Project Management Tools for Nonprofits
According to the Project Management Institute, “Project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements”. Nonprofits are faced with lots of responsibilities which most times have to do with managing projects, in our previous article we looked at key tips for working remotely for Nonprofit Organizations and we were able to share a few tools that can aid your productivity.
However, in this article, we will be sharing functions of project management tools and a list of tools that can help your nonprofit ensure efficiency and productivity in project deliveries. Have you ever been stuck trying to run analysis on data received on a project or trying to perform a workflow analysis, or simply gone through a task delay?. Thankfully modern technology has some great inventions that help lift those task burdens.
It is important to note softwares and tools that are compatible with your organization which could help your work. It is also important to understand that project management tools are tools that make project management more effective and efficient. The commonly used ones are Gantt chart, PERT chart, mind map, calendar, timeline, WBS chart, status table, and fishbone diagram. These tools are reliable in visualizing the scope of a project.
Nonprofit organizations are faced with the challenge of planning projects with limited resources available; however, in helping nonprofits cross that hurdle, project management tools ensure that certain activities during project management are handled effectively.
- During Project Design/ Preparation:
Project managers will attest that tools that aren’t responsive in helping organize tasks, assign tasks, estimate tasks done and the interconnectedness of tasks may not be efficient in project management. Here are a few tools you can use to manage your project deliverables; Microsoft package is a widely used package which helps users organize tasks, it simplifies work done and helps reduce technicalities in project management, another tool is a Trello board; it is a package that helps give real-time updates of tasks, pending and completed. It is a great package for remote workers as it helps you stay connected with your team.
2. Collaboration and Team engagement:
Small and large organizations often go through the dilemma of sharing documents with team members and also working on it together on the go, google document is a tool that helps team members enjoy real-time engagements and collaboration on projects, another tool that can encourage collaboration is the MeisterTask which enables team members to brainstorm together, drag and drop ideas on project boards in real-time.
3. Solving major problems that may arise during project management
During project designing, planning and organizing there are instances were project managers encountered issues that more often affect their flow of work and productivity. When it comes to problem tracking packages, tools such as Jira, FogBugz, DoneDone, Unfuddle, and Kayako enable you track comments, difficulties or technical problems that may arise during project preparation.
In order to execute all these effectively, on time, and within budget, it takes the steadfast commitment of champions who help see to the successful completion of projects, at AIP we are committed to ensuring that we meet the needs of clients which include: conducting project management tools optimization training for staff and also keeping organizations abreast of updates that can help boost productivity. To contact our first impact champions click here
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