Project Management and Time Tracking Software Tools

Project Tracking

Project tracking is an essential part of project management. Accurate project tracking helps to stay on schedule and bill customers properly. Also it helps to assess the project profitability after its accomplishment. Project tracking consists of time tracking and cost tracking. In intellectual labour business field the customers are usually billed depending on time spent. That's why time tracking is extremely important.

Project Tracking Software

Project tracking should not take much time. It should be an organic part of general management of project. Time tracking and task management functions may be easily combined in a single 'all-in-one' solution. First a project manager makes up a general to do list. All the tasks should be listed. The large tasks should be divided up to smaller ones. Then the project manager assigns tasks to team members, at the same time specifying start and due dates, estimating time required for each task performing and setting priorities (if necessary).

Thus every employee gets a personal to do list and starts working. When the employee starts performing a certain task, he or she changes the task status to 'in process'. After finishing the task the employee marks it as 'done' and specifies actual time the task has taken. There is no need to waste time making up reports and timesheets! The employee can inform the manager of work progress just in several clicks, without dropping work.

The project manager can get automatic notifications of done and overdue tasks, compare pre-estimated and actual time required for each task performing, add, re-assign or cancel a task, raise the priority of the certain task, send reminders to all employees or some of them.

Postproject Assessment

After the project is completed it is important to assess the results. Was this project profitable for your company? Was it in keeping with your company's priorities and goals? Did you and your employees make the most efficient use of your time and resources?

Project tracking tool helps project manager to answer the above-listed questions comparing estimated and factual time spent on each task, every employee's workload and productivity, income and costs.

Project Tracking Software Requirements

Obviously the project tracking tool should support such functions as advanced time and task management, multi-user online access, various task statuses and priorities, powerful analytic tools, notifications and alerts. Also it should be flexible, so that you are able to customize it for your company's specific needs. User-friendly interface is a 'must have', otherwise it will be rather difficult to make people use it.

VIP Project Tracking Tool

VIP Task Manager is an 'all-in-one' project management solution, which is suitable both for general management of the project and time tracking. Time tracking is combined with to-do list functionality in a very convenient manner. Thus VIP Task Manager may be used by every employee for personal time and task management as well as by the manager for project tracking.