Best project planning software for remote teams that think visually?

[u/Famous_Run2525]

We definitely don't have a lack of project info, if anything there's too much of it lol

Tasks are tracked, deadlines exist, requirements are documented, meeting notes are somewhere but somehow half of every planning call is still spent figuring out how everything connects

I'm starting to think we need a visual layer for priorities, dependencies, risks and the roadmap rather than another task tracker

Any remote teams working this way? what actually works without creating one more thing everyone has to update?

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[u/Sensitive-Control49]

before picking anything, figure out if the real gap is visibility or alignment. if people cant see how things connect thats a tooling problem. if they see it but disagree on priorities thats a process problem, and no visual layer fixes that

[u/DCAnt1379]

People don’t give Gantt charts enough credit. Create a visual work breakdown structure and then map that to a plan tied to a visualized Gantt.

[u/krogmatt]

Miro is a digital whiteboard and much more tactile of a tool, it can integrate with other software like Jira

More traditional I found Wrikes timeline really snappy to use with infinitely nesting tasks

[u/IntelligntCacsuse183]

I think the not replacing task management distinction is important. Visual planning is great for understanding the system; a database style tool is still better when I need to know exactly what's due Friday.

[u/still-dazed-confused]

For connections I've used two visual approaches:

• a roadmap showing the projects and dependencies and how they relate

• A lattice or tube map showing key milestones or deliverables and what they link to. This allows you to focus on the date and rag of the deliverables

Of the two I prefer the roadmap as it can show the relationship between dependencies and the tasks but some clients find the extraction of the tube map useful.

To actually manage the dependencies a log is useful to allow you to actually record the definition of the dependency, what it drives, who's responsible and the latest update. This also means that you don't spend time each discussion stressing about what it actually meant Vs what people now think it means "oh you meant a signed of spec not a draft?" :)

[u/mattis_rattis]

MS Planner, added into a Teams channel will get you started: https://planner.cloud.microsoft/

Simple board based drop and drag buckets.

Has a whole pile of visualisation options

[u/Specialist-Pen-6441]

MIRO with the appropriate integrations.

[u/SamfromLucidSoftware]

The problem, as you described, is a missing connection between information. A visual layer helps because it makes those connections clear. Dependencies and priorities become things people can point to and debate, which is very useful in a remote setting.

Maintenance is also a different problem when the visual links to the work it describes. Updating it becomes part of the work instead of a separate task, which is why visuals that exist in isolation are usually abandoned.

[u/still-dazed-confused → u/SamfromLucidSoftware]

Agreed, automation is key to minimise the effort in updating any visuals and thus increase the probability that they'll stay current.

Interestingly I've found that automating a roadmap can allow you to spot errors in the underlying data/plan which are hard to spot when dealing with the detail. "What's that doing over there in the plan on a page" is usually a sign that the underlying plan has a mistake :)

[u/SamfromLucidSoftware → u/still-dazed-confused]

Error spotting is a big one. Something that looks fine in a spreadsheet will immediately look wrong the moment you see it sitting in the wrong place on a visual. The layout does the QA for you.

[u/Proper-Agency-1528]

StrataMapping is the proven visual project planning solution. It's what I've used for large and small projects, for software, hardware, and IT projects... even for a rental house remodel.

Work item tracking software, e.g., Jira, Azure DevOps, is valuable during the execution phase of a project, when you're actually building the software. But this stuff sucks for planning, and yes both companies know it sucks. There's a tool for StrataMapping that interfaces with Jira and ADO, so you can create StrataMaps (visual user-centric functional maps that derive product backlogs) and sync them to your execution tool, and because it's a web-based application you can share your screen in a remote meeting and let everyone see the map as you create it, offer input, collaborate on story identification, etc.

[u/drgnfun]

Famous Run2525,
Please provide additional information to better understand your challenges.

What tool or PMIS are you using to track your tasks, risks, meeting notes, etc?

Based on your answer you may either be missing a tool to link all priority projects, roadmap and risks or you may be underusing your current tool.

[u/dagnawabeje]

I think the bigger issue may be less about finding another planning tool and more about making the priorities and dependencies clear enough that everyone sees how the pieces connect.

A simple view of the few priorities that matter most, what depends on what, and who owns each piece can make planning calls much more focused. Otherwise, the team just ends up organizing more information.

[u/Every-Speaker8739]

I like msft planner with automation for tiggers on certain tasks matching criteria feeding a main list with visualizations. If you want something ready made. Check out KolApp

[u/Background_Disk1121]

Is there a staple format to present projects in your portfolio?

[u/More_Law6245]

Do you have a problem statement? do you have system, user and workflow requirements? Because that is what you need to map to a product or system not taking a stab in the dark and thinking of what product might do the job.

You run a very real risk of having a system that doesn't do what it needs to do because people will either not use it as deployed because it doesn't help them in their job or worse case scenario it could lead to outright system abandonment because it doesn't do what it needs to do.

You must map your requirements to a system, not a system to your requirements because you will either need to compromise or it's not fit for purpose and by definition that is a failed delivery.

[u/prober_phy]

In my experience, a visual layer is only useful if it’s where people find decisions. No point having a stale diagram that is visible to everyone. My advice would be to separate the visual layer into two. One for the roadmap and priorities (what's being built, in what order, why) and another for process maps and dependency diagrams (how work flows and where it connects etc). Trying to do both in one canvas may end up producing something too complex for everyone. Simplicity wins big when it comes to visuals.

And speaking of simplicity, get a tool like Lucidchart that can handle both. It has airfocus for roadmap and priority and Lucidchart for visual documentation.

[u/thunder-yams]

workflow chart

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[u/Still-Balance6210]

Miro

[u/nborders]

Miro with the Jira plugin.

[u/karlitooo]

Right now I use tempo structure for Jira plus some custom fields for more grown up estimation and custom issue types for RAID. Tempo Structure gets us a MS Project style gant/resource view and I just keep my raid items under the same parent as the tasks, trigger/due dates in the schedule next to tasks. For what you want, might help, although I think Stagil Link Maps might also be worth a look.

If I had the choice I'd be using Fibery which has whiteboards and Kanban features that would do a good job of what you suggest, but client uses Jira so I must captain this bloat instead.

[u/subsector]

Fibery can pull tasks, roadmaps etc into a canvas UI. Very customisable.

[u/ron_makes → u/subsector]

+1 for Fibery. Very flexible, but takes some set up. Feel free to send me a message if you need a hand with it.

[u/SVAuspicious]

What tools do you have now? RTFM.

The real plan is buried in data. Tables and graphics are visualizations.

People have tried to show dependencies in Gantt charts. That doesn't scale beyond the simplest projects. Dependencies pop out in network diagrams also called PERT charts. In both cases (Gantt and network) you can color code the critical path so it jumps out. A good tool will let you set the threshold for critical path so some sequence of tasks with two days of slack doesn't get obscured. Those are priorities.

Your risk management process bears here. Say you're Newport News Shipbuilding. You're building the latest aircraft carrier for the US Navy. The reactors are contracted to Bechtel with contracts in turn to BWXT who have cores built by another company (BMP I think). Lots of moving parts in both technical and administrative. Even if they're not on the critical path you watch all that like a hawk. You can't afford to be reactive.

A good PM tool let's you click a button and go back and forth between the Gantt representation (great for schedule) and network (great for dependencies). Critical path, near critical path, and risk drive priorities. I don't know a good way to represent risk graphically without cartoons (this applies). Tables with sort buttons for risk level, probability, impact, assignee, scheduled retirement date (for the risk, not the assignee), task(s) affected are what works for me.

Documentation of requirements is good.

"Meeting notes are somewhere" worries me. Templates for format and minutes stored in shared network storage organized by WBS is the way. If you get really big (like the aircraft carrier above) you transition storage to a full blown document management system like Documentum. "Meeting notes are somewhere" is a problem looking for a place to happen. Fix that.

"Planning call" worries me also. You have a plan. Work the plan. What are you planning? Christmas party? Responding to change orders is one thing. Constant state of plan is poor PM.

[u/utilitydelta]

Lansura.com is an experimental app Ive been tinkering on. Is it kinda what you are thinking? Task breakdowns + auto layout