Why use an Online Project Management Platform?
There are loads of online project management platforms. But why do you need one? When you manage a business you need a way to organise your to dos. You need a system that organises your thoughts and keeps you on track. I have found there are various ways to do this. Notes on your phone. Online calendar. Spreadsheet. Email Reminders. The problem with all these is that they’re not in one place. Yes they’re all on your phone but there’s not one central location.
When you add in working with an assistant or any team members this adds another layer of complexity. This is why an online project management platform is a key requirement for your practice.
The two I have used and tested in real life scenarios are Trello and Basecamp and both have their advantages..
Trello
I was so happy when Trello entered my life. I never knew how much I needed it until I found it. Trello is incredibly simple to navigate and easy to use both on a computer and on the phone.
Things you need to know:
Boards – This is like the project. You can have one for Practice Admin and one for Business Admin for example.
Lists – These are the headings within the board for example to do, in progress, completed.
Cards – These are “the things you need to do” or the tasks. It’s like having an online cork-board full of post-its!
Once you have created the task you can assign it to someone, label it, have checklists, add deadlines and attachments. There is an activity section where you can communicate with other people involved or just to add your own notes regarding the task. You simply then move it along the different lists, so everyone is aware of what’s happening with it and when it’s completed.
Trello is an excellent task list organiser and has lots of great features but the downside for me in the free version at least is if there is a project that needs completing with lots of different people it is hard to see the workflow, has no timeline or reporting.
Basecamp
When my husband was launching his business, he “hired” me to help him. I knew Trello would not be right for this project, so I researched other platforms and discovered Basecamp. In the free version, you can have up to three projects running at any one time. When you create a to-do each item within that section can be assigned to different or multiple people and have different due dates or deadlines. It has all the features I mentioned with Trello as well.
What is great though is that you have a schedule where you can see everything that is required to be completed for the project and who it is allocated to. You are able to set the order for the tasks to be completed, give ownership to a team on their parts and keep an eye that the project is running to plan. You are notified if you have work to complete that day, when something is completed and whether anything is overdue. There are loads more features like a live group messaging board and a document and file area to keep everything relating to the project in one place.
This would be great if you were completing a project like moving your practice online. As there would be lots of actions to take and they’d need to be done in a specific order.
Final Thoughts
I love both these management platforms for different reasons, and both have a prominent place in my life now. I think both are super easy to navigate and use and will be a great benefit to you if you are not using anything right now. Everything to do with each task whether it’s a standalone thing or part of a project is in one place so you’re not searching through texts, WhatsApp’s, emails etc. Try them for free and see if they would help run your practice. If I can help in any way regarding using these systems please get in contact via the website www.virtuallyirreplaceable.co.uk or via email kim@virtuallyirreplaceable.co.uk.
