Salesforce & Project Management: The perfect pair?

Salesforce & Project Management: The perfect pair?

As the world’s number one CRM platform, Salesforce is a great tool for businesses to innovate their processes and increase sales; but the platform offers much much more than just CRM. So, does this mean that you could manage projects effectively within a Salesforce org? Yes you can, but it is not part of the standard platform features.

The Perfect Pair?

Salesforce and project management can be the perfect pair even though there isn’t actually a full project management functionality available within the platform. 

How could they work together?

Just because Salesforce doesn’t have a full project management functionality doesn’t mean that your team couldn’t manage and deliver a successful project. There are three easy options available so you can make the most from your org as follows:

Option 1: Basic Features in Salesforce

If you require basic tracking of a project’s status and simple collaboration for a few key members of your team, then the built-in Salesforce features with a touch of customisation will do just the trick. We understand that this isn’t by far the most suitable option for larger organisations but it could be enough for smaller teams to start out with. 

Straight out of the box, you can begin tracking progress with Salesforce tasks, collaborate with your team and share documents using Salesforce Chatter and report on and visualise the key insights to the project with Reports and Dashboards. You could even use tools such as Process Builder to automate some of the required functionality.

Option 2: Download Project Management Apps through Salesforce AppExchange

One of the great things about Salesforce is that there are lots of excellent applications available through the Salesforce AppExchange that can be easily integrated into your existing org. In the AppExchange you will be able to choose project management tools that were specifically built for Salesforce users.

Some of the leading project management apps available on the AppExchange are:

There are so many benefits to integrating a Salesforce-native app such as easy integration with no additional development required, the flexibility to meet your exact needs, a 360 degree customer view as you can associate other features in your existing org as well as increased security infrastructures, real-time reporting and automation opportunities.

Option 3: Download External Project Management Apps

You might decide that it is more suitable for your team to try some of the well-known project management tools on the market such as Asana or Monday.com – all of which provide some excellent features and functionality outside of Salesforce.

Be aware that although it can be exactly what your team requires, there are things to consider when decided whether to use an external tool. For example, non Salesforce-native apps will be hosted outside of your current org, meaning that your data will be sent and stored outside of Salesforce. It also can provide many more challenges in relation to integration and often involves Salesforce admins and external consultancies to complete effectively. 

Even if the integration is done correctly, you may still experience some limitations such as limited data sharing, lack of real-time data within your Salesforce Dashboard and your team would need to be extra cautious when new Salesforce releases are launched as the integration may require certain developments.

What next?

It’s important to ensure that your organisation makes the right decisions to effectively involve project management teams and tools, but where do you start?

If you haven’t already, we highly recommend you review the processes you currently use to determine what you feel is missing; then it would be beneficial to consider speaking with a Salesforce consultant to discuss your options and how the project could be mapped out and then implemented effectively.
Get in touch with our Salesforce certified team to find out how Coacto could help you and your business with project management here.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *