Handling multiple projects, keeping everything organized in human memory and email is a total disaster. When you are working with IT related projects with a virtual team and clients, it comes to plotting project deadlines, analyzing budgets, writing long lists of information, sharing documents, and tracking project through email is not even possible. Especially while working with design & development of websites, and mobile applications for both Android & iOS , you need to initiate, plan, execute & monitor, and close the project in an effective and efficient manner. Also, in order to be on the same page, keep an eye on every project detail, and tracking project to drive forward, team members must be in constant communication; therefore, a proper requirement for communicating and managing a project.


If you own your own business , or you work for an organization, project management is obviously a hot topic for you. Organizations these days are more interested in project managementas it is taken as an effective, efficient, and competitive means of transferring an organization through complex and unpredictable environment. Thanks to the advanced project management tools that have been developed to help you get along the projects and your managerial skills, and enhance your project management skills. It is now easy and fun to manage projects with these tools without even going through special training for it.

"If you don't know where you are going. How can you expect to get there?"
- Basil S. Walsh

Supremely, while working with IT related projects like mobile application development , and website design & development in Agile-SCRUM as software development model, it needs a very good platform that would handle multiple projects on the same platform. Also, when it comes to working as a cross functional team , in a virtual team , or in real-time workspaces , an online system where everyone can work and collaborate on the same project would be the best; meaning, a need for best project management tools.



Here are some of the top 6 best project management tools that might be very useful to you and your business.


6. Bitrix24


If you are searching for an online task and project management platform for your organization, Bitrix24 can be the best tool. With Bitrix24, you can create and manage projects with different features that are essential for the project. You can easily sign up, invite your team members, and use different tools such as task collaboration, document management, Gantt chart, and time tracking for your project. While working with a projects like website design & development, or mobile application developments in IT companies, Bitrix24 provides you with wide range of features in one single platform.



With Bitrix24, you can determine the ongoing tasks and projects, monitor the progress, post messages to relevant group directly, and start or continue discussions at any moment in an activity stream with the team members. You can easily discuss your ideas, share documents, and daily plans with the team members. This helps you to track the tasks and projects, view tasks in Gantt chart, and determine the progress of each task. You can also plan meetings and integrate the calendars. The special feature is that you can share any files in Bitrix24 drive. The “search” feature allows you to find any files and information on Bitrix24. The other fabulous feature includes starting a private chat sessions, drag & drop features to create company structure, and create daily plans.


The best part is, Bitrix24 is available for both iOS and Android mobile applications as free; meaning that you can manage projects when-ever, and where-ever you want to through mobile devices as well. Afterall, it is placed as a free communication and collaboration platform where there are unified spaces for the projects, tasks, contacts, files, and messages.


Founded by: Bitrix, Inc. in 2012


    Best For:
  • Small Businesses
  • Enterprise

Pros

- Instant Messaging

- Daily Planner

- CRM Reports

- Time Management

- Task Reporting

- Calendar Sync

- File Sharing

- Manage Workflows


Cons

- Complicated to get used to as admin & user.

- Average User Experience

- Paid Service

5. Asanaa


Asana is a platform where teams can stay focused on the gaols, projects, and daily tasks that are essential for the business to grow. With Asana, you can plan and structure your workflow, set priorities and deadlines for each task, share and assign tasks for your team members. This helps you to set track for your project, and team members to be on the same page. Asana can be used for IT companies while designing and develping websites, and mobile applications.


The templates that are already created by Asana can also help in adding workflows easily, create projects & tasks, and post on shared boards. While you can easily assign tasks to specific team members, add descriptions, deadlines, attach documents, and the team members can easily comment and add discussion on that particular task. A basic dashboard and search is provided by Asana, where you can perform all these activities.


Like Bitrix24, you can easily notify employees with private messages, get the project details in a Gantt view, generate detailed reports, and schedule & prioritize tasks on in-built calendar.


Founded by: Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and ex-Google-and-Facebook engineer Justin Rosenstein in 2008


    Best For:
  • Product Managers

Pros

- Assign Tasks and Share Details

- Set Priorities & Deadlines

- View Activity Feed

- Create Calendar

- Track Tasks

- Share Info


Cons

- Not Possible to Assign Same Task to Multiple Team Members

- No Time Tracking

- Paid Service

4. Redmine


Redmine is a free and open-source tool in which you can create and manage projects, and get access to different features. If you are searching for a free project management tool, Redmine is definitely worth a try.


With Redmine, you can also create an access control, add custom fields for issues, time entries, and projects. Moreover, like in Bitrix24, you can also view a Gantt chart, calendar, and issue-tracking system. Besides being used in website design & development, and mobile application development projects, Redmine is also used in construction & manufacturing industries.


Even though, Redmine is free of cost, it requires self-installation and maintenance.


Founded by: Jean-Philippe Lan


    Best For:
  • Small Businesses
  • Medium Businesses

Pros

- Define User Roles

- Gantt Chart

- Time Tracking

- Define Custom Fields (issues, time-entries, projects, & users)

- Post Messages and Share Files

- Free Tool


Cons

- Need to Setup On Local Server

- User Interface

- No Chart Feature, & Graphical Views

3. Happy Tools


Teams are distributed around the world, and works from anywhere and anytime. Therefore, we need tools that can keep up with the plans and schedules. With Happy Tools, it makes organization to run smoothly and makes it more easier working with the team located at different parts of the world. A tool defined as “Happy Schedule” gives flexibility to schedule your team. This is one of the best project management tool for scheduling and planning for a whole team. Specially while working with design & development of websites and mobile applications, Happy Tools will help you more in resource management and scheduling the project.


The dashboard will display the lists of tasks to be done, and the days-offs too. You can also set your availability (in hours) in a whole week, and define your Day-Off as well. You can also set your availability for particular task from selecting a date, and planning your whole week indicating available hours. The default templates helps you in managing your schedules.


The tasks assigned are also listed in a planner section, where the lists of tasks are displayed with who are working with what & when. The report of overall day is displayed in Planner. Therefore, while assigning tasks, this is a great tool to view the availability time period of team members, and assigning accordingly.


Keeping a record on the number of staffing needed, planning schedule, and generating reports can be done in Happy Tools. These features are Agile and easy to use. Moreover, the unique feature as “Manage AFK” (AFK: Away From Keyboard) helps you to see all the requests on particular tasks, or create a new requests to other team members. This is a very handy tool for resource and leave management in an organization.



Founded by: Matt Mullenweg


    Best For:
  • Small Businesses

Pros

- Create Schedules

- Resource Management

- Manage AFK

- Sync Calendar


Cons

- No Report Generations

- No Boards

- Paid Service

2. Trello


Trello, is one of the best tools for managing projects, and a very useful & dynamic tool for project managers. Trello helps you and your team work collaboratively, and to remain on the same page and get organized. Trello is free to use and mostly used by agile software development teams. With Trello, you can easily plan, and define your own workflow for the project.


One of the best features is that you can easily create a digital board, create tickets (cards), organize, and prioritize your tasks. While designing & developing website and mobile application, or staring with any other projects, Trello can be the best tool for you to manage tasks, work in a Kanban-style of managing projects, create & share digital board with your team members, and assign tasks as well. Moreover, you can comment, add attachments, and start discussions on the same web based tool. If you are not familiar with Gantt charts, or other project management activities, Trello will be the best project management tool for you.



Founded by: Fog Creek Software in 2011


    Best For:
  • Individual and team members
  • Collaborative brainstorming

Pros

- Create Boards

- Collaborate with Team Members

- Add Comments and Start Discussions

- Attach Files on Cards Directly

- Free Tool


Cons

- No Time Tracking

- Board Can Get Easily Crowded with Lots of Cards

- No Overview

1. JIRA


If you follow Agile, especially for software development model, JIRA is the best tool for you. Jira is built by Atlassian as Agile Project Management Tool. With JIRA, you can collaborate, generate reports (visual reports), and track the progress of different projects & team members. Moreover, you can manage your own workflows, create backlogs, create sprints, create tickets (cards), assign those tickets to team members, add labels, prioritize them, and assign story points to each and every specific cards.


JIRA gives everything you need. If you are working with IT projects such as developing & designing websites, and mobile applications, JIRA is the best. Alpas Technology Pvt. Ltd. uses JIRA.


JIRA is one of the best Project Management Tool that can be used in IT industries for websites, and mobile application developments.



Founded by: Atlassian in 2002


    Best For:
  • Software Developers
  • Managers

Pros

- Create Workflows

- Create Scrum & Kanban Boards

- Track Progress

- Set Deadline & Assign Tasks

- Agile Reporting


Cons

- Difficult Site Workflow

- Complex To Understand

- Paid Service