Project management software is a tool developers, and development teams can use to help plan, schedule, manage, and track software projects and tasks related to those overarching goals. Project management tools come in a variety of forms, including desktop applications, mobile apps, cloud, and online services, and – more often than not – a combination of all of them. We look at some of the best project management software for developers in 2021 you can use to help shorten the development lifecycle for your software.
Whether you are a lone C# programmer or a team of .Net developers, using a good project management tool can help keep your development projects on track, on time, and under budget. Typical projects include desktop applications, web applications and websites, mobile apps, video games, and virtually any type of software you can imagine – whether for a specific platform, the web, the Internet of Things (IoT), a gaming console, or a cloud service.
What to Look for In Project Management Software
When searching for project management software, project managers for software development teams should be on the lookout for a few pivotal features. Not all PM tools are created equally, and as such, it is important to know which PM software features to keep an eye out for. Here are a few elements to look for:
- File Management: The ability to edit, share, and view files, documents, images, and code is a crucial. In addition, your project management solution should have the capacity to store files as well – either locally or via cloud storage options.
- Task Tracking Tracking tasks that are related to an overall project goal is another critical feature to keep an eye out for.
- Collaboration Tools The ability for teams to chat, send messages, receive emails, and get notifications – in real-time – is another must-have for project management apps.
- Employee Management Employee management involves managing not just employees but their time, workflows, budgets, and resources they need to complete goals.
- Reporting Analyze the progress of tasks, work, bottlenecks preventing task completion, determine where to allocate resources, and measure the overall success of the project.
Project Management Tools for Developers
Below is a list of project management software geared towards developers and software development companies. Some of these tools are geared more towards C#, F#, Visual Basic, and .Net software developers, while others are general purpose PM software.
The project management software gathered here is not listed in any particular order of importance or recommendation.
Microsoft Project
Whether you are working on a simple, one-off software project or a large, enterprise-level platform, Microsoft Project is a project management tool C# devs will benefit from. It checks the box for most of the elements needed to manage software development, including Kanban boards for workflow management, Gantt charts for task scheduling, collaboration and communication tools, a robust reporting system with pre-built templates, and resource management features.
Benefits for C# and .Net developers:
- Integrates with other Microsoft products, including Skype and Office 365. The interface will be familiar to users that rely on Microsoft products, making it easier to learn.
- Heavily supported and reliable.
- Built-in templating system that lets you build a project management framework rapidly.
Price Structure: Prices for Microsoft Project start at $10 per month, per user. Tiers exist at $30 and $55 as well. An on-premise offering is also available in both Standard and Professional editions.
See more about Microsoft Project’s pricing structure.
Azure DevOps
Not surprisingly, Microsoft offers more than one Project Management solution for developers. Azure DevOps – formerly known as Visual Studio Team System (VSTS) is a feature-rich, powerful project management platform that incorporates the philosophy of DevOps – that is, bringing together developers and operation teams to streamline the software development lifecycle.
Benefits for C# and .Net Developers:
- Azure DevOps is a SaaS product, and, as such, developers and project managers do not need to worry about downtime or hassles associated with upgrades. Additionally, DevOps ads new features on a frequent basis – roughly every three weeks, new features are rolled out, adding functionality to an already powerful project management platform.
- Azure DevOps works on any platform – Windows, Linux, and macOS.
- Azure DevOps works with a multitude of languages outside of C#, F#, and Visual Basic, including C, C++, Python, Java, Ruby, PHP, and, of course, .Net.
Pricing Structure: Read more about Azure DevOps project management software pricing.
Wrike Project Management Tool
Trello Project Management
Benefits for C# and .Net Developers:
- Excellent for tracking issues, errors, and bugs in code.
- Designed with Agile development philosophies in mind.
- Built-in version management.
- Excellent technical documentation features.
- Scrum boards, Kanban boards, and roadmaps.
Pricing Structure: You can learn more about Jira project management software pricing structures, including free, standard, premium, and Enterprise packages, on their pricing page. https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira/pricing
Monday.com Project Management Software
While technically a project management tool, Monday.com calls itself product development software. It features over 200 templates for workflows to help developer teams get up and running in a short amount of time and with little training or knowledge. It uses a drag and drop interface with over 30 types of columns that you can customize to map out and track workflows.
On top of the regular features we suggested all PM software should have, Monday.com also has a semi-unique addition – the Apps Marketplace, which lets you try out and – potentially – purchase add-ons to expand Monday.com’s features. Apps are categorized under 14 types, including Collaboration, Reporting, and CRM to name but a few.
Benefits for C# and .Net Developers:
- Tools such as Gannt Charts and Kanban boards.
- Ability to customize your project management software by adding – or not adding – features from the Marketplace.
- Bug tracking, backlogs, product roadmaps, and iteration planning capabilities.
- Integrate tools such as Slack, Zoom, and Google Drive.
Pricing Structure: Monday.com offers five levels of pricing, starting at $0 for two “seats” and working its way up to the Pro level at $16 per seat, per month. There is also an Enterprise version available. For more on pricing, visit: https://monday.com/pricing/.
Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects is another project management tool that offers a solution for software development teams. It offers features centered around developer sprints and includes a CRM, bug tracker, milestone tracking, dependency management, and all of the elements you would expect of a PM tool for programmers.
Like the aforementioned Monday.com, Zoho, too, has a marketplace to add functionality and customize your team’s experience. It also lets you integrate (as most good PM software does) some of your favorite developer tools, such as Dropbox, Jira, GitHub, ZenDesk, and Slack.
Benefits for C# and .Net Developers:
- Customizable workflows and software features that you can tailor to your development team.
- Gannt Charts and task management boards.
- Support for apps and mobile devices.
- Bug tracking, issue management, and dependencies for related tasks that may be bottlenecking.
Pricing Structure: Zoho has three pricing levels, including free (for up to three users), Premium for up to 50 users at $5 per user, per month, and Enterprise level with no upper limit for users, costing $10 oer user, per month.
