6 Tools Every Software Agency Should Have in their Toolkit

A successful project manager has a lot of responsibilities, and things can easily go wrong even with the best team. From collaboration to planning and managing resources and budget, the workload is certainly overwhelming.

Employees often complain about the lack of communication within their workforce. According to a survey, 39% of employees claim that their company doesn’t collaborate enough. This means that the workforce also wants more collaboration and sees the need for it.

In order to automate time-consuming tasks and enhance communication and transparency in the company, many software agencies seek help from some of the best software tools available in the market. In fact, 77% companies use project management software for better collaboration and effective project execution.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of tools out there, focusing on the same task – tracking and organizing project management processes and enhanced team communication that result in better quality of results that meet the client’s expectations.

To find the best tool, consider the needs of your team members and the features you will require to efficiently complete your project.

To ensure that you don’t leave some important aspects uncovered when searching for new software, let’s take a look at some of the top tools every software agency should have in their toolkit.

1. Slack

The messaging app has all the features you need to keep your workforce on the same page.

Communication is the cornerstone of collaboration, but the majority of employees aren’t trained in effective workplace communication. However, they do realize its importance and 75% of employees rate communication as the “most important aspect of any organization.

With Slack, communication is made transparent. It even serves as a virtual office for many organizations where every person (remote or in-office) involved in the project can join in.

Some of the main features of Slack include:

• Organizing team conversations in both private and group channels
• Drag and drop file sharing
• Integration with other apps such as Google Drive, Trello, etc.
• Video conferencing
• Price: Free

2. Google Drive

Google Drive is the best solution out there for solving all your document-sharing related challenges. It can also be integrated with Slack making it even easier to share documents with the team. In fact, Google Drive allows small business owners to have all their data collected in one place and share when needed.

Some of the main features of Google Drive include:

• Ability to create error-free documents, spreadsheets, and presentations
• Free storage
• Allows co-editing of documents and even allows track changes

3. Mural

Many businesses prefer remote employees so that they can employ the best talent from around the world. It also helps reduce the overhead expense and improves productivity of the employees working in the office.

However, it can be quite a challenge to manage a team of remote workers. While good communication with each other is vital, team members also have to discuss ideas and share resources quickly and effectively through one platform.

Mural helps in such cases and is a great tool for brainstorming and idea mapping for remote teams. This software allows you to share your thoughts and gather insights with your entire team in one place.

Some of the main features of Mural include:

• Real-time collaboration and change tracking
• Compatibility with YouTube, Vimeo, Slide Share, Evernote and Google Drive
• Comes with an online canvas to help teams prioritize, analyze and vote ideas
• Price: $12/month

4. Git and GitHub

When a developer is working on a code, he has to regularly change codes until the last version is updated. Git is an open-source version control system that saves every change made by the developer and allows others to collaborate, makes changes if needed and contribute their feedback. You can also find a copy of the code of every developer’s work.

Git is one of the most popular tools in this regard as it manages very well and permits users to create a variety of codes.

GitHub is repository hosting web. It’s like a dropbox for software projects where you can find a code. Whenever a project is uploaded, privacy settings can be changed to private or public allowing easy access to others in the team.

Some of the top features of Git and GitHub include:

• Great UX and ease of use
• Can be integrated with any other software

5. Shippable

Despite all the focus on test-driven deployment, most organizations still struggle with software automation. Manual testing methods make it impossible for the dev team to find every bug in the software and fix it before it is released in the market.

In fact, most bugs are found after the software is delivered resulting in loss of time and money. According to a study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, software errors cost the U.S. economy approximately $59.5 billion each year.

Shippable ensures automated software delivery from source control to production. It is a great tool that ensures your software is delivered to the clients without any errors and also speeds up the software shipping process.

Some of the main features of Shippable are:

• Automated software testing
• Integration with other tools such as GitHub, Slack, etc.
• Price: Free

6. New Relic

Communication, managing projects, and the development process are all critical elements but, sooner or later, the software has to reach its target audience. With New Relic, you and your team can easily recognize how your software is performing in real time. This allows you and the dev team to make changes in a timely manner to improve user’s experience.

Main features of New Relic are:

• Monitors real user experience
• Collects, stores, and analyzes performance data

Conclusion

We all face challenges and difficulties in the professional world. The worst thing that can happen is when the team fails to deliver the promised work that is also of the highest quality.  With the right tools, you can keep track of every aspect of your project and ensure that both you and the client are on the same page when it comes to project milestones and deliverables.