There are plenty of different ways to manage a project team, from agile and waterfall methodologies to integrated project management. No matter which project management technique you choose, some things are likely to stay consistent from project to project, such as individual roles and responsibilities and your task management software.Here’s what project leaders need to know about team project management, including how to automate task management and how to foster teamwork on remote teams.
What Is Team Project Management?
Team project management refers to the process of assembling and overseeing a team to work on a specific project. This includes cross-functional teams, which consist of a mix of team members from multiple departments, as well as teams with stakeholders who are outside of an organization but still invested in the project.Project managers typically use project management tools such as task managers and action item trackers to keep track of assignments, due dates, and deliverables. These tools can help project managers save time and money by offering pre-built templates, cloud-based time-tracking, and project dashboards for managing projects.
Team Project Management Roles and Responsibilities
Project roles can vary a bit from team to team, and the size and makeup of the team will depend on the needs of each specific project. In general, you’ll need to be familiar with the following five roles when discussing team project management:
- Project managers are responsible for project planning. They oversee all three components of the project management triangle — scope, timeline, and cost — and ensure that the project is completed on time and under budget.
- Team leaders focus on the day-to-day operations of the team. They need to be able to run team meetings, facilitate collaboration, and navigate the leadership challenges associated with leading a project team.
- Team members are everyone who has an active role in the project, no matter how large or small. This includes copywriters, software developers, and even consultants or freelancers — basically, the people who get things done.
- A project sponsor is a senior leader or executive within the company who provides support to the project team. Their job is to advocate for the project, approve changes to the timeline or budget, and ensure that it aligns with the overall goals and objectives of the organization.
- Project stakeholders are the internal and external parties who have a role to play in the project in some way. This can include clients, customers, investors, contractors, and any others who have a stake in the project’s outcome.
Project team members may share a workspace, but they may also be located around the world and rely on remote collaboration tools to communicate in real-time. Project management apps help to keep everyone on the same page and make it easier to visualize complex project workflows and dependencies.
Team Project Management Tools and Strategies
The best tools for team collaboration and team management will depend on each use case, but some project management fundamentals apply to almost any project. Here are some of the tools and resources to consider when starting a new project.
Kanban Boards
Kanban boards date back to the 1940s, and were developed by Taiichi Ohno as part of the Toyota Production System in Japan. Kanban boards use columns — usually To Do, Doing, and Done — as a way to keep track of project tasks and milestones. Each task has its own card, which can be moved between each of the three columns.Although Kanban boards can be physical — such as a whiteboard with sticky notes — these days they tend to be digital. You’ll find the Kanban approach reflected in many popular task management apps like Asana and Trello.
Gantt Charts
Gantt charts help project managers visualize the timeline of a project. But instead of a traditional calendar view, a Gantt chart shows the estimated timeline for each task or stage of a project, helping you see how they all fit together. If some tasks need to be completed before others, a Gantt chart can help you schedule them effectively.Gantt charts templates are available in many project management software tools, and you can even create your own Gantt charts using Microsoft Excel.
Sprints
Sprints are an approach to team project management that makes up a key part of the agile framework. Sprints are 1-4 week periods of focused work on a particular project goal, helping to break down a large project into smaller components.Team members typically attend daily stand-up or scrum meetings, where they share their goals for the day and address any obstacles. Team members may also attend related meetings such as sprint planning meetings and sprint retrospectives.
Whiteboards
Digital whiteboards are a great tool for brainstorming and collaboration, especially if you have a remote or hybrid team. These cloud-based tools enable your team members to contribute ideas in real-time, in the form of shapes, text, and other content.Microsoft Teams has a digital whiteboard you can use during virtual meetings. If you don’t use Microsoft’s project management tools, you can find similar tools for Zoom, Google Meet, and other virtual meeting platforms. Some digital whiteboards even support AI note-taking so you can take notes without having to do it yourself!
Best Team Project Management Software
Although messaging platforms like Slack and file sharing services like Dropbox can go a long way toward keeping your team organized, chances are you’ll need comprehensive team project management software to help you meet your project goals.Fortunately, many of these tools support integrations with each other, so you can use them alongside the team collaboration tools you’re already using.
Anchor AI
Anchor AI is an AI-powered note-taking tool and task manager that you can use to turn your ideas into actions. Simply invite Anchor AI to your meeting or upload a recording, and Anchor will automatically capture actionable items from your discussion and add them to your task manager or action item tracker.Plus, Anchor AI can take notes, create a complete transcript, or summarize the entire meeting, allowing you to keep all of your stakeholders in the loop.Price: Anchor AI’s free plan provides unlimited transcription, while pricing starts at $15 for added features like a topical summary and automatic task creation and assignment.
Asana
Asana is a team project management tool that relies heavily on the Kanban format. You can switch between board view and calendar view and use Gantt charts to keep track of your project timeline. Set permissions so that only authorized team members have access to your board, and get notifications whenever a new task is added.Price: Teams with fewer than 15 members can open a free account, while paid plans start at $10.99 to $24.99 per user and unlock additional features.
Trello
Trello is a cloud-based task management tool that’s also available as a mobile app. You can choose from customizable templates with workflows for lead management, new hire onboarding, nonprofit project management, and more. Or, use automation to generate tasks using natural language so you can get started right out of the box.Price: Small businesses and individuals can use Trello for free, or you can pay $10 per month per user to unlock unlimited boards.
Wrike
Wrike is a project management tool that can handle event planning, website redesigns, and other creative and administrative projects. You can switch between Chart, Board, Table, Gantt chart, and Calendar views to get multiple perspectives on a project. You can also use the Proofing feature to upload project files and get feedback from team members and other stakeholders.Price: Wrike has a free plan with limited features, as well as Team and Business plans that start at $9.80 per user per month.
Get Ahead of the Curve With Anchor AI
There are many different ways to approach team project management, but there are a few key features that every team needs, including messaging, file sharing, and action item tracking in real-time. From there, it comes down to your personal preference: Do you want to prioritize collaboration, automation, or resource management?Anchor AI makes it easy to streamline project management with our AI-powered task manager and note-taking tools. The integrations with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and other collaboration tools will empower your remote team to get more out of meetings and stay focused on your project goals.Sign up for Anchor AI for free and start managing projects like a pro!