Project management software assists employees, administrators, and teams with managing team goals and long-term projects, as well as coordinating individual tasks. Project management software accomplishes this through a range of tools to manage workloads, monitor productivity, and allocate resources. Task interdependence is a large component of project management software as it is largely used to coordinate assignments that are related to a sequence of tasks or a larger project. Users leverage the software to track multiple projects, track a team's or individual's progress, and analyze team productivity. These products can be used in virtually any industry that requires individuals to organize projects, tasks within projects, and goals for weekly, monthly, or annual projects. Users usually have the ability to break projects down into individual tasks, create timelines for project completion, analyze productivity, and communicate with other team members.

Project management software is closely related to task management software but differs in scale and scope. Project management software allows users to manage a team of individuals, balance projects, and document effectiveness; task management software simply outlines individual efforts, breaks down components within a project, determines due dates, and allows for self-management. To manage a large number of projects with similar characteristics, companies should use project and portfolio management software.