Project Management Software Systems For The Apparel Industry

Introduction to Project Management 

Managing a project from scratch is not an easy task. It requires deep understanding and patience to move through every phase swiftly. The project management software systems helps throughout the process in the apparel industry. 

Project management can be described as an application of process, skills, knowledge, and methods used to achieve the overall project goal or objective. One major challenge most project managers face is completing the task while achieving the objective within time constraints. The success or failure of a project is not only determined by the project manager's abilities or skills to manage a task. However, the results are adequately affected by other prominent factors such as the availability of resources to meet the ever-growing needs, support from other team members, and keeping a close eye on the group's progress to ensure everyone is in a sink. 

All this and more can only be achieved if you're using the right software, which helps the project manager or PM manage every activity efficiently and deliver results within the deadlines. 

Five phases of project management 

Managing a project is no easy feat. Even so, what is its scope or scale? From planning every step to handling the ever-changing scenarios or the requirements of the clients, a lot goes behind a successful project in the apparel industry. According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, known as PMBOK, project management is classified into 5 phases. These primarily include Project Initiation, planning, execution, controlling, and closer. If done rightly, the end product matches the client's expectations. 

Here are five phases of project management in detail:

1. Project Initiation phase

The project initiation phase is the first step of project management, where a rough and raw idea is covered into a meaningful goal. Here, you need to understand the project's requirements and what values must be extracted to deliver results. Additionally, a project charter needs to be developed to understand business requirements. 

The project charter is a document that consists of details such as project manager appointment, project objective, timeline, over budget, and other important points which act as the base of every future action. However, technical details are highlighted at this stage, whereas a clear goal is a setup in this phase. 

2. Project planning phase

The next stage of project management is the project planning phase. This second stage requires great diligence as it plans the future roadmap to perform each task. Until and unless modern methodologies are used, this stage takes almost half of the entire project's timespan. Primarily, initial requirements are identified at this stage. Further, a detailed project schedule is designed and developed for better understanding, followed by a communication plan and deliverables. 

An important element of this phase is flexibility. The project manager and his team must be flexible enough to make last-minute changes to avoid project delays or bottlenecks. 

3. Execution phase

Project execution is the third phase of the project management process. Here, the team gets into the action. As a project manager, an individual is responsible for establishing smooth workflows and effective collaborations to minimize roadblocks. 

Additionally, it is important to overview tasks daily to minimize the complexities involved. Here are several project management software systems for the apparel industry that help conduct tasks easily without issues. 

4. Monitoring and controlling phase

The fourth phase in this cycle is the monitoring and control phase. Although the third and the fourth phase may seem similar from a distance. However, the outcomes are completely different. The monitoring and the controlling step run simultaneously with the execution phase to ensure that the expectations of the project are the same as the deliverables. 

In this phase, the project manager is responsible for keeping track of the project cost and the efforts made to make it a success. Additionally, it attracts future prospects. 

5. Project closeout phase

The final and most crucial stage is the project closeout phase. It indicates the end of the project, where all tasks are completed within the set deadlines. Generally, a meeting is held after this phase to examine the project's failures and successes.

Need for project management software systems for the apparel industry 

The apparel industry is one of the leading industries in the world, with a massive capital requirement. This industry requires adequate planning, organizing, designing, processing, and several other tasks to complete within the given timeline. Project management software systems play a pivotal role in the apparel industry as these help manufacturers in the process of planning, improving quality, and estimating cost through dynamic cloud-based solutions. 

Additionally, this system helps apparel industry experts find analytical solutions that help them in real-time. One of the major advantages of having such a system in the apparel industry is that it increases overall product quality while minimizing the total time required. Additionally, efficiency is at its peak because of such systems. 

Some other benefits of Project Management Software Systems

Here is the list of other benefits of Project Management Software Systems

• Offering great control over the style development. 
• Offering effective and efficient inventory management 
• Minimizing the total time consumed through better coordination 
• Improving supplier compliance
• Using better data entry screens
• Reducing the manual workload like data entry. 

Common project software systems in the apparel industry 

1. Microsoft Project 

The first on this list is the Microsoft project. It is one of the world's most popular project management software systems designed and developed by Microsoft. This system is designed especially for project managers to provide adequate assistance in planning, assigning resources, managing budgets, and tracking progress. 

2. Trello 

Another most commonly used project management software system is Trello. It is a globally renowned platform that any organization can use for project management. 

3. Asana 

Asana is another popular system designed to improve work management and team collaboration. It manages projects and tasks in just a single tool without any hassle. Here, leaders can develop, assign and specify tasks to anyone. Additionally, direct communication can also happen in Asana. 

4. Wrike 

Wrike project management software system is a Software-as-a-Service or SaaS product that allows users to track the project details, progress, workflow, and more details within a few clicks. 

5. Zoho 

A cloud-based project management software system, Zoho is another popular tool that helps plan and track the work without any roadblocks. Team members can quickly put across their ideas and design content around it. 

Project management software system comparative analysis

Features	Microsoft Project	Trello	Asana	Wrike	Zoho
Real-time communication	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Critical path	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Global Dashboard	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Custom permission	No	Yes	No	No	No
Assess from anywhere, virtually	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes