For years, Excel has been a preferred tool for project managers and teams across every industry. Using excel at work is a prudent move, it gives businesses the tool they need to drive more efficiency and productivity in their day-to-day work process. However, as technology continues to evolve, industries and businesses must reshape every aspect in order to keep a competitive edge. This is the point where excel fails to meet the needs of its users.
In this article, you’ll find out why excel is just not right for project management and why so many businesses are considering the idea of investing in a separate project management software. Let’s get started.
What makes Excel obsolete in the near future?
There is no doubt that Excel is still one of the most popular spreadsheet software around the world. Today, many individuals and professionals prefer to use excel to keep track of their financially-related activities. But when it comes to planning projects and managing resources, excel doesn’t seem too good. Programs like Excel are too standard for the purpose. They lack many key features and functionalities that are considered important for a project management process.
Here are 5 reasons that explain why most project managers and business owners avoid using Excel for project management. Take a look:
1. Not that attractive
In today’s market, project managers and teams are looking for tools that can reflect their company’s theme, something excel doesn’t recognize. Excel is old school spreadsheet software that comes with an easy-to-use, user-friendly interface, but it’s not that attractive in terms of design or layout.
2. Takes too much time
Keeping the average size and complexity of an individual project in mind, and considering the number of projects that businesses are handling today, using excel is very time-consuming. With excel, teams would spend most of their time updating and tracking project details rather than actually working on them.
3. Offers limited insights
Effective project management requires multiple people and teams to work together and update statuses. But that’s hard to achieve when working on excel. Excel is the kind of tool that works best when you fly solo. If you’re using it to coordinate with multiple people and teams, mistakes and missed deadlines are likely to happen.
4. Doesn’t allow for collaboration
Lack of collaboration features like chats, discussions, and file sharing is one of the biggest work on your projects. In excel, there is no way for team members to collaborate on projects and identify what needs to be done next.
5. Difficult to create reports
In simple words, excel is not an ideal tool for project reporting. That means there is no point in relying on excel sheets for forecasting issues, resolving conflicts and gaining visibility across various parts of a project. Using excel for reporting will only lead to poor decision making and project delay.
Is project management solution a better alternative to Excel?
Short answer: yes.
A dedicated project management solution that is right for you can outperform excel any day any time. That’s because it offers a range of specialized features and functions that address the exact needs of a project management process. With a dedicated software in place, it is much easier for teams to plan, collaborate, track, and deliver projects on time, on budget.
If you’re still not convinced of the fact that project management solution is a better alternative to Excel, here are a few points that will definitely change your mind. So, with an advanced project management solution, you can:
1. Personalize its appearance to match your company’s theme
The best thing about project management software is that it is designed to provide you with a personalized experience. There are popular software and tools in the market that provides white labeling features to keep things interesting at work.
2. Deliver projects within the expected time frame
With project management software, it is easier for teams to manage their tasks and get them completed within the expected time frame. The software offers task management and workflow management capabilities that give better control over their deadlines and deliverables.
3. View and track project progress in real time
Another exciting feature that makes project management solution a better alternative to excel is time tracking. A project management solution allows team members to track the progress made in a project or the amount of time spent working on a task in just a few clicks. It shows them how they’ve been utilizing their time across projects and how much time they need to get everything completed.
4. Bring everyone together to collaborate
The biggest disadvantage of excel sheets is that it doesn’t allow team members to collaborate. Now, a project management solution outperforms excel by creating a central place where everyone involved in the project can coordinate and share project information without any confusion or unnecessary delay.
5. Generate better project reports
Project management solution is far better than excel when it comes to project reporting and monitoring. It gives project managers and teams the ability to see the current status of a project or task at any moment. This project reports also play a crucial role in generating accurate invoices for the clients and analyzing the overall performance and productivity of the team.
In conclusion
Excel is a fine business tool but doesn’t put your business’s reputation at risk by using it to manage your projects and resources. Choosing a dedicated project management software over excel can make a huge difference in the productivity and efficiency of your business.
So, don’t try to give more excuses. If you’d like to see your business succeed, then stop relying on outdated excel sheets and find a project management solution that can help you manage your projects more efficiently, accurately and profitably. And in case you’re looking for some quick tips on how to pick the best project management solution for your business, leave a comment below.
Author Bio: Vartika Kashyap
Bio: Vartika Kashyap is the Marketing Manager at ProofHub and has been one of the LinkedIn Top Voices in 2017. Her articles are inspired by office situations and work-related events. She likes to write about productivity, team building, work culture, leadership, entrepreneurship among others and contributing to a better workplace is what makes her click.