At the heart of product or service design and innovation, we find the technical team. This team is usually multidisciplinary, composed of collaborators with rich professional experience and proven technical skills. They coordinate the production and development of products while ensuring the quality of deliverables. To give them every chance to succeed, it is necessary to provide them with project management tools that are tailored to their needs.
Why is the efficiency of the technical team crucial?
Whether you want to develop a product or solve technical problems, the efficiency of the technical team is a crucial element for the success of your project.
By facilitating problem-solving with elegant and high-performing technical solutions, the technical team accelerates processes. This allows for faster delivery of products or services that are also of higher quality. Furthermore, such a team reassures clients or investors because it demonstrates that considerable human resources are in place to ensure the quality of deliverables.
On the contrary, a company that lacks a competent technical team may experience extended delivery times or a drastic decrease in quality. Indeed, the technical team is indispensable for overseeing ambitious projects and coordinating talents.
How to choose the right project management tool for a technical team?
While the technical knowledge of the team is crucial for project success, it is essential that they have access to an appropriate work environment. This environment should include software tools that enable the technical team to achieve their objectives.
This tool should meet several criteria:
- Ease of use: To save time on training, it is advisable to prioritize an intuitive tool.
- Collaborative features: The members of the technical team should be able to work together easily and communicate with the project manager effortlessly.
- Progress tracking: To monitor progress, the platform should include task and objective tracking, as well as generate comprehensive reports.
- Customizable tool: Customizable task fields or notifications facilitate the team’s work by adapting to their usual work processes.
- Multiple integrations: Many tools can be useful for the technical team to carry out their work. For this reason, the project management tool should ideally be compatible with numerous third-party applications.
The project manager and the members of the technical management team should communicate and assess their needs before choosing software. Once all the criteria set by the team have been identified, it becomes easier to find the suitable platform.
Essential elements for a high-performing technical team
The technical staff has diverse needs as their responsibilities can be broad. Business development, product design, or technical problem-solving require numerous tools and functionalities.
For this reason, the project management tool or tools must necessarily include several functions to meet the needs of these technicians, who are key to project success.
Task and bug tracking:
Firstly, the tool must have task tracking capabilities. Ideally, the software should simplify task planning, tracking, and assignment to meet the needs of the technical team. If it integrates with external software, the team will have an easier time monitoring project progress.
Versioning:
Many technical teams are responsible for bug fixing or maintaining software programs. For this reason, a specific versioning tool like GitHub is essential. Through code review and workflow automation, it is crucial for ensuring the quality of the final product. Note that it can be used in conjunction with project management software.
Internal communication:
The team leader, collaborators, and the technical team often need to exchange information in real-time. The software platform should, therefore, include messaging or video call functionalities to facilitate communication among project members.
Visual task tracking:
Task tracking and overall visual representation of the project are vital for improving workflow. With visual tracking, the technical team has access to project progress and the status of task and bug resolution at any time.
Comprehensive project management:
In general, the technical team needs access to elements that allow for global project tracking. Organization charts, employee schedules, Kanban boards, or timelines are essential to provide them with a unified workspace.
Collaboration on documents:
Finally, it is common to need to send documents, sometimes large ones, between the technical team and other collaborators. That’s why a good project management tool should offer smooth file and document exchange, saving time and increasing overall project efficiency.
These six criteria are certainly not the only ones to consider, but they are among the most important elements for a technical team. Depending on the scope or nature of the project, the required tools and functionalities may vary. However, the important thing is to provide technical teams with a high-performing project management tool that is tailored to their specific needs.
The indispensable technical team
A good technical team brings together numerous and complementary skills and qualities: technical expertise, leadership, teamwork, and the ability to make proposals. However, providing them with an effective project management tool is essential to enhance team performance. A collaborative platform can help manage tasks, communicate effectively, plan objectives, and store essential project documents. By combining human factors with technology, you can work towards achieving your goals.