There are several top Project Management Tools on the market, designed to improve both the development side of a business and its marketing arm, although it is very difficult to find the perfect one since these two departments have different requirements, one being all about project work, the other being about ongoing consultancy.

What follows is a basic roundup of the different pros and cons of each of the top project management tools on the market today. Taken into consideration are things like (amongst many others):

• Is it versatile – can it cater to both sides of the business?
• Is it flexible – can the tool be used in conjunction or integrated with other tools, and does it have an API?
• Usability – is it user-friendly? Does it have an interface that is easy for the clients to use?
• Future scalability – does the tool have the capability to take on larger projects in the future?
• Does it have regular data backups?
• Does it allow for fast data entry?
• Does it allow register and track burndowns?
• Does it have automated backup reports and user overviews and roundups?
• Does it have a calendar to map out projects and set out specific time periods for them?
• Does it allow for time-management research on employees?

Harvest

This is one of the to project management tools specifically for time management, and it is one of the standard bearers of the industry, used by big and small companies alike, allowing its users to use the time to track features as well as creating reports, and sending invoices.

It has lots of great elements, such as mobile and desktop apps, reporting views and features, a user-friendly invoicing system, and expenses management, and they’re still looking at ways to improve it. Best of all, it has an API and it can be integrated with lots of other software, and it also has apps which are available on Macs, PCs, and IPhones, and plugins for Twitter, Gmail, and all mainstream browsers.

Axosoft (formerly OnTime Now)

This is essential for project management, scheduling, and time tracking to be used by web developers. It is extremely cost effective, coming in at around $100 per year for 10 users, it provides Kanban for flowboards, and calculates project development and burndowns, which makes it great for scheduling and working out deadlines, and it provides an easy means by which to review individual performances.

It’s easier to use than REDMINE, probably its main competitor, but it should be noted that REDMINE does have a lot of features that ONTIME NOW does not have, and is more customizable.

Zendesk

This is a great customer service tool to use at your support desk, as well as for development work, and it has many good features which make it great for tracking incoming inquiries, and also improving or helping with support assignments for the development team, as well as being a great tool for the digital marketing team.

It has lots of apps for different devices, integrated analytics, features for individual users and different user groups, ticket tagging and categorization options, you are able to change the management features, and most importantly, it has lots of pre-existing integrations available. All these great features make it one of the top project management tools on our list.

Trello

This is primarily for project management, it is also great for digital marketing, and it can also be integrated with a number of other tools, like Google Docs, Google Drive, Harvest, Google Calendar, Dropbox, Chrome, Thunderbird, IOS, Android, amongst many others.

Its integration with Google Docs is especially good because it means that it’s really useful for pulling data from spreadsheets and pushing it onto other spreadsheets. It also allows you to view all tasks by one user, you can assign it to more than one person, it allows you to see what everyone is working on, it is designed around collaboration and thus perfect for clients, it provides structured workflows, it’s user-friendly thus easy for non-technical people and clients, and, most importantly, it can track time directly into Harvest and drag over task description information and a hyperlink into the full details of the assignment. This is probably the best tool to deal with both sides, development, and marketing.

Tom's Planner

This is primarily used for scheduling, both in development work and digital marketing. This is really easy to use, with a very simple drag and drop functionality, colour coding options, and different charts for different projects. Basically, this is a top project management tool for people to be able to see what they’re doing on a daily basis.

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