Every business on the market needs help managing workflows, projects and communications. That means employing project management software of all types. From kanban to Gantt, to communication and collaboration, there are so many tools you need to keep the work flowing effortlessly.
SEE: Hiring kit: Project manager (TechRepublic Premium)
Most of the time, you’ll be using a collection of tools to keep those projects and teams well managed. But knowing which tools to put together can sometimes be a bit of drudgery. Because of that, let’s take a look at two tools you will most likely be selecting from in your efforts to piece together the best project management software combination you can find.
Two of those tools are Trello and Slack.
To pit these two against one another would be unfair, as they both serve different purposes within the realm of best project management tools. However, knowing what Trello and Slack can do for you will help guide you to make the right decision.
With that said, let’s get to the products.
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What is Trello?
Trello is a web-based kanban board (Figure A) and list-making service, developed by Trello Enterprises (a subsidiary of Atlassian). Although Trello does have a fairly low market share (roughly 1.6%), it’s still a very valid option for any business looking to add kanban into their workflow.
Figure A
What is Slack?
Slack (Figure B) is one of the most-used communication/collaboration platforms on the market. With Slack, your teams can easily communicate via dedicated Workspaces and share files to keep everything moving forward in a collaborative effort.
Figure B
What are the main features of Trello?
Trello is all about kanban. Of all the kanban offerings on the market, you’d be hard-pressed to find one that offers a better ratio of user-friendliness and features. Trello doesn’t overwhelm the user with too many options and, instead, keeps everything very relevant to kanban.
As far as kanban is concerned, Trello nails it with easy drag-and-drop cards that offer users quick back and front card overviews with in-line editing, a progress meter checklist, data filters and much more.
If you’ve ever experienced kanban, you owe it to your teams and your company to give Trello a test run. This service is best-in-class in kanban and can help your teams better collaborate and bring a level of efficiency to your project management that you’ve never experienced.
Aside from the straight-up kanban offering, Trello does also offer built-in discussion tools, such as one-to-one chat sessions, group meetings, file sharing and comments. And with Dropbox, Box and Google Drive integration, Trello makes your team collaboration efforts even easier.
But is Trello alone enough? Given the combination of kanban and communication tools, you might think you wouldn’t need to add another piece to the puzzle. That assumption might be on the spot for some. However, the one caveat to using Trello as a single point of contact for project management and communication is that the third-party integration does require a bit of coding knowledge. That’s all fine and good if you have a capable development team on staff. If not, and you need to expand the communication capabilities of Trello, you might be out of luck.
That’s where Slack comes in.
What are the main features of Slack?
Slack is all about communication and collaboration … but not so much about project management. You won’t find a kanban board or Gantt chart in Slack. What you will find is nearly every feature you can imagine for communication/collaboration. With Slack you can break your teams into various workspaces and channels, so you can get really granular on how your teams are laid out.
Team members can communicate in channels, threads and direct messages. They can send files, record and share video/audio clips, and much more. There are so many features found in Slack, that it could easily serve as your only communication/collaboration tool. And if you combine Slack with a kanban board service like Trello, you’re not only meeting your communication/collaboration needs, but your project management needs as well.
Head-to-head comparison
Where Trello is a true workflow management system, Slack is a workplace communication platform. Here’s how the two break down in comparison:
| Trello | Slack |
|---|---|
| Workflow management | Workflow management Workspace communication |
| Multiple workspaces with kanban boards | Workspaces, channels, threads, direct messages |
| Third-party integration with some coding required | Third-party integrations, little to no coding required |
| Can function with Slack using Power-Up | Can function with Trello with the Trello App for Slack |
| Efficient kanban boards | Efficient communication |
| Drag and drop cards and infinite lists | Slash commands and asynchronous communication |
| Plans ranging from free to $17.50/user/month | Plans ranging from free to $12.50/user/month |
Trello vs Slack: Bottom Line
Although you could opt to use Trello as both your project management and communication platform, you’d better serve your teams by employing both services. Why? Because you’d be hard-pressed to beat the Trello kanban boards or the Slack communication tools. By using both of these platforms together, your teams will be more productive and communicative than they’ve ever been.
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Featured project management software
1 Wrike
Tackle complex projects with Wrike’s award-winning project management software. Break projects into simple steps, assign tasks to team members, and visualize progress with Gantt charts, Kanban boards, and calendars. Manage resource allocation and forecasting with software that’s easy to launch. Automation and AI features strip away time-consuming admin tasks so you can do the best work of your life. Streamline your practices, align your team, and ensure you hit deadlines and stay on budget.
2 monday.com
monday.com Work OS is the project management software that helps you and your team plan, execute, and track projects and workflows in one collaborative space. Manage everything from simple to complex projects more efficiently with the help of visual boards, 200+ ready-made templates, clever no-code automations, and easy integrations. In addition, custom dashboards simplify reporting, so you can evaluate your progress and make data-driven decisions.
3 Smartsheet
Smartsheet is an online work execution platform empowering organizations of all sizes to plan, manage, automate, and report on work. Over 80,000 brands rely on Smartsheet for project and work management.
4 Zoho Projects
Zoho Projects is an online project management software that helps teams plan projects and track them efficiently to the finish line. By intuitive reporting of project progress and budget health, the solution enables teams to make quick decisions. Catering to all kinds of teams, Zoho Projects facilitates automating tasks, workflows, and project notifications in a bid to improve productivity.
5 Resource Guru
Resource Guru is the fast, flexible way to schedule teams and keep projects on track. Get full visibility of who’s available and who’s overworked, so people and projects succeed in harmony. Assign work, balance workloads, and edit schedules in seconds. Keep your team up-to-date with personal dashboards and daily schedule emails. Analyze utilization rates, clients, and projects for more accurate forecasts and budgets. Trusted by companies including NASA and L’Oreal. Try it free for 30 days!
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