What Is a Project Management System?

Project management system example

So, what do both definitions of a project management system actually look like in practice? Let’s clear things up with a brief and simple example.

Imagine that a marketing team is tasked with creating a series of educational webinars. 

When thinking about the broader project management system they use to organize their work, they might assign clear roles and responsibilities to the project team, create a detailed project plan and timeline, map their critical path to understand their most important project activities, set milestones to keep themselves on track, and host regular check-ins to monitor progress. 

When it comes to a project management system in the technical sense, they use a collaborative work management platform (like Wrike) to store and coordinate all of those pieces — like their responsibilities, timelines, tasks, and workflows. 

Both systems — their processes and their technology — work together to help them deliver a webinar series in a structured, reliable, and manageable way. 

Why use a project management system?

Whether you’re talking about overarching processes and principles or technology solutions, both systems give teams a more structured approach to projects. That level of organization leads to a number of benefits, including: 

• Improved clarity: Clear processes and centralized communication mean less confusion about project goals and how you’ll get there.
• Increased accountability: Similarly, a project management system gives team members better visibility into how they fit within the overall project, which increases their sense of ownership over their assigned tasks.
• Better collaboration: When people understand what they’re working toward and what they’re responsible for, they can work together with less friction and frustration.
• Repeated success: A system is a framework that can be used over and over again, which means it doesn’t just help one project succeed — it helps all projects succeed. 

Add all of that together, and you get to the main reason for using a project management system: It enables your team to deliver more winning projects on time and under budget. 

Types of project management systems

Let’s talk a little more about a project management system as the entire ecosystem in which a project is completed. That can be broken down into the following six subsystems:

Facilitative organizational

This subsystem is used to organize project team members into reporting hierarchies. Many organizations have a matrix structure where project members report to a functional head and a project head. This subsystem deals with creating the organizational structure and placing people within it.

Project planning

This subsystem deals with the planning of projects, programs, and portfolios.

Project control

This subsystem includes all the processes and procedures for controlling project execution.

Project management information

This subsystem encompasses the principles and procedures for managing information, including everything from communication plans to knowledge databases.

Techniques and methodology

This subsystem consists of all the management science techniques used in project management. Some examples include CPM (critical path modeling), PERT (program evaluation and review technique), and Monte Carlo simulation.

Cultural ambiance

This subsystem handles the organization’s culture around project management and how it is viewed and carried out. For example, do functional employees who are not directly involved with projects understand and support project management? Are they aware of projects occurring within the organization that affect them?

Essential features of project management system software

Now that we’ve taken a closer look at the overarching project management system, let’s zoom in on the technology piece of the puzzle. What do you need to look for in project management system software?

The answer to that question will vary depending on the size of your team and organization, the nature of your work, and the complexity of your projects. But, in general, look for a platform that has:

• Task assignments and deadlines to provide clarity about project progress
• Customizable dashboards, forms, and workflows to tailor the platform to your team
• Adequate storage to keep all project documentation in a centralized place
• Integrations with the apps and tools your team is already using
• Accessibility from any device so that teams can work from anywhere
• Templates for common workflows and documents to save you time in the future

That’s the bare minimum. You might also want to look for features that are more suited to your specific team, such as time tracking, invoicing software, resource management, shared team calendars, and more. 

Tips for choosing the right project management solution

You know the basics that you should look for in a project management solution, but finding the right option for you, your team, and your projects can still feel daunting. Here are a few tips to help you land on the system that’s the best fit for you. 

1. Consider your needs

Any project management system should cover the nuts and bolts, so it’s worth thinking about what unique features you might need.

Are approvals a constant bottleneck and you need a solution that streamlines that part of the process? Do you work in a service department and need to be able to create customized and dynamic request forms? Do you need next-level digital asset management? Do you need powerful automation? 

Sit down with your team to identify not only the must-have features, but also the bonus features that would significantly help you complete your projects. That will guide you as you evaluate your options. 

2. Understand your budget 

Project management systems come in all shapes, sizes, and costs. You need to know how much you can spend on a system so that you can find the best option within your budget.

Keep in mind that systems are priced differently. Some might charge for a certain number of users. Others might charge for a specific timeline. Others might charge by feature. Pay close attention to those details to avoid an unpleasant surprise. 

3. Take some solutions for test runs

Most project management solutions will offer free trials (Wrike does!) so that you can play around with the system and get a sense of how it actually works. 

Don’t do this alone. Involve some team members in these trials so that they can try out various tasks and activities that they’re responsible for and provide feedback on what system they think is the right choice. 

How Wrike’s project management system can benefit your company

Still stuck on which project management system to go with? Give Wrike a try. It’s a comprehensive solution that provides total visibility and enables your entire organization to collaborate seamlessly. 

Wrike has all of the must-have features of any project management system, along with plenty of others — from time tracking to templates — to help your team get more projects across the finish line with way less stress.

Plus, Wrike is completely customizable. From custom dashboards and workflows to automations and templates, you can build Wrike to fit your team’s work — and not the other way around.

Ready to get started? Sign up for your free trial of Wrike today.