How To Use Project Management Automation: Examples & Tips

As a project manager, it can feel impossible to stay on top of every task, deadline, and resource. This is where project management automation comes into play. 

Using manual processes isn't just a waste of time—it also increases the risk of errors and inefficiencies that can derail projects. By leveraging automation, you can streamline your workflows, enhance your team's productivity, and say goodbye to the burden of manual tasks once and for all.  

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of automation, various approaches to implementing it, and specific project management software tools that can improve your approach. 

Benefits Of Using Project Management Automation

To put it simply, automating your project management processes can make your job (and life) easier. But it can also make your team more productive, and your efforts more impactful. It's a win-win-win scenario. Let's dive deeper into some of the key advantages of embracing automation in project management:

• Save time: Automation takes over repetitive and time-consuming tasks, freeing up your schedule for more strategic activities. Think about all of the hours you’d save if you automated your status updates, task assignments, and progress tracking.
• Increase productivity: With automation handling those pesky repetitive tasks, you and your team can focus on the tasks that require expertise and creativity. This boost in productivity means projects can be completed faster and with higher quality.
• Improve collaboration: Automating your workflows can also help make sure that everyone on your team is on the same page. For example, by automatically updating project boards and notifying team members of changes, your team can stay up-to-date with ease. That means less useless status update meetings and more collaboration. 
• Enhance communication with stakeholders: We all know how important it is to keep stakeholders in the loop. Automation can make this process seamless. Automated reports and dashboards can provide real-time insights and updates, ensuring stakeholders are always aware of project progress without constant intervention.
• Limit human error: Manual data entry and updates are prone to mistakes. Automation minimizes these errors by handling data consistently, reducing the risk of costly errors that can impact project outcomes.
• Streamline resource management: Automating resource allocation and the creating of resource calendars can help make sure that your team is not overburdened and that resources are used efficiently. This leads to better workload management and reduces the risk of burnout.
• Ensure consistency: Automation enforces standard processes and workflows, making sure that every task follows the same procedure. This consistency improves overall project quality and makes it easier to resolve any issues.

Examples Of Project Management Automation

From task assignments and deadline reminders to progress tracking and resource allocation—you can automate just about anything using your project management software tools. Here are nine use cases for automation in your projects, along with a look at some of the tools that can help: 

1. Task Assignment and Scheduling Automation

Manually delegating tasks can be incredibly time consuming, especially when it comes to setting up new projects. Automating task assignments means your project management tool can take over, distributing new tasks based on team members' availability and skill sets. This way, you’re saving time and making sure that tasks are allocated fairly. For example, in Zoho Projects you can set up rules that assign tasks based on criteria such as team member roles, workload, or project deadlines. 

2. Progress Tracking and Reporting Automation

Say goodbye to spending hours turning Excel spreadsheet data into confusing charts. Automated reports and dashboards can seamlessly provide insights into project status, performance metrics, and milestones.

This can be useful for making decisions quickly and for keeping your clients and stakeholders in the know. You can automate your reports so everyone receives regular status updates without you having to manually compile and send them. For example, in Quickbase, you can configure your system to update dashboards and generate reports as tasks are completed.

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3. Notification and Reminder Automation

By setting up automated reminders, you and your team can receive timely nudges about upcoming tasks and deadlines, helping everyone stay on track. For example, in Trello you can use their "Butler" tool to set up automations that will give you daily or weekly reminders, alerts for overdue tasks, and notifications for approaching deadlines. 

4. Resource Allocation Automation

Automating resource allocation can help you distribute workloads evenly. That way, you can prevent your team members from being overburdened and make sure that all of your resources are used efficiently. This process involves setting up your software to automatically assign resources based on availability, skill sets, or project requirements. This can lead to better utilization of your team's capabilities and reduce the risk of burnout. For example, with Runn, you can easily map out work requests, understand availability, and balance team resources automatically. 

5. Automated Time Tracking

Automation tools make time tracking easier by handling the logging process. You can record hours spent on tasks without manual input, making it simpler to keep track of project time and budget. For example, with ClickTime, users can connect their Google Calendars so time is automatically tracked based on meetings and events. Your project management tool might already have time tracking built in, but there are also many other time tracking tools that can integrate with your current tech stack. These integrations can help provide accurate data for billing, payroll, performance analysis, and more. 

6. Document Management Automation 

You can set up approval rules and notifications within your document management system so that documents move through the approval chain automatically. Doing so can reduce the need for manual follow-ups and make it easier to obtain all the necessary approvals in a timely manner. It can also streamline the process of distributing and storing documents after they've been approved. For example, in DocuWare, you can automate how a document is stored based on its metadata.

7. Automating Risk Management

Automations can even help you stay on top of risks by streamlining the tracking and alerting process. You can set up rules in your risk management software so that potential issues are flagged when predefined risk criteria are met, allowing for proactive risk mitigation. For example, in Corporater, you can create automations to aggregate data from multiple sources to help track risks. Using that information, the tool can send automated reports to specified stakeholders to make sure everyone is informed.

8. Automate Feedback

Gathering feedback is an essential part of the project management process. You can integrate a feedback tool with your project management software to send out surveys automatically and collect responses. Or, some tools, like Smartsheet, have survey capabilities built in. Automated feedback collection can help you receive timely and consistent input from your team and clients, helping you improve project processes and outcomes.

9. Task Priority Automation

Some tools can also help you streamline task management by automatically adjusting task priorities based on specific criteria. By automatically prioritizing tasks, teams can focus on what’s most important at any given moment, reducing the risk of missing key deadlines or overlooking high-priority work. For example, you can set up rules in ClickUp that change a task's priority if it’s nearing its deadline, if certain subtasks are completed, or if the task's status changes.

Deciding What To Automate In Your Projects

With so many options available for automation, it can be challenging to know what to automate and what to keep manual. So how can you identify the areas in your work or project that will benefit most from automation? Ask yourself these questions to guide your decision-making process:

• Where can we save the most resources by automating our processes? Look for repetitive, time-consuming tasks that take up significant resources. By automating this busywork, you can free up your team to focus on more strategic activities. Examples might include status updates, task assignments, and data entry.

• How many resources will it take to implement automation? Consider the initial investment in time, money, and effort required to set up an automation. It's important to weigh these costs against the potential long-term benefits. If the implementation cost is too high relative to the benefits, you should prioritize different project management tasks for automation.
• What is possible with our current project management software? Take a look at what your existing software can do. Some project management tools come with built-in automation features that you might not be using to their full potential. Explore these features to see if they can meet your needs without additional investment.
• Do we need to upgrade our solution to meet our automation needs? If your current software lacks the necessary automation capabilities, you may need to consider upgrading or switching to a better solution. Evaluate the costs and benefits of making a move, and make sure it aligns with your organization's overall strategy.
• Which processes are most prone to human error? Look for tasks where manual intervention often leads to mistakes. Automating these processes can significantly reduce errors and improve overall project quality.
• What tasks do we perform regularly that follow a predictable pattern? Routine tasks that have a clear, repeatable process are ideal candidates for automation. These might include generating reports, sending reminders, or updating project statuses.

Mistakes To Avoid With Project Management Automation

Here are some common mistakes to avoid when integrating automation into your project management processes:

Don’t Over-Automate

It can be tempting to automate everything, but sometimes less is more. Automating too many processes can actually complicate things and create more problems than it solves. When every little task is automated, you risk losing the flexibility to adapt to changes or unique project needs. Start by automating the most repetitive, time-consuming tasks, and then gradually expand as you see what works best for your team. Remember, automation should simplify your workflow, not create more headaches.

Don’t Eliminate Human Oversight

With automation, you’ll inevitably have fewer eyes on your tasks and projects, which can lead to mistakes slipping through the cracks. While automation handles repetitive tasks efficiently, it’s still important to implement some checks and balances. Regularly review automated processes to make sure they’re working as intended, and keep a human touch in areas where judgment and creativity matter. This way, you’ll catch potential issues before they escalate.

Don’t Use the Wrong Tool

Not every tool is right for every type of automation. Don't waste your time trying to make an automation work in a tool that isn’t suited for the task. Before diving in, take the time to evaluate your current tool's automation options and make sure they align with your specific needs. It might be worth exploring other options or even switching tools to find a better fit. The right tool will make automation seamless, rather than a frustrating chore. To help you explore your options, here's a look at some of the best project management software on the market:

1. 1. Wrike — Customizable, cloud-based project management software that has over 400 integrations and enterprise-level security.
2. 2. Celoxis — Project portfolio management and collaboration solution for teams of all sizes.
3. 3. Confluence — Confluence is a collaboration and project management software that allows teams to share information; manage retrospectives; and track tasks in a centralized location.
4. 4. monday.com — A robust and popular project management platform that can be customized for almost any workflow.
5. 5. ClickUp — Hyper customization that will help substitute some of your project management and productivity tools. In their words... one app to replace them all
6. 6. Hub Planner — Powerful project management platform with an advanced resource scheduling tool for organization-wide resource allocation.
7. 7. Zoho Projects — Low price point pm software with a user friendly interface and mobile version of their tool.
8. 8. Miro — Collaborative whiteboard platform that enables teams to brainstorm, plan & manage agile workflows.
9. 9. Freelo — European Project Management tool with a drag-and-drop calendar view so you can set task deadlines with ease.
10. 10. Microsoft Project — Most popular project management platform with a licencing option for offline work.

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Don’t Forget to Communicate

Automation is meant to make life easier, but if your team isn’t on board, it can lead to confusion and pushback. It’s important to clearly communicate the need for automation and explain how it will benefit the team. By involving your team in the process and providing proper training, you’ll encourage smoother adoption of the new automated workflows. When everyone understands the “why” behind an automation, they’re more likely to embrace it and use it effectively.

Don’t Set It and Forget It

Automation isn’t a “set it and forget it” solution. Processes, teams, and projects evolve, so your automations should too. Regularly review and update your automated workflows to make sure they’re still aligned with your project goals and team needs. This might mean tweaking settings, adding new automations, or retiring ones that are no longer useful.

Don’t Ignore Data Security

With automation handling various tasks, especially those involving data, it’s easy to overlook security. But it’s important to make sure that your automated processes are secure and that sensitive information is protected. Your tools should comply with data protection standards and your company's security protocols. By prioritizing data security in your automation strategy, you can avoid potential breaches and protect your team.

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