Task tracker is a special software designed to work with tasks and their higher level - projects. They help to map, organize and control the work on the tasks facing your organization.
In fact, task trackers can (and are highly recommended) be used for planning/organizing personal affairs as well, but in this post, I want to emphasize how a task tracker can be useful for teams.
The number of services for working with tasks is currently very large: from old-timers with basic functionality like Trello to task-trackers-combiners like ClickUp. Maybe one day I will write an algorithm on how best to choose a task tracker for myself or a company, but for now, I can stop at three of them: choose ClickUp, Asana, or Wrike, and you won't regret it. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages, but all of them, with proper organization, will not be expensive and you will get functionality out of sight.
That's right.
Why do you need a task manager at all?
Let's share the benefits of using the service from the point of view of:
Manager / system.
Individual user.
Task tracker for the manager
Task services help you with three of the four management functions:
Planning
In order to plan, you need to display the necessary information, and it is highly desirable that you have additional functionality available that will help you calculate the time of tasks, establish relationships between them, calculate the load on team members, or build a timeline. It doesn't matter whether we are talking about planning a project, a sprint, or the workload of an individual participant - task trackers help with this.
For example, can you now answer the following questions:
How long will it take to implement your new project (let's say it's an expansion of your range of services)?
How long will it take to hire 10 new employees? Are your subordinates resourced enough to complete this task on time?
When setting a new task, does the subordinate have higher priority tasks, and when exactly can this task be taken up?
With the task tracker, if you use it correctly, you can.
Organization
Similarly to the previous point, in order for tasks to be completed correctly and on time, executors need clarity: what, when, and how to do. All this can be entered in the task tracker.
Plus, you'll get a great team sync tool. Need to understand what remains to be done within the sprint or to complete the order? Just share the relevant link and any interested user can figure it out for themselves.
And, of course, you can automate the routine. Within organizations, you can also mention one more of the most important points why task trackers are so popular — templating and automation. You don't need to spend time on the same repetitive actions or keep in your head a detailed understanding of what needs to be done for each task or when to put it - the system will do everything for you.
Control
What could be better for a manager than easily accessible, organized, and unobtrusive control?
This is probably one of the most useful features. If you can plan using other tools, and it will not be very problematic (although it can be a problem for low-level planning), then it is very difficult to control the execution of tasks without a task tracker. Yes, you can track goals, but these are lagging metrics and once you see the numbers, it will be too late to do anything. Task trackers allow you to monitor in real-time everything you need, in a way that is convenient for you, and without micromanagement. Set rules for reminders about deadlines, display statuses for tasks, set up dashboards, and track any necessary cuts without distracting the executors from the work.
Motivation
This item is not included in the standard set of "advantages" of task trackers, but transparency in working with tasks, synchronization with the team, lack of micromanagement, and good organization of processes will definitely not play against the company in the eyes of the employee.
Task tracker for the user
At the user level, the task management service is essentially a scaled-down version of itself for the system as such. It also helps you plan and control your workload (thereby controlling the timely completion of your tasks), organize yourself, and communicate with other team members in clear and convenient processes.
Summarizing
Implementation of a task tracker is not always easy, and quite resource-consuming, but necessary for every business (similarly to maintaining a knowledge base). You will have tasks and projects in one way or another, and you will have to perform functions of planning, organization, and control in one way or another, but the choice remains - to do it in chaos and with excessive stress, or through a task tracker.
If you choose the second, you will get:
Saving time:
on tasks,
on team synchronization,
on the implementation of new processes,
on onboarding of new employees.
Reducing the number of errors.
More accurate planning and the ability to take into account not always obvious risks.
The ability to control the execution of tasks.
The ability to monitor the effectiveness of processes (and, accordingly, improve them).
A few additional bonuses.
Are you currently using a task tracker?
Yes, and I'm happy with it
Yes, but I have a problem with it
No, but I plan to
No, and I do not plan to implement it in the near future
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