Having the right tools in the project management toolbox is critical to ensuring that project and task processes are as clear, efficient, and as organized as possible. The Gate 39 Media team reviews and tests out new tools on a regular basis to ensure that our agency leverages the most agile software and tools for efficiently planning projects, managing communications, processes, tasks, and subtasks, as well as other key aspects involved in the solutions we develop for clients.
We talked with some of our team members about their favorite project and task management tools used in 2021 to learn just how these tools improve project and task management efficiencies.
Ikram Khan, Project Manager:
Of the many different project management tools we utilize here at Gate 39 Media, Azure DevOps/Boards is the one I use the most and it happens to be a great platform for implementing an Agile Scrum environment. While there are several uses for it as a tool throughout the software development life cycle, its primary functions for me as a project manager/Scrum master are for requirements management as well as sprint/iteration planning.
Azure Boards serves as a repository for all the work we have planned throughout each of our technical projects, which is documented in the form of various work item types within the software. This benefits all of our team members by providing visibility into the project based on what work has been completed along with what remains and makes it easy to stay organized by quickly tracking and updating any individual work items.
Additionally, an important component of completing the documentation for these work item types consists of assigning a level of effort for each within its respective webpage. This is what allows our project teams to plan efficiently in terms of how many work items can be completed within any given sprint/iteration (a 2-week timebox) and is crucial to projecting when all the requirements will be met and determining whether our teams are on pace to finish within the initial timeline provided to clients.
Megan Smith, Director of Client Services:
Microsoft Teams has transformed communication and efficiency. This platform allows internal teams to coordinate, plan, and share in real-time. The ability to create dedicated channels to clients and/or projects within one client’s channel helps cross-organizations work together without having to be in the same office or space. As a project lead, I rely heavily on this platform daily.
2020 was a true test of the platform. Not only was my team able to stay on track, but we’re more efficient than ever before (and we even have a little fun with it from time to time as you can tell from the photo).
Teams updated their features to stay relevant with the transition from office to home. It became more valuable than the sharing global feature of SharePoint. Its ability to allow access to our clients and the internal team really helped deliveries.
I can function without a phone, but I cannot function without Teams.
Brian Scholtz, Technical Project Manager:
Miro is an online, collaborative whiteboard platform that allows teams to work together anytime and anywhere. Each whiteboard is an endless canvas that allows teams to ideate, create and collaborate in real time or asynchronously. Miro has many useful templates that create a starting point for our teams to collaborate. We use Miro for internal teams and client project teams to establish and build meaningful working relationships.
Zach Davis, Senior Developer:
Trello is one of my favorite digital project management tools for collaboration. Trello makes creating a Kanban board fun and intuitive. I use Trello to coordinate collective efforts from both colleagues and clients alike. It feels great to move a Trello card across the board to the “Done” column!
Allison Bischoff, Senior HubSpot Specialist:
For personal and team task management within HubSpot (our favorite CRM, sales, and marketing tools), HubSpot Sales Hub makes task and list management easy. Tasks can be used to nurture leads (available for both Free and Pro).
HubSpot Sales Hub allows users to select a contact, company, or deal in the HubSpot CRM where users can click “Create task” to add details, set a due date, set an email reminder, and more. Users can easily start a Task Queue, organize tasks by type, such as “Email,” “Call,” or “To-Do”, or to review everything that’s marked as “due today.”
Not only can HubSpot Sales Hub turbocharge the efficiency of sales and marketing teams, but it’s also a very organized and centralized place to hold and manage tasks. If anyone is interested in seeing first-hand how this tool can streamline tasks, contact us for a personal HubSpot demo.
Or, if you’d like to attend our upcoming webinar, you’ll be able to see first-hand how amazing HubSpot task management truly is, along with learning how to turn one-to-many metrics into a one-to-one prospecting strategy.
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