Task Management Tools versus Project Management Solutions: A Practical Guide

The abundance of online task management tools is both a blessing and a curse. Gone are the days of scrabbling around for the last functional whiteboard pen, or endless email chains chasing up rogue colleagues for their input. These tools have the potential to simplify, synchronise and speed up team tasks, crucial factors which contribute to a project’s ultimate success or failure. However, there are so many variations of these tools that choosing the right one for your needs is fraught with risks.

To make this choice much, much easier, ask yourself one basic question: Am I looking for help with task management, or project management?

Carol Crummey’s ‘Dangers of Confusing Task Management with Project Management’ tackles this conundrum. As she explains, whilst tasks are the ‘building blocks of projects’, not all tasks on your to-do list contribute towards a project. That’s why it’s important to differentiate between task management and project management tools.

Task Management Tools

The best task management solutions are, according the Crummey, the simple ones. They perform two key functions:

1. Provide a digital interface in which the teams can collaborate.
2. Give workers who are primarily focussed on their own scope of work an easy way of tracking their tasks and deadlines.

However, such solutions are far from all-encompassing. By contrast, project management tools offer an array of invaluable insights for project managers.

Project Management Tools

A good project management solutions covers the following areas:

• Task estimation – How long will each task take? How long will the entire project take?
• Project scheduling – Will the person assigned to the task be able to accomplish it in time? Will the project in its entirety be completed on time?
• Resource and capacity planning – Does the team have enough resources to accomplish the project on time? Or is scope-cutting or resource balancing needed?
• Portfolio-wide management – What projects are top priority for the organization? Are they adequately staffed or funded?
• Risk management – Is the right amount of progress being made? Are there areas of risk in the plan that need attention?

Now that you’re clued-up on the differences, it’s time to choose the software that works for you.