Teamwork is a developer of software for company and project management. They create tools for team management, help desks, communication, customer relationship management (CRM), and content collaboration workspaces.
In 2007, Daniel Mackey and Peter Coppinger created Teamwork due to their frustration with existing project management tools. Teamwork released their flagship software, Teamwork Project Manager, in the same year under the URL TeamworkPM.net. In 2015, they obtained the rights to Teamwork.com and rebranded it as Teamwork Projects.
Although experiencing slow growth during the rise of cloud computing, teamwork has undergone significant growth in the past decade and is now considered one of the top project management solutions available. In 2021, the company based in Cork, Ireland, secured its first round of funding worth nearly $70 million. Since its launch 15 years ago, Teamwork has accumulated over 4 million users and 20,000 teams as clients.
Teamwork overview
Teamwork can be accessed by teams of various sizes through a free trial, free plan, or business SaaS subscription. The Teamwork platform is accessible via the company’s website, desktop application, or mobile application on the Apple and Google Play stores for iOS and Android devices.
Start with the Teamwork desktop or mobile application
On the Teamwork homepage, individuals can sign up using a business email address, their full name, and a password. Upon registration, individuals are required to select from a choice of 21 industry sectors, specify their team size, role, company name, and provide a phone number. Lastly, the remaining set of prompts pertains to platform objectives such as project management, team capacity, client management, and initiating a first project by adding tasks and selecting various views.
Teamwork features and capabilities
Import existing project data
Users can open the import engine by selecting “import tasks” from the project administrative menu. After selecting this option, users will be prompted to choose from departmental or project-based templates, such as client services, user onboarding, and product management. The purpose of these templates is to ensure that the uploaded data meets Teamwork’s project parameters.
Teamwork overview
Teamwork offers a range of options for different team sizes, including a free trial, a free plan, and a business SaaS subscription. By accessing the company’s website, desktop application, or mobile application on iOS and Android devices available on the Apple and Google Play stores, teams can utilize the Teamwork platform.
Start with the Teamwork desktop or mobile application
On the Teamwork homepage, individuals have the option to sign up using their business email address, full name, and password. Those who are new to the platform are required to make decisions regarding 21 industry sectors, team size, role, company name, and phone number. Lastly, the subsequent set of prompts focuses on platform objectives, such as project management, team capacity, client management, initiating the first project, adding tasks, and choosing from various views.
Teamwork features and capabilities
Import existing project data
By selecting “import tasks” from the project administrative menu, users can access the import engine. Afterwards, users are given the option to choose departmental or project-based templates, such as client services, user onboarding, and product management. These templates guarantee that the uploaded data adheres to Teamwork’s project parameters.
The import preview ( Figure D ) only had one problem, which was with team member names. Instead of accepting them, the program asked for a valid email address. This requirement is common among most project management platforms, but can be inconvenient for teams who are just experimenting with a PM solution instead of fully committing to it.
After the import was finalized, the Teamwork platform first made a few columns hidden, which could be easily made visible by toggling. However, the imported outcomes did not include the values of the columns that I modified from “Duration” to “Estimated Time.” In my spreadsheet, this specific column indicated the number of days between the starting and ending dates, but it is clear that Teamwork utilizes the “Estimated Time” column to monitor tasks down to the hours and minutes.
Collect and visualize data and collaborate across project perspective
The initial sight of imported project data presents itself in the form of a recognizable Table view that closely resembles a spreadsheet.
The tasks are grouped into sprints in this view, with each task (row) containing values based on the imported fields.
The ability to select from 16 pre-existing column values is provided to users, but the option to “Add Custom Field” restricts users to five value types: text, number, date, status, and dropdown. While this selection is satisfactory, other platforms offer greater versatility by providing distinct field values.
Users have the ability to drag and drop tasks between different sections (sprints) and perform actions such as opening task details or marking a task as complete by using the checkmark. From the task profile, teams can collaborate by creating subtasks and dependencies, as well as adding comments and files. Initially, I faced difficulty in making existing tasks a subtask of another row. However, I discovered that by creating a subtask under the relevant parent task, users can then drag other tasks to be positioned under the newly designated parent task.
Upon initial observation, other pre-set tabs are also present.
- List view: View all tasks in a simple, collapsible list.
- Board view: View tasks as cards scattered across lanes in a Kanban-style board.
- Dashboard: Track project data with widgets displaying pertinent metrics.
- Files: Upload and organize files for project use, or import files from a third-party application.
- Time: View, add, and change time entries for tasks (see section on Time tracking ).
- Milestones: Designate target dates as milestones for project objectives.
- Forms: Create and customize forms for data collection sent to project tables.
In terms of adding tabs for messages or comments, a Gantt chart, notebooks, links, people, settings, and finance, teams are provided with supplementary choices.
Pros & cons of Teamwork
Teamwork advantages and benefits
- Free 30-day trial for Deliver and Grow subscriptions, and an unlimited free plan.
- Platform emphasis and dedicated tools for time tracking and workload management.
- Visualize project data and metrics, configure reports, and share via PDF, CSV, or Excel.
- Bulk edit sections and selected tasks to ease assigning pertinent details and docs.
- Access to a handful of built-in Teamwork apps and critical third-party tools.
Teamwork disadvantages
- Must invite team members to the platform before incorporating into tasks.
- Modifications can take a few moments to change before becoming visible.
- Some platform processes require additional learning and could be more intuitive.
- Edit user notifications settings or get ready for a barrage of emails.
Conclusion
- Growing project management platform with a powerful feature stack.
- Extensive team management and contract work tracking capabilities.
- Affordable plans for capabilities that compete with the best in PM software.
Teamwork stands out among competitors in the project management platform market due to its emphasis on time and workload management. While it shares many capabilities with other platforms, what sets Teamwork apart is its unique ability to provide detailed granularity in setting expected time, tracking efforts, and analyzing differences. This distinguishing feature is unparalleled in a crowded marketplace of solutions.
When comparing Teamwork’s subscriptions to other leading project management tools, they fall within the middle to high price range. In my opinion, the capabilities of Teamwork more than justify its price level.
Although the platform doesn’t directly target Agile teams, it provides many of the same tools as its competitors who focus on software development teams. This versatility allows teams from various industries and functions to acknowledge its benefits.
What features to look for in team management software
When it comes to team management and productivity, there are countless single-function tools available. However, we believe small businesses should consider choosing comprehensive team management solutions that offer a flexible workspace and include most, if not all, of the necessary features in one package.
By thinking in a systematic way, you can rephrase the following text without changing its meaning: “This approach helps your team prevent frequent tool switching and managing multiple login details, and it can also be a cost-effective alternative to multiple subscriptions, which can become expensive rapidly.”
When considering the features you require from your team management software, it is important to have a clear understanding of your budget limitations and, most importantly, the specific needs of your team. With that in mind, here are several essential features that you should anticipate in a comprehensive team management tool that is worthy of your consideration.
- Team messaging: An instant messaging system lets team members strike up productive conversations wherever they happen to be. Team chat allows users to communicate one-on-one or as part of a wider group discussion. For example, RingCentral’s desktop and mobile app lets you message both individual teammates and project- or interest-specific groups
- File sharing and editing: Most team management tools integrate file sharing and editing into the team messaging system itself (which beats sending emails back and forth!). This makes sure that everyone on a project has immediate access to important data. Even better if your team management app integrates with file storage tools like Dropbox and Box:
- Video conferencing: Even though video conferencing isn’t a standard feature of all team management apps, we’d argue that it shouldn’t be considered a luxury add-on. Among other things, the ability to arrange a video call with your teammates at a moment’s notice is a key component to managing most types of teams—and gives you the benefits of face-to-face communication even when your team is distributed around the world
- Task management: A built-in task management system lets you assign individual or shared tasks, update stakeholders, and monitor the progress of teamwide projects.
- Search: Most team management solutions will let you search your archive by name or keyword so that you can instantly surface vital information
- Third-party integrations: The best team management solutions will offer integrations and sync with other popular workplace apps so that you don’t have to copy and paste details and dates constantly between all your tools.
Given that there may be a need for only certain features in your team management software, it is important to consider your current and desired methods of managing your team.
If you prefer, you can have regular individual meetings with them and discuss projects. In this case, it would be convenient to have a video conferencing feature integrated into your team management solution. Alternatively, if you are busy, it may be simpler to just message your team to inquire about project updates.
