The Highly Rated Task Management Strategy for 2022
When it comes to project management, there are several factors to consider such as management of the tasks, budget, human capital, resource allocation, project risks, etc. Project managers have to arrange every piece of the puzzle correctly to get the project delivered on time and earn better ROI. Among all these elements, task management holds a key value for project leaders as any minor error in the mismanagement of tasks could delay the entire project. It means additional project costs and financial loss to the company. As a result, project managers always seek techniques and strategies that make task management effortless, time-saving, and cost-effective. Modern-day business wants more visibility and control over their project tasks. Interestingly, today we have several vendors specializing in advanced technologies such as task management software that can help organizations manage tasks efficiently. As per Statista, the annual revenue of task management software is estimated to grow by about $4.33 billion by 2023. The figure indicates that the task management software will be an integral part of the task management strategy in 2022 and thereafter.
In this article, we will discuss some highly rated task management strategies that could help project managers gain strategic control over their project tasks and manage them efficiently.
Task Management Strategy in 2022
- Workflow automation: Workflow automation means replacing manual processes from the system and making them more accountable. During project management, there are many tasks that are repetitive such as task approval, role assignment, resource allocation, etc., and project leaders can waste their valuable time in managing those tasks manually. Project managers can add these repetitive tasks to their workflow automation cycle. With workflow automation, they can notify team members about their scheduled tasks, update the task status, approve the tasks, or even create a new Kanban board. Needless to say, the way AI and NLP (Natural Language Processing) are progressing, the project leaders would also be able to automate some of the complex jobs in the future.
- Tracking remote teams: Remote work is turning out as a successful model for many organizations, and it is expected that this trend is going to stay here. Given that, the project head can have an additional responsibility of tracking remote teams besides their routine work. Without proper tools, this could become a tedious job, from allocating tasks to tracking team productivity.
- Mobile apps: Mobile apps for task management provide the flexibility to access and work on information from anywhere. They enable users to create tasks, sub-tasks and add comments on the go. It also supports the Gantt chart timeline and tracks every detail of the tasks. The updates are instant, and nothing could go out of sight with prompt notifications and alerts.
- Virtual kanban board: The Kanban board has been a long-time ally for project managers to visualize the workflow and track tasks. It gives quick insights about tasks status, and any changes made to the tasks can be seen in real-time by team members. It provides more clarity on the work and helps them keep pace with the project timeline. It is pretty popular among project leaders because of its ease of use. With innovation in new technologies, it is possible that the Kanban board could become more intuitive and productive in the coming days.
- Pre-built customizable templates: Next-generation enterprises are more inclined towards the technology stack that reduces operational costs and enhances team efficiency. With pre-built templates, there is no need to fill data fields all over again. The same template can be used repetitively for scheduling tasks and tracking tasks status. It helps project leaders to save a lot of time and labor costs. Some templates come with a customization option and enable users to adjust them as per their project needs. For managing small projects, pre-built templates are most suitable. There are many task management software solutions that come with pre-built templates.
- Team collaboration: Team communication is mandatory to complete project tasks successfully, but traditional communication channels such as emails and text messages have few limitations. These channels are overloaded with messages, and there is always a risk of missing out on important emails. Besides that, modern-day businesses prefer communicating in real-time and do not like leakages in their communication pipeline. Therefore project managers should opt for a more advanced communication channel – team collaboration tools. With team collaboration tools everything gets streamlined, and traceable. There are many online collaboration tools available in the market that facilitate uninterrupted communication while managing projects. It can be used as standalone software or can be integrated with the task management tool.
- Data-driven decision: Data acts as a powerful medium for project managers to keep the project on track. Before they commence the project, project leaders perform various analyses, such as budget, resource availability, project risks, and contingency plan. If they have the supportive data to outline the project’s requirements, team members will face fewer problems in completing the project milestones. Algorithms, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are a few advanced technologies that can help in filtering the data as per the requirements. Investing in a tool that supports this can be favorable for completing the tasks much within the timeline.
- Continuous learning: Next-generation businesses will rely more on their employees’ skill sets to deal with a wide range of projects. Future projects would require employees to continuously upgrade their skills to quickly adapt to the evolving technologies and trends. Project managers need to identify and implement robust skill-development strategies for their employees.
Conclusion:
The work pattern is evolving rapidly as organizations prepare for the highly competitive business world. With an ever-increasing workload, it is not feasible for business heads and managers to brief team members about tasks or take follow-ups manually. They need a holistic task management strategy that can automate tasks and work productively. Task management software supports the idea of a smart approach for task management and assists business organizations in accomplishing projects on time.