Earlier, you learned about different types of

project management tools, from scheduling and work

management software, to tools for productivity
and collaboration. Now let's discuss a
few popular tools you might be expected to use, or at least be familiar with. There
are many different types of work management software that automatically make
project planning and tracking a lot easier and that are much more efficient than
manual project tracking. One tool that we'll focus on
in this program is Asana. Asana is a work
management platform that helps teams plan and coordinate their work from daily
tasks to
strategic initiatives. Asana provides a living system and a source of truth where
everyone's work lives. With Asana, everyone
can see, discuss, and manage team priorities, giving teams clarity on
who is doing what by when. It's great for building project
plans, assigning tasks, automating workflows,
tracking progress, and communicating
with stakeholders. As a project manager, you can use Asana to
create a log of tasks, like gathering cost estimates
from external vendors, and assign a task to
people on the team. All tasks are visible and organized in the format of the
project manager's
choice—like in a list or on a calendar—and designed to
drive transparency and connection with all the tasks related to the overall goal.
It's easy to use with
external stakeholders as well, because within Asana, you can share status updates
and other communications with people outside your company. Another great tool we'll
focus on throughout this program
is the spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are
extremely versatile, and you can use them for
a wide range of tasks, from creating timelines
and billing charts to managing budgets
and tracking tasks. You can add and view project information in
a variety of formats, depending on what you
need in the moment. For example, let's say you
enter a list of tasks, due dates, completion statuses, and task owners
into a spreadsheet. From there, it's very simple to sort the
list by due date to see what's due next. You can then filter the list
of tasks by task owner, so that you only see the
things you're responsible for. You can also highlight the rows of the sheet in
different colors to visually illustrate the
tasks with the least progress. With spreadsheets, you
can easily transform, visualize, and
manipulate information. Spreadsheets and more
comprehensive tools like Asana are just two options for
effective project management, and it's a good idea to get a basic understanding of
the variety of software
options out there. Then, if your company doesn't have a standard software tool, you
can choose the right
one for the project needs. Being able to recommend the
right tool for the job can be a great way to add value to your team at the
beginning of a project. Keep in mind, however, that software options
are constantly changing. From the addition
of new features to the launch of new tools, there's no way for you to know
every software available, and no company would
expect that of you. Many of these tools have similar functionality,
like task tracking and task assignment, so if you understand
one tool deeply, you should be able to easily adapt to a new tool on the job. Now
that you've learned
a bit more about Asana and the power of spreadsheets, take some time to
explore these tools, since we'll be working with
them later in the program. Coming up, you'll hear
from a project manager who will tell you all about
their experience using tools during their day-to-day
role at Google. Stay tuned.