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Keeping project schedules on track is one of the toughest challenges you face as a project manager. Deadlines shift, resources are limited, and priorities can change without warning. Project scheduling software can help bring some order to the chaos when it comes to organizing tasks, assigning resources, and keeping timelines clear so your team can focus on delivering results.

Here are my top picks for the best project scheduling software, based on my independent testing and research, to help you find the right fit for your needs.

Why Trust Our Project Scheduling Software Reviews

We’ve been testing and reviewing project scheduling software since 2012. As project managers, we know how critical and difficult it is to choose the right software.

We invest in deep research to help our audience make better software purchasing decisions. We’ve tested over 2,000 tools for different project management use cases and written over 1,000 comprehensive software reviews. Learn how we stay transparent & our project scheduling review methodology.

Best Project Scheduling Software Comparison Chart

Compare specs for each of my picks with this table.

Tool Best For Trial Info Price
1
monday.com

Breakdown projects into phases and tasks, and keep a high level overview of who is working on what.

Best for visual project tracking

14-day free trial + free plan available

From $8/user/month (billed annually) Website
2
Runn

The Project Planner interface lets you see all projects at a glance and get real-time forecasts for capacity, workload, billing, and more.

Best for real-time planning

14-day free trial + free plan available

From $10/user/month (billed annually) Website
3
Kantata

Track task and project progress and status, and keep track of deadlines.

Best for resource forecasting

Not available

Pricing upon request Website
4
Resource Guru

Resource Guru offers a simple drag and drop interface that immediately provides visibility on team members.

Best for resource scheduling

30-day free trial

From $4.16/user/month (billed annually) Website
5
Scoro

Scoro's Gantt chart feature provides full visibility into project timelines and resources allocated.

Best for professional service providers

14-day free trial + free demo available

From $26/user/month (billed annually) Website
6
Bonsai Agency Software

Bonsai lets you organize and schedule multiple projects in one place.

Best for time and resource planning

Free trial available

From $9/user/month (billed annually) Website
7
Zoho Projects

Monitor your billable and non-billable time using timesheets.

Best for integration options

10-day free trial + free plan available

From $4/user/month (billed annually) Website
8
Screendragon

Screendragon's resource planning tool provides a visualized timeline of employee workload, project assignments, and availability.

Best for automated resource scheduling

7-day free trial

Pricing upon request Website
9
Miro

Miro supports different note-taking styles (sticky notes, charts and graphs, videos, whiteboard) to cater to all project management teams.

Best for visual innovation workspaces

30-day free trial + free plan available

From $8/user/month (billed annually) Website
10
Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project Online allows users to create Gantt charts and timelines, and offers other useful project management features.

Best for Gantt charts

30-day free trial

From $10/user/month (billed annually) Website
11
Nifty

Manage all of your projects using a Gantt chart or swimlane view, set milestones with custom fields, and track progress.

Best for milestone tracking

14-day free trial

From $5/user/month (billed annually) + free plan available Website
12
ActiveCollab

You can adjust Gantt charts using drag and drop.

Best for small teams

14-day free trial + free plan

Starts from $11/month for up to 3 users Website
13
Adobe Workfront

Track tasks, assignees, dependencies, progress, and due dates in one place.

Best robust feature set

Free demo available

Pricing upon request Website
14
KeyedIn

Project scheduling with various tracking and reporting capabilities.

Best for international enterprises

Free interactive product tour available

Available upon request Website
15
Birdview

Birdview PSA's Gantt chart maker provides a user-friendly interface to create and visualize project timelines, tasks, dependencies, and resource allocation.

Best for professional services

14-day free trial

From $27/user/month (billed annually) Website

Best Project Scheduling Software Reviews

Let’s go into each tool—I’ve summarized how each can help you deliver successful projects.

Best for visual project tracking

  • 14-day free trial + free plan available
  • From $8/user/month (billed annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.6/5

monday.com is a project management platform with intuitive collaboration features that are easy to learn and quickly understand. It’s a highly customizable tool that helps you clarify the sequence of work and see the progress and status of your projects at a glance.

Why I picked monday.com: Most of the project scheduling features in monday.com are in the “timeline” feature—this is where you can plan projects, set deadlines, assign team members, break down tasks, and set dependencies. I find it super handy that you can reassign tasks by simply clicking and dragging. I also like that you can view your timelines as spreadsheets, as lists, on a map, on a Kanban board, and other views.

With monday.com you can create summary charts and export and share project plans in a variety of formats (XML, PDF, etc). Apart from that, the platform enables big-picture views using reporting dashboards that collect data from multiple boards, allowing better progress tracking. In my opinion, all of this is helpful for being more data-driven in your business.

All said and done, monday.com technically doesn’t enable you to make Gantt charts in the very traditional sense (nor can you import or export MPP files). However, it’s a flexible, intuitive schedule management software tool that helps you see where tasks are bottlenecking, understand who’s currently working on what, etc. What’s more, the customizable fields and the drag-and-drop functionality makes it easy to quickly set up and start using. So for those reasons, I decided to include it in my roundup.

monday.com Standout Features & Integrations

Features include a timeline overlap view that allows users to see task overlaps and dependencies across multiple projects. The platform also offers a timeline zoom functionality that allows users to view schedules at various levels of granularity, from hourly breakdowns to long-term project overviews.

Integrations include apps like Slack, Excel, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Jira, GitHub, Trello, Dropbox, Typeform, and thousands more accessible via Zapier.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Resource scheduling tools included
  • Easy to use calendar and task scheduling
  • Colorful, graphically pleasant schedule interface

Cons:

  • Complicated pricing structure
  • Steep learning curve for beginners

Best for real-time planning

  • 14-day free trial + free plan available
  • From $10/user/month (billed annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 3.7/5

Runn is a real-time project scheduling and resource planning tool with integrated time tracking and powerful forecasting capabilities.

Why I picked Runn: Scheduling is easy and intuitive in Runn, which made it an easy choice to add it to my list. You can simply drag-and-drop to create project phases and allocations. You can also create project milestones, project notes and add project budgets easily. I like how intuitive it is to flick between monthly, quarterly and half-yearly views to plan for the short and long term. If you don’t have the right person at the right time, use placeholders to define the requirements for the project.

Runn makes planning dynamic and visual, which I also appreciate. Watch the charts and reports update as you plan your projects. You can see visualizations of capacity, workload, availability, and billable and non-billable utilization. I like how you can plan out tentative projects to see how your resourcing plans might change if the work gets confirmed.

Track projects, view forecasts, and get relevant metrics within Runn. You’ll have up-to-date data in one place to keep tabs on insights like utilization, project variance, and overall financial performance. You can also use Runn’s built-in timesheets to understand how much time was worked on your projects compared to what was planned.

Runn Standout Features & Integrations

Features include a tentative project planning feature that allows users to simulate potential projects and evaluate their impact on resources and finances before confirming them. Its real-time project variance tracking also highlights differences between planned and actual performance, which can help teams identify issues early and adjust accordingly.

Integrations include apps like Harvest, WorkflowMax, and Clockify for importing project, client, and people data and syncing time entries. With Runn’s API, you can build your own integration to send data across your favorite tools.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Native integrations & API available
  • Free version available for 5 users
  • Clean UI that’s easy to use & navigate

Cons:

  • Colors are not customisable
  • Cant keep notes on projects
  • No time tracking built in

Best for resource forecasting

  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.1/5

Kantata is a resource management & PSA software with modules for project scheduling and management, accounting, resource management, business intelligence, and team collaboration.

Why I picked Kantata: I chose this software because it offers a system of dashboards, live time and expense tracking features, and a great document management system. All of these best-in-class features are delivered through straightforward and minimalistic design.

For project scheduling specifically, I find that Kantata offers a comprehensive set of useful features. As you make detailed project plans, the tool support a multi-level work breakdown structure that lets you define the project by a series of granular tasks and subtasks. Other scheduling features I noticed include: Gantt chart-based project plan capabilities, schedule management, multi-level WBS, workflow planning, task assignment and scheduling, and critical path and variance analysis.

It also has some good contextual collaboration features to communicate around tasks, projects, and many other project objects. All of this combined makes it a full suite. It takes some time to truly master, but the simple, streamlined UI shortens the learning curve significantly in my experience.

Kantata Standout Features & Integrations

Features include a multi-level work breakdown structure (WBS) that allows teams to break projects into granular tasks and subtasks, offering precise control over project execution and scheduling. Additionally, Kantata’s built-in trend analysis provides actionable insights into project performance over time, which can help teams to adjust strategies proactively and improve long-term outcomes.

Integrations include pre-built integrations with tools like Expensify, G Suite, Xero, Salesforce, Netsuite, Jira, Hubspot, Slack, Concur, Dynamics 365, Qualtrics, and Quickbooks. They also provide an integration platform called M-Bridge to help you build your own integrations.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Improved task tracking since older versions of the software
  • Drag-and-drop Gantt chart timeline
  • Various scheduling data views
  • Aesthetic, simplistic calendaring

Cons:

  • Pricing form does not display pricing information
  • No schedule sharing without log-in
  • Lack of global search function

Best for resource scheduling

  • 30-day free trial
  • From $4.16/user/month (billed annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.7/5

Resource Guru is a dedicated resource management software. The tool allows team members to visualize tasks on calendars, shows what everyone is working on, and clearly displays availability so project managers can maximize utilization.

Why I picked Resource Guru: Project managers can make resource bookings simultaneously while ensuring they aren’t overbooking resources—a handy functionality that earned this software a spot on my list! Because of this, resource and project clashes are automatically prevented, which I really appreciate.

Another capability of the software that I like is that bookings can be added to a waiting list and used for capacity planning later. Each staff member gets their own resource dashboard so they can log in and know exactly what they should be working on. Finally, I love how the powerful reporting features allow users to monitor utilization and business performance, as well as help with capacity planning.

Resource Guru Standout Features & Integrations

Features include a time buffers tool that enables project managers to allocate contingency time between bookings to prevent schedule overlaps and burnout. Additionally, the platform includes multi-project scheduling, which allows users to seamlessly manage overlapping projects by displaying dependencies and conflicts across all active schedules in one unified view.

Integrations include calendar apps like Outlook calendar, Calendly, and Google calendar. Thousands of additional apps are accessible through Zapier.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Powerful resource filters
  • Clash management capabilities to prevent overbooking
  • Availability bar feature for capacity planning

Cons:

  • No copy-paste of resource tasks
  • Integrations are mainly via Zapier, rather than as native integrations

Best for professional service providers

  • 14-day free trial + free demo available
  • From $26/user/month (billed annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.5/5

Scoro is a work management software with features for managing your projects, finances, and resources all from the same system. It's well-suited to the needs of professional services businesses.

Why I picked Scoro: This platform earned its spot on my list because of how comprehensive its feature suite is, and also because of its features that cater specifically to agencies, consultancies, and other professional service providers. These include time tracking for billable and non-billable hours as well as quote and billing management, plus retainer management for recurring clients and projects.

As for project scheduling, users can create Gantt charts to manage resources, timelines, and projects in a single view. You can also set up fixed fees, timelines, and materials to ensure you stay within established scopes of work. For projects your team will repeat, you can create templates to easily re-use for simplified schedule management.

Scoro Standout Features & Integrations

Features include a project margin tracking feature that provides real-time visibility into the profitability of projects by analyzing budgets, costs, and revenue at a granular level. The tool also offers an automated late fee calculation for invoicing that ensures accurate billing while saving time on manual adjustments, especially for recurring clients.

Integrations include Xero, QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, Microsoft Exchange, Expensify, Stripe, Google Calendar, Jira, Slack, Asana, Dropbox, PayPal, and more.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Designed specifically for professional service providers
  • Templated projects speed up scheduling
  • Drag-and-drop sales forecasting feature

Cons:

  • Comprehensive, comes with a learning curve
  • Mobile app lacks certain functionality

Best for time and resource planning

  • Free trial available
  • From $9/user/month (billed annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.4/5

Bonsai is an all-in-one business management platform that helps businesses manage various aspects of their operations. The platform unifies client, team, and project management into a single intuitive interface, and is ideal for a wide range of organizations, like consultancies, professional services firms, and agencies, looking for an integrated solution for project and overall business management.

Why I picked Bonsai: I like that Bonsai helps you keep your projects on track with its clear Kanban view. The platform's project scheduling features allow you to assign tasks to specific team members and track time. Bonsai also integrates with calendars to prevent double bookings.

Furthermore, Bonsai's capacity planning feature provides an overview of your team's current capacity. You can set a daily capacity for your team to ensure that when projects are scheduled, no one is over- or under-utilized. This feature also lets you log time off, so you know who's available to work on tasks and when.

Another standout feature of Bonsai is its financial management capabilities, which seamlessly integrate with your project scheduling and overall business management. You can get insights on project profitability, billable and non-billable hours, and utilization rate with the platform's reports dashboard. These unified features help align all aspects of your business, from project planning to overall objectives.

Bonsai Standout Features & Integrations

Features include an auto-scheduling feature that automatically adjusts timelines based on changes in task dependencies or team availability. Additionally, Bonsai provides schedule sync alerts that notify users of potential scheduling conflicts or delays when integrating external calendars or project updates, ensuring projects stay on track without manual oversight.

Integrations include Zapier, Slack, QuickBooks Online, Gmail, Google Calendar, Calendly, ClickUp, Trello, Google Drive, Google Sheets, Xero, HubSpot, and more.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Client portal for sharing invoices and files
  • Capacity planning
  • All-in-one business management

Cons:

  • Could have more customization options
  • May not be suitable for scaling businesses

Best for integration options

  • 10-day free trial + free plan available
  • From $4/user/month (billed annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.2/5

Zoho Projects is a project management and project scheduling software from Zoho. It offers flexibility and customizations to suit the needs of traditional project managers as well as agile teams.

Why I picked Zoho Projects: I chose this software because it has multiple ways of viewing information, like lists, Kanban, or Gantt charts. With task tags and custom views and filters, you can organize your tasks and find them with ease. In addition to timeline planning, you can plan your resources effectively with the drag-and-drop resource utilization module.

I like how easy it is to keep everyone in the loop right inside Projects via inbuilt chat, forums, and comments, or take the social route with the project portal feed. Add to that the integrated advanced analytics capabilities to generate more than 50 types of charts and reports.

The colorful dashboards are also fully customizable so that users can make Zoho Projects their own. The interface and modules are highly customizable. All aspects of the UI from theme colors to arrangement and visibility of the various modules can be changed to suit a user’s preferences. I really appreciate all of these customization options.

Zoho projects also offer free onboarding for customers and a comprehensive online help guide for all users, which I found to be super useful. The platform stands out in cases where there are multiple hand-offs involved. It is especially popular among IT companies, consultants, and education organizations.

Zoho Projects Standout Features & Integrations

Features include a blueprint feature that enables users to design and automate custom workflows, ensuring consistency and efficiency in managing task handoffs and approvals. Additionally, Zoho Projects’ integrated social collaboration tools, including project portal feeds and forums, foster smooth communication and engagement among team members.

Integrations. Being part of Zoho’s ecosystem allows Projects to connect to several of Zoho’s own services such as Zoho Books, Zoho CRM, and Zoho’s finance suite. The new Zoho marketplace allows 3rd party integrations as well.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Time-track multiple tasks at once
  • Robust communication features
  • Easy workflow automation
  • Unlimited number of projects

Cons:

  • Lacks some file type export options
  • Lacks some reporting features
  • Does not integrate with Quickbooks

Best for automated resource scheduling

  • 7-day free trial
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.6/5

Screendragon is a work management platform designed for marketing, agency, and professional services teams. It combines project management, workflow automation, resource management, and budgeting in one solution. 

Why I picked Screendragon: The platform offers an automated resourcing capability. You can auto-populate schedules from scope staff plans and make adjustments through a drag-and-drop interface. This dynamic scheduling ensures that your team is always aligned with project demands, allowing for real-time budget updates as changes occur. 

The platform also offers visualized workflows that simplify project oversight, ensuring everyone is aligned and progressing efficiently. All aspects of a project—tasks, timelines, budgets, and resources—are centralized, providing a holistic view that enhances decision-making and keeps projects on track. 

Screendragon Standout Features & Integrations

Features include smart forms that guide users on necessary inputs, automatically routing data to the appropriate personnel based on permission levels. This ensures that information is captured accurately and reaches the right team members promptly. Additionally, the platform's budget module offers early warnings to maintain project financial health, allowing you to compare estimated, budgeted, and actual costs for up-to-date financial insights.

Integrations include MS Power BI, Slack, MS Teams, Zapier, Google Drive, Trello, Microsoft 365, Box, Jira, Microsoft OneDrive, and PeopleSoft.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Can tailor the platform to your specific needs
  • Good resource planning features
  • Integrates various tools like project management and budget tracking

Cons:

  • Time-consuming setup
  • The platform's depth can lead to complexity

Best for visual innovation workspaces

  • 30-day free trial + free plan available
  • From $8/user/month (billed annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.8/5

Miro is a visual workspace tool that offers a wide range of features such as process mapping, project management, and content visualization, making it the best tool for visual innovation workspaces.

Why I picked Miro: I chose Miro as the project scheduling software after determining its unique capabilities in providing a visual workspace for innovation. It stands out due to its comprehensive suite of tools that support creativity, collaboration, and productivity, which are essential for managing complex projects. I believe Miro is best for visual innovation workspaces because it enables real-time collaboration and visualization of complex systems, ideas, and organizational structures, which is crucial for teams to innovate effectively and efficiently.

Miro Standout Features and Integrations

Features include voting and polling features can also streamline decision-making by allowing teams to gather feedback and prioritize tasks collaboratively in real time. Additionally, Miro’s TalkTrack functionality lets users record explanations and walkthroughs directly on the canvas, ensuring clarity and context for distributed teams working asynchronously.

Integrations include Zoom, Figma, Asana, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Slack, Monday.com, Confluence, Google Drive, Box, Airtable, Notion, Azure, and Webex. Some integrations are limited to paid plans only.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Free forever plan available
  • Intuitive and easy setup
  • Built-in communication features for streamlined collaboration

Cons:

  • Zooming can be jumpy on larger projects
  • Visitor/guest accounts locked to paid plans only

Best for Gantt charts

  • 30-day free trial
  • From $10/user/month (billed annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.7/5

Microsoft Project is a project management software built over 35 years ago to help you keep track of all your work.

Why I picked Microsoft Project: I like that this software can be purchased with Office 365 (which many companies use) or as a stand-alone item. Microsoft Project has the honed functionality of an Excel file with scheduling-specific tools for project management pros, which makes it friendly and approachable, in my opinion.

If you need project scheduling help, try the intuitive and robust Gantt chart generator to navigate product timelines. And for adapting to our current needs, MS Project is available in both cloud-based and on-premise options, which I definitely think is worth mentioning.

MS Project Standout Features & Integrations

Features include portfolio modeling, which helps organizations evaluate and prioritize projects based on strategic goals and resource constraints. Furthermore, the tool's coauthoring capabilities enable real-time collaboration on project schedules, allowing multiple team members to work simultaneously and stay aligned on timelines.

Integrations include other Microsoft software, like Outlook, Excel, Skype, and more.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Easy integration with other Microsoft software
  • Driver prioritization module for ranking strategies/objectives
  • Helpful project template descriptions for guidance
  • Can generate a Gantt chart from a spreadsheet

Cons:

  • Few customization options
  • Steep learning curve
  • Limitations on collaboration tools

Best for milestone tracking

  • 14-day free trial
  • From $5/user/month (billed annually) + free plan available
Visit Website
Rating: 4.7/5

Nifty is a project management platform that helps teams plan and track their work. Its roadmapping capabilities help you schedule your projects effectively and keep a high-level view of what's in the pipeline.

Why I picked Nifty: This software offers a comprehensive roadmapping module that helps you plan out and oversee projects at a team, department, or company level, which I really appreciate. I like that you can view your project roadmap as a traditional timeline spreadsheet (Gantt chart), or opt for the swimlane view to break up projects by focus. The software allows you to set milestones, including recurring milestones, and create custom fields for added context.

Beyond its project scheduling capabilities, the software also has task management, document and file sharing, and reporting tools. You can manage portfolios and create forms, too. Finally, employee management and collaboration tools like time tracking and in-app discussions help reduce app-switching. In my opinion, all this makes it quite a comprehensive solution.

Nifty Standout Features and Integrations

Features include a recurring milestones feature that allows teams to streamline repetitive project goals to ensure consistent progress tracking across similar workflows. Moreover, the platform's project homes serve as centralized hubs that bring together tasks, timelines, documents, and discussions for an at-a-glance overview of each project. Additionally, the built-in form builder enables users to create custom intake forms that feed directly into projects, simplifying the process of gathering requirements and initiating new tasks.

Integrations include Slack, Zoom, Harvest, Github, Miro, Typeform, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Microsoft Suite, and Webex. You can also import your project data from Jira, Asana, Basecamp, Clickup, Wrike, Trello, or a .CSV file. Additional integrations can be configured with Zapier.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Comprehensive functionality for various contexts
  • Easy migration from other PM platforms
  • Friendly and intuitive interface

Cons:

  • Limited storage with some plans
  • Support available only with upper-tier plans

Best for small teams

  • 14-day free trial + free plan
  • Starts from $11/month for up to 3 users
Visit Website
Rating: 4.3/5

ActiveCollab is a project management software with a simple interface approach to helping you keep track of work.

Why I picked ActiveCollab: With this software, you know when every stage of the project is due. You can also establish your own processes that work well both for your team and your clients, which I appreciate. Features like drag-and-drop task lists, collective updates across gamified social feeds, time and cost estimation tools, and billing solutions make it a well-rounded solution in my opinion.

I like that this software is a simple tool at its core. There are even sample projects that cover anything from web design to editorial calendars to help project management newbies thrive. This made it easy for me to get up and running quickly!

ActiveCollab Standout Features & Integrations

Features include a timeline planning tool that lets you map out entire projects visually, making it easier to spot overlaps or gaps in schedules. The tool also offers project phase tracking, which enables teams to break schedules into distinct phases and monitor progress at each stage. Lastly, ActiveCollab integrates budget forecasting with scheduling, which can help teams align timelines with financial constraints for more realistic planning.

Integrations include Google Drive, Dropbox, Trello, Basecamp, Asana, Wrike, Slack, Hubstaff, TimeCamp, Quickbooks, Xero, Authorize.Net, Braintree, PayPal, Stripe, and hundreds of other third-party apps using Zapier.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Fully customizable API
  • Chat available in mobile app
  • Easy to invite collaborators

Cons:

  • Payment-related features only available in top plan

Best robust feature set

  • Free demo available
  • Pricing upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.1/5

Adobe Workfront is a project management software that helps enterprises connect projects and tasks to strategic goals.

Why I picked Workfront: One of the strongest points of this tool is its ability to sync with other products in the Adobe ecosystem.

It has an impressive project scheduling tool that can create tasks, milestones, and predecessors, and allocate resources while monitoring progress within set time frames. It is a great collaboration tool where team members stay in sync through threaded conversations, status updates, and comments. They can even assign milestones to each other and get live notifications of any changes taking place. For reporting, Workfront offers 50 report templates to analyze and share the status of your project. You can even create your own dashboard and combine multiple reports into one.

Workfront Standout Features & Integrations

Features include an advanced workload balancer that reallocates resources based on team capacity and project deadlines to ensure schedules remain realistic. Furthermore, Workfront’s real-time portfolio scheduler allows managers to prioritize and reschedule tasks across multiple projects to ensure alignment with shifting strategic goals while maintaining visibility into overall timelines.

Integrations include out-of-the-box software, like Adobe Creative Cloud & Experience Manager, Jira, Slack, Salesforce, and MS Teams. You can also build custom integrations using Workfront Fusion, an integration platform for any web-based application.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Thorough documentation
  • Multiple time-logging options
  • Suitable for corporations and enterprises

Cons:

  • Slow at the time of updates
  • More complex navigation

Best for international enterprises

  • Free interactive product tour available
  • Available upon request
Visit Website
Rating: 4.3/5

KeyedIn is a project portfolio management software for growing and scaling PMOs.

Why I picked KeyedIn: Its flexible, adaptive timelines and dynamic prioritization systems help you manage all of your project scheduling needs. Their agile portfolio management solution allows a backlog of key initiatives to be reprioritized as needed, making scheduling easier.

KeyedIn supports multiple languages and currencies, making it a good choice for large or small enterprises that need to do business across borders. Additionally, their customer service team has a reputation for honesty and transparency in the implementation process.

KeyedIn Standout Features & Integrations

Features include predictive scheduling analytics that use historical project data to forecast potential delays and recommend schedule optimizations. Furthermore, KeyedIn’s adaptive resource leveling feature reallocates resources in real-time to ensure optimal utilization and minimize scheduling conflicts.

Integrations include Jira, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Dynamics 365, SharePoint, QuickBooks, Microsoft Outlook, Sage Intacct, Salesforce App Cloud, SugarCRM, SAP CRM, Pivotal Tracker, Microsoft Dynamics GP, VersionOne, and Fulcrum. Additionally, the software uses API Version 3 that makes it easier for its customers to share or extract project and portfolio data with other business software solutions.

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Supports multiple languages and currencies
  • Robust forecast dashboard with charts
  • Data-rich dashboards with multiple views

Cons:

  • No customer portal available yet
  • Project hierarchy gets complex for multiple projects

Best for professional services

  • 14-day free trial
  • From $27/user/month (billed annually)
Visit Website
Rating: 4.2/5

Birdview PSA is a project scheduling software that helps businesses manage their projects, resources, and finances in one place. It's a part of the Easy Projects platform, which offers a range of project management tools and features. Birdview PSA is designed to help professional service organizations, like consulting firms, marketing agencies, and software development companies, streamline their project planning and execution processes.

Why I Picked Birdview PSA: I chose Birdview PSA as one of the best project scheduling software because it offers a comprehensive set of features that cater to the specific needs of professional service organizations. It's not just a generic project management tool, but rather a specialized solution that understands the unique challenges faced by businesses in this sector. Plus, it's super user-friendly and easy to navigate, which is always a big plus in my book.

Birdview PSA also offers a robust project planning and scheduling module that supports different types of project methodologies, like Agile, Waterfall, or a hybrid approach. You can create detailed project plans, set up dependencies, and track progress using Gantt charts, Kanban boards, or other visual tools. Finally, the collaboration and communication features in Birdview PSA are top-notch. You can set up project-specific discussion boards, share files, and even integrate with popular communication tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams to keep everyone on the same page.

Standout Features & Integrations

Features include a milestone alignment tool that ensures all project milestones are synchronized across dependent projects to prevent delays in interconnected workflows. The platform also features a dynamic timeline adjustment tool that recalculates schedules automatically when dependencies or resource availabilities change. For long-term planning, Birdview PSA also includes a multi-year roadmap view that enables organizations to align schedules with strategic objectives.

Integrations include Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Project, Jira, Adobe Creative Cloud, MS Excel, Outlook, Hubspot, Salesforce, Oracle NetSuite, Gmail, Slack, Zoom, Github, Gitlab, HelpScout, HelpDocs, Olark, and other options for time tracking, design, ERP, and accounting software. You can also use their RESTful API to build additional integrations. 

Pros and cons

Pros:

  • Hundreds of integration options, native and otherwise
  • 250+ templates for dashboards and reports of all sorts
  • AI-powered planning and communications assistance

Cons:

  • 2+ custom workflows requires Enterprise plan
  • Resource loading tool not on lowest paid plan

Other Project Scheduling Software

Here are a few more project scheduling software tools that didn’t make my top 15, but which are worth your consideration.

  1. Office Timeline

    Visual scheduling for PowerPoint

  2. Silverbucket

    For project timelines

  3. Ravetree

    For all-in-one project scheduling

  4. ClickUp

    For centralized project scheduling

  5. Smartsheet

    For aligning resources and teams

  6. Celoxis

    For project scheduling with AI

  7. Productive

    For agency capacity planning

  8. ProjectManager

    For real-time dashboards

  9. Jira

    For software teams

  10. Hive

    For various teams sizes

If you still haven't found what you're looking for here, check out these other project management tool reviews we've curated for you:

Selection Criteria for Project Scheduling Software

When selecting the best project scheduling software to include in this list, I considered common buyer needs and pain points like managing resource availability and tracking project timelines. I also used the following framework to keep my evaluation structured and fair:

Core Functionality (25% of total score)
To be considered for inclusion in this list, each solution had to fulfill these common use cases:

  • Create and adjust project timelines
  • Assign tasks to team members
  • Track task dependencies and milestones
  • Generate Gantt charts or other scheduling visualizations
  • Provide real-time updates on project progress

Additional Standout Features (25% of total score)
To help further narrow down the competition, I also looked for unique features, such as:

  • AI-powered scheduling suggestions
  • Integration with third-party productivity tools
  • Automated resource allocation recommendations
  • Customizable workflow automation
  • Mobile accessibility with full-feature parity

Usability (10% of total score)
To get a sense of the usability of each system, I considered whether the software tool:

  • Provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface
  • Minimizes the learning curve for new users
  • Offers drag-and-drop scheduling functionality
  • Maintains system responsiveness with large projects
  • Supports multiple user roles with tailored views

Onboarding (10% of total score)
To evaluate the onboarding experience for each platform, I considered whether the tool offers the following:

  • Interactive product tours for new users
  • Access to training videos and documentation
  • Pre-built templates for common scheduling needs
  • Live chat or onboarding webinars
  • Easy data migration from other tools

Customer Support (10% of total score)
To assess each software provider’s customer support services, I considered whether the following is available:

  • 24/7 support
  • Multiple support channels, including chat and phone
  • A comprehensive knowledge base
  • Guaranteed response time for critical issues
  • An active user community or forum

Value For Money (10% of total score)
To evaluate the value for money of each platform, I considered whether the tool has the following:

  • A transparent and flexible pricing model
  • A free trial or demo version
  • Scale pricing based on team size or project volume
  • Core features in lower-tier plans
  • A balance between advanced capabilities and cost-effectiveness

Customer Reviews (10% of total score)
To get a sense of overall customer satisfaction, I considered whether customer reviews highlight the following:

  • Ease of use and learning curve
  • Reliability and uptime consistency
  • Quality of customer support interactions
  • Value for money against competitors
  • Real-world success stories and case studies

How To Choose Project Scheduling Software

It’s easy to get bogged down in long feature lists and complex pricing structures. To help you stay focused as you work through your unique software selection process, here’s a checklist of factors to keep in mind:

FactorWhat to Consider
ScalabilityMake sure the software can grow with your team. Look for features like unlimited projects, user role expansions, and workload balancing.
IntegrationsThe software should connect with your existing tools, such as CRM, accounting, or communication platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams.
CustomizabilityChoose a solution that lets you tailor workflows, task views, and reports to fit your team’s processes and industry-specific needs.
Ease of UseA simple, intuitive interface reduces the learning curve. Features like drag-and-drop scheduling and visual dashboards can improve the user experience.
BudgetConsider both upfront and long-term costs. Look for transparent pricing, free trials, and whether core features are locked behind premium plans.
Security SafeguardsProtect your data with features like role-based permissions, two-factor authentication, and compliance with industry standards like GDPR or SOC 2.
Collaboration ToolsMake sure your team can work together via real-time updates, task comments, file sharing, and automated notifications.
Mobile AccessibilityIf your team works remotely, a strong mobile app with full functionality lets you manage schedules on the go.

Here are four key project scheduling software trends that I believe will keep developing throughout the year:

  1. AI-driven insights and automation: Artificial intelligence and machine learning features are becoming more common in software tools. Leading tools like Microsoft Project and Asana, some of the best scheduling software for small business, offer predictive analytics to help you anticipate potential risks and resource bottlenecks before they impact timelines. AI-driven automation can also help you optimize resource allocation and personalize task prioritization, and save time for strategic tasks.
  2. Workflow automation and customization: The demand for workflow automation and customizable project setups is also on the rise. Scheduling systems like monday.com and Airtable offer customizable workflows tailored to specific project needs, so teams can automate repetitive tasks, set custom triggers, and build workflows that align with unique project requirements. This level of customization lets you optimize processes and maintain consistency across projects.
  3. Advanced visualization tools for clarity: Visualization tools let you represent project data dynamically. Solutions like ClickUp offer a range of visual aids, like interactive Gantt charts, Kanban boards, mind maps, and timeline views. The calendar scheduling tools also let you easily track dependencies, review progress visually, and pivot strategies as needed, to improve communication and decision-making.
  4. Dynamic scheduling capabilities: This trend emphasizes scheduler tools that adjust in real-time to project changes, such as shifts in resource availability or unexpected delays. Interactive scheduling software usually also offers drag-and-drop scheduling software features that provide visibility into task sequencing and automatically reassign or reprioritize tasks, helping you maintain agility and reduce downtime.

What Is Project Scheduling Software?

Project scheduling software is a tool used to visually plan, organize, and manage resource allocation for projects throughout the project lifecycle.

Project scheduling tools simplify resource allocation and project planning with a visual interface that supports dragging and dropping tasks, dependencies, assignees, and permissions. It gives the project team and stakeholders clarity on the project plan, the timeline with a detailed schedule, and assigned tasks via different project views and collaboration and reporting tools.

Features of Project Scheduling Software

Here are the critical project scheduling software features that can bring your project management to the next level.

  1. Real-time collaboration: This feature fosters teamwork and keeps every team member on the same page. This makes sure your team can keep track of tasks, meet deadlines, and address bottlenecks.
  2. Task management: The software should offer various ways to manage project tasks via views that let you see these tasks in different ways, such as Gantt charts, project calendar views, table views, and Kanban boards.
  3. Resource management: This lets you allocate resources, avoid over or under-staffing, and deliver the project on time. Tasks need to have resources attached, so the tool should have a module where you can look at the team's allocation and workload capacity, and a project dashboard where you can track activity.
  4. User-friendly interface: A clean and simple interface makes software easy to use and reduces the time it takes to perform tasks, which helps increase productivity.
  5. Reporting and analytics: Detailed reports help you track performance, catch bottlenecks early, and make data-backed decisions. The best project planning software offers analytics and reporting features like configurable, interactive reports; automatic report generation; and advanced analytics for time spent, resource utilization, costs, and other key project metrics.
  6. Secure data storage: Strong security measures keep project data safe, which helps maintain the integrity of the project and the trust of the stakeholders involved.

Benefits of Project Scheduling Software

Here are the primary benefits that project scheduling software offers:

  1. Streamlined task management: Project scheduling software allows you to easily assign and track tasks. This provides a clear overview of the project at hand, so each team member knows their role and responsibilities.
  2. Better collaboration: With advanced collaboration features, software can foster communication so ideas can flow freely among team members. This helps with innovation and teamwork.
  3. Accurate forecasting: The software's predictive analytics can help you foresee potential risks or delays with tasks so you can proactively mitigate potential setbacks and deliver projects on time.
  4. Increased productivity: By automating routine tasks, the software frees up your time so you can focus on strategic facets of the project, so you can get more done and increase overall productivity.
  5. Real-time visibility: The software should provide real-time updates, which helps everyone stay in sync. This transparency also builds trust among team members and stakeholders.

Costs & Pricing For Project Scheduling Software

Below is a table summarizing my research into the different plan options and their pricing for project scheduling software:

Plan NamePrice (per user/month)Features
Free$0Basic scheduling, limited users and projects, basic reporting
Basic$10 - $20Task scheduling, simple reporting, basic integrations, limited users and projects
Standard$20 - $50Advanced task scheduling, resource management, reporting and analytics, integrations, multiple users/projects
Premium$50 - $100Advanced project management features, customizable scheduling options, advanced reporting, unlimited users/projects
A breakdown of plan types, costs, and features for project scheduling software.

Common stages where your company may want to upgrade your pricing plan include:

  1. Increased project volume: As your organization manages more simultaneous projects, the need for advanced scheduling and management features might require you to upgrade your plan.
  2. Team expansion: As you hire more employees or collaborate with more freelancers, you might need to scale your plan to support additional users and access more collaboration tools and permission settings.
  3. Advanced reporting and analytics: You might want to upgrade for access to advanced reporting features.
  4. Integration needs: As your business grows, the need to integrate project scheduling software with your other systems (CRM, ERP) increases. Higher pricing tiers often help with this via comprehensive integration options.
  5. Better customer support and training: If you're at a critical growth stage, you might require premium support, dedicated account management, and personalized training, which are often included in higher pricing tiers.

New & Noteworthy Product Updates

Below you’ll find my release notes and take on the latest and greatest project scheduling software product updates. Discover what’s now possible through feature releases, improvements, and updates on web, desktop and mobile apps. Learn what’s new, if it’s hot—or not—and why it matters for scheduling projects.

Q4 2024 Project Scheduling Software Updates

Scoro Update Notes

scoro ai-powered assistant screenshot
ELI is Scoro's new AI-powered assistant that provides instant, in-platform guidance to help you quickly navigate features and resolve issues.

In Q4, Scoro introduced ELI, an AI-powered chat assistant designed to improve the user experience by providing instant support and guidance within the platform. ELI helps you navigate features, troubleshoot issues, and optimize your use of Scoro's tools to be more efficient.

ELI's integration reduces the time you'll spend seeking help or learning new functionalities. By delivering immediate, context-specific responses, ELI lets you resolve queries swiftly, so you can focus more on your core tasks and less on navigating the platform.

This update is particularly beneficial for project managers, team members, and new users who require quick assistance or are unfamiliar with certain features. ELI's real-time support smooths the onboarding process and helps maximize the platform's capabilities, making it a valuable addition if you want to improve productivity and user experience within Scoro.

Verdict: Hot! AI may be becoming more commonplace, but it still counts as a hot new trend.

Runn Update Notes

runn filter by job title screenshot
Runn’s new filtering feature allows you to sort team members by job title, which helps make resource management and project planning more efficient.

In Q4, Runn introduced a feature that allows you to filter by job title on both the project and people planners. This lets you manage resources more precisely and displays individuals based on their specific job titles, which helps facilitate efficient project assignments and team organization.

Previously, you could view job titles on the people planner but you couldn't filter, search, or group individuals by this criterion. The new filtering capability addresses this and provides a streamlined approach to managing personnel according to their roles and seniority levels.

This update is particularly beneficial for project managers, resource planners, and HR professionals who require detailed insights into team composition and need to allocate resources effectively based on job titles. You can use it to improve your planning processes and make sure projects are staffed with appropriately qualified personnel.

Verdict: Not. Iteration is always welcome, but this new feature is not particularly innovative.  

Kantata Update Notes

kantata pulse score screenshot
Kantata’s new Pulse Score graph visually tracks changes in project sentiment over time, showing trends in happiness, confidence, and collaboration.

In Q4, Kantata OX released Kantata Pulse, an integrated sentiment tool that lets professional services organizations gather real-time feedback from clients and employees. It automates feedback collection across project phases, so you get insights into how clients and team members feel about project progress. This tool helps detect issues early by combining sentiment data with quantitative metrics to give a fuller view of project health, so you can improve satisfaction and project outcomes.

If you're hindered by disconnected, time-consuming feedback processes, Kantata Pulse is a valuable solution. Unlike post-project surveys, it captures feedback continuously to allow you to intervene quicker and strengthen relationships with clients and employees. The system is flexible and allows for both internal and external surveys without requiring additional user accounts. This boosts accessibility and participation rates.

Those likely to benefit from this release include project managers, account administrators, and client success teams who want to improve project satisfaction and engagement. Kantata Pulse’s structured survey approach—focusing on happiness, confidence, and collaboration—delivers actionable feedback so you can make informed decisions and take a proactive approach to project management.

Verdict: Hot! Automating feedback and analysis is a great way to make your business better, faster. 

Check out Kantata's most recent pricing information.

monday.com Update Notes

monday.com performance dashboard screenshot
monday.com’s new sprint performance dashboard offers real-time insights into sprint metrics, so you can make data-driven decisions throughout the sprint cycle.

The engineering performance dashboard is a new feature in monday.com that integrates with GitHub to provide real-time insights into development workflows. It tracks key metrics such as time to pull request and overall cycle time to offer a comprehensive view of the development process.

This dashboard includes tables that display items currently in each phase and their histories, detailing item names, pull request links, story points, owners, and time spent in each phase. These features can also help you identify bottlenecks and make data-driven decisions to improve efficiency.

Currently in beta, the engineering performance dashboard is accessible to users with the GitHub integration enabled. Development teams, project managers, and stakeholders who want to optimize their development cycles and improve workflow transparency will find this feature particularly beneficial.

Verdict: Hot! Accurate data tracking can be difficult, so anything that makes it easier is a great improvement. 

Hub Planner Update Notes

hub planner group management screenshot
Hub Planner's updated UI simplifies resource and project group management with improved design, navigation, and filtering.

Hub Planner has recently updated its user interface to improve the management of resource and project groups. These groups, which can be created manually or through smart filters, help organize teams and projects efficiently. The latest UI improvements simplify the process of building and managing these groups and make the platform more intuitive and user-friendly.

Key enhancements include a more compact design that occupies less screen space, refined column layouts for better visibility of selections and outputs, and resized buttons for a cleaner interface. Additionally, a unified search function now filters across all columns simultaneously. These updates make group management more straightforward and efficient.

Project managers, team leads, and resource coordinators will find these updates particularly beneficial. The improved UI facilitates quicker navigation and more effective organization of resources and projects, which improves overall productivity and the user experience.

Verdict: Not. Project and resource groups are awesome, but UI updates are not exactly trending.  

Miro Update Notes

screenshot of miro docs feature
Miro's Docs feature lets you create comprehensive text documents with AI assistance and integrate diagrams, images, and videos in a unified workspace.

In October, Miro released several updates to improve collaboration and customization. Key additions include custom shape packs, which allow you to upload and share personalized shapes, and a Docs feature that supports AI-assisted drafting and integrates diagrams, images, and videos for seamless document creation within the workspace.

Miro has also improved integrations and the user interface. The Microsoft Copilot integration allows Miro boards to be accessed directly in Teams via search prompts, while the AWS Cloud View integration helps visualize AWS infrastructure in Miro. Additionally, Miro expanded language support to Polish and Korean and introduced a streamlined UI for easier navigation.

These updates benefit design, project management, and IT professionals who want to improve team collaboration. Customization options, better integrations with Microsoft and AWS, and broader language support make Miro more accessible, efficient, and effective for a global user base.

Verdict: Hot! AI summarization is a trendy new feature, and expanding the languages available is just one more step to becoming a truly global tool. 

Zoho Projects Update Notes

zoho projects task and timesheet settings screenshot
Zoho Projects' updated task and timesheet settings offer better customization, task management, and time tracking for better project oversight.

In November, Zoho Projects improved its task and timesheet settings to provide more control and customization over your project management processes. Key updates include the ability to maintain task order even after completion, assign unique prefixes and IDs to tasks, and set task durations in either days or hours. You can also configure task dependencies and set up automations that adjust to successor tasks when predecessor tasks are modified.

For timesheet management, Zoho Projects now offers settings to restrict time logging based on user roles, allowing only task or issue owners, any project member, or associated team members to log time. You can also enable or disable time logging for closed tasks and issues, set daily and weekly log hour limits, and restrict time logs on holidays, weekends, or during leave periods.

These updates are particularly beneficial for project managers, team leads, and administrators who want to to optimize task management and time tracking. You can use these customizable settings to improve workflow efficiency, keep time logging accurate, and maintain better oversight of project timelines and resources.

Verdict: Hot! Customization + automation + compliance = a great update. 

Check out Zoho Projects' most recent pricing information.

Resource Guru Update Notes

resource guru activity types screenshot
Resource Guru’s new activity types feature involves defining custom categories for tasks and applying them to projects for better scheduling and detailed time tracking.

Resource Guru has introduced a new feature called activity types that allows you to categorize various tasks within a project, such as research, planning, design, meetings, or presentations. This provides greater clarity in scheduling and helps you allocate appropriate time to each phase.

By implementing activity types, you'll get detailed insights into time tracking and be able to compare scheduled time and actual hours spent on specific activities. This level of detail helps identify areas where projects may deviate from plans so you can adjust forecasting and budgeting and boost productivity.

This feature is particularly beneficial for project managers, team leaders, and resource planners who require a granular understanding of time allocation across different project components.

Verdict: Not. More organization is great, but the idea of categorizing projects is not particularly new.

Check out Resource Guru's most recent pricing information.

ClickUp Update Notes

clickup custom relationships feature screenshot
The new custom relationships feature in ClickUp allows you to filter views and reports based on tailored data connections for more precise insights.

ClickUp's Release 3.36 introduces several enhancements for improving user experience and productivity. You can now filter views and reports by custom relationships to get more tailored data insights. Additionally, Microsoft Teams link previews let you view shared Teams content directly within ClickUp tasks, Docs, and Chat, so you don't need to switch between applications. 

The update also includes a new 'My Work' page for mobile users that includes tasks, events, and calendar entries on a single, organized view grouped by day. This facilitates efficient task management on-the-go. 

These improvements are particularly beneficial for project managers, team leads, and mobile users who require streamlined workflows and improved integration between communication platforms.

Verdict: Hot! Better data, better integration, and better mobility, all in one update! 

Check out ClickUp's most recent pricing information.

Smartsheet Update Notes

smartsheet file library screenshot
Smartsheet's new file library feature allows for centralized file storage, collaboration, and version control.

Smartsheet has introduced a file library feature that lets you store, search, and collaborate on various file types such as documents, presentations, images, and videos. This simplifies access to relevant content—you can upload files via drag-and-drop, search and filter by attributes like name and type, and maintain version control so all stakeholders are aligned with the latest information. 

The file library also offers tools for asynchronous collaboration, including the ability to leave directed annotations with customizable pins, shapes, and arrow mark-ups, as well as commenting and @mentioning team members directly on files. These features improve feedback loops, expedite content reviews, reduce the need for external communication channels, and improve overall workflow efficiency. 

This update is particularly beneficial for project managers, creative teams, and organizations that rely on centralized content management within their workflows. 

Verdict: Hot! While this could also be achieved by having an integrated DAM, all-in-one applications are the way of the future! 

Check out Smartsheet's most recent pricing information.

Project Scheduling Software Frequently Asked Questions

Find answers to common questions other people ask about this topic.

What does project scheduling software do?

Project scheduling software helps you plan not only your projects but also get a grip on what’s currently happening as the project unfolds. It also allows you to centralize all work-related activities such as planning, time tracking, task allocation, resource management, and reporting.

In addition, project scheduling tools create transparency with stakeholders and team members who want to know what’s expected of them.

What is project scheduling in project management?

Project scheduling in project management is part of project planning. It’s the process of defining a project’s phases, milestones, resources, and workflow. In addition, you plot these key components on a timeline that factors in the dependencies between the different parts.

Throughout the lifecycle of a software project, you refer to the project schedule to understand its critical path and track progress on deliverables and the project as a whole.

When there are changes, a well-made project schedule helps you to factor in the effects of any changes. This can be done by laying out dependencies at the beginning and using a visual tool to understand the relationship between different roles, tasks, and phases of a project.

Which tool is used for project scheduling?

The most common tool used for project scheduling is the Gantt chart. This view gives a large amount of numerical and visual information in one glance.

A Gantt chart view is commonly arranged in 2 panels that live side-by-side. The left panel contains a table with detailed information on the tasks, due dates and dependency between tasks. The right panel contains bars along a timeline that visually represent task duration and show what happens when. Therefore, this right panel is useful to quickly understand the sequence of events that must happen for successful completion.

Learn more about what Gantt chart software is.

What are some common project scheduling techniques?

Most project scheduling techniques make use of a Gantt chart or similar chart, and they include:

  • The critical path method (CPM): a mathematically-based technique where you create a schedule by using your scope to list tasks, their durations, and dependencies, and then plot the longest possible path through the project
  • Program evaluation and review technique (PERT or PERT Analysis): a technique similar to CPM. You calculate a weighted average duration for tasks based on your confidence level in their timing. These can be optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely duration.
  • Fast tracking: a form of duration compression where you shorten a project schedule by overlapping tasks that can be done simultaneously
  • Crashing: a form of duration compression where you get tasks done faster by adding more resources to the project timeline
  • Simulation: modeling “what if” scenarios to forecast possible durations of a project
  • Resource leveling: adjusting a schedule so there’s as little over- or under-utilization of resources as possible

What are common challenges in creating a project schedule?

Aligning team availability and resource allocation often feels like solving a complex puzzle, especially when managing multiple projects simultaneously. Consequently, creating a project schedule often presents several challenges, such as:

  1. Estimating task durations accurately can be challenging due to the unpredictable nature of work and unforeseen obstacles.
  2. Project scope changes frequently occur, necessitating constant schedule adjustments.
  3. Effective stakeholder communication requires maintaining a balance between providing essential updates and avoiding information overload.

It’s crucial to remain flexible, anticipate adjustments, and keep everyone informed to navigate these challenges successfully.

How user-friendly are project scheduling tools for non-technical team members?

Most project scheduling tools are designed with non-technical users in mind and offer intuitive interfaces and straightforward navigation. The goal is to make project scheduling accessible and allow team members to quickly get up to speed without a steep learning curve. Visual timelines, drag-and-drop functionalities, and easy-to-understand dashboards are common features that improve user-friendliness.

However, the simplicity for non-technical users varies among tools, with some offering more guided experiences and tutorials than others. It’s about finding the right balance between comprehensive features and ease of use to make sure the tool serves your team effectively without overwhelming them.

Can project scheduling tools support agile and scrum methodologies effectively?

Yes, many project scheduling tools, including the best scheduling app options, can support agile and Scrum methodologies. Agile schedule optimization software can help streamline sprint planning, backlog management, and real-time tracking, which aligns with the iterative and collaborative nature of agile frameworks. Here’s a look at some specialized features for work scheduling tools that can make agile and Scrum management easier:

  • Kanban boards: Common in scheduling tools like Trello and monday.com, Kanban boards enable dynamic backlog management and sprint planning and are ideal for teams that need flexible task prioritization within their scheduling app.
  • Burndown charts: Available in platforms such as Jira, these charts can show the work remaining within a sprint and help teams track their project progress and stay aligned with sprint goals.
  • Scrum boards: Found in scheduling platforms like Wrike and Asana, Scrum boards are a core feature in some of the best scheduling tools. They guide teams through phases like “to-do” to “done” and support essential Scrum events such as sprint planning and review.
  • Time tracking integrations: Staff planning software often integrates with tools like Clockify and Harvest to track time on tasks and give agile teams the right insights for accurate sprint retrospectives and workload adjustments.
  • Automated reporting: Some of the best work scheduling software options, like ClickUp, offer automated reporting to streamline sprint reviews. This feature improves process transparency and allows easy assessment of team productivity.

How can integrations with collaboration tools enhance project scheduling?

Integrations with collaboration tools can significantly improve project scheduling by streamlining communication, improving task management, and providing real-time updates across teams. Here’s how these integrations make a difference:

  • Centralized communication: Connecting a scheduling tool with popular collaboration apps like Slack or Microsoft Teams makes sure all scheduling updates, task assignments, and deadline changes are shared with team members instantly. This reduces the need for constant status updates and keeps everyone on the same page.
  • Automated notifications and reminders: By linking a scheduling system with collaboration tools, you’ll be able to receive automatic reminders and alerts for upcoming deadlines, task assignments, project milestones, and resource availability changes. This feature also prevents overlooked tasks and missed deadlines for a smoother project flow.
  • Better resource allocation: For industries with specific needs (e.g. construction), integrating industry-specific apps, such as construction scheduling software programs, with project management tools allows for better resource allocation. Team members can, for example, view equipment availability, crew schedules, and material requirements and better keep complex projects on track.
  • Real-time updates and tracking: Integrating schedule planning apps with project dashboards allows team members to view and update tasks in real time, which improves visibility across the project. This is particularly valuable when multiple teams need to collaborate and makes it easy to track progress and adjust schedules as needed.
  • Simplified task assignments and adjustments: With a collaboration tool integration, scheduling service software can sync tasks directly with the collaboration platform. This lets you assign tasks and adjust workloads without needing separate platforms, saving time and reducing administrative overhead.

What's Next?

Resource management is a big component of project scheduling as it directly impacts your ability to deliver a project. Learn about resource loading and how it compares to resource leveling to make the most out of available resources. And if you want to impress your stakeholders, we have a wonderful guide on how to really nail project scheduling.

Ben Aston
By Ben Aston

I’m Ben Aston, a digital project manager and founder of thedpm.com. I've been in the industry for more than 20 years working in the UK at London’s top digital agencies including Dare, Wunderman, Lowe and DDB. I’ve delivered everything from film to CMS', games to advertising and eCRM to eCommerce sites. I’ve been fortunate enough to work across a wide range of great clients; automotive brands including Land Rover, Volkswagen and Honda; Utility brands including BT, British Gas and Exxon, FMCG brands such as Unilever, and consumer electronics brands including Sony. I'm a Certified Scrum Master, PRINCE2 Practitioner and productivity nut!