a clear direction and prevent scope creep.
• Comprehensive planning: Develop a detailed project plan that serves as the roadmap for all aspects of the project.
• Effective communication: Establish regular communication to keep all stakeholders informed and aligned.
• Risk management: Identify potential risks early and develop strategies to manage them before they become issues.
• Continuous monitoring and control: Regularly track progress against the plan and be prepared to make adjustments as needed.
• Quality management: Ensure that the project’s outputs meet the required quality standards through regular reviews.
• Stakeholder engagement: Engage stakeholders throughout the project to ensure their needs are met and expectations are managed.
• Documentation and knowledge sharing: Keep detailed records of all project activities and share lessons learned for future projects.
• Proper project closure: Formally close the project by completing all tasks, finalizing documentation, and obtaining stakeholder approval.
• Continuous improvement: After the project ends, evaluate the process to identify areas for improvement.

When to use project management software 

Project management software should be used when you need to streamline the planning, execution, and monitoring of a project. It becomes particularly valuable when you need to:

• Organize and track tasks: When a project has many tasks and dependencies, project management software helps you organize them in a structured way, making it easier to track progress and ensure nothing is overlooked.
• Collaborate with a team: If you’re working with a team, especially a remote or large one, project management software facilitates collaboration by providing a central platform where everyone can communicate, share files, and update their work in real time.
• Manage resources: When you need to allocate resources like time, budget, and personnel efficiently, project management software allows you to see who is working on what, how much time is being spent, and where resources are being used, helping to optimize their allocation.
• Monitor progress: For projects that require regular progress tracking, project management software provides tools like dashboards and reports to monitor key metrics and ensure the project stays on track.
• Handle complex schedules: If your project has a detailed timeline with many moving parts, project management software helps you create and manage a comprehensive schedule, adjusting as needed to accommodate changes.

When not to use project management software

Project managers might opt not to use project management software in situations where it could introduce unnecessary complexity. For instance, when managing a small and straightforward project with only a few tasks or team members, traditional methods like to-do lists or spreadsheets may be more efficient than a more advanced project management system. If the team is very small or the project manager is working alone, the structured features of project management software might be more than what’s needed.

Becoming a Certified Project Manager

Becoming a certified project manager involves a few key steps:

• Gain experience: Start by gaining hands-on experience in managing projects, focusing on understanding project management basics like planning and monitoring.
• Choose a certification: Select the right certification based on your career goals; the PMP (Project Management Professional) is the most popular, but there are others like CAPM, PRINCE2, and ScrumMaster.
• Meet requirements: Make sure you meet the eligibility criteria for your chosen certification, which usually involves having a certain amount of experience and education.
• Study for the exam: Prepare by studying project management basics and advanced topics through courses, study guides, or practice exams.
• Apply and take the exam: Submit your application, get approved, and then take the certification exam, which tests your knowledge of project management principles.
• Maintain your certification: After passing the exam, keep your certification active by earning professional development units (PDUs) or taking additional courses to stay current in the field.

This process shows your expertise in project management basics and helps you become a more qualified and competitive project manager.

Choosing the Best Project Management Software for Your Business

A good project management software solution should offer a balance of features that align with your team’s needs, including task management, collaboration tools, resource allocation, and reporting capabilities. It should support the project management basics while also being user-friendly, scalable, and able to integrate with other tools your team uses. 

Here’s a look at a few of the best project management software providers:

monday.com

• Best for: Teams that need a highly customizable platform with a user-friendly interface.
• When to use: monday.com is ideal for businesses that want a visually intuitive platform that can be tailored to fit various workflows. It’s especially useful for teams that require flexibility in managing different types of projects, from marketing campaigns to product development. Its visual dashboards make it easy to track progress and collaborate across teams.

Wrike

• Best for: Medium to large teams that need robust project management and advanced reporting features.
• When to use: Wrike is a strong choice for organizations that manage complex projects with multiple stakeholders. It offers powerful reporting tools, custom workflows, and advanced task management features, making it ideal for businesses that need detailed tracking and analytics. It’s particularly well-suited for marketing, operations, and IT teams that require high levels of collaboration and transparency.

ClickUp

• Best for: Small to medium-sized teams looking for an all-in-one project management solution at an affordable price.
• When to use: ClickUp is great for businesses that need a versatile platform that combines task management, time tracking, and goal setting. It’s highly customizable, allowing teams to create views and workflows that suit their specific needs. ClickUp is especially useful for teams that want a comprehensive tool that can handle everything from day-to-day task management to long-term planning.

Jira

• Best for: Software development teams that follow Agile methodologies.
• When to use: Jira is the go-to tool for software development teams, particularly those using agile frameworks like Scrum or Kanban. It provides powerful features for tracking bugs, managing sprints, and ensuring that development cycles are on track. Jira’s ability to integrate with other development tools makes it an essential platform for teams that need to manage complex software projects with precision and efficiency.

Whether you need the flexibility and visual appeal of monday.com, the robust features of Wrike, the all-in-one simplicity of ClickUp, or the development-focused capabilities of Jira, selecting the right tool is one of the most important project management basics.

FAQs

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Being proactive with risk analysis helps set realistic objectives, while creating a complete risk management plan create safeguards against time-consuming and costly oversights. Read on to discover various project risks examples that can emerge during the course of a project, and what to do about them.

Cost risks

Cost risk refers to the possibility of a project exceeding its allocated budget, a common risk management issue. This financial risk can occur for various reasons such as poor initial budgeting, mid-project scope changes, unforeseen complications, or incorrect cost estimations. Cost overruns can hinder the project’s progress and may stall its completion if the budget cannot be adjusted or supplemented.

How to manage cost risks

• Use budgeting tools such as those offered by Wrike (Figure F) to set an initial budget and monitor spend throughout the project to prevent overages. Budget management tools are an integral part of risk management processes in several industries. One good example is construction risk management, an industry that often deals with cost issues.
• If possible, set aside a contingency plan or fund so that you have some extra resources on hand in case extra costs arise.
• Revisit vendor contracts and negotiate them or comparison shops to see if you can realize any additional cost savings.
• Conduct regular project risk assessments to identify potential cost overages and create strategies to address them.

Scope creep

Scope risk, or scope creep, refers to the unexpected and uncontrolled expansion of a project’s objectives beyond its original intentions. This risk category typically occurs when project goals aren’t precisely outlined from the start or when requirements change partway through the project.

How to manage scope creep

• Before kicking off a project, take advantage of project scope templates like the ones offered by Smartsheet project management software (Figure A) to create clear expectations and deadlines up front.
• Engage with stakeholders from the very beginning so that all necessary decision makers can help with the creation and the approval of the project scope.
• Schedule regular progress reviews and risk assessments so you can ensure that the initial project scope is being followed and deal with scope creep as it occurs.

Performance risks

Performance risk occurs when a project does not fulfill the expectations and requirements set forth during project planning. Even though a product may have been delivered on time and on budget, that doesn’t guarantee project success, which is the definition of performance risk.

How to manage performance risks

• Identify potential performance hazards from the start of a project by assessing the current market landscape, investigating users’ needs, and staying ahead of technological shifts.
• Use project management software analytics, like this dashboard from monday.com (Figure B), to track project performance and maintain real-time oversight of processes and milestones.
• Foster transparent communication among your project team and conduct regular risk assessments so that performance-related issues can be identified early and often.

External hazard risks

External hazard risk refers to unpredictable events stemming from external factors beyond project management mistakes. These project risks can be natural, such as climate events, or man-made, like vandalism, terrorism, or societal disruptions. These factors can significantly affect the project’s timeline, cost, and quality.

How to manage external hazard risks

• Use historical and political data to regularly asses external risks bases on a project’s locale and nature; enterprise risk management software can be very beneficial for creating these kinds of forecasts.
• Have contingency plans ready, such as alternate work sites or emergency resources, as well as insurance policies to cover potential damages and delays.
• Incorporate practices like safety drills or supply stocking so that your personnel will be safe and prepared in the event of an emergency.

Technology risks

Technology risk covers the potential challenges and threats posed by the hardware and software used to complete the project. These project risks range from technical failures, cyberattacks, and system breaches to the fast-paced evolution of technology itself, including project management software.

How to manage technology risks

• Institute robust cybersecurity measures, including firewalls, encryption, and routine security audits, to fend off cyber threats and technical risk.
• Carefully set roles and permission for your project management software, like the above example in Trello (Figure C).
• Create backup systems and data storage to counteract technical risks, preventing data loss or unplanned downtime, and have a contingency plan in place in case of technological disruptions.
• Conduct regular training sessions to keep personnel updated on new technologies and how to navigate them and on how to prevent cyber attacks.

Operational risks

Operational risk refers to potential disruptions arising from internal processes, people, systems, and project management methodologies. It also encompasses external risk events that impact the day-to-day functioning of a project, such as changes made by vendors or suppliers.

How to manage operational risks

• Use workload management software, such as ClickUp (Figure D), to review workflow and capacity planning and spot operational risks before they arise.
• Ease the transition by ensuring your project team is well-prepared and has time to adjust to major operational changes.
• Consider scheduling regular team meetings to discuss upcoming changes and provide additional training if new processes or systems are introduced.

Communication risks

Miscommunication underlies many project issues, leading to missed deadlines, excess project spend, shifting requirements, uncompleted tasks, and other project management issues. The communication needs to be clear and thorough as well as frequent; if conversations are vague or contradictory, that can cause just as many problems as communicating irregularly or not at all.

How to manage communication risks

• Utilize a central tool or platform to keep everyone on the same page, like Asana project management software that offers in-app messaging (Figure E), which will help to prevent siloed work.
• Encourage open communication channels so team members can ask questions, seek clarification, and provide feedback.
• Schedule regular meetings with stakeholders and team members to foster collaboration and engage in risk identification.
• Implement strategies to bridge cultural and linguistic differences if the team is diverse.

Skills resource risks

Skills resource risk refers to the potential shortfalls in the necessary skills, expertise, or knowledge among the project team members. Such risks can emerge from a range of factors, from team member turnover to lack of training. This can mean the project management team needs to be more adequately prepared to meet project requirements or handle unexpected challenges.

How to manage skill resource risks

• Assess required skills and compare them with existing team members to pinpoint areas for improvement.
• Invest in training programs that equip team members for specific project demands; a learning management system can help you create custom courses if you can’t find an out-of-the-box one that works.
• Embrace a flexible staffing approach and alternate between permanent and contract roles as needed, especially when niche skills are required.

FAQs

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What is a project milestone?

A project milestone is a strategic point in a project’s timeline when a certain subtask, event, phase, or goal is completed. Whether you’re operating a short-term or long-term project, incorporating milestones is an effective way to manage how time and resources are spent. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of how project milestones differ from other key project management terms:

• Milestone vs. task: A milestone is a trackable sub-goal that’s composed of more granular tasks and sub-tasks.
• Milestone vs. deliverable: While a deliverable is a specific goal or outcome that the project team hopes to achieve, a milestone is typically the achievement of one or multiple of these deliverables.
• Milestone vs. KPI: Key performance indicators (KPIs) measure performance across multiple metrics throughout a project, whereas milestones represent achievements at specific points in the project. KPIs are often used to analyze progress toward milestones. 

Project milestones are typically set jointly by the project team’s leader and key decision-maker(s). They should be specific, measurable, and strategically timed throughout a project’s lifecycle.

Benefits of milestones in project management

While setting project milestones can feel like an arduous task, many benefits come from breaking down your projects with milestones in mind:

• Clearer project phases and improved task prioritization: Especially for long-term projects, it can be difficult to decide what’s important now and what will be important later. Setting milestones helps all team members prioritize the current tasks on their plates so they can more effectively move on when it’s time rather than multitasking.
• Built-in pauses and pivot points: Milestones give teams a chance to reflect on what is and isn’t working so far. With this pause, both the project team and the client can evaluate if changes are needed while also identifying new risks that need to be mitigated in the next project phase.
• Clearly defined roles and responsibilities: Milestones and the tasks underneath them often have owners who are responsible for their success. With this organizational structure, it will be clear who is working on what and give teammates the chance to more effectively communicate and collaborate because they are familiar with each other’s workloads.
• Regular progress reports for stakeholders: Progress toward milestones can be tracked in multiple ways, including through visual reports and dashboards. These quantitative illustrations can be shown to clients and other stakeholders who want to see results regularly.
• Improved budget, resource, and timeline management: Milestones help project managers plan every detail, focus on what’s most important, and assign their resources accordingly. Depending on what milestone is next on the list, the project manager can determine how much of their budget and other resources should be used or saved for a later milestone that needs those resources more.
• Boosted project team morale: Each time an important project milestone is achieved will feel like a big win for your team. Setting up milestones is an effective way to give project teams something to look forward to and celebrate at regular intervals, rather than waiting to celebrate until the very end of a project.

How to use project milestones effectively

Project milestones are most helpful when they are set strategically and reviewed periodically. To determine project milestones that help your team more clearly visualize and reach their goals, follow these best practices and tips:

Set clear milestones from the start

Similar to SMART goals, your project milestones should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. The most important part of this equation is timeliness: When should this milestone be completed in relation to other milestones and the project at large? Additionally, what tasks, resources, and team members need to align with this milestone for it to be a success? Answering these questions from the beginning of your process will help you create milestones that successfully showcase progress toward project deliverables and goals.

Distribute strategic milestones throughout the project lifecycle

Milestones should not only fall at the beginning and end of the project but also at multiple points during the project. Any time a specific task or goal needs to be completed by a certain date or for future tasks to get underway, look for ways to frame that work as a measurable milestone. This will segment your project into more focused and thoughtful sections and give both your clients and project team members more motivators to get to the next project phase quickly.

Collaboratively set and communicate milestones with key stakeholders

Project teams and clients bring unique perspectives and expertise to each project, so it’s important for both sides to co-create project milestones. This ensures transparency and alignment and also allows both teams to push back where resourcing, budgets, or internal skills may become an issue.

Once milestones have been set, the project manager or the owners responsible for individual milestones should clearly and frequently communicate about progress toward and challenges surrounding milestones. This will help both organizations prepare for best- and worst-case scenarios where milestones may need to be altered.

Use project management tools

Many project management platforms include milestone management features, templates, reports, dashboards, and other resources that can help project teams get organized and more effectively time their milestones. Some of the best project management tools for milestone tracking include Asana, ClickUp, monday work management, Smartsheet, and Wrike.

Adjust milestones as necessary

It’s rare that the initial milestones you set will encompass every change and issue that arises during the course of the project. That’s why project managers need to be agile, vigilant watchers of project performance data, KPIs, and any changes that happen within the internal team or on the client side. Noticing these changes before they become bigger issues is an important first step in communicating the need for and setting new milestones.

Project milestone examples

While this is not an exhaustive list, the following project milestone examples are often used to track project progress:

Start or end date of a project phase

Example: The project team has completed the discovery phase or solution verification period of pre-project research and planning. They have documented their plans through a project charter and received approval from the client to move forward with the actual project. This approval, illustrated in the Asana Gantt chart below, marks the achievement of their first project milestone.

Completion of an initial product or key deliverable

Example: A digital marketing and design agency is helping a client rebrand in the new year. One of the milestones within that rebrand plan is to complete a refresh of the company’s web content, layout, and design. A project management tool like ClickUp helps users visualize the difference between this milestone and related tasks more easily with the Gantt chart layout.

Successful completion of user training

Example: A consulting firm is helping a small business set up a CRM solution that aligns with their customer data and outreach goals. Now that the software has been deployed, is integrated with their systems, and holds all of their relevant data, the project team must train the client’s marketing and sales teams on how to use the software. Achievement of the user training milestone may be determined by a skills test, a survey of trainees, or the completion of a specific training program.

FAQs

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What is workflow automation?

Workflow automation refers to the process of pre-programming tasks using a simple command. The command follows a basic formula: when + then = automated task.

When represents the trigger and condition, while Then indicates the desired action. At the core, it means, “When something happens, then this event should follow.”

Most project management software solutions have pre-built automation recipes, which makes setting up automations easier. These are the common templates:

• Status change: This entails a specific action being implemented when a status is updated. For example, when the status changes to Done, archive the task item.
• Time-based: This refers to an action that will be performed when a particular date arrives. For example, three days before the due date arrives, notify someone.
• Item creation: This involves an item being created at a specific time period or an action being implemented when an item is created. For example, every time period, create a task item; or when a new item is created, assign a team as the assignee.

Note that workflow automation is not the same as robotic process automation (RPA). Learn the differences between the two in our RPA vs workflow automation guide.

Workflow automation examples 

Different departments across a company will benefit from automated processes. Here are some common workflow automation examples categorized per use case:

Human resources (HR) management

HR management involves various administrative tasks involving integrating new employees, engaging the existing workforce, and complying with laws, rules, and regulations. To enhance the efficiency of these processes and facilitate a better experience for new and seasoned team members, use workflow automation. These tasks especially benefit from automated systems:

1. New employee onboarding

Onboarding new employees requires collecting important pieces of information, including their job titles, business departments, office locations, and hiring dates. With a project management software solution in place, you’ll be able to gather these details without manually asking employees one by one. 

Project management tool ClickUp features an employee onboarding project template, which has columns for hire source, department, induction date, and, most importantly, the onboarding stage. Its automations include status changes.

When the onboarding stage transitions from HR to Legal, you may switch the assignee to a member of the legal department to notify them of the change and allow them to take the necessary actions to move the onboarding process along. 

2. Time-off request approval

Vacation requests can quickly pile up in the email inbox if not managed well. Instead of having team members send requests to their managers via email, let the employee file requests in your automated system. 

Create a time-off request form to centralize all applications in one board. Let managers and HR officers have visibility on the board so they can quickly review and approve. Use the status change automation “when the status changes to Approved, send a notification to the person who filed for the time-off.”

3. Expenses reimbursement

With workflow automation, employees simply need to fill out and submit a reimbursement request form that their manager will review and approve. The request is visible on a project board that the finance department can access, which will then be evaluated to ensure that it reflects on the employee’s next paycheck. 

On the project management app Asana, you may configure the automation so that when the reimbursement request moves to the finance team evaluation section, the system automatically assigns it to a team member of that department and sends a note or prompts a team chat app notification. Asana integrates seamlessly with Slack and Microsoft Teams, allowing users to get updates on task creation, completion, or comments.

4. Employee status change

HR practitioners find it tedious to update statuses when employees get promoted or leave the company. Workflow automation removes the hassle of the laborious process of changing statuses. To facilitate this, you must connect the project management platform with third-party apps like the human resources information system (HRIS) and employee directory platform. 

With these solutions in sync, when a team member changes their status and submits pertinent documents to the directory, the information on other platforms is automatically updated. Set an automation rule wherein you receive notifications for every status change.

Information technology

Ypur IT department handles numerous complex business processes, from implementing software solutions to accommodating users’ requests. While some IT processes may be complicated, others can be automated to reduce the burden on the team, facilitate efficiency, and ultimately offer better services to internal stakeholders. Apply these workflow automation examples in your IT operations:

5. Ticket management

Organize incoming service requests by setting up a form and letting the system automatically convert the requests into tasks in the IT board. monday.com enables teams to collect information through customizable forms. It also allows the creation of a workflow automation rule that will notify someone whenever a new item is created. With this functionality, it’s easier to track incoming IT tickets and prompt team members to take appropriate action.

6. Asset management

When an employee joins or leaves the company, the IT team is actively involved in the onboarding and offboarding process, particularly in the distribution and return of hardware. By implementing online forms, you can easily monitor which employees already received or handed back the required devices. With workflow automation, the system will notify key IT team members for action about an asset that needs to be deployed or received. 

If you’re using the project management solution Jira, create an automation rule that automatically assigns issues to team members. “When an issue is created” is among the platform’s recommended triggers, making it easy for new users to set up this automation command.

7. Compliance

Software solutions used in the company must adhere to regulatory and data protection standards. The IT team must conduct regular inspections to ensure that no data security protocols are bypassed. By using automated forms, you’ll quickly build a master list of team members who finished the compliance testing and those who haven’t gone through it yet. 

In addition, workflow automation software apps like Wrike allow you to set time-based automations. You may send a reminder in the form of a comment to IT team members to remind them of audit deadlines.

Marketing production & campaign management

The marketing production process includes many moving parts that can easily be automated. This allows team members to focus on more high-yield tasks instead of the administrative assignments the workflow demands. These are the marketing production to-dos you can set automatically:

8. Task request organization

The marketing team receives several collateral creation requests. These materials may be used on various platforms: websites, blogs, or social media. To organize the workflow better, automate the filtering of incoming requests. Include an input field for the type of marketing asset in the request form. Then, on the project management app, create a custom automation wherein when a field is labeled as something, the request is moved to a specific column or section on the project board.

9. Output approval

All marketing collaterals must go through the review and approval process. With workflow automation, asking for feedback becomes easier and quicker for team members. Simply configure the automation settings to notify a team leader or a supervisor when a task is moved to a specific stage, for example, when it reaches the Done or Ready for Approval column. 

The easy-to-use project management solution Trello integrates with an approval tool that automatically moves cards to specific sections based on the approval status. Create an automation rule that notifies a manager or supervisor when a card moves to a particular column.

10. Content posting

Publish marketing materials right from project management apps by configuring workflow automations. On monday.com, when you connect your LinkedIn app and profile, you can set time-based and status-change automations. With this, you’ll be able to create a new post when a specific date arrives or when a task status gets updated to Ready to Publish. Many project management apps like monday.com integrate seamlessly with social networking platforms, including Facebook.

11. Drip campaigns

Drip campaign refers to a series of automated emails sent to a specific audience segment over some time. The audience is grouped according to particular actions they took, say, when they signed up for a free trial or purchased a product for the first time.

Zoho is one of the best marketing automation platforms for drip campaigns, as it features a drag-and-drop customer journey builder, in which you’ll be able to choose among various triggers and decide corresponding messages to be sent. For example, when a new lead fills out the sign-up form, the platform automatically sends a welcome email. The best part is that the platform offers pre-designed templates for different campaigns, including lead nurturing, re-engagement, and customer retention.

Customer relationship management (CRM)

CRM processes are intricate, requiring follow-ups with prospects, sending messages to clients, and plotting appointments. Fortunately, you can automate these and ensure no important task is neglected. This results in positive customer experiences that translate to brand loyalty. Below are some automated workflow examples for CRM: 

12. Lead follow-ups

When a potential customer shows interest in your company’s products and services, a quick response is critical in increasing the likelihood of a sale. Through workflow automation, you don’t need to manually send an email to prospects. After they fill out your contact form, an automated welcome email will be delivered to their inbox. Depending on the end result you want to achieve, the message may be an invitation to book an appointment or receive updates about sale promos.

13. Sales pipeline management

Automation in sales pipeline management involves eliminating the manual steps of moving leads along the sales process. For example, when the contract status changes to Signed, the system will move it to the Closed column. Add a workflow automation rule that when a deal reaches the Closed stage, you get a notification on your Slack channel. This way, it will be easier for the team to discuss sales wins on your group chat.

Notion is a popular project management platform that enables users to view tasks and projects on a Kanban-style dashboard. Use this tool to keep track of and automate all your leads, deals, contacts, and sales within a single platform. 

14. Post-interaction customer communication

After a successful meeting with a client, you want to maintain customer engagement and send them an email expressing your appreciation for their time and presence. On your project board, configure the automation settings to allow the system to send an email to a contact when you move the task to a certain stage in the sales pipeline. This is especially useful when managing multiple clients, and individually sending them a message is tedious.

15. Task creation in specific pipeline stages

When a lead enters a new stage in the sales pipeline, assign tasks automatically so the team can immediately work on the deliverables needed for that stage and ensure that the lead is constantly pushed to move along the pipeline. A good workflow automation example to apply here is when a lead’s status changes to Qualified, create a task for specific team members to draft a proposal, or schedule a sit-down meeting with the client.

What are the benefits of workflow automation?

In a nutshell, the main benefit of having workflow automations set up is increased productivity, but it doesn’t stop there. Here are other specific benefits of automated workflows:

• Better team performance: When tasks are automated, employees save time. Thus, they have more bandwidth to attend to high-yield activities, such as cultivating relationships with clients or recalibrating sales strategies.
• Reduced errors: Manual processes are susceptible to mistakes, especially when users are not fully focused on the task. Workflow automation reduces or removes errors. Moreover, when automation fails, users are compelled to review triggers, conditions, and data sources, recalibrating the workflow.
• Support for large projects: The intricate details of complicated projects can be overwhelming to track and manage. However, by automating processes, you can ensure that repetitive, administrative tasks are properly handled and not causing any bottlenecks to the project’s progress.
• Improved transparency: Working on projects involves several people using different tools, which sometimes results in data silos. Since automation compels you to connect business software solutions to establish the correct sequence of processes and create a smooth workflow, all departments have visibility on important data.

How do you create an automated workflow?

Most project management apps have an easy-to-use workflow automation builder, which features input fields for triggers, conditions, and actions. In general, creating a custom automation is easy.

1. Input the trigger and condition: Identify the event that kicks off the automation. This may be a board item in your column, like a status update, a person assigned, or a particular date. It could be an event such as an item created. In a project management app, the triggers and conditions are indicated by the “When” clause. 
2. Input the action: Decide your preferred action when the triggers and conditions are met. Some examples are changing the status, moving an item to a group, notifying someone, creating an update, or assigning a team member. The actions are indicated by the “Then” clause.
3. Launch the automation: Once you fill out the triggers, conditions, and actions, create the automation. See if the system successfully executes the preferred action by prompting the trigger and condition event.

Incorporate automations into your workflows

Workflow automation improves team performance, minimizes errors, and supports growing operations and complex projects. Ultimately, it facilitates efficient business processes. Adopt the automated workflow examples above or take advantage of pre-built automation recipes in your project management app to get started on automated tasks. As you become familiar with the system’s functionality, create custom, complex automations to completely remove the manual administrative work on your to-do list. 

If you’re still on the market looking for the ideal software solution, check out our top picks for the best project management software.

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