Notion

Notion is fully cloud-based, so it can be accessed from any device via the web. However, it also offers desktop apps for macOS and Windows, as well as mobile apps for work on the go for iOS and Android. Notion isn’t like most traditional project management tools, but it covers the basics.

Here are the key features:

Customizable Database Views

Notion databases can instantly transform the way project information is visualized without changing the underlying data. You can toggle between different layouts like a Kanban board to track tasks by status, a Timeline view (similar to a Gantt chart) to see task durations and dependencies over time, or a simple Table view for quick data entry and filtering. This is similar to how most project management tools enable task management.

Relations and Rollups

These features allow you to link separate but related databases and aggregate data between them, which is crucial for a project hierarchy. A Relation links a task in a “Tasks” database to its parent project in a “Projects” database, creating a two-way connection. A Rollup then uses this relation to summarize information from the linked tasks and display it on the project card, for example, calculating the percentage of completed tasks or totaling the estimated hours for the entire project.

Properties and Custom Statuses

Every item within a Notion database (whether it’s a project, task, or document) is a page that has properties, which function as structured data fields. These properties are completely customizable and can include assigned users (Person property), due dates (Date property), file attachments, and, most importantly, custom Statuses (Select or Multi-select properties). This allows teams to build a workflow that perfectly matches their process, such as setting statuses like “Backlog,” “In Progress,” “Blocked,” and “Review” for an Agile sprint.

Templates and Automation

Notion provides a wide variety of pre-built templates for specific project management methodologies (like Agile sprints, roadmaps, bug tracking) that can be easily duplicated and customized. Similarly, database automations help teams streamline repetitive work, such as automatically setting a task’s status to “Done” when the assignee checks a box, or creating a new set of sub-tasks for a project when the project’s status changes to “Active.”

Notion has a clean design and is supposed to be easy to use. However, there’s a bit of a learning curve. That mainly springs from the multi-faceted, multi-purpose nature of the tool. New users find the drag-and-drop “block” system and simple page creation intuitive, which makes basic note-taking and document creation effortless. However, when you build complex, interconnected project management systems using databases, relations, rollups, and formulas, the complexity quickly increases.