Imagine this. You walk into your Monday morning stand-up meeting. Everyone’s there, coffee in hand, smiling. Why are they smiling, on a Monday no less? Because last week’s project was completed early and under budget.

Smiles on a Monday morning is just one sign that your PM solution is working. Here are seven more:

1. Your project schedule is up-to-date and reliable.

When each team member is responsible for updating project progress and communicating changes, your project management solution becomes integrated into your daily work. Your project manager is facilitating the project and working with the team, instead of chasing them for updates.

2. Priorities are clear.

When projects and tasks are organized by priority, you never doubt what you should be working on. A solution that notifies you when priorities change gives you access to the most up-to-date project plan.

3. You know what your team is working on.

At any moment you can see what your team is working on, what they have done this week, and what is coming up. You have complete visibility. You never worry about a project slipping due to a communication error because all project information is in one location.

4. Your project deadlines are realistic.

Your project deadlines are based on ranged estimates that account for uncertainty. At-risk items are flagged so you can react fast. Deadlines are reachable, and you have the data to back that up.

5. New work doesn’t destroy the plan.

With an agile, flexible project management tool, you can easily see if you have the bandwidth to take on more work and who has the flexibility to work on this project. Or, you can use data to explain why a new project needs to be pushed off.

6. Resources are not overbooked.

You know how to reallocate team members when deadlines change. You have the ability to look at each person’s workload and decide who has time to take on more work or if you need to recruit more help.

7. Your relationship with clients and stakeholders is strong.

If you have a reliable project plan, you can give your clients and stakeholders with real information. You can show them why a project will not reach a deadline or what will happen if they make a change to the plan. Rather than guessing or giving false information, you are giving them answers based on data.

So, did you find yourself nodding along? Or does your project management tool leave something to be desired?

Take our project management health check to find out if your project management tool is working for you or against you!