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I have evaluated multiple tools and came to the conclusion that I love WorkFront. I tried to remain objective during my analysis for SmartSheets, MS Project, Asana, Monday, JIRA, and I can't remember the name of the other application.
SmartSheets works very similar to MS Project and has the same capabilities.
MS Project Online requires a SharePoint server (whether you utilize for any other function) can become complicated. I felt like MS Project was more robust then MS Project Online. I had a new project manager who was a millenial using MS Project Online and she quickly pushed it aside for Monday.
Monday, in my opinion, would be better used as a task management tool. Date changes on a project become a project maintenance nightmare. I would use it for managing action items of a responsibility on a smaller scale then using for enterprise projects going through an SDLC. Reporting is not a strong suit. We had a department that was using Monday for managing tasks on projects and was not following the software development lifecycle.
Asana, again is more like task management software. There is a difference between managing tasks and managing a project. If you are not clear on the difference, task management software may be more user friendly for you.
JIRA...hmm. I have used JIRA for reporting project information (status, risks, mitigation plans, etc.) and I have also created an automated project request workflow. I think the project request workflow was the best use of JIRA I have seen. I haven't used it for project scheduling and timeline establishment.
WorkFront is the most user friend and transcends generations (millenials like it because it's interactive and they feel like they are making a difference). It has all the bells and whistles of MS Project with a more intuitive user interface. Your PMO can manage portfolios, programs, and projects. You can have more than one instance, for example Marketing can have their instance (view) and IT can have their view. Licenses are not the costly because basic users how have tasks assigned can interact without a license, they just need a user roll. Also, many people with a license are on multiple projects so their license is viable. System can be integrated with other systems, including JIRA. You can use the tool with any methodology (agile, waterfall, hybrid). All project folders can be replicated from a shared folder structure or customized. Every view is easily customizable and centralized. The vendor told me that Microsoft uses WorkFront is the Rolls Royce of project management tools. I am sold on the tool. I still love MS Project, but WorkFront is super easy to configure, integrate, and get buy-in on.
I hope this helps. Maybe you have already selected your software.
