Organization and communication are two of the fundamental pillars of any startup, whatever the sector. If these two elements don’t work correctly, your company will collapse at any moment. For this reason, it isn’t something you can overlook. In addition, nowadays, with the arrival of the digital era, we have a great advantage to facilitate this task: online tools. There are many platforms focused on helping in project management, these allow an easier planification and also the coordination with the entire team, resulting in a much more effective work.
Therefore, from La Lonja de la Innovación we bring you some of the best online tools and methodologies that make your startup’s project management easier.
The best management tools
El uso de este tipo de herramientas aporta diversos beneficios a tu empresa. Por un lado, permite coordinar a todos los miembros de tu equipo, además, es un espacio donde tener todo planificado y ordenado: los archivos, las tareas, los tiempos de entrega, etc. Lo que permite facilitar el desarrollo y la organización de tu empresa. Entre nuestras herramientas favoritas están:
The use of this type of tools brings many benefits to your company. On one hand, it allows you to coordinate every member of your team, and it is also a space where you can have everything planned and organized: files, tasks, delivery times, etc. This facilitates the development and organization of your company. Among our favorite tools are:
- Asana. It is one of the most popular. It has a clean interface which is very easy to use. With Asana you can create dashboards for different task’s stages, for example, “To do”, “done”, “to review”... In addition, you can create reports that make it easy to keep track of your tasks. Overall, it is a tool with a wide range of features that has resulted in it being used by millions of people around the world.
- Trello. Another of the most popular in this area. Like Asana, it is based on dashboards that allow you to visualize all your tasks and projects clearly. It offers many templates for both professional and personal use. With Trello you can manage your projects and workflow, as well as monitor tasks in an easy and customizable way.
- nTask. This software is also a great option when it comes to managing projects. With this tool you will be able to simultaneously manage multiple projects. In addition, you can define each team member role, the budget and time tracking criteria.
- Hibox. Another great task management tool is Hibox. It is so easy to use and has basic organizational options such as calendar, to-do list, planning… But, in addition, unlike the rest, you can chat and even make video calls with your team.
Some methodologies for your startup
There are not only online tools for project management, but also methodologies that facilitate this process and it can help you to speed up the decision making process. In previous posts, we explained how the OKR methodology can help you reach your goals quickly and efficiently. Today, we explain three new methods:
- Agile methodologies. This includes various methodologies or work methods which are based on the same idea and focus on flexibility and adaptability. Within the Agile methods, Scrum or Lean stands out, very focused on its use in startups. The first one is based on a structure in which the results are partially delivered throughout the work stages; these deliveries are made in short periods of time which are known as “sprints”. This improves collaborative work and helps to organize based on experiences. As for the Lean Startup methodology, it is about getting more, but with fewer resources, eliminating waste in the processes. It focuses on the creation of an MVP, in order to minimize risk and maximize learning.
- Kanban method. Kanban means "visual cards" in Japanese, so this methodology is closely related to how the online tools explained above organize. This work method allows one to visualize everything easily with a board of tasks and cards divided into three main columns: pending, in process and completed tasks.
- Waterfall methodology. One of the most traditional in project management in any company. It follows a sequential approach, in which each phase must be completed before moving on to the next. To use it, the objectives and tasks to be performed must be very well defined. It is intended for small and not very complex projects.
Now is the time to see which tool and methodology best suits your startup and projects and make use of them.