Use teams of different sizes smartsheet to promote collaboration and manage workflows. Is Smartsheet’s spreadsheet format ideal for your software development team’s project management needs? Read on to find out, as we’ll cover Smartsheet’s strengths, weaknesses, and pricing so you can see if it has the PM software features you’re looking for.
What are the pros and cons of Smartsheet project management software?
If you’re comfortable using traditional spreadsheet solutions like Excel and Google Sheets, you’ll be happy to know that Smartsheet offers a similar format. But unlike Excel and Google Sheets, Smartsheet is packed with features that can help you manage multiple projects.
Here’s a look at where Smartsheet excels and falls short for software team developers and project managers.
What are the benefits of Smartsheet?
As you’ll soon see, many features make Smartsheet an attractive choice for PM software, especially spreadsheet enthusiasts.
Unlimited flexibility for project managers
While Smartsheet has many advantages, let’s start with perhaps its most important feature: flexibility. How flexible is Smartsheet? So flexible it could be used to replace many business tools across your organization.
Similar to spreadsheets, this PM software solution allows you to edit spreadsheets according to your needs. For example, you can turn one sheet into a project management tool while others handle campaign tracking, spend, budget tracking, inventory management, and more. You can also use unlimited sheets and custom fields, as well as multiple views.
With so many possible combinations, you can leverage Smartsheet’s PM capabilities across your organization. And when you’re done, you can use it to replace other tools to streamline your processes and get everyone on the same page.
While this style of spreadsheet isn’t for everyone, it’s Smartsheet’s versatility and flexibility that might win many over, as there really are no limits to using this PM software.
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Powerful automation
What’s one of the top reasons teams use project management software? Save time and increase efficiency, which Smartsheet can achieve with its wealth of automation tools.
You’ll find automation tools in many project management software offerings, but those found in Smartsheet are at a different level. Whether you’re looking for automation tools, connectors, integrations, smart workflows, etc., you’ll find it here. And while these tools are incredibly powerful, they’re surprisingly easy to use.
Smartsheet features a drag-and-drop builder that allows you to create time-saving automations in minutes. You don’t have to be basic either, as the builder allows you to create advanced workflows since it uses basic logic, triggers, and conditional paths.
Robust reporting
Smartsheet offers robust reports that users, managers, and admins are sure to love. With just a few clicks or taps, you can consolidate key data from multiple sheets into a single report. With this easy-to-use reporting, Smartsheet makes it easy for teams to improve by highlighting bottlenecks and trends.
While Smartsheet makes it easy to generate reports, it also makes it easy to share them with colleagues, collaborators in other departments, or stakeholders. And to keep you in the loop, Smartsheet also lets you see who is accessing reports through the activity log.
Outdated information can render reports unusable. To avoid this, Smartsheet updates report changes in real time. When someone edits a report, you’ll see it immediately on the attached sheets.
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Extended functionality
If you don’t mind paying a premium, Smartsheet gives you the option to extend the software’s functionality well beyond standard project management. And before you scoff at the thought of additional costs, know that this is a better option than having to buy another project management tool altogether.
Here are some add-ons and perks that Smartsheet offers to teams looking to get more out of their PM software:
- resource management
- portfolio management
- Digital Wealth Management
- time tracking
- project portfolio management
- Advanced reporting and analysis
- project budgeting
- forecasting tools
Solid collaboration
While Smartsheet markets itself as project management software, it also goes by the title “Dynamic Work and Collaboration Software”. Its features stay true to that title, as Smartsheet lets teams collaborate via tasks, notes, and file shares so no one is left behind.
When multiple team members need to work on a single project, they can do so by sharing PDFs, images, and presentations that come complete with version control, notifications, and customizable approvals. Speaking of customizable, Smartsheet’s collaborative features are just that. To avoid clutter, you can remove the collaboration features you don’t need and keep the ones you do.
Read: What is agile project management software?
Secure data
Smartsheet security is enterprise-grade with features like single sign-on, secure data centers, two-factor authentication, AES 256-bit encryption at rest, and more. And while these features can keep unauthorized access at bay, Smartsheet can also alleviate your privacy and security compliance concerns because it is HIPAA, FERPA, ISO, GDPR, ITAR, and SOC compliant.
What are the disadvantages of Smartsheet?
Smartsheet has many features that make it worthy of being your PM software of choice. However, it has some disadvantages like those listed below.
Spreadsheet based project management tool
While spreadsheet fans will enjoy Smartsheet’s format, others may find it limiting, particularly those looking to implement specific project management methods. For example, since everything on Smartsheet is spreadsheet-based, agile teams want to use it Kanban Boards might feel left out.
Can you change views in Smartsheet? Sure, but at the end of the day spreadsheets are the foundation here.
A bit of a learning curve
Even if you’re experienced with spreadsheets, you might find that Smartsheet takes a bit of getting used to. The user interface is not always considered intuitive, making it difficult to graph and analyze data right out of the box.
You cannot analyze sheets on site. Instead, you have to search through rows and columns manually, which can take a lot of time.
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Activity log is missing
Smartsheet’s activity log lags behind other PM software. Yes, you can use it to see what’s been shared and viewed, but it doesn’t provide a quick overview of what’s happened since you last logged in. In order to get the information you want, you need to do some work that you may find tedious.
Suppose you want to see the full history of a cell. To get this information you need to navigate to the cell, right click and view the history instead of seeing it all at once.
costs
On the surface, Smartsheet doesn’t cost a pretty dime as you can start with the Pro version for $7 per user per month. However, when you compare what Smartsheet offers for this price versus other PM software, it may fall short. In other words, Smartsheet may not give you the best bang for your buck depending on the needs of your software development team.
What are Smartsheet’s pricing?
Smartsheet is offered through three pricing plans. The Pro plan is the cheapest at $7 per user per month. It allows teams to manage, track, and collaborate on key PM software features.
The Business plan costs $25 per user per month. It offers everything the Pro plan offers, plus enhanced program, project, and process management features with unlimited automated workflows. The Business plan also allows for basic integrations with Skype, Slack, Microsoft Teams, etc.
Smartsheet’s final offering is the Enterprise plan, which includes all the features of the PM software along with enhanced IT governance and management. To get pricing for this plan, you must contact Smartsheet directly.
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