Project Management Then & Now (Infographic)
From the construction of our earliest buildings to putting a man on the moon, project managers have guided countless human achievements. And while the basic process of planning and initiating a project may not have changed all that much over the years, the full discipline of project management has transformed dramatically over just the last few decades. What’s changed between 1950 and 2015, and what does it mean for current and future project managers? Take a look at the infographic below to find out: Share this infographic with your fellow project managers with this embed code: Infographic brought to you by Wrike
What Is a Gantt Chart for Project Management? (Infographic)
Today, Gantt charts are a staple tool in project management software. They show up in project binders, on boardroom walls, and in project management plans — all because they are able to visually convey what would take paragraphs of boring text. But who invented them? What makes them beneficial for project planning? And what are the useful parts of every Gantt chart? Try Wrike for free Below we've put together an infographic to explain what is a Gantt chart, how it came to be, and why it's an awesome management tool that isn't going away anytime soon. Feel free to download it now and share it with your social networks, or read on for some more information about this ever-popular tool. What is a Gantt chart? Put simply, a Gantt chart is a visual tool used in project management that provides an illustrative timeline for tasks or activities involved in a project. Named after its inventor, Henry Gantt, this chart is essentially a horizontal bar chart that displays project tasks against a timeline. Each task is represented by a bar; the position and length of the bar reflect the start date, duration, and end date of the task. Gantt charts can also show dependencies between tasks, i.e., how the tasks are interconnected. This visual representation aids project managers in scheduling, managing, and communicating the project plan, making Gantt charts an essential tool in effective project management. The evolution of Gantt charts in project management Gantt charts have evolved significantly since their inception. Initially, they were used as a basic visual tool to track the progress of tasks. However, with the advent of digital project management software, Gantt charts have transformed into dynamic and interactive tools. Modern Gantt chart software now offers features such as real-time updates, drag-and-drop adjustments, and integration with other project management tools. This evolution has made Gantt charts and Gantt chart software an indispensable part of 21st-century project management. The benefits of Gantt charts in project management Gantt charts for project planning offer a visual overview of projects, enhancing planning and scheduling. They illustrate task dependencies, aiding in sequencing activities and identifying potential bottlenecks. By promoting transparency, they improve communication among team members and stakeholders. Gantt charts facilitate efficient resource allocation, preventing over or under-utilization. Moreover, they serve as a reliable tool for tracking progress and keeping everyone informed about accomplishments and upcoming tasks. They're a great tool for successful project management. If you’re wondering how to use a Gantt chart for project management, learn more about Wrike’s award-winning Gantt chart software here. Ready to try for yourself? Start your two-week trial now. Try Wrike for free
How to Figure Out If You're a Workaholic (Infographic)
Are you always working late into the night? Or pushing yourself to work hard because you want constant recognition by coworkers? Is it all to the detriment of your personal relationships? If so, you just might be a workaholic. Psychology Today calls workaholism "a soul-destroying addiction that changes people's personality and the values they live by." Here at Wrike, we call it the disease of the "working dead." Because we don't want you to roam the office hallways with carpal tunnel syndrome, glassy eyes, and moaning "brainsss," we put together this quick quiz to help you discover if you are on the road to becoming a workaholic. Find out now, and pump the breaks if you're going down the wrong path! Share this infographic quiz with your coworkers who are teetering on the edge of workaholism. And use this embed code if you want to share it on your blog: Infographic brought to you by Wrike If you prefer not to manually total your score, then take our interactive version of the quiz to get your results quickly: Working Too Hard? Maybe You Just Need Lunch If you feel you're on track to becoming a full-fledged workaholic, you may want to take one small step toward making a change in your life. Here's one tip: actually use your lunch hour. And no, eating at your desk doesn't count (we're onto you!) Go out, grab a bite, enjoy a walk, and don't check your work messages for a solid 20-30 minutes. Workaholic instincts making you wary of stepping away from your desk for that long? This blog post explains why you need to give yourself a real break during the workday: 7 Reasons to Bring Back the Lunch Break.
How to Know Which Way of Working is Right For You (Infographic)
The Covid-19 pandemic forced a record number of offices to send their employees into remote working, but as the number of people vaccinated is increasing, offices are reopening and many employees are now faced with a difficult choice. Should they continue to work remotely, return to the office a few days each week, or return to the office full-time? If your employer has given you the option to choose, here’s how to know which way to work is right for you.
Why Every Team Needs Work Management Tools (Infographic)
Do you know how many minutes you and your team waste every day? I'm not talking about those "Oops, how did I end up on Facebook again?" occasions; I'm talking about the time wasted on inefficient work: Scouring through email looking for documents Accidentally using outdated information, causing necessary rework Waiting for someone to send you the information you need Answering "Can I ask you a quick question?" desk interruptions It's estimated that 25% of the average worker's day is wasted on inefficient work. That's huge. If you work an 8-hour day, that's 2 hours wasted every day. ...10 hours per week. ...520 hours per year. Do the math and you're paying the average worker for 65 days (over three months of work!) of "info gathering" every year. For every employee in your company. Shocked yet? Read more on the challenges teams and managers are facing in today's workforce in the infographic below: New work management tools are helping teams cut out these inefficiencies, so we can stop spending so much time on "info gathering" and start putting our time into actually getting work done. Whether you're a manager or a team member, it's time to help your company perform better. Try our work management tool free for the next two weeks, and challenge your team to get more done every day. Start a free 2-week trial of Wrike for your team now You can share this infographic on your blog. Copy and paste this embed code: Infographic brought to you by Wrike
The Ultimate Return-to-Work Checklist for Employees (Infographic)
As the COVID-19 pandemic eases with the acceleration of vaccine rollouts, companies across the globe are preparing to welcome employees back to the office. Organizational departments such as HR, IT, and people operations will be following individual checklists to ensure all bases are covered when the physical workplace reopens. This includes introducing cleaning procedures, creating temporary schedules, and informing employees of return-to-work protocols. But what about the employees themselves? What can you expect when you return to the office and how can you prepare yourself for this new situation? Luckily, we’ve prepared a return-to-work checklist for you to follow.
Top 20 Threats to Startup Success (Infographic)
You put everything into your business: your time, your talents, your money — whatever it takes to make your startup a success. But you’re all too familiar with the scary statistics: half of all new businesses fail within the first five years, and for every successful entrepreneur, there are plenty who wish things had turned out differently. If only you could ask them what they’d change if they could go back in time — or what they learned from their experiences. Well you’re in luck: this infographic collects research by CB Insights to distill 101 startup postmortems into the 20 most common reasons new businesses fail. Get priceless advice on how to make your business a success—and what to watch out for—straight from the founders themselves. Source: Lance Surety Bonds Set Your Business Up for Success If you’re an entrepreneur (or thinking of becoming one) check out our other startup resources, then start a free trial of Wrike to get your business running efficiently and boost your bottom line.
Join the Agile Marketing Revolution! (Infographic)
Is your team a lean, mean, Agile marketing machine? In today’s digital age, responsiveness and adaptability are essential for creative teams. Join your marketing comrades and take up the Agile cause! Revolutionize the way you build campaigns, capitalize on the latest trends, and capture your audience’s attention by following this Agile Marketing Manifesto. Check out the infographic below for Agile axioms that will help you adjust to change, attract stronger leads, and work as a dynamic team. Source: Space Chimp Media Is your marketing team ready for the advantages of Agile? Or are you already a standard-bearer for the movement? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Give Your Creativity a Boost Using the B.U.I.L.D. Model (Infographic)
"Creativity is the process of having original ideas that have value. It is a process; it's not random." —Ken Robinson Using your imagination can sometimes be easier said than done. As a kid, being creative comes with ease and encouragement. As an adult, it becomes more of an expectation. Sometimes, that creative block can get the best of you and you're stuck thinking in circles. You seek inspiration but just find yourself retreading the same boring ideas. As a writer, I've had to (ironically) be creative about being creative. I came up with the B.U.I.L.D model to help me break through creative blocks and soldier on with the typing. Take a look at the infographic below for all the details on B.U.I.L.D. and start using it yourself: Share this infographic with your creative colleagues using this embed code: Infographic brought to you by Wrike What other ways do you use to jumpstart your creativity? Be creative in the comments! Related Reads: 16 Simple Motivation Tips to Get More Done (Infographic) 5 Ways Creative Teams Can Boost Productivity How to Better Foster Creativity on Teams
Understanding the 5 Different Leadership Styles
Here's an infographic explaining the 5 most general leadership styles, each with a famous leader known for that style, and each listing strengths and weaknesses. Once you figure out which style your manager uses, it just might make it easier to improve your working relationship with him or her.
10 Elements of a Successful Content Marketing "Engine" (Infographic)
Content marketing is critical component of many companies' marketing strategies. For those who are trying to build up what I call a "content engine" or for those who are looking to do a tune-up on their marketing vocabulary, this infographic provides ten areas that need to be addressed. Use the infographic below to understand the areas and to assess your company's situation with regards to content marketing. Which areas need the most attention? You can share this infographic with your team! Share this post, or copy the embed code below to put it on your site: Infographic brought to you by Wrike Which areas are the hardest to fix? Let us know in the comments!
Trends in Modern Project Delivery (Infographic)
Wrike and ProjectManagement.com conducted a survey to determine emerging trends in project delivery today, and how organizations are staying successful. Here are our four recommendations for success along with survey-based insights.
Anatomy of a Tech Startup Team (Infographic)
There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all blueprint for a successful tech startup team. As most founders are well aware, good hiring is a lot more complicated than simply plugging people into a cookie cutter org chart. But blindly guessing which positions you need isn't exactly a stellar hiring strategy, either. Having a general idea of the roles and responsibilities you should cover as you scale can help you build a balanced team with all the talents you need. Use our new infographic as a guide to hire key roles for your growing tech startup: Share this infographic with other tech startup founders using this embed code:
Should Your Business Go Agile? (Infographic)
Agile is everywhere. It’s more than a software development method — it’s become an ideology. What started as an approach to managing single projects is now a set of guiding principles for cutting-edge businesses. An Agile business doesn’t just endure change, it embraces change as an integral part of its business strategy. And in doing so, it can instantly take advantage of new opportunities and capitalize on sudden trends. So what are the benefits of Agile? This infographic covers the top reasons businesses adopt Agile strategies, the most common obstacles and concerns, and the biggest benefits. The Agile Enterprise 37% of survey respondents say they chose Agile to accelerate time to market. 36% cite the ability to adapt to changing priorities as the main reason they went Agile. 27% adopted Agile in order to increase productivity. Top barrier to Agile adoption is an unwillingness to change organizational structure. 66% of businesses say Agile increases their velocity and helps them complete projects faster than before. Check out the infographic for additional details, including the average size of companies using Agile, common concerns, Agile management and business strategies, and more. Source: Gist Are you considering Agile for your next project? We’ve got some helpful resources for you! Learn the ins and outs of Agile with our Quick-Start Guide to Methodologies, and get the essentials on the most popular Agile approach.
The Makeup of a Happy Employee (Infographic)
Happy employees are an invaluable asset to any company. They radiate positivity, camaraderie, and tend to stick around for a while. We partnered with Atomik Research to survey 4,000 workers across the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the United States. Check out our findings in the infographic below.
40% More Efficient: Wrike Customers On The Productivity Software Features That Help Them Do Their Best Work
What are some of the daily tools you use to be more productive? Whether it’s a simple pen-and-paper to-do list or an expansive work management software, we all have our go-to solutions for getting work done more efficiently. When it comes to achieving productivity goals, Wrike customers unlock their teams’ potential with features like in-context proofing, timeline and resource management, and workflow automation. As the global workforce has migrated to a more flexible, hybrid-focused way of doing their jobs, we’ve come to rely on software more than ever to help us get more done. There are many challenges to working in a hybrid model, including communication breakdowns, workflow silos, and challenges in keeping up with processes and best practices. With this in mind, we wanted to share the features our customers use to combat these unique obstacles. Who has Wrike helped to be more productive? Wrike has helped over 20,000 organizations worldwide address their productivity challenges and do the best work of their lives, all with our intuitive work management platform. Our customers include household names like Fitbit, Sony Pictures Television, and Nickelodeon, who have all used Wrike’s features in different ways to leverage their teams’ incredible skills. Let’s take, for example, Sony Pictures Television, one of the world’s leading television content providers, with teams in every region of the globe. With such a widespread workforce, Sony found it challenging to scale and manage projects between teams, searching for over a year to find a tool that was flexible enough to manage work across different time zones, work styles, and team structures. With Wrike’s unique features, such as real-time reports, personalized dashboards, and Gantt charts and table views, Sony was able to reduce project delivery times by 40% and reduce their email time by 90%. Which Wrike features can help my team be more efficient? Wrike’s features enable teams in any industry, anywhere, to work together as one — no matter their individual goals or working styles. Users can customize their dashboards and workflows to suit them, enabling teams to fine-tune their processes and get more done, quicker. Features like workflow automation and our 400+ app integrations increase efficiency by simplifying request intake processes and eliminating productivity killers like task and context switching. How much time per day does your team waste searching for a document in an email thread or transferring files between multiple platforms so that different people can add their edits? With Wrike, teams can work on projects in one accessible, centralized hub. Our in-context proofing features mean every team, from creative to HR, can add their insight, without losing any valuable information and feedback. Wrike provides 360° visibility instantly, which is invaluable for team leaders who feel like their workload may be spiraling out of control. Choose how you visualize upcoming projects, tasks and deadlines, and see each member of your team’s dashboards for their individual workloads — making it easier to delegate and streamline from the very beginning. Struggling with request intake across teams? Custom request forms gather details, auto-create, and auto-assign tasks to the right team member, every time — no more confusion over who should handle what. Resource management in Wrike is simplified, too. Shared team calendars allow everyone to see where deadlines and milestones lie, while time-tracking allows users to clearly show how their workload is distributed. Use Wrike’s advanced analytics to monitor progress and team performance, with real-time updates and insights as the project progresses. How can Wrike help me to communicate better with my team? Breakdowns in communication can be one of the most common and debilitating challenges that a team can face during a project. From endless emails to muddled chat threads, the stress of finding the right information, or being unable to reach the right person, can leave teams feeling a lack of motivation to do their best work. With Wrike’s collaborative features, this is a thing of the past. @mentions, real-time editing and updates, and email and chat app integrations allow teams to have one source of truth to communicate from. Rest easy with the knowledge that your project’s deliverables are all being worked on in one place, with input from every relevant team member clearly displayed. Focusing on clear communication allows teams to feel heard and valued, which leads to increased productivity and motivation. Just how much can Wrike help with my organization’s productivity? Need some numbers? We hear you. Check out the below infographic to find out just how much time and effort Wrike can save you on your future projects. Want to find out more about how Wrike can help your team boost its productivity? Take a look at our free two-week trial.
Should We Have This Meeting? (Infographic Decision Tree)
So many corporate employees spend their workday bouncing from meeting to meeting. In many organizations, the de facto method of getting anything done has been: "Let's meet about it." In the spirit of eliminating unnecessary activities to increase productivity, use this handy meeting "go vs. no go" decision tree. And please share it with your manager or overly-dependent-on-meetings colleagues! Share this infographic on your blog with this embed code: Infographic brought to you by Wrike You can also download the PDF of this infographic to print or share with your colleagues. Which meeting do you plan to eliminate? Let us know in the comments; we support you!
How to Set Up Your Workspace for Maximum Productivity (Infographic)
Take a moment to look at your desk. Are there piles of papers and scribbled notes? Crumpled granola bar wrappers? Photos of loved ones? Cold cups of coffee? Most of us have experienced firsthand how our work environment affects our ability to focus, but it can be difficult to know exactly how you should set up your workspace for optimum productivity. This infographic covers everything from color therapy and helpful music to desk-friendly exercises to help you create an ideal work environment. Check it out! Source: Davitt Corporate Psychology More Resources to Enhance Your Productivity Pick up more quick tips that will help you get things done in our infographic: 50 Productivity Tips to Boost Your Brainpower. Then start a free trial of Wrike to organize all your tasks and burn through your to-dos in record time. Read Next: Free eBook: What Doesn't Kill You Makes You More Productive 20 Top Productivity Apps for Your Mobile Device How Writing Down Your Goals Helps Increase Productivity
Customers Share How Much Time and Money They Save With Wrike (Infographic)
Wondering how much companies save when they choose Wrike? By empowering their teams with the most versatile work management platform, companies like Fitbit, Nickelodeon, Siemens, Aerotek, and Arvig see huge gains in productivity, project speed, and cost savings. An effective work management platform can do more than just help you manage your to-do list. Wrike customers are leveraging the power of automation, resource management, and 400+ integrations to embrace agility and scale across global teams and departments. Wrike saves companies thousands each year and hundreds of productive hours Wrike helps teams communicate effectively, collaborate from anywhere, and accomplish more in less time — but what does that look like in practical terms? For some of our customers across industries and sizes, that’s: 250% more projects managed (Arvig) $832,000 saved over three years (House of Design) 400 hours of meeting time saved (Fitbit) Wrike customers can amplify time savings, supercharge team productivity, and unlock speedier project delivery no matter their size or industry. Still need more convincing? Check out our infographic below to learn more about the ROI of Wrike and how companies save more, do more, and grow more with our flexible work management tools and features. Ready to discover the productivity benefits of choosing Wrike? Try our savings calculator to see how much you could regain in productive hours and money. Learn firsthand why 2 million+ users worldwide trust Wrike to help them do the best work of their lives. Try our free two-week trial and experience flexible, intuitive, all-in-one work management designed with productive teams in mind.
How to Build a Buyer Persona That Converts (Infographic)
As a marketer, it's your responsibility to send the right people to your sales team and "lego" of the bad ones. You must learn as much as possible about your audience, so you can connect to people's needs on a more personal level and share your solution. Unfortunately, getting to that point can be tricky; the required market research and figuring out what is marketing performance for your product is time-consuming and painful to maintain. Use our five tips to help you easily build ideal buyer personas, so you can make sure your marketing materials attract the right audience. A lot of the work can be done just by walking around the office! Like this infographic? You can share it on your blog with this embed code: Infographic brought to you by Wrike Apply the Power of Marketing Ops to Your Business If you’re ready to sharpen your marketing efforts and attain better results, download our free guide, 5 Steps to Transforming Marketing Operations for Maximum Growth. You'll find tips on delivering an exceptional customer experience, selecting the right tools to support your marketing efforts, and the key metrics you should use to fuel your success.
The Effect of Agile on Marketing Teams (Infographic)
We recently surveyed over 800 marketers regarding work management, cross-department collaboration struggles, technology integration satisfaction, and how Agile methodologies are helping them improve flexibility and collaboration across their teams.