Many big companies have described Wrike as being the answer to their project management troubles, and rightly so. In simple terms, Wrike is a software designed to increase efficiency in online project management.
Wrike managed to scoop the 2017 Finances Online award for Best Project Management Software and has gone on to be the preferred program management tool for big companies such as EA Sports, Adobe, Google, PayPal, Stanford University, and HTC among others.
How Wrike compares to Asana
When it comes to the user interface, both Asana and Wrike have provided users with extremely user-friendly platforms. This article on BeeWits compares the two really nice. Wrike’s impressive 3-pane layout is almost similar to Asana’s equally impressive 3-pane dashboard.
In terms of integration, Wrike integrates seamlessly with numerous other applications such as Apple Mail and Google Drive. On the other hand, Asana may not integrate with as many applications as Wrike but it still holds its ground by offering users integration to several essential applications such as WordPress and Box. Neither of the platforms can, therefore, be faulted when it comes to integration and user-interface when compared against each other.
However, Wrike definitely has an advantage over Asana when it comes to team sharing and collaboration. Wrike’s impressive communication platform uses email. The @mention feature enables team members to only get tagged into relevant discussions, that is, discussions about tasks they are involved in.
On the other hand, Asana is based on the premise that emails hinder productivity, and thus entirely rejects the use of emails. This may be a good or bad thing, depending on the kind of project you are handling. It is safe to admit, however, that is hard to go about a project without emails, especially when there are external parties involved. Wrike is, therefore, more expensive when it comes to communication.
Wrike also appears to outdo Asana in terms of management tools. It has several useful tools that appear to have been created with the sole purpose of management, such as the time tracker.
In terms of prices, both platforms use a pricing model that is dependent on the number of users. However, it is important to note that Wrike provides small companies with a maximum of 5 users with a free plan. Asana also provides small companies with a free package and appears to be more affordable for small-scale users when compared to Wrike. Many users have admitted to favoring Asana for small teams but definitely needing Wrike when the teams got larger and the project became more complex.
Wrike Features
Basically, Wrike enables multifunctional groups working on a similar project to merge and work from one location. Big projects can be quite complex and may involve numerous stakeholders and resources. Without the right tools, it is easy for the entire project to drown seeing as monitoring all its aspects can be quite a headache. By introducing flexibility, Wrike basically brings sanity to be big projects. It enables all stakeholders involved in a particular project to monitor all its aspects, schedule, discuss, and prioritize in real time.
Below are several of Wrike’s key features:
1. @mention feature and activity stream
The activity stream enables team members to see each others progress in specific activities. Project managers can also view their team’s activity progress and use the @mention feature to highlight issues of concern. The @mention feature tags all relevant team members to ensure that no one is left out of the discussion.
2. Task tool
For ease of management, the task tool enables you to break out huge tasks into subtasks and eventually into particular activities. Activities are then marked as complete or incomplete enabling project managers to have accurate progress information. The task tool makes it easier to manage and resolve small tasks thereby gradually completing the entire project. It also helps project managers identify all unresolved tasks that could eventually delay the overall task.
3. Seamless integration with other essential applications
Wrike is integrated with numerous other platforms making data migration effortless and hustle free. The platform has email integration allowing users to edit and create documents directly from an email account of choice. It also has a seamless Google Drive integration through which users can collaborate with fellow team members, edit, send, and attach files with ease. Wrike basically has the ability to function easily with numerous platforms that are essential for workflow in a project including Zapier, Dropbox and MS Project.
4. 3-pane layout
Wrike 3-pane layout has been described as being one of its best features. All details pertaining to a particular project are displayed on one screen. This allows ease of access to any task and quick action on the same. The middle pane displays the projects task list. The right pane displays task details while the left pane displays the project ranking, allowing users to move across different subtasks and projects.
5. Time tracking
Wrike comes equipped with a tracking system. The system gives you accurate data on the amount of time spent on a project, enabling project managers to evaluate the productiveness of employees. The time reports also enable project managers to create invoices for clients and payrolls for contractors and employees. The system can be paused, started, stopped and edited with ease.
6. Team Collaboration
Communication becomes a major challenge with big projects, especially where one team’s work is directly linked to another team’s work. Wrike bypasses this challenge by enabling teams to collaborate in real-time. When one team hands over a task to another, the new team has full access to any discussions that have been held pertaining to that task and any relevant documents.
In conclusion, Wrike is definitely a highly recommendable project management tool and one can easily see why its popularity continues to grow at such a fast rate.
Recommendation: customize your Wrike experience around your internal processes.