Your project tools are supposed to make life easier. So why does managing them feel harder than the work itself? Here’s how PMs are navigating the chaos.
Remember when a spreadsheet and email were all you needed to manage a project? Today's project managers juggle an ever-expanding array of tools, each promising to streamline workflows but often adding new layers of complexity. For one project manager we interviewed, who leads the PM team at a growing SaaS company, success means finding the right balance between maintaining detailed oversight and enabling efficient information flow across multiple systems.
"We've got a bunch of different systems that we're using," he explains. "We've got a lot of information in Drive, we use Smartsheet for our project plans, we use Slack for our internal communication." And that's just the beginning. Each customer brings their own preferred tools into the mix, creating an intricate web of communication channels to monitor.
The challenge isn't just about having multiple tools – it's about maintaining effective communication across all of them. "A lot of them use Microsoft Teams, and if they allow it, they'll add us to that team, which is really nice. But it's a whole another layer of communication to try to track down and keep up with," the PM notes.
Where email once dominated, project communication now flows through multiple channels. "I think for the most part, at least in my life, the days of like 150 emails a day are gone," he reflects. "But it's replaced because now it's Slack messages and different things here and there that are even more instant."
How does a modern PM keep track of it all? For this PM’s team, systematic organization is key. "We've got all our channels organized where if it's a customer channel, it's named for the customer. So that does make it easier," he explains. This structured approach helps ensure critical information doesn't get lost in the noise.
The team maintains a robust communication routine: "We'll do a weekly update... through Slack, bullet points. It needs to go over any risks or blockers, wins if there's wins, high-level progress. This is more for people who aren't in the day-to-day involvement of the project team."
One of the most interesting challenges in today's tool-heavy environment is supporting different project management styles. "You get some PMs that are super detail-oriented and they really love the details," the PM observes. "But I know there are a decent amount out there – because I've got them on my team – that they're good PMs, they're solid, but they're just not as tuned to that."
This diversity in working styles means that while some PMs thrive on diving deep into project details, others need more support in gathering and organizing information. "They might be taking more time to try to gather things together because they have to go back through and then make themselves dive into these details in order to get their status updates out for the week," he explains.
As project management tools continue to evolve, the focus is shifting from simply providing more features to actually reducing administrative overhead. The key is finding tools that enhance, rather than complicate, the PM's ability to maintain project oversight.
For organizations looking to optimize their project management approach, this PM’s experience suggests focusing on:
The future of project management isn't about finding one perfect tool – it's about effectively orchestrating multiple tools while keeping the focus on what matters: delivering successful projects.
