Table of Contents
Introduction
Finding the best project dashboard software can be a challenging task with so many options available. It’s important to track the progress and status of your projects effectively, and having the right tool is crucial. In this article, I will share my personal experience of tracking hundreds of projects using various project dashboard platforms. I will provide a shortlist of the best project dashboard software to help you make an informed decision.
What is Project Dashboard Software?
Project dashboard software is a tool that visually represents the key aspects and performance metrics of a project. It presents data such as progress, deadlines, budgets, and resource allocation in an easy-to-understand format. The software aggregates and displays this information through charts, graphs, and progress indicators, offering a comprehensive overview of the project’s status.
Project dashboard tools assist project managers and teams in quickly assessing the health and progress of a project. By providing real-time data, these tools enable informed decision-making and facilitate better project management and communication.
The Best Digital Software
Here is a summary chart of the top project dashboard software tools available:
| Tool | Trial Info | Price |
|——————-|————————————————|————————-|
| monday.com | 14-day free trial + free plan available | From $8/user/month |
| Wrike | Free plan available | From $9.80/user/month |
| Smartsheet | Freemium version available | From $7/user/month |
| ProjectManager.com| 30-day free trial | From $16/user/month |
| KeyedIn | Free interactive product tour available | Available upon request |
| ProWorkflow | 14-day free trial | From $20/user/month |
| ITM Platform | 14 days free trial | Pricing per request |
| Project Insight | Free demo available | From $3/user/month |
| Changepoint | Free demo | No pricing details |
| ClickUp | Freemium plan available | From $9/user/month |
Other Project Management Tracking Tools
Here are a few other project management tracking tools that didn’t make the top list, but are still worth considering:
- Hive: Best for team collaboration and planning.
- Wedia: Best project dashboard in an enterprise asset management software.
- Celoxis: Best for ad hoc budgeting and costs dashboards.
- Birdview PSA: Best for resource capacity planning dashboards.
- GoodDay: Tile-based dashboards with support for multiple project management methodologies.
- Zoho Analytics: Segment comprehensive project intelligence data according to any criteria.
- Genius Project: Dashboards that include reports, charts, and documents that can be customized to your project-specific requirements.
- Acuity PPM: Portfolio-level dashboards that help you see risk and make decisions across different projects.
- Bubble: Live data and automated reporting tools designed to be highly configurable and supportive of your existing processes.
- Deltek Project & Portfolio Management: In-depth information dashboard that requires analysis to obtain actionable insights.
How I Chose the Best Dashboard Reporting Software
To select the best project dashboard software, I considered high user review and satisfaction ratings. I also used my project management experience to evaluate key criteria that are important for project dashboard software. Here are the main evaluation criteria:
User Interface (UI)
The user interface should be clean, attractive, and easy to navigate. It should effectively use space and whitespace to display project data in a visually appealing manner.
Data Sources
The software should be able to pull information from various sources, such as specific modules, the entire platform, or even third-party applications. This ensures that the dashboard can provide a comprehensive view of the project.
Integrations
The software should offer easy integration with other tools. It should have pre-built integrations and native integrations to connect with external tools seamlessly.
Pricing
I considered the pricing and paid tiers of each software. I also looked for information about free trials and free software versions to help users make an informed decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a project dashboard?
A project dashboard is a tool that presents information about key performance indicators (KPIs) in a visual format. It provides a summary of relevant data on a single page, allowing users to quickly and easily track metrics such as conversion rate, click-through rate, resource scheduling, and employee log time.
What to put on a project management dashboard?
A project management dashboard should include items that pertain to both long-term and short-term goals. This may include customer conversion metrics, lead collection data, page views, social impressions, time spent per task, resource allocation, error/bug reports, and more. The dashboard should be data-rich, clean, and easy to read.
What is a portfolio dashboard?
A portfolio dashboard is designed to help track multiple projects simultaneously. It provides a birds-eye view of all ongoing accounts, with options to narrow down specific clients, projects, tasks, and goals. This type of dashboard is particularly useful for agencies that handle a large number of clients and projects.
What are the different types of dashboards?
There are various types of dashboards, each specializing in different data displays and industries. Some common types include marketing dashboards, task management dashboards, business intelligence (BI) dashboards, and team workload dashboards.
What are the key features of dashboard reporting software?
Some essential features of dashboard reporting software include real-time data updates, customizable interfaces, interactive charts and graphs, and project health analysis. These features allow users to access up-to-date information, customize their dashboard, visualize data effectively, and identify project issues or bottlenecks quickly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, selecting the best project dashboard software is crucial for effective project management. By analyzing user ratings and considering key criteria, I have compiled a list of the top digital software options available. These tools offer intuitive interfaces, data integration capabilities, and customizable dashboards to help you track your projects efficiently. Choose the software that best suits your needs and start optimizing your project management today.
