Five Crucial Questions To Ask While Selecting Your Online Project Management App
Selecting the right project management app has far-reaching effects on your organization and its success than you could possibly conceive. You should therefore ensure that you are making the right choices to avoid loss of time and money. Here are five crucial questions that you should ask when you are selecting your online project management software.
#1 What are the capabilities?
Before selecting your software you should know what exactly the tool could do and how it will help you manage your projects better. You should also know its other capabilities such as the number of projects that you could manage simultaneously, number of users that could access the system at any given point of time, whether you get any storage space to upload files online, etc. Before you sign up you should know what is being offered and what you are paying for.
#2 Do I need to enter long-term contracts?
Though in the future if you are going to like the web project management application you might want to sign up for long term contracts but to start with, you may want to test the waters as it were and ensure whether the software meets your requirements. Therefore it is best to opt for applications that give you the liberty to decide the contract period and solutions that do not require long term contracts.
#3 What are the available pricing options?
You need to find out the various plans available so that you could decide whether the plans available fit your budget. You should find out what exactly you get for each package or plan and what are the payment terms, whether you need to pay for the service on monthly basis or yearly basis. Try to get a clear picture on the costs involved. Also, be upfront in asking whether there are any other hidden charges so that you are not faced with unpleasant surprises when you start using the software.
#4 What is the nature of ongoing product support that I could expect?
As you are opting for online project management software, you need to get a clear picture on the nature of the product support that you are likely to get. Will you be getting free product support when you signup? Probe a little in this area so that you do not feel stuck later.
#5 How secure it is?
Safety is certainly one of the major concerns when it comes to web based project management. The application that you choose should have implemented the latest security features. This is one area that you cannot afford to take risk. Your online security should in fact be one of the top most selection criteria even before you ask questions regarding price and the product support. Making use of a system with substandard security features, you will be losing the trust of your customers, which could break your business on the long run. So make certain that you are dealing only with a 100% secure system.