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Understanding Salesforce for project management starts with defining project management. Project management involves successfully planning and managing processes to meet goals and objectives. In addition, project management includes leading a team to meet goals using specific knowledge, tools, skills, and techniques. Complex projects require intelligent, precise management throughout the project.
Companies must approach project management with the goal of delivering accurate, timely, brand-consistent results during every step of the process from project acquisition to completion. Project management tools, like Salesforce PMT, simplify and streamline project management, helping teams collaborate and expedite projects. PMTs are software solutions designed to help project managers plan, make projections, track, and manage projects through a collaborative platform built for communication, accountability, and teamwork.
There are many project management tools available today. However, using Salesforce as a PMT is superior for many reasons. A salesforce project plan offers companies the following:
Additional features that make Salesforce PMT the best choice include the ability to manage multiple teams and projects within those teams. With Salesforce, you can design each project with department and team-specific selections unique to each group. Project managers can select custom fields, approval processes, tailored reports, and dashboard views for each project and team. Salesforce certification for project managers is recommended for professionals desiring to learn and apply all of the features and capabilities possible with Salesforce PMT. In addition to equipping project managers to use Salesforce for project management, completing Salesforce certification helps project managers gain recognition from employers and grow in their careers.
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Salesforce is well-known and popular as a customer relationship management tool but is gaining popularity as a project management tool. Salesforce project management tools include third-party native applications like Cloud Coach, a secure, scalable solution built directly on Salesforce. With Cloud Coach, Salesforce project management navigates through four tiers of project management tools, from simple to complex, depending on project needs. Implementing a PMT native to Salesforce ensures consistency for the customer experience and expedites project objectives through streamlining communication, tasks, and real-time reporting for project team members. For example, Salesforce project object tracks project tasks, status, risks, and issues through analytics easily viewable in dashboard insights.
Managing projects using Salesforce PMT provides an excellent environment for better organization, data accuracy, team communication, and collaboration. As a comprehensive source for all customer data, managing projects using tools native to the Salesforce platform improves data security and accessibility for project team members. Toggling between multiple project management tools and systems potentially leads to errors. In addition, the need to use multiple systems can extend project completion time with the need for repetitive work. A Salesforce native tool like Cloud Coach allows companies to streamline tasks, communication, and collaboration seamlessly.
Companies that use Salesforce as a customer relationship management tool benefit from using Salesforce project management tools. To fully satisfy project management needs such as team collaboration, communication, task management, and reporting, it is imperative to equip customer-facing team members with the necessary tools to complete projects efficiently and effectively.
The Salesforce AppExchange offers several plugins and applications that can integrate with Salesforce and provide teams with project management functions such as:
ADDITIONAL LINKS
Project management apps help teams organize and schedule project-related work, assign tasks, and track progress. PMT apps allow role assignments with defined responsibilities and enable tracking project-related activities. Salesforce is best known as a customer relationship management tool; however, with the integration of a Salesforce project management app, the project management functionality of Salesforce is far superior to using other third-party tools that require moving between tools for project management. Using tools native to Salesforce provides a comprehensive view of a project portfolio, facilitating project organization from start to finish.
A project management tool is a software application designed to effectively organize and manage project goals, objectives, information, and tasks. In addition to these features, project management tools must be multi-user tools so all team members can use the tool effectively. PMTs must be scalable to evolve with project management needs. There are many project management tools available. However, one significant difference between a Salesforce native app and one not native to Salesforce involves integration. A Salesforce native app is built 100% inside the Salesforce Lightning platform. Using a Salesforce native app eliminates the need for integration with Salesforce because the app exists inside the Salesforce platform.
Salesforce project management apps are available on the Salesforce AppExchange. For example, Cloud Coach is a project management app native to Salesforce, enabling streamlined end-to-end control of the project management process.
Cloud Coach features
There are many advantages of using a Salesforce native app. For example, advanced level security for all information, reducing the risk of information errors, and the ability to see real-time analytics and reporting are all possible.
Salesforce project managers must track various types of information throughout the project. For example, project managers must keep track of activities, financial information, deliverables, and other aspects necessary to project completion. Salesforce uses artifacts, groups of related codes, and customizations that can be tested and released within a project. For example, common Salesforce project management artifacts include a project plan, resource plan, project budget, schedule or timeline, and many more. Many project managers use a Salesforce project management template when developing project management artifacts. Often referred to as a project management pack containing many artifact templates, that can save valuable time when creating the necessary documentation for each project. Templates and artifacts help teams comply with Salesforce project management best practices such as:
A Salesforce implementation project plan PDF and project management templates can help increase efficiency for repetitive tasks. Within each unique project, many tasks remain the same. For example, each project requires a communication plan. However, some projects may require less frequent communication. The use of project templates increases efficiency and reduces the risk of errors. Salesforce project management templates are also helpful when managing each project’s scope, time, cost, and quality. Project management templates are an essential tool for project managers. The use of PDFs and templates in project management and planning increases efficiency by reducing the time it takes to create a comprehensive project plan. Standardized templates and examples help reduce the risk of overlooking critical information or required documentation. In addition, using Salesforce project management templates empowers project managers to focus on completing projects and less on writing documentation.
Salesforce is a well-known, popular customer relationship management CRM tool empowering companies to manage customer relationships and projects, although the project management capabilities of Salesforce are lesser known. Salesforce includes many customizable features making it a valuable tool for small and large businesses. Salesforce does integrate with other software programs providing businesses with many project management options. Before we dive into project management tools that integrate with Salesforce, let’s define the difference between project management and customer relationship management. PM and CRM tools help companies manage data. CRM tools focus on customer data, such as lead tracking and contact management. PM tools feature task and team management functionality.
One of the many advantages of implementing a project management tool that integrates with Salesforce includes the customer’s influence on the projects being managed. Customers define project requirements such as setting budget and deadline parameters. It gives project managers and teams a significant advantage when they can view customer data in the same platform where projects are managed. For example, project managers must complete a statement of work SOW. An SOW is a document used to establish an agreed-upon understanding of what project success looks like for that particular project. Another critical element in a statement of work includes who must sign off on the project. A statement of work in Salesforce gives the project manager access to pertinent customer information eliminating the need to switch between tools to gather information.
Project management training for Salesforce helps managers and teams effectively use Salesforce for all aspects of project management. Salesforce training programs are typically set up with training such as
Salesforce modules, also known as Salesforce clouds, are different parts of the Salesforce tool used to organize the day-to-day management of company-customer interactions and projects. Salesforce modules include Salesforce Customer 360 and Salesforce Service Cloud, among others. In addition, a Salesforce native project management app operates as an advanced project management module within the platform.
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