How can you use the Top 20 report when choosing PM software?

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You receive the green light to invest in a new PM software solution. Your mission is to gain insight into the landscape so you can build a targeted business case and present your findings to senior management.

Your team may not know exactly what capabilities they need in a new solution, their productivity is simply suffering and they need something to automate processes and centralize information.

That's good. At this early stage, don't worry about creating an exhaustive list of "must have" and "nice to have" features. Instead, focus on the problem you want to solve and/or the outcome you want to achieve, and do some preliminary research.

PM Software Evaluation Process
Choosing Project Management Software
Here's how our Top 20 ranking can help you on your software journey:

1. Conduct preliminary market research.

Our Top 20 report should be your first stop on your software marketing with stockholder database selection journey. Use it to understand who the key players are and what standards they set in the market.

When evaluating products in our most popular rankings, consider the following:

Average cost of a license
The general pricing model is products that are priced per user, per team, etc.
How features are distributed across product tiers - what features do vendors include in their "base" offering versus higher-tier products.
Customer Support - Free phone and email support options vs. paid priority support
Training/Help Documentation - Do they have a help center, do they offer setup guides, etc.
2. Collaborate with your team to assess your needs.

Go back to your team with the information you've gathered from our Top 20 report. Now it's time to flesh out your "must-have" and "nice-to-have" features and finalize your tool requirements.

When analyzing needs, consider the following:

Do you need a full-featured PM solution ? Or are you looking for something more focused on task management or collaboration ?
Are the key capabilities your team needs available out of the box or do you require customizations or integrations? For example, adding issue tracking or tickets for the IT team.
Do you have industry-specific needs that require a specialized solution? For example, PM software for HR or marketing versus a general-purpose solution.
How many users need access to the system?
What deployment method are you looking for? i.e. cloud or installed.
3. Make a short list of products that meet your needs.

What's the ideal shortlist? We recommend comparing no more than five to seven products to avoid being overwhelmed.

Platforms offers several resources beyond our Top 20 report to help you find the products that best suit your specific needs. These include:

Interactive PM Catalog : You can filter our catalog by the exact features your team needs. You can also filter by product rating, for example if you only want to see products with four or more stars. Additional filtering options include number of users and deployment options.
List of the leading free and open source PM tools : You may not need a robust solution and can get by with a free or shareware product. Find out what features, support, and training these vendors offer for free.
PM Research Center : We've got everything from FAQs to pricing guides to data on how real users buy and interact with these solutions. Check it out.
4. Check out potential products by reading reviews and product demos.

The review phase is critical to help you narrow down the list to a few products that best suit your needs. Involve stakeholders in the review process, especially the people who will use the tool in their daily lives.

Again, we've got you covered here. Platforms is the leading online resource for business software buyers, and you can read reviews of nearly every PM solution in our catalog .

As you review the products on your shortlist, compare their reviews to those on our top 20 list . Are there more, fewer, or the same number?

If they have the same number or more reviews, it is a sign that the product has an active customer base and is gaining momentum in the market.