Creativity isn’t for the weak of hearts. There are too many requests and inadequate resources. Your team is stretched thin by tight deadlines and smaller budgets. Communication is in chaos, status updates are not being updated, and feedback loops are never fully completed.
1. Dynamic Intake Forms
A solid project management system adds structure to the intake process with dynamic intake forms. This lets designers design a specific flow of questions based on the role and requirements of their requesters. For example, a marketer asking for a landing page will be confronted differently from a sales rep requesting a presentation.
This makes it easier for creative briefs to those who request them, ensuring they complete all the fields and ensuring that creative has the relevant details they need to be successful. It also keeps all requests in one place to ensure that nothing gets lost in the cracks.
2. Visual Timelines & Workload Management
Knowing who is booked and which has availability is critical in ensuring the balance between work and life and the health of your creative team members. The creative project management software should permit everyone to easily see each other’s work to ensure that nobody is overloaded.
This software should also assist you in visualizing your team’s projects and tasks in a timeline. For example, what time will they take? What are the deadlines? Do you have any conflicts or dependencies? This view of the big picture helps creative directors to keep team members accountable and on the right track without overextending the scope of their work.
3. Customizable Workflows
There is no universal method to generating creativity. Every team’s creative process is different. Many project management tools make teams adjust their methods of working to meet the limitations of the software.
It would help if you chose software that can adapt to your team’s unique workflows. For example, custom workflows allow teams to accurately identify and track progress with statuses like “Accepted” and “Ready to be reviewed.” In addition, customized dashboards that can be shared indicate who’s working on what and what phase of the workflow to make it easy to monitor.
4. Efficient File Management
How many times have you looked for the file you wanted to finalize but only found five? Or, even worse, none? Then, even more so, they multiply. Using an asset management tool like Dropbox is a good step in the right direction; however, finding the right documents isn’t easy.
Access all files in one place with the top collaborative software for managing work. Documents are tied to their associated projects or tasks, and everyone is aware of where to locate them. In addition, it is possible to upload files directly to Google Docs or Box. The latest versions are displayed on the front to avoid issues with version control, while previous versions remain available for quick review.
5. Seamless Communication away from Email
The time that employees spend responding to emails, attending meetings, and participating in other activities has risen to 50%+ of the total workday, according to a study of more than 300 businesses published in the Harvard Business Review. The result is that creative have only a few minutes to work.
Creative teams require a quick and simple way to exchange ideas, give feedback, and discuss their work. Project management software facilitates Communication between chat, Email, and meetings. Collaborations are alerted immediately of comments and @mentions, streamlining the handoff process and cutting down feedback loops.
6. Templates for projects
Although there are many projects that creative teams may undertake, however, certain projects are more frequent than others. For example, landing pages, emails, and e-books. Starting these repetitive projects every time is like reinventing the wheel. However, this also allows room for error.
Recurring projects can be saved as templates to reduce time and aid creative teams get started with requests. The most important elements like dependencies task duration, assignees, and even reports are carried from previous projects, driving the same quality and repeatable successes.
7. Collaborative Editing
Revisions and approvals can be a challenge for creative teams. Sending files as email attachments leads to duplicate or conflicting modifications across many documents. Designers are left with the task of consolidating feedback and hunting down final approvals. Chaos in the control of versions can ensue.
8. Simple Reporting from Real-Time Data
You know your team works hard, but your peers and upper management often wonder what you do all day. The creative teams are typically considered cost centers, so highlighting your team’s progress is essential to getting the attention they deserve.
The software for managing your project should capture all the metadata around your team’s activities. It should also make it easy to create reports using this real-time data. For example, what is the average amount of projects completed by your team each month? What is the amount of time they devote to specific requests? Answering questions like these demonstrate your team’s value to people who depend on it.
9. Adobe Creative Cloud Integrations
Adobe’s Creative Suite is arguably the most essential of the tools in a creative’s arsenal. From Photoshop to Premiere Pro, your team lives in these applications. And every time they navigate away to respond to an email, upload a file or make changes to a spreadsheet, it forces them out of their creative zone.
10. Native Mobile Apps
Over the next five years, the Bring Your Device trend will continue to expand. Remote workers are becoming the norm. The working environment has been influenced by technology, but it is not done. It’s not a great decision to keep creatives tied to their desks. This can cause an unfinished project and unhappy employees.
It’s imperative the tool you use to manage creative projects has a native mobile app and not an app for mobile on the web. Native mobile applications aren’t meant to duplicate site content for smaller screen sizes. Instead, they’re designed for mobile devices and typically provide more or different functionality than desktop versions.
The project management software has some top-of-the-line features like it should allow you to plan and choose who should work in one place with tasks, subtasks, folders, templates, etc. It builds a better way of working with the team and helps to manage project scope, functional workflow. Ultimate Business System (UBS) takes the center stage in providing the best project management software.
Also Read: The Role That Technology Plays in Your Life
