No one likes spending hours doing mundane, repetitive tasks or data entry — even if it’s their job. Aside from being boring, it also costs companies a lot in productivity. Fortunately, automated project management solutions can streamline or even eliminate these tasks.
Automation shifts manual, time-consuming work from your employees and into automated programs instead. This isn’t as complex as it sounds. In fact, you’ve probably seen automation in action without even realizing it.
Every time you shop online, you immediately get an email notifying you that your order has been received and is being processed. No one typed an email quickly and pressed the send button — that was automation. And if you think about how many customers place orders daily, it’s easy to see how many hours of labor automation saves.
Benefits of automated project management software
Subscription-based workflow software and free platforms like Jotform offer a variety of automated project management capabilities. Cost savings are just one of the perks of these programs. These are some of the other top benefits.
Increased productivity
Automation reduces busywork. Many platforms offer digitized form templates for clients and customers to fill out so employees don’t have to go through the trouble of squinting to read bad handwriting, and then entering incorrect data into a computer.
Forms that auto-populate with known information save a lot of time. Software also eliminates menial tasks like sending notification emails.
Automation frees up employees to focus on doing real work so they can devote more attention to each project and actually make an impact in their jobs.
Streamlined communication
One of the most common bottlenecks in any workflow involves communication. How many times have you seen project feedback delivered in multiple emails get lost in the shuffle? Or how often have you wanted to reference a stakeholder’s comments but couldn’t find the original message?
Many automated project management platforms centralize all feedback and comments in one place, so nothing gets overlooked. Even better, they can send automatic notifications to stakeholders when it’s time to review new comments.
Improved work quality
Human error is inevitable with slow, manual processes. Automated project management eliminates many potential mistakes, ensuring work is completed at a higher quality more consistently — partly because, as mentioned, many workflow programs offer templates to streamline high-volume processes with features like auto-fill.
Automation software also routes workflows to the right managers based on conditional logic, so a task is never in limbo for long while it waits for approval or feedback.
Easier integrations
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) tools have made life easier for knowledge workers all over the world, but the sheer volume of options can be overwhelming. But when these tools don’t communicate with each other, they create information silos that defeat their purpose — keeping users organized and informed.
Fortunately, many automated project management programs integrate seamlessly with all or most popular SaaS tools. Life is much easier when your bookkeeping, payroll, sales, and customer relationship management programs are all communicating with each other.
How to automate project management and workflows
Project management software programs help your organization automate workflows. Jotform is one of the best platforms available, offering free solutions as well as premium products like Jotform Workflows. Here are some of the ways these powerful automation tools can streamline your processes.
Turn forms into robust workflows
Jotform offers thousands of free templates you can customize to collect info from new clients or customers, to request service, and to create briefs for new projects. With Jotform Workflows, you can turn each form into a workflow step that automatically sends submissions to the correct recipient. Even better, you can view these submissions on every type of device, including smartphones.
Streamline approvals
A robust approval workflow prevents requests and submissions from slipping through the cracks. Submissions always reach the correct manager or gatekeeper for review in a timely manner. Jotform Workflow allows users to automate these workflows in a drag-and-drop interface and use a variety of conditions, so all submissions are routed correctly without any manual oversight.
Build project management dashboards
Create a simple interface to track all work in one place with the project tracker template, which is versatile enough for project managers juggling multiple projects at once. Jotform even has ready-built templates to manage customer support workflows and schedules.
Manage and track progress
Jotform’s templates don’t just collect information — they can form a database for every aspect of your project and allow you to build powerful automated workflows. Use the platform to track task assignments and progress, and later, record project hours and even generate progress reports.
Automated project management is improving workflows for businesses in every type of industry — and it’s only getting better. If you haven’t taken advantage of these tools yet, now’s the time to start saving. Try Jotform for free today.
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