Product teams today face increasing complexity in managing the end-to-end product delivery process. From ideation to launch and beyond, having streamlined workflows supported by the right tools is essential for the success of any digital product.
In this post, we’ll look at the top 15 Product Management tools that can help optimize workflows and boost productivity in 2023.
Note: this is NOT a sponsored article and none of the links provided are affiliate links.
Why Workflows and Project Management Matter
Well-defined workflows allow product teams to work efficiently by:
- Keeping everyone aligned on goals, priorities and responsibilities
- Reducing ambiguity on what needs to be done when
- Automating repetitive tasks
- Providing overview of project progress and health
- Enabling seamless collaboration between team members
With the rise of agile and lean methodologies, cross-functional workflows have become critical. Specialized tools provide the structure, visibility and flexibility required by modern product teams to deliver quickly.
15 Tools for Streamlined Product Workflows
Here are some of the top product management tools to integrate into your workflows:
1. Asana
Asana is a leading work management platform designed to help teams organize, track, and manage their work across projects.
| Key features include: – Flexible task management with boards, lists, calendars – Project overviews with timelines and milestones – File sharing and comments for collaboration – Custom fields and filters to create structured workflows – Integrations with 1000+ apps |
With its simple interface and comprehensive features, Asana enables product teams to create structured workflows to visualize sprints, coordinate cross-functional work, and maintain focus on priorities.
2. Jira
Jira from Atlassian is built for agile software teams to plan, track and release software.
| Key features: – Customizable scrum and kanban boards – Sprint planning for agile processes – Release roadmapping and reporting – Requirements backlogs and user story mapping – Thousands of integrations with DevOps tools |
Jira provides end-to-end workflows for agile product delivery, from idea conception to launch. Its flexible boards and roadmaps help streamline sprint planning, backlog grooming, issue tracking and release management.
3. Trello
Trello is a visual collaboration tool that enables flexible Kanban-style workflows using boards, lists and cards.
| Key features: – Custom boards with flexible columns and swimlanes – Cards to represent tasks with attachments, members, labels – Calendar view of due dates – Point-and-click automation using Butler – Integrates with Slack, Jira, Salesforce and more |
Trello empowers teams to create their own structured workflows customized to how they like to work. Its highly flexible interface works for agile sprints as well as personal productivity.
4. Notion
Notion is the all-in-one workspace for teams to write, plan, collaborate and get organized.
| Key features: – Docs, wikis, databases and kanban boards – Flexible views like tables, calendars, galleries – Customizable database views – Share workspaces with teammates – Granular permissions for access control – Mobile apps and offline sync |
Notion provides the building blocks for teams to create any process or workflow they need – from product roadmaps and design sprints to editorial calendars and meeting agendas. Its flexible structure suits many different team needs.
5. ClickUp
ClickUp is a highly customizable project management platform with multiple integrations.
| Key features: – Tasks, docs, spreadsheets, reminders, goals in one tool – Customizable workflows using statuses, assignees and timelines – Multiple productivity views including calendar, map, timeline – Advanced filtering and reporting – 1000+ integrations with top apps |
ClickUp enables centralized yet flexible management of all product workflows in one space. Teams can create customized processes from scratch or use configurable templates.
6. Airtable
Airtable combines a spreadsheet with the flexibility of a database to help teams organize their work.
| Key features: – Spreadsheet-like tables with linked records – Kanban boards, calendars, galleries and forms – Automations using triggers and actions – Global and personal templates to reuse workflows – Custom fields, relations and views |
Airtable provides building blocks for structuring any workflow from design sprints to customer onboarding. Its spreadsheet-database hybrid offers infinite flexibility.
7. Monday.com
Monday.com is a visual work OS with ready-made templates for managing any workflow or project.
| Key features: – Visual boards and timelines – Repository of ready-made workflow templates – Custom statuses, columns, automations – Gantt chart view for detailed planning – iOS and Android mobile apps – Integrations with Dropbox, Slack, Google Drive and more |
Monday.com combines ease of use with powerful features for customizing workflows across IT, marketing, operations and product teams. The template library helps teams get started quickly.
8. Wrike
Wrike is an enterprise project management solution with Gantt charts, timelines and other views.
| Key features: – Interactive Gantt charts for project planning – Customizable workflows and templates – Automated rule-based workflows – Real-time activity streams and notifications – Customizable dashboards and reporting – 2,000+ app integrations including Adobe CC, Salesforce |
Wrike provides robust project planning and adjustment capabilities along with customizable templates, views, and fields to structure team workflows from end-to-end.
9. Basecamp
Basecamp is a streamlined project management solution built for smaller teams.
| Key features: – To-do lists, docs, chats, schedules in one place – Lightweight process management – Automatic check-in questions to simplify progress updates – Easy organic communication around tasks – Integrates with 50+ tools like Slack, Dropbox, Zapier |
Basecamp’s minimalist approach helps teams align without getting bogged down in heavy workflows. It’s best for product teams who want an all-in-one solution for lightweight planning and collaboration.
10. ProductPlan
ProductPlan is purpose-built product roadmapping software designed for product managers.
| Key features: – Customizable product roadmap templates – Release planning and visual timelines – Idea gathering and prioritization capability – Workflow automation and notifications – Role-based access and permissions – Custom data and configurations |
ProductPlan structures the entire roadmapping process from ideation through execution, providing workflow support tailored specifically to the needs of product managers and their cross-functional partners.
11. Aha!
Aha! is a product roadmapping and release planning platform for technology teams.
| Key features: – Visual roadmaps and configurable workflows – Requirements backlogs and user story mapping – Release planning and forecasting – Integration with Jira and native dev tools – Hierarchical quotas for capacity planning – Reports and dashboards |
Aha! captures product ideas and requirements, connects them to business objectives, and surfaces dependencies. This enables product, engineering and go-to-market teams to align on release plans and smooth workflows.
12. Craft
Craft is a visual collaboration platform built to streamline workflows for product teams.
| Key features: – Visual calendars, timelines, tables and mind maps – Structured frameworks like PRD templates – Lightweight task and project planning – Comments, pings and notifications – Integrates with GitHub, Jira, Google Drive |
Craft brings all product work into a flexible visual canvas that keeps everyone aligned. Teams can create structured workflows or keep things loose using Craft’s infinite canvases.
13. Figma
Figma is the collaborative interface design platform that helps product teams build better products together.
| Key features: – Multi-user editing for real-time collaboration – Prototype flows for user journeys and interactions – Libraries and shared design system components – Version history and branching – Developer handoff and design specs – Figma plugins directory |
Figma streamlines design review cycles and handoff to help align product, design and engineering. Its multiplayer capabilities enable real-time collaboration for smoother workflows.
14. Zeplin
Zeplin connects product teams by translating designs into usable resources for developers.
| Key features: – Auto-generated style guides, specs and assets – Communication layers on designs – Developer handoff and interactions – Integrations with Jira, Github, Slack, Zapier – Project organization and management |
Zeplin bridges design and engineering to create shared truth and structured workflows. It facilitates better collaboration and ensures designs are accurately implemented.
15. ProdPad
ProdPad is an end-to-end product management solution designed to streamline workflows.
| Key features: – Unified workspace for all product management activities – Customizable process templates – Idea management and product roadmaps – Integrated feedback management – Team collaboration and release planning – Reporting and product success metrics |
ProdPad connects strategic planning, execution, feedback and iteration together in a unified system tailored for product teams. This improves alignment and provides oversight into end-to-end workflows.
Key Takeaways
Well-designed workflows are essential for aligning fast-moving product teams. The right collaboration, project management, product design and planning tools provide the guardrails and structure needed to streamline how cross-functional teams work.
When evaluating options, consider tools with workflows that map to your team’s needs. Many provide pre-configured templates while also offering customization.
Integrations are also key – look for tools that connect into your existing stack to create an ecosystem that minimizes friction.
With the tools above, product teams can implement structured workflows that optimize how they ideate, plan, execute and deliver value to customers.