So, is Google project management software a real thing?
No…
But in a sense, yes.
Let us explain:
Google doesn’t have full-fledged software dedicated to project management. But it does offer certain apps that cater to specific project management needs to some extent.
These Google project management tools are widely used by organizations for team collaboration, document management, and more.
But the question is, does your organization even need these Google project management apps?
In this article, we’ll discuss the advantages of using different Google apps, whether they actually help with project management, and highlight a dedicated tool that can fix all their flaws.
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Let’s get started.
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Are The Different Google Project Management Apps?
So does Google have project management software?
Kind of.
The name is Suite…G-Suite.
G-Suite (now known as Google Workspace) is a collection of Google project management tools. And it’s free for all Google app users.
It’s important to note that each of them has their own drawbacks (more on that later), so we’re going to highlight how a project management tool like ClickUp can help you boost their functionality.
PS: ClickUp is a project management tool that teams at Google use!
Here’s a look at each of these Google apps:
1. Google Sheets
Most of us are aware of this app.
Google Sheets is a spreadsheet software, something like Microsoft Excel, albeit a little less intimidating!
What makes it unique is that it’s cloud-based.
Your team can edit and collaborate in real-time on a Google Sheet, and all your data and edits exist in one place, even if your team is remote! 50% of employed Americans feel that checking emails throughout the day is distracting and doesn’t make them more productive. Using a Google Sheet reduces notification and email overload, boosting productivity and keeping your team focused.
This means you won’t have to see another project file named ‘Final Excel Sheet v4.0’ on your desktop.
Phew!
But how does it help with project management?
Your entire team can use a shared Google spreadsheet to create task lists and a detailed project plan that all your team members can view.
That’ll give them an idea of the aim of the project and how to go about it; so you can carry out project planning and collaboration through a Google sheets calendar.
You can also create dashboards on Google Sheets to get an overview of the entire project, though it will require a bit of manual work.
What can’t you do with Google Sheets?
Let’s let the cat out of the bag.
Google Sheets is just a spreadsheet, and it’s not designed for managing projects. That means there aren’t to-do lists, no task scheduler, no project tracker, nothing.
It’s like trying to build a house with a single hammer and a nail!
It just isn’t going to work.
However, what can work is Clickup’s Embed view.
Here, you can easily access Google Sheets without having to leave a fully functional project management tool like ClickUp.
However, if you still need an alternative, ClickUp’s Table view has got you covered. It’s like a cross between a spreadsheet and a task management tool.
Here’s what you can do:
- View task details in one glance such as status, assignee, due date, priorities, etc.
- Select and tasks in bulk
- Pin and hide columns
- Export data from with ease
Scan large amounts of information with ClickUp’s Table view
Not convinced? Learn more about the pros and cons of Google Sheets project management.
2. Google Docs
This word-processing tool supports real-time editing that makes it one of the best collaborative document tools.
How does it help with project management?
All your team members have access to a single Google Doc where they can all add their edits, comments, etc.
All of this, in real-time!
So what can’t you do with Google Docs?
Google Docs doesn’t let you manage tasks. It’s all about creating and editing documents. The most you can do is create a project plan.
It’s frustrating, but you’ll have to use another software to help you manage your tasks and projects.
Luckily ClickUp has Docs that can handle your tasks too!
With ClickUp Docs, you can create and collaborate on documents while storing them all in one place.
Related Guides 👉 Gantt charts in Google Docs & Creating a Timeline in Google Docs
Here are a few things that ClickUp Docs can do (that Google Docs can’t):
- Create and assign tasks within Docs
- Review relationships for the page you’re on or relationships for an entire document
- Quickly access Templates from the right sidebar
- Activate Focus mode to direct attention to a single sentence, line, or paragraph within a Doc
- Reformat a page by dragging and dropping blocks, including banners, checklist items, tables, and more
Drag and drop blocks to reformat your Doc
And if you still can’t part with Google Docs, you can always access it from within ClickUp using the Embed view too!
Check out these Google Docs alternatives.
3. Google Drive
Google Drive is where you get to store and organize all the Google Docs and other files and projects. It offers you 15GB of free storage space with offline capabilities.
So what can you do with Google Drive?
You can access the Google Drive files from any device, at any time, at any place.
How does it help with project management?
It lets you organize files into folders and subfolders for better project structuring.
You can also share your Google Drive folders with team members, stakeholders…anyone, really.
Where does it fall short?
Google Drive is limited to just storing and managing documents.
You can’t create and assign tasks within the Drive, nor can you use it to create reports.
You can however, add your Google Drive folders to your ClickUp Workspace to ensure all your files are in the same place as your projects.
4. Google Slides
Google Slides can be used to create visually appealing presentations.
In fact, Google Slides and Microsoft Powerpoint are like siblings.
And just like every pair of siblings, there’s one who’s always better at everything.
In this case, it’s Powerpoint (sorry Slides!)
But how does it help in project management?
Using Google Slides, you can sketch out your vision of the project using diagrams, tables, and other visual tools.
What can’t you do with Google Slides?
Slides has very few templates, transition effects, and special effects when compared to its successful older brother.
This can be a problem if you want to create a dazzling and creative presentation.
Let’s put it this way: If a Powerpoint presentation is a Pixar movie, then a Slides presentation is a stick figure animation!
5. Google Calendar
You might have a fancy wall calendar, but when’s the last time you’ve actually used it?
That’s where Google Calendar comes in.
How does it help you manage projects?
You can use it to create a calendar for each project. And you can schedule all your project tasks anywhere on the calendar.
Additionally, you can boost team collaboration and communication by sending out invites and scheduling meetings through the calendar.
Where does it fall short?
Google Calendar can become tough to read if you have too many appointments or events in a day.
And to be honest, it’s pretty boring to look at.
And that can be a problem when you’ll be spending hours staring at it every week!
(That fancy wall calendar doesn’t look that bad now, right? 😉)
Here’s something that looks even better: ClickUp’s Google Calendar integration.
The integration allows two-way sync between ClickUp tasks and Google Calendar.
So you’ll receive reminders on both calendars so that no task is forgotten or a deadline missed.
After all, two heads are better than one.
Two-way syncing between ClickUp and your Calendar
6. Gmail
Unless you’re still using the dusty old AOL account that you created in the 90s, you’ve probably upgraded to Gmail.
But how does Gmail help in project management?
When you’re managing a complex project, you might have to send out elaborate instructions or feedback to your team members.
Gmail helps you neatly organize all these instructions into a single email. You can also send files, videos, images, and Google Drive files – keeping everyone informed.
What can’t you do with Gmail?
With Gmail, there are a lot of assumptions and uncertainty.
Once you’ve sent a mail explaining the task, you’re left in the dark.
You don’t know if:
- they saw it
- they understood it
- they’ll deliver on time
And to top it off: what if your email went straight to spam?
More importantly, you can’t manage your projects via email. It’s something that can help you with communicating over projects (particularly if you’ve added it to your desktop for offline use), but definitely not something that can help you manage projects.
Argh!
We’ve all been through this before.
So how do you get your projects and emails to work together?
With the email ClickApp, you can send and receive emails right from your Workspace.
This way, it’s easy to manage all your emails right alongside your projects, keeping everything organized in one place.
No more juggling between tabs!
7. Google Forms
Google Forms are like the ‘Internet Explorer’ of customer survey tools.
Sure it’s not flashy or the best by any means, but it’s the default application when it comes to creating and sharing forms. It’s (debatably) quick and easy to use, and gets the job done.
How does it help in project management?
Google Forms makes it super convenient to create surveys within a few minutes. This way, you can ask your collaborators, clients, or sponsors to speak their mind about your services or projects.
What can’t you do with Google Forms?
Like every default tool, Google Forms is very limited in functionality.
(No wonder the first thing people do with a new computer is to ensure that Internet Explorer isn’t their go-to browser 😉)
There aren’t many fields or templates to choose from in Forms.
However, if you want to create super-detailed and customizable forms, ClickUp’s Form view is the best Google Forms alternative.
Just drag and drop fields you need in your form. You can choose from fields like Task Name, Rating, Labels, Attachments, Locations, and more.
Like what you’ve created?
You can also save your favorite form as a template for future use.
8. Google Tables
The newest addition to Google’s “suite” of project management tools, Google Tables, can help you manage your project workflows.
How does it help with project management?
Google Tables is a good way to manage various pipelines in your funnel and automate certain processes. For example, you can use Tables to manage your IT tasks and keep track of how they’re doing.
Is Google Tables perfect?
While Tables is definitely Google’s most project-centric tool, it’s still far from ideal. For example, you’re limited to using a table, there’s not much else available.
And while you do need tables occasionally, they aren’t all you need for project management. That’s why it makes sense to take a look at ClickUp’s Table view instead.
It gives you all the features Tables offers you, along with the ability to share them publicly and quickly switch between other views. This way, you can switch between a table, a list, a Kanban board, and more, all within seconds!
Summarize this article for me pleaseFive Limitations Of Google Project Management Software (With Solutions)
We can’t change the fact that Google project management software has some major flaws. But what we can do is help you get around them.
Problem 1: No way to track goals
Every new project has a goal or several goals.
With Google Calendar, you can:
- mark goals
- schedule time for the goals…
And that’s all folks!
But wait, what about tracking and monitoring goals?
Unfortunately, no Google project management tool can ensure that you’ll be able to follow through with your goals.
Major bummer, we know.
ClickUp’s Solution: Goals
With ClickUp’s Goals feature, you can track, plan, and manage every imaginable thing. These Goals are further divided into measurable Targets. All you have to do is complete your Targets to meet your Goal!
You also have tons of flexibility when it comes to these Targets.
Your Targets can be:
- Numbers
- Task lists
- Money
- And pretty much everything else you need to get closer to crushing your Goals!
Targets are measurable results
Problem 2: No project task management features
Wait…what about Google Tables?
While Tables can help you manage tasks, it’s not a great way to go about it.
Remember, a single project consists of tons of tasks. And sometimes, there are multiple projects running simultaneously. Then there are multiple people working under each project, carrying out specific tasks.
Now imagine managing all that with a spreadsheet-like table, at the same time.
Turning to any other Google project management tool won’t work since they lack any dedicated task management features.
Note: While Google Tasks exists, it’s more of a personal to-do list rather than a management software.
ClickUp’s solution: Powerful task management features
With ClickUp, you can break up your huge tasks into small manageable subtasks. Each subtask can have a different assignee, priority, and due date.
If you’d like everything to be just right (like Goldilocks 👱🏻♀️), you’ll love Checklists.
They are simple to-do lists that show the exact steps you need to take to complete a task. Even project managers have their own checklists!
Quickly assign checklist items to team members
Statuses let you keep a track of where the task stands. For example, the tasks status can be “To do,” “In progress,” or “Complete,” or anything else you want it to be!
You can assign tasks to one person, Multiple Assignees, or Teams. These tasks show up on your team member’s dashboard, so they know they’ve to work on them.
Click the icon to assign tasks to team member(s)
In ClickUp, you also get access to flexible Task views. This way, you get complete control over how you wish to view your tasks. You can view your tasks into a neat to-do list, Kanban board, Gantt Chart, or a Calendar.
It’s all up to you.
Try doing that with a Table 😎
Problem 3: Can’t plan or schedule projects efficiently
Time for a quick quiz:
‘What do you need the most when you’re managing projects?’
- A project plan so your team knows how to complete a project
- An interactive project timeline so your team is aware of the task’s start date and deadline
The answer is C. Both of them.
Unfortunately, Google project management tools don’t offer both these options as they’re not designed for efficient project planning or scheduling.
ClickUp’s solution: Gantt Chart
ClickUp’s Gantt Chart is exactly what you need for proper project planning and for creating timelines.
Remap all contained tasks’ start and due dates
Why?
Because this interactive Gantt Chart lets you automatically:
- Visualize Task Dependencies so you know which tasks you should work on first
- Track progress percentage, so you know how close or far you are to project completion
- Calculate your Critical Path to help you finish your project when you’re running short on time
Problem 4: Lack of collaboration features
When you look for project management software, you can’t miss out on one crucial aspect: collaboration.
Unfortunately, collaboration on Google Docs, Sheets, or any other Google project management app isn’t enough.
Sure, Tables lets you integrate with Slack and Google Chat, but you’re still going to be depending on an external tool for just basic project communication.
And you want to be able to do a lot more than just share files and send messages.
ClickUp’s solution: Assigned Comments
Comments take collaboration to the next level.
With Assigned Comments, you can convert comments into actionable items and assign tasks to your team members. Your team members will then get instantly notified so they can get straight to it.
Click the icon to resolve assigned comments
And after the assigned person has resolved the issue, they can simply click resolve the task to avoid any unnecessary follow-ups.
Problem 5: No tools to monitor projects
As a project manager, you want to know how the project is going, don’t you?
Project monitoring helps you keep operations and team members in check.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to do that with Google project management software.
I mean, unless you want to rely on sorting through tons of rows and tables!
However, remember, there’s only so much a table can do, at some point you’re going to need a way to actually track and chart your progress too.
ClickUp’s Solutions: Dashboards
With ClickUp Dashboards, you can use customizable widgets to gain insights on team members, projects, tasks, Sprints, etc.
You can use these Widgets to visualize sales records, the number of tasks per person, timesheets, you name it.
Do you adore Agile?
You can also access diagrams like Cumulative Flow, Burndown Charts, Burnup Charts, Velocity Charts, and many more to keep up with your projects.
Use customizable widgets to get valuable insight across your Workspace
But that’s not all that ClickUp has in store for you.
Here are a few more exciting features:
- Workload View: Monitor and plan your team’s work capacity
- Mind Maps: Plan and organize your ideas with the mind mapping technique
- Custom Permissions: Collaborate with stakeholders, sponsors, and outsiders with limited access
- Automations: Set up combinations of triggers and actions to automate repetitive tasks and workflows
- Native Integrations: connect with work tools like Evernote, Google Docs, and Zoom
Note: With ClickUp’s free plan, you get unlimited users and unlimited projects, and with the paid plan, you not only get unlimited storage, but you also get unlimited integrations too!
Summarize this article for me pleaseConclusion
When it comes to search engines, Google is the cool kid on the block.
But when it comes to project management… umm..not so much.
Dedicated tools like ClickUp make the project management system more efficient and also help you streamline the workflow.
It offers quick and easy fixes for the issues that come with Google project management tools.
But wait, there’s more.
ClickUp has enough project management features to give other project management tools like Jira, Basecamp, and Evernote a tough time too!
And it does all this for free.
So get ClickUp for free today and say adios to your project management struggles!
Questions? Comments? Visit our Help Center for support.