best free project management software 2015

Prospective Buyers’ Current MethodsĪs this study is focused solely on small businesses, which typically have smaller budgets to spend on software, it makes sense that the majority are using manual methods.Īndrew Makar is an IT consultant and the author of industry blog Tactical Project Management. The number of buyers looking to replace existing PM tools has remained roughly the same, at 35 percent (though in this year’s analysis, we’ve separated those buyers out into more specific categories). However, the majority of buyers (60 percent) are managing projects using manual methods, such as email, spreadsheets and/or office management suites (e.g., Microsoft Office or Google Drive).Ĭompared with our data from 2014, this year’s findings show a 14 percent increase in the number of prospective buyers looking to purchase PM software for the first time. When asked about their current methods for managing projects, roughly one-third of the prospective buyers in our sample, combined, say they are using PM software in some capacity: either on its own (17 percent), with an additional PM software tool (6 percent) or in combination with manual methods (9 percent). 60% of Prospective Buyers Currently Using Manual Methods To help these buyers, Software Advice set out to examine the current PM software market, determining trends among small-business buyers and comparing them with last year’s findings.

With so much at risk, a growing number of businesses are deploying software to assist them at critical stages throughout the project life cycle: The Project Management Life Cycle What’s more, a Harvard Business Review investigation found that one in six information technology (IT) projects had an average cost overrun of 200 percent and schedule overrun of nearly 70 percent. When projects are managed poorly, however, businesses risk the loss of millions of dollars: In the same report, PMI states that, on average, over $100 million is wasted for every $1 billion invested in projects. The Project Management Institute (PMI) declares in its 2015 Pulse of the Profession report that “All change in an organization happens through projects and programs.” Businesses are therefore better able to meet strategic goals when they have a system in place for effectively managing projects.

Best free project management software 2015