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Industry: ERM solutions, consulting and data analytics for the maritime industry

Location: India, Singapore, UK

Employees: 300+

Started in 2003, Solverminds is a leading global technology company that provides enterprise resource management (ERM) solutions, consulting, and data analytics services for liner shipping companies and the maritime industry.

We interviewed Md. Mushtaq, the Delivery Manager at Solverminds, who manages project timelines and resources to ensure quality delivery of software projects.

Executive Summary

Solverminds had tried out multiple other project management tools but found their features too limited for their task and project management needs. They needed to be able to update multiple tasks at once, prioritize tasks, and send targeted notifications to the right people. Backlog provided these and features like Gantt charts, batch-updating, Wikis, and even a mobile app to keep everyone in-the-loop when on-the-go. Using Backlog ultimately reduced the efforts spent on managing projects and resources by 20%.

Challenges

Previously, Solverminds tried using other tools and spreadsheets to manage their tasks and projects. But they couldn’t provide the features they needed to manage and prioritize the volume of tasks they were working on.

They were frustrated with the lack of notifications for task updates and the inability to prioritize or batch update multiple tasks at once. Project managers/leads lacked a global view of all their projects and tasks, and it was time-consuming and inefficient to go through projects one by one to keep track of work.

How Backlog helped

Solverminds switched to Backlog and immediately started taking advantage of the enhanced features available for task and project management.

“We chose Backlog because it’s user-friendly, easy to track multiple projects, and provides Gantt charts and many other features.” – Md. Mushtaq, Delivery Manager of Solverminds.

They especially appreciated being able to divide work into tasks and subtasks, assign tasks to team members, and prioritize each task accordingly. Backlog made it easier to track the responsibilities of each member and the progress of each task.

Their project managers appreciated having custom fields for tasks so that they could adapt their workflow to different project needs. And the batch updating feature saved a ton of time with a few clicks.

Backlog Dashboard also made it quick and easy to get an overview of all projects and tasks while clearly indicating which tasks were overdue or nearing their due dates.

“Backlog has helped us in our work for managing projects, our teams’ timelines, and following up on work.” – Md. Mushtaq, Delivery Manager of Solverminds.

Using the Gantt and burndown charts, project managers are able to quickly estimate the project’s delivery timeline and ensure all members have an overview of the tasks and milestones they need to achieve. This is useful in aligning everyone’s direction towards a successful sprint and project delivery. Mushtaq likes the flexibility of Backlog’s Gantt charts — it’s easy to filter tasks, adjust start/end dates, and update or display more information right from one screen.

Communication on projects improved as team members are able to share information easily by attaching files or commenting on tasks. Backlog’s Wiki feature helps them collaborate on documentation; revisions are tracked, and when a Wiki page is updated, other project members are automatically notified.

With mobile apps for iOS and Android, Solverminds staff is now able to communicate, receive project updates, and work on-the-go.

Results

Mushtaq estimates that Backlog has helped Solverminds reduce their efforts spent on managing projects and resources by 30%.

Because stakeholders can now view project progress right in Backlog, they’ve also reduced time spent on email correspondence and Excel reports.

Most of Solverminds’ staff are using Backlog. Aside from the software development, testing, and documentation departments, the company also plans to implement Backlog for their marketing and administrative departments soon. Backlog has proved versatile for various kinds of teams and it has helped every user they introduced to stay organized and on top of their work.