3 Project Management Trends Small Businesses Need to Know About

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Here’s what we’ll cover:

● Trend #1: Social Collaboration Outpaces Task Management

● Trend #2: Cloud Office Tools Increasingly Used to Manage Projects

● Trend #3: Chatbots Drive Automation in Project Management

● Conclusions and Next Steps

● The Project Management Software Landscape

This presentation will help SMBs understand the latest project management trends and how they will impact their business.

Introduction

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Business need: Enterprise social networks

Example vendors: Yammer and Slack

What these vendors offer:

● Worldwide communication via news feeds

● Project groups

● Group chat for better project collaboration

Trend #1: Social Collaboration Outpaces Task Management

Why should SMBs care?

As workforces become more decentralized with more employees working remotely, communication and collaboration will become more critical than ever.

“Project management looks not like

lists of related tasks and progress

reports tracking formal milestones, but

a series of collaborative interactions

among team members.”

Source: Gartner (December 2016) 1

When to opt for collaboration tools: ● To manage non-routine work● To ideate/add creative input● To communicate extensively during projects ● To focus on project completion rather than deadlines

Business need: Shared tasks and activities

Example vendors: Wrike, Asana, dapulse, Basecamp and Trello

What these vendors offer:

● Share files and track projects

● Centralized dashboards

● Efficient billing via time tracking

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When to choose cloud tools over formal PM software:● When you have uncomplicated project demands● When you want to focus on easy communication and collaboration● When you want to pay as you go● When you want to access tools via mobile devices

Why should SMBs care?

Cloud-based productivity solutions have become de facto project management tools for small businesses (e.g., Microsoft Office 365, G Suite).

Trend #2: Cloud Office Tools Increasingly Used to Manage Projects

“By 2020, more than 85 percent of

businesses will have deployed Microsoft

Office 365.”

Source: Gartner (March 2017) 2

Business need: Easy-to-learn and inexpensive tools

Example vendor: G Suite

What this vendor offers:

● Advanced search functionality and site building tool (via Google

Sites) at low cost

● Better collaboration and accessibility options

● Unlimited file storage (for more than five users)

Business need: Enterprise-grade functionality

Example vendor: Microsoft Office 365

What this vendor offers:

● Compatibility with online and offline Office applications

● Advanced virus protection and rights management, which

protects corporate data

● Combines productivity tools including Office and Skype

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Trend #3: Chatbots Drive Automation in Project Management

Why should SMBs care?

The development of chatbots are largely driven by small businesses, rather than large ones. Implementation is now increasingly easy and the cost is relatively low.

“By 2019, startups will overtake

Amazon, Google, IBM and Microsoft in

driving the artificial intelligence

economy with disruptive business

solutions.”

Source: Gartner (Nov 2016) 3

Business need: Improve personal productivity and collaboration

Example vendor: Hipchat

Chatbots offered by Hipchat:

● Standup chatbot records and notifies each employee's status and shares it with the team

● Karma chatbot allows team members to score each other in areas such as helpfulness and teamwork

Business need: Automate task scheduling, workflow approvals and more

Example vendor: Slack

Chatbots offered by Slack:

● Swipes bot helps automate task management

● Weldbot helps plan and organize meetings

● Roomino bot provides instant travel information on flights,

hotels and restaurants

When chatbots can help with project management: ● To send project updates to stakeholders● To schedule employee meetings● To locate files from database

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Based on these three trends, small businesses should ensure that any project management tools they evaluate excel in the following two areas:

1. Facilitate collaboration and communication: As a small business, you need to ensure that your PM tool offers functionalities such as:

● Real-time collaboration on documents

● Email synchronization with project tasks

● Internal team chat messaging

● Project communities

● Video conferencing

2. Can scale with your business:

● Check that the solution can grow to accommodate your business needs as they expand

● Choose a solution that is open to adopting new technologies or integrations, such as chatbots

Conclusions and Next Steps

● Read the full report here: http://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/project-management-trends-for-small-business/

● Check out our Project Management Software Buyer’s Guide to see what the latest market trends are for small businesses: http://www.softwareadvice.com/project-management/#buyers-guide

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Source: “Use Social Tools to Manage Projects Without Project Management” 4

The Project Management Software Landscape

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1. “Use Social Tools to Manage Projects Without Project Management” - https://www.gartner.com/document/3534837

2. “Adopting Microsoft OneDrive for Business Could Benefit Office 365 Scenarios” - https://www.gartner.com/document/3662917

3. “Predicts 2017: Artificial Intelligence” - https://www.gartner.com/document/3519744

4. “Use Social Tools to Manage Projects Without Project Management” - https://www.gartner.com/document/3534837

Sources

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@PMSoftAdvice