Project Management Templates

Getting a project proposal approved is one of the most challenging tasks in project management. It is very rare for project managers to have enough information about projects before the project starts.

Using a right template is important as you want to make sure that you give the decision makers or the sponsors all the information they need to make a decision.

Project Proposal Template

The key sections of the project proposal have been explained below. A sample project proposal with all the sections populated can also be downloaded from the download link below.

Project Summary

The project summary section is meant to give anyone reading the project proposal a high level view of the project. It contains a few attributes of the project.
Project Name, Project Description and Project Code are self explanatory.
Project Resourcing - Explain how the project was resourced. For example it can say "Project Resourced by hiring additional contractors" etc.
Project Benefits - Explain what the benefits of the project. For example "Productive Improvement, Systems Upgrade, Bug Fixes ".
Project Risks - Mention if any major risks were identified. If not then you can state something "No Major Risks identified".
Project Sponsor - Person who has approved the funding for the project.
Project Duration in weeks.
Total Project Costs - Should indicate the total cost of the projects.

Project Overview

Project Objective - Explain what are the key objectives of the project.
Project Scope - Detail about what is in scope and what is out of scope. For system changes it would be good to mention which systems are in scope and which changes are out of scope.
Project Timeline - Details of different phases of the project. Can be a project timeline from MS Project or Excel or any other format.

Create a stunning project timeline with MS Project.

Project Costs

Resourcing Costs - Cost of the resources, contractors, consultancy etc.
Hardware Costs - Any costs involved in setting up new hardware for the project.
Software Costs - Costs related to buying new software of licenses.
Any other costs - Miscellaneous costs like training, marketing etc.

See how to estimate and track project budget with MS Excel.

Project Benefits

Tangible Benefits

Tangible benefits are benefits which can be quantified.
Benefits is one of the most sought after information when it comes to writing project proposals.
Tangible benefits should be an estimate of the savings or additional revenue that can gained after the project is delivered.
Example - if a project is providing head count reduction then the total amount of salary saved will be a benefit.
Example - if the project gets rid of an old server or hardware then the maintenance cost incurred would be saved. The amount saved would be the benefit of the project.
Generally, the cost benefits or the pay back period are measured over a period of three years or more.

Intangible Benefits

Intangible benefits are benefits which cannot be quantified.
Example - better customer satisfaction, enhanced user experience, audit findings, bug fixes etc.

Project Risks and Issues

Risk Assessment - It is important to let the decision makes know that a formal risk assessment has been done for the project. In this section you can mention a brief update on how the risk assessment was done and any key risks identified.
Project Risks and Issues - When making a decision about the project the decision makers need to be aware of the risks that could affect the project. This section will list all the risks associated with the project.

Project Risks

Project Risks Management with MS Excel Risk Register

Project Closure Terms

This section should detail the conditions which need to be satisfied for the project to be closed.
Examples of project closure conditions - The users cease using the current system, performance allows 100 users to simultaneously work on the system, the project should be delivered by 11th July 2015.

Project Proposal Approvals

This section will have the names of the people who will approve this project proposal.
This section helps to keep track of who approved the project proposal.

Download the free templates and sample project proposal

No project will be initiated without some or the other benefit. Below is the most common type s of project benefits within IT Projects. This is not an exhaustive list but has the most commonly recurring benefits. Sometimes the benefits can overlap with each other. In reality the benefits will be specific to a given project but will generally fall into one of the below types.

Project Benefits Examples

In my opinion benefits tracking and realization is one of the most ignored areas of project management as once the project starts everyone is occupied with completing the project.

Tangible Benefits

Project Benefits can be tangible which means the benefit can be measured. The tangible benefits are generally in dollars or time saved. The time saved can be converted to dollars by applying a hourly rate or daily rate.

Increased Revenue

The most common type of benefit and very a broad category.
Increased revenue is a benefitwhen a project has a direct impact on the revenue of the organisation.
Examples are increased sales or increased subscription.

Resource Cost Savings

When systems are automated this benefit is obvious as automation can save manual process time.
This benefit could mean that the organisation can make some roles redundant or relocate some roles to a different department.
This one of the most sensitive benefits as it affects people and can cause an issue if not handled discreetly.
Examples are resource reduction, resource optimization.

Hardware Cost Savings

Some IT Projects replace the existing hardware with new hardware which can be less expensive.
The project could also migrate data from server scattered across to one single server.
The new hardware can require less maintenance which will result is cost savings.
Examples are decommissioning of old hardware, combining of servers.

Software Cost Savings

Another one of the typical benefits in an IT Project.
Many IT Projects are formed to get migrate old software which need high maintenance.
The new software can save costs as it could be low maintenance.
The project could replace two similar software to reduce the licenses costs.
Examples are reduced license fees, reduced software support costs.

Productivity Gain

Automating systems should lead to productivity gain which can allow people to do more work.
Examples increased application processing or optimization of resource time.

Process Improvements

Projects can improve the time taken for a certain process to improve.
Improving processes means the time taken to complete a process is less which can save time.

Intangible Benefits

Intangible benefits cannot be quantified or measured. Examples of such benefits are customer satisfaction, enhanced use experience etc.

Enhanced User Experience

Goal of many IT Projects is to build a sophisticated UI or Interface which can help system users to easily use the functionality the system provides.
If the system is being developed for external users then this benefit could also mean enhanced customer experience.
Examples are faster checkout times on websites.

Increased Customer Satisfaction

Often IT Projects which are meant to build hardware or software for customers will have this benefit.
The project will target to make the partnership between the customers and service providers better.

Increased Compliance

Part or some projects are aimed at addressing any systems or processed which will address compliance or audit issues.
If an organisation breaches a regulation or compliance measure then the company could end up paying huge fines.
Example is HIPAA Requirement or Privacy Regulation.

Brand Equity

Maintaining a brand name is one of key objectives for a lot of companies.
Some projects aim at improving the brand equity by providing better services and maintain standards.
Example is integration with all the major vendors.

Hosting a Project Kick Off Meeting is very crucial for any project. The kick off meeting is meant to give the entire project team a clear view of the entire project life cycle and their roles and responsibilities. It is important to cover the key areas of the project during the kick off meeting.

Project Kick Off Meeting Agenda PPT

Contents of a the Project Kick Off Meeting Agenda Template -

Introduction to the project.
Project Deliverable.
Project Team.
Project Timeline.
Communications Plan.
Key Project Risks.
Technical Contacts & Escalation Process.
Project Closure Terms.
Project Documentation.

Few tips for an effective project kick off meeting agenda -

The kick off meeting should not be booked for more than 60 mins.
The key reason of this meeting is to make everyone aware of their role and tasks in the project.
Make sure to invite all the key stakeholders and project team members to the meeting.
Dry run your presentation and agenda with project sponsor and some senior team members before the meeting for feedback.
Do not get into detailed discussions around scope, delivery or risks in the meeting.
Circulate the soft copy after the meeting so that people who missed the meeting can read.
If possible provide detailed task lists to IT Team as they are used to having tasks assigned.
You can get most of the content from Project Proposal, Plans and Risk Management Plan.
Be open to feedback as people can suggest better ways of doing things.
Take a few hard copies of the PPT to the kick off meeting.

Related Articles : Project Timeline, Risk Register, Project Proposal.

Click Here To Download Free PPT Template

The detailed project status update template can be used to provide a comprehensive update to the project team, business stakeholders, sponsors or project control. The detailed updated covers the project team, project health card, schedule, financials, risks and decisions. The status report can also be used for monthly project updates.

Project Health Card

The detailed project status report has the following sections –

Project Team.
Project News and Updates.
Project Health Card.
Schedule & Task Status.
Project Financials.
Project Change Log.
Project Risks & Issues.
Project Actions & Decisions.

Project Team

The purpose of this section is to introduce the project team.
If anyone has questions about who is working on the project then they can refer to this slide.
It can also be used to indicate any changes in the project team.

Project Team

Project News and Updates

This section should be used to publish the latest news on the project.
Typical the news will consist of any major milestones accomplished, deadlines missed, major changes to the project scope, a brief update on task progress, mention of any major risks or issues affecting the project.
The update should be in bullet points and should be as brief as possible.

Project News

Project Health Card

The project health card gives an overall picture for all the key parameters of the project.
The overall project status is an indicator of the status of the entire project.
Red means off track, Amber means needs attention, Green means all good.
The overall status can be just the project managers call or a rule which sets out the minimum number of Amber's or Red's that the project parameter has. For example your organisation may agree that if two parameters are red then the over all is red and 3 amber then overall is amber etc.
With the status indicator you should enter a brief note about the status.
It is important to put a note especially when there an issue with the project.

Project Schedule and Tasks

The schedule and tasks section has two subsections - the top section to display the schedule and the second to give an update on the tasks.
The schedule section can have a high level schedule or a detailed task table.
Under the tasks section you can update the task completed this month, tasks planned for next month and what tasks got delayed.
See How to create a Project Plan.

Project Schedule and Tasks

Project Financials

The project financials section has two sub sections - first the overall budget and second a monthly tracking.
The first section should detail the individual items with actual and planned. Any variance should be reported in the variance column.
The monthly tracking section allows everyone a view of how the project budget is tracking on monthly basis.
Calculate Budget using MS Excel.

Project Financials

Project Change Log

Reviewing project change log is a good practice and by including it in the status report everyone can will be informed about the change requests pending.
The project change log section includes total change requests logged, open change requests and how many were approved.
The section should also list all the open change requests and the list can come from the change log or change register. THIS IS A MUST.
Download Change Log and Change Request Template.

Project Change Log

Project Risks and Issues

All the stakeholders should be aware of ALL THE OPEN risks and issues regardless of the severity or priority or impact.
The section contains two columns for risks and issues. For both risks and issues the total number of open risks/issues, total number of medium open risks/issues and total risks/issues which were logged this month.
The slide should also contain the list of OPEN risks and issues from the risk register.
Learn Project Risks Management with Excel Risk Register.

Risks and Issues

Project Actions and Decisions

The actions and decision section allows a project manage to report which action are pending and which decisions were made.
The section lists the action items and decisions open. It also lists actions and decisions which are overdue.
The key thing to note is that actions and decisions have an overdue need to be action-ed ASAP.
The action items and decisions can be coming from other meetings. See How to Write Effective Meeting Minutes.

Click Here to Download the Free PPT Template for Detailed Project Status Report

Tracking project issues is something a project manager has to always do. Having a template to capture issues is very essential to ensure that all the information is captured and all the issues are stored in a central location. Using a common template also ensures consistency which is a sign of a seasoned project manager.

Issues Register Excel Template

Key Points about the Excel Issues Register

Simple Excel based template free to download and use.
Using the template enforces consistency.
Can be used for Project Issue tracking, Project Defect tracking and Issue Tracking in a team.
Captures all the key information required for decision making and tracking.
Contains a summary section which gives a high level view of issues count.
Conditional formatting to highlight high priority issues.

Fields Excel Issues register

Sl No - An incremental unique number for each issue.
Issue Title - A small title for the issue. Examples are "Resourcing Issues", "Login Issue", " Token Issue".
Issue Description - A detailed description of the issue.
Reported On and Reported By - Date when the issue was reported and who it was reported by.
Owner - The person to whom the issue is assigned.
Severity - Can be one of the following values Critical, High, Medium and Low. Severity of an issue in the measure of the impact that the issue has.
Priority - Can be Urgent, High, Medium or Low. The Priority defines how fast this issue should be fixed.

Status - Status can be New, WIP, Closed or On Hold.
New status should be used when the issue is new and no work has started on it yet.
WIP is Work In Progress and should be used for issues which are being worked on.
On Hold status is for issues which have been put on hold for some reason.
Closed should be used for issues which are fully closed.
Comments - A free form text field which can be used for variety of reasons. It can be used for adding status updates, mention any road blocks or dependencies.

Issues Summary

Tips when using the register

Update the issues register as soon as the issue is reported.
You can populate partial information to start with.
Be sure the correct severity and priority are reported.
If in doubt then question the information reported.
Always keep the sheet sorted so that people can find the information they are looking for.
Book a regular meeting to review the issues register.
Publish the issues list regularly. If the issues have to be tracked for a short period then you can send it daily. If the project is long then you can publish it weekly.
The summary section can be pasted directly into the body of the email which will be used to publish the issue register.

Click Here to Download the Free Excel Issues Register

Very often a project manager needs to quickly create a project timeline.This article focuses on how you can use excel to create a project timeline. This exercise happens before the project manager starts the actual project plan which should be far more detailed.

In this article we will look at 3 types of timelines - Single Project Timeline, Multiple Project and Manual Timeline.

Excel Single Project Timeline

Single Project Timeline

Timeline can be used to list tasks for a single project.
Each task has name, start, end and effort.
The start date uses the end date of the previous task. If you want a different start date then just type the date into the cell.
The end date is calculated using the start and effort. Only weekdays are counted.
You can change start date on the timeline and scale on the timeline in the config sheet.
Depending on the duration of your project set the scale of the timeline. If your project is few weeks then set the scale to 1 day. If it is log then set it to 7 days or more.
Note that the bigger the scale lesser the accuracy of the start and end dates.

Excel Multi Project Timeline

Multi Project Timeline MS Excel

Should be used for high level planning for multiple projects.
Has all the features of a single project timeline including the timeline scale.
Displays up to to five projects with. different colors.
Each Project can have max five tasks so always list only the high level tasks.

Excel Manual Project Timeline

A simple way displaying a project timeline.
Manually created by formatting cells and using simple sum formula.
Very flexible and easy to create as you can add as many rows to depict different phases or tasks.

Click Here to Download Microsoft Excel Timeline Template

Facilitating and making decisions is an everyday chore for a project manager. Maintaining a decision log or register allows to a project manager to keep a trail of what decisions were made and who made the decisions. Maintaining a decision log has its own benefits and advantages. Download and use the decision log now to effectively manage your decisions.

Decision Log Template

Reasons to Maintain a Decision Log

Accountability - people forget what they say so it is important to document the decisions and make people accountable.
Trail - the decision log captures all the information required for anyone to understand at a later point in time why a certain decision was made, who made it and who approved it.
Governance - The decision log enforces that every decision be approved. Getting approval means that the decision made could be challenged or validated. Also, all the information regarding thee decisions made will be stored in a single location.
Transparency - The decision log or register is general document which should be accessible to everyone. Everyone in the project team can look at how the decision was made and who made it.
Informed decision making - Last and the most important any decision maker needs to know what are the impacts of their decisions on the project. The decision register gives all the information - details, impacts, who requested it and when and possible actions.

Few Tips when Maintaining a Decision Log

Always try your level best to capture all the fields in the decision log.
For the decision log to be effective the most important factor is that everyone in the team should be aware of the current decision log. If the team is not aware then the maintaining a decision log is of no use.
Use every opportunity to review the decision log with the project team, sponsors, senior management, stakeholders and business SMEs.
Include review of any changes to decision log into weekly project status reports, monthly project status reports, project team meetings and technical decisions.

Not every decision needs to be included into the decision log. A project manager will need to make decision as to what goes onto the decision log. Generally anything that affects cost, schedule or scope has to be on the decision log.
There is a config tab where you can define decision statuses and approves list. You can add up to 10 for both. To add more than 10 statues or approver you will have to change the data validation.

Using the Decision Log

The decision log is simple use. When a request is made for a decision the Project Manager should capture the details, impact proposed by and proposed date. The project manager then needs to determine if the decision needs to go on the log. If yes then who will approve it. The project manager can then table the decision to the required person or team by sending the details to that person.

The decision log has the following fields -

SL No - A incremental counter for the decisions.
Decision Details - Details regarding what decision needs to be made.
Impact - Impact of the decision. Briefly explain what will the impact of the decision on the project,
Proposed on and Proposed By - The person or team who suggested that this decision be made.
Status - Approved, Pending, Declined. Abandoned can be used when the decision is not required any more.
Approved by and Date - The person or entity who approved the decision. By default I have set Project Manager, Manager and Project Control.
Resulting Action/Comments - Any decision taken will have a resulting action. This column should have the details about the action item. It can refer to the action log.

Click Here To Download Free Decision Log Excel Template

The Project Dashboard using MS Excel allows a project manager to generate dashboards which can be used to display project status on bigger displays like TVs or Projectors. It can also be used to report status to senior level management who do not have the time to read a detailed project status report.

Project Dashboard Excel Template

Advantages and Features of the Project Dashboard Excel Template

The dashboard gives a birds eye view of the key parameters of the project and their statues using graphs and timelines.
Provides a view of the schedule, tasks, budget, risks, issues, decisions, actions and change requests pending,
Easy to configure and use as it is excel based.
Displays the schedule as a timeline which makes it easy to visualize the project schedule.
Tracks budget on a month by month basis which makes it easy to access if the budget is still on track.
Has a project commentary section which allows the project manager to enter free form project update.
Has an overall project status indicator which can be used by the project manager to set overall project status in the dashboard.
And it is absolutely FREE.

Disadvantages of the Project Dashboard Excel Template

As it is a separate document the dashboard is not linked to the project plan and will need manual data entry.
The schedule timeline can be difficult to change if you want to add additional tasks. Recommendation is to limit the number of tasks in the timeline. Limit to displaying only high level timeline tasks. It is easy to delete the tasks.

How to Use the Project Dashboard Excel Template

Data Entry Tab

The excel spreadsheet has two tabs - dashboard and data.
Dashboard sheet has the actual status with timeline and graphs. Data has all the fields to be entered so that the graphs work on the dashboard.
The data sheet has a Schedule section which task name, start , end and duration. The duration is auto calculated.
The Task Information has the number of tasks On track, Delayed and Not started. You should be able to get this information from your project plan.
Budget Information - Should contain the budget on monthly basis. There are two columns planned and actual.
Risks and Issues contain a count for High, Medium and Low risks and issues.
Decisions, Actions and Change requests have information about pending decisions, action and change requests.
Project Status can be used to configure the project statues you want to see on the project dashboard.

Click Here to Download the Free Project Dashboard Excel Template

Resource Management becomes more challenging when you have multiple projects and different teams. This Excel Resource Plan is designed to work with multiple projects and teams and to highlight over allocation and under utilization which make Resource Management more effective.

Image 1 - Excel Resource Plan (Advanced) - Allocation View

Image 2 - Excel Resource Plan (Advanced) - Resource Load View

Features and Advantages of the Excel Resource Plan Advanced Version

The resource plan can handle multiple projects and teams.
Allocations for individual resources, teams or projects can be viewed by using default filters in MS Excel.
The resource load view provides a clear picture of how the resources are allocated and any gaps if present in the plan.

The resource plan highlights over-allocated, under-allocated and partially allocated resources.
The Team and Rate are auto populated with the resource name. Also, the cost is calculated for each allocation.
The resource plan is based on weekly allocations so you can plan for long term.
The resources can be setup with team and daily rate.

How the Excel Resource Plan Advanced Version works

The Resource Plan has 3 key sections - The Resource Plan, Resource Load and Config sections.All the sections are contained within separate sheets.

The resource plan takes the allocations from the resource plan sheet and then combines to generate a single view for each resource. Even if the resource has multiple allocations the resource plan will sum up all the allocations for that resource and display that in the resource load sheet.

Now lets have a look at the three sections in detail.

Resource Plan

The first image in the blog(Image 1) and the first sheet in the spreadsheet is the resource plan.
This sheet contains the allocations.
Each row represents a allocation for a resource. It can be different projects or the same project for different dates.
When starting for the first time DO NOT DELETE ALL THE ENTRIES as you might delete all the formulas. Always copy the row to make a new entry.
The resources come from the Resource Load sheet. The team, daily rate and effort will be auto calculated after you select the appropriate resource.

Resource Load

This sheet contains the resource details(Resource Name, Team, Rate) and allocations which are auto populated from the allocation in the resource plan. Different colors are explained in the image below.
DO NOT CHANGE THE ALLOCATIONS ON THE RESOURCE LOAD sheet. The allocations should be auto populated from the resource plan sheet.
The resource load sheet highlights cells to highlight issues.
If a cell is highlighted with red color and white text that means the resource is over allocated in that week.
If the cell is highlighted with green color and green text then all is good as the resource is fully utilized for that week.
If the cell is highlighted in white with red text then it means that the resource is partially allocated in that week.
If the cell has a red color with red text and has a 0 in it then the resource has not allocation in that week.

Resource Load View

Config Section

The config section has the following -

Start Date - Start date for the resource plan.
Weekly Days - The no. of days your team will work in a week.
Min Days - The minimum days threshold per week. If the resource allocation goes below this value then the resource is indicated as under utilized.
Projects - The list of projects for which resources will need to be planned. The max. is 50 projects. It can be more but then the Data Validation will have to be changed accordingly.

Resource Plan Config Section

Steps to start using the Excel Resource Plan Advanced Version

Step 1: Enter the values for the Config sheet. Configure the start date, weekly days, Minimum Days and the project you want to resource.

Step 2: Enter the resource details in the Resource Load sheet. Enter the resource name, Team and Rate. DO NOT ENTER ANYTHING UNDER THE WEEKS AS THAT WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY POPULATED WITH ALLOCATION DATA.

Step 3: Based on the the project resource requirements allocate resource in the first sheet Resource Plan. Each will be an allocation. Always try to avoid partial allocations as it complicates the allocation.

Step 4: As you are allocating the tasks make sure you check the resource load sheet to make sure that all the resource are allocated properly without over or under allocation.

Except for the config in Step 1 you will be repeating steps 2,3 and 4 on regular basis as resource requirements tend to change. A resource manager will typically update the resource plan at least once a week.

Click Here To Download Excel Resource Plan

Capacity Planning Template will help in identifying resource requirements for multiple or single projects. The key foundation of the planning template is based on Resource Type as during the initial phases of planning the exact resource names will not be available.

Capacity Planning Excel Template

Features and Advantages of the Capacity Planning Template Excel

Allows planning for resources across multiple projects.
Based on weekly planning so allows planning up to one year.
Highlights which resource types are in high demand or resource types which are free.
Has a built in resource pool which can be used to setup resources.
The resource pool can be used set the availability of the resource types on a weekly basis.
The Capacity Planning Template can handle up to 10 resource types. (You can add more by changing the sheet structure and updating the formulas).
Planned leaves can be captured by setting the availability in the resource pool for the resource type.

Sections in Capacity Planning Template Excel

There are two key sections - Capacity Planner and Resource Requirements.

The Capacity Planner consists of two areas - Planner and Resource Pool. Resource Pool is the area where you configure all your resources and their availability. The availability is based on weekly time so if a person is working full time then they are assumed to be available 5 days per week, if they are working 50% part time then 2.5 and so on.

The Planner area is the key as it displays the availability and deficit based on the Resource Requirements. The Resource Requirements tab is the area where the planned projects and resource are allocated. The resource requirements can handle multiple projects and resource types.

How to use the Capacity Planner

Follow the below steps to start using the Capacity Planning Excel Template -

Step 1: Gathering Project Information

Gather a list of projects which are to be planned for the specified duration.
Collect high level estimates for the projects. During the capacity planning phase it is natural to not have the detailed estimates and WBS.
Generally, the projects are also resourced on past estimates or guesstimates.

Capacity Planning Excel Template

Step 2: Updating the Resource Pool

Update the Resource Pool Section with the resource types in your organisation.
If you have too many resource types I would recommend keeping the resource type to as minimum as possible to avoid maintenance overhead.
In the resource pool section update the total availability for the resource type. For example if you have two project managers who are full time then the total availability will be 10 days, if you have DBA who is part time then it 2.5.
Also, update the holidays or vacation times. For example if there one public holiday in week starting 4th Jan then that week everyone should be available for 4 days.
If an individual is going on leave then you can update the availability for that resource type. For example if you have two project managers then the usual availability would be 10 days but if one of then is going on leave it would reduce to 5 days a week.

Capacity Planning Excel Template

Note : No changes are required in the planner section so do not update any data under the planner area.

Step 3: Update the resource requirements

For each project start entering the project name, project phase and select the resource type.
Then enter the requirements for that resource in weeks.
Review the planner section to see issues with the resource needs.
The capacity planner auto highlights cells to indicate any issues with the allocations or utilization.

Click Here To Download Capacity Planning Excel Template

This resource matrix excel template provides a very basic way of managing resources. The resource matrix is a mapping between resources and projects. It can also be used to manage tasks. The template can also handle assigning a resource to multiple projects.

Resource Matrix Excel Template

Some things to know about Resource Matrix Template Excel

The Resource Matrix is simple to use and provides a complete view of the resources.
The resource matrix can be used for managing project resources or for regular team management.
As a resource is listed only once it is very easy to know where a given resource is allocated.
Easy to print the report for senior management.
Resources can be allocated to multiple projects or tasks.
Excel built-in filters can be used to filter on resources and roles.
When a resource is free the cell is highlighted for easy tracking.

How to use the Resource Matrix Template Excel

Resource Matrix Excel Template Usage Tip

The resource matrix has two columns - Resources and Role.
The resource column should have the resource names.
Role should have the role for that resource.
Each resource should be defined only once.
The columns after the role column are allocations.
Define Project Codes for each project so that the project names do not get too long.
Based on the resource requirements populate the month columns with the project name to which the resource is allocated for that month.
If you type the words "Free" than that column will be auto highlighted to yellow color.
If the resource is not available that month then you can enter N/A.

Techno-Tip : If you want to see resource allocation for specific resource then use the in-built excel filters.

Click Here to Download the Resource Matrix Excel Template

Reporting project status on a weekly basis is a known practice for project managers. The weekly status report excel template has a project health card, project schedule, project financials and shows Top 5 items pending.

Weekly Status Report Format

Project Health Card for the Weekly Status Report

The project health card provides a quick overview of all the key project health parameters.
The project health card also allows the project to set an overall project health status.
Each parameter or attribute has a status and description.
You can add or remove any of the project parameters as you wish.

Project Health Card

Project Schedule

The project schedule in the weekly status report format displays the key project tasks in a tabular format.
The weekly status report format allows to define task name, start, finish, progress, projected date and concerns.
Projected date is the expected date for completion for that task. The Finish date should not be changed after the project plan is base lined. If you keep changing the finish date then you will now how much the actual task slipped.

Project Schedule

Project Financials

The weekly status report template provides a basic way of sharing project financials.
The table has item description, planned spend, actual spend and variance.
The variance is auto calculated and highlighted.

Project Financials

Click Here to Download the Weekly Status Report Template

Many managers like to get daily status updates from their team members. It is very important that the update be brief so that it is easy to update and easy to ready. Typically, a manager wants to spend only a minute or two reading updates from team member.

Daily Status Update Template

How to use the Daily Status Template

The template has basic name and date fields.
Use the Key Updates section to give a highlights about the tasks you are working on. Also mention any issues that you are are currently facing and if possible mark it in RED.
The task status has a few sections. The In Progress section should have the task names your are working on. It recommended that you include a % complete on your current tasks.
The upcoming should contain the tasks you plan to start next.
Delayed tasks should the task names and details if any of your tasks are delayed.
The other notes section can be used to report upcoming holidays or leave plans,

Techno-Tip: When sending the update include the content of your report into the email body so that your manager can easily ready it without having the need to open the document.

Download the Daily Status Update Excel Template

Download the Daily Status Update Word Template

This excel task management dashboard and tracker can be used to manage set of tasks. The dashboard graphs shows 3 key areas of tracking - Task Information, Task Status and Resource Load.

Excel Task Management Dashboard

Advantages and Features of Excel Task Management Dashboard

Track task status based on % complete.
Highlights overdue and complete tasks for better visualization of problem tasks.
Task progress is reported using traffic light indicators.
Can handle a list of 20 pre-defined holidays. Holidays are reduced from the task duration.
Calculates % Complete Forecast based on start and finish dates.
End date is auto calculated based on start date and duration of the tasks entered.
Provides a high level graphical view of task information, task status and resource load.
Task Information Graphs show the following task breakup - Total, Not Started, In-Progress, Complete and Overdue.
Task Status shows the task breakup for the On track, Concern and Delayed.
Resource Load shows the work load on the resources in days.

Some key points about task statues

Task Progress is reported based on difference between Actual % Complete and Forecast % Complete.
A task is highlighted as green in the progress column if it is on track. So, the % complete should be equal or greater than the forecast % complete.
A task is highlighted as amber when the task is less than 5% behind schedule. So, the delay should be between 1 - 5%.
A task is highlighted as red when the task is delayed by more than 5% complete.
A task is highlighted as overdue when the end date has passed and the task is not complete.
A task is highlighted as complete if the actual % complete is 100%.

How to use the Excel Task Management Dashboard

How to use the task tracker and dashboard

Step 1: In the data tab of the sheet define the resource names and public holidays in your region.

Step 2: Create the task by copying an existing row. It is important that you copy existing row so that the formulas get copied.

Step 3: Add the basic task details like Sl. No, Task, Resource Name/Assigned (drop down) and Project Name.

Step 4 (Key Step): Enter ONLY the start date and the duration.

End date, Forecast Complete %, Progress, Overdue and complete column will be auto populated. DON'T CHANGE THE VALUES IN THE COLUMNS WITH BLUE HEADINGS.

Once the basic steps are complete then the steps 2,3 and 4 will have to be repeated on regular basis. It is recommended that you update Actual % Complete onregular basis so that the charts will give the latest status. Please see the below image for different types of charts in the dashboard.

Task Information, Task Status and Resource Load Charts

Some limitations of the Excel Task Management Dashboard

Cannot handle individual resource holidays.
Can handle up to 10 resource names and 20 public holidays.
With so many columns easy to override the values in the columns with formulas.
No data validations on any columns.

Click Here to Download Excel Task Management Dashboard

Task Management and Project Management are different activities carried our by different people. In some cases task management can be a subset of project management. The decision to use task management or project management depends on the size of the work that needs to be done.

Task Management vs Project Management

Focus

Focus of task management is on individual tasks or a set of task done by a team. Generally. these tasks are more BAU(Business As Usual) type tasks or day to day maintenance tasks.
Project Management focus is on the entire project team and delivery. The delivery of the end product is tracked rigorously. Stakeholder management and change management are given high priority.

Ownership, Priorities and Decision Making

Ownership of tasks is with the team leader or the line managers. In some cases the owner might report the status to project managers if the tasks being performed are part of a bigger projects.
In case of projects the ownership for tracking and reporting is with the project manager. The overall ownership of the project is with the project sponsor. In many cases the project manager is also given the complete ownership of the project. Project decisions are made in structured fashion as compared to task decisions or priorities.

Documentation

This is one of the major differences when it comes to task management vs project management.

Task Management requires limited documentation mostly a Excel Task Management Template or Excel Task Management Dashboard Template.
Project Management requires quite a few documents to be maintained which includes project plans, risk registers, change registers etc. A project manager spends significant amount of time in updating and maintaining the documentation.

Status Reporting

Task Management reporting is very informal and is general done via emails.
Project Status Reporting is detailed and contains additional information like risks and costs associated with the project.

Resource planning is a crucial part of any project planning activity. Without having adequate resources the project is bound to fail. During the project execution if you fall short of resources then you might not get enough time to on-board resources. On the other hand if you have excess resources the project might end up paying extra cost.

Project Resource Planning

To ensure that the project is adequately resourced a series of steps can be performed before you finalize the final pool of resources you will need for your project.

Like the saying "more than one way to skin the cat..." there will always be more than one option to resource a project. As a project manager you will have to put the options forward to the stakeholders for a decision.

Step 1 : Tasks and Skills Required

Understand the tasks involved in the project.
At early stages of the project it is difficult to get an exact estimate of the work involved.
Use whatever information you can get on your hands.
Work with the team leaders or managers to understand the skills involved.
For each skill required understand the level of expertise and the effort involved.
You can use a simple table like below for breaking up the tasks and understanding which skills are required.

Project Resource Planning

Step 2 : Create a draft project timeline with high level project phases

Discuss with the stakeholders about their expectation on the delivery date. Based on the delivery date you can suggest options to the stakeholders. By default most of the time the delivery date is ASAP.
Drafting a timeline will give you an idea about the different phases in the project.
Recommendation is to create a project timeline on weekly basis. You can use excel to create the draft timeline as below.
The timeline assumes the resources will work full time which will be 5 days a week.

Project Resource Planning Timeline

Step 3 : Overlay resources and project phases

After the draft project timeline and effort/skills required is know then a mapping exercise needs to be done.This is the most tricky part of the process as it involves changing and trying different options.

First Option

By default assume that you will have one resource for each skill set. I recommend highlighting the weeks used so that it is visible easily. So, with one resource in each skill set the project is estimated to be complete by middle of April 2016.

If the delivery date is inline with the expectation of the stakeholders then you do not need to consider further options.

Project Resource Planning - Default Option

Alternate Options (Option 2)

The alternate options you provide will depend on your project budget, company resource pool and other factors. For the sake of this article I will add one more Option - 2 which will include additional resources to the development and QA phases to be able to deliver the project early.

To add additional resources increase the allocation to double for development and QA Phases.

So, the duration for the work to be complete will be reduced by 50%. In the plan I will increase the weekly allocation to 10 which indicates that two resources will be working in that week.

If additional resources are added to the development and QA phase then the project will be delivered in first week of Feb which is 2.5 months earlier than the first option. However, there will be additional cost for adding more resources.

Project Resource Planning - Option 2

Step 4 : Finalize your Project Resource Planning

After drafting your options you have to finalize the resource requirement and costs with each option. For the above timelines it is clear as to when the resources will work on tasks. Ideally, you would like to have the resources available during that time and then off load them.

In reality it does not work that way. In the real world when you get a resource onto a project the resource will generally remain on that project till the project completes. The only exception is when the resource pool is flexible and other projects can use them,

All of the roles required for the project will be supporting the project is some or other way. For example Developer will be needed in the QA period to fix bugs, Analyst will be required to clarify business requirements. Both developer and QA will be needed to support the system after it goes live.

How long each resource needs to stay on the project is a project team decision and the project manager should take inputs from technical leaders and managers. There is no fixed rule for retaining people on the project. It is generally determined by cost and need of having people on the project. There is a always a cost associated with retaining the resources on the project.

Based on on the project need and demand increase the allocation of the resource in the project resource plan as highlighted below. Adding the support and maintenance effort will give you the actual cost of the entire project.

After applying the costs to both the options the second option is slightly more but the project can be delivered faster. But it also has an overhead in terms of hiring and training a new resource.

Project Resource Plan with Support - Option 2

After you have completed both the options you can discuss the options with senior stakeholders and managers before publishing. Senior managers can always provide useful feedback into the plans. There is a rate and cost column which can be used to calculate resource costs. See our 13 best practices for resource management.

Click Here if you want a copy of the Project Resource Plan XLS

Resource Management has its own challenges and problems. With a lot of companies focusing on optimizing resources the resource management function has become a core activity. In this article I have listed a few practices than can help a resource manager manage the resources effectively.

Resource Management Best Practices

#1 : Maintain a resource plan

Always maintain a resource plan.
It does not mater which tool you use it is important that a resource manager always has access to latest resource allocations.
You may use a Simple Resource Plan, Resource Matrix or Advanced Resource Plan.
The resource plan is like a contract between everyone so the plan should be up to date.
Use a resource plan which supports multiple projects. You may also consider using Capacity Planner.

#2 : Have dedicated resource manager

This is very effective if you have a large team of resources.
The resource manager will be responsible for updating the resourcing plans and will be the single point of contact for resource allocations.
The resource manager should track only the resource loading. How the resources utilized in a project is a project manager's responsibility.

#3: Regularly update. review and publish resource plans

It is important to update the resource plan regularly.
I will recommend that you update the plan at least once a week.
Review the plan with team managers and project managers at least once in two weeks.
Publish the resource plan to everyone including the team on regular basis.

#4 : Leave enough room for other day to day activities

Anyone working in any organisation has to spend time on other tasks like meetings, performance reviews, training and other such day to day routine tasks.
It is important that a resource manager leaves room for such activities and so does the project manager.
This can be achieved by reducing the resource availability for everyone by certain %.
The % of time spent on such tasks will very from organisation to organisation.
By looking at the time sheet data for resources you will be able to get an approximate idea about the time resources spend on other activities.

#5: Maintain a resource leave and public holiday register

It is vital for a resource manager to know who is on leave and for how much time.
Without knowing the leave plan allocating resources is very dangerous as the project managers will assume the resources are available and plan the project.

#6 : Enforce additional leave approval policies

Implement policies outside normal HR Policies.
For example 1 day leave needs to approved one week in advance, one week should be notified one month in advance and anything more than that a quarter in advance.
This will allow the resource manager to plan accordingly.
Always insist on a backup being identified for the resource going on leave.

#7 : Automate and track resource time sheets

It is important to know here your resources are spending time.
There are quite a few systems which allow you track time. One of them is JIRA.
Having the ability to track time allows a resource manager to compare actual vs planned.

#8 : Demand to see project plans and track project progress

After a resource manager assigns resources to a project it is the project managers responsibility to make sure the resources are utilized.
But it is important that a resource manger knows when the project will start and complete so that he can plan next assignments for the resources.
Also, knowing the project plan helps in understanding how much work load each resource has.
The resource manager may also be able to identify opportunities where resources can be shared across projects.
Check how your project managers can plan project resources effectively.

# 9 : Actively track resource cost

Depending on the resource pool different resources will have different costs.
It is up to the resource manager to actively track resource costs and inform the project managers of any cost changes to the resources.
Also, track that the resource are billable on the right project. It is very easy for a resource to get distracted on non-billable tasks.
You may consider using Excel Budget Template for resource cost tracking.

#10 : Automate resource requests

It is helpful in tracking and maintaining audit log when resources are requested.
It also allows the resource manager to ask for any additional information required as most of the system allow customization.
It is easier to enforce standards when requests are automated.

#11 : Have a resource approval hierarchy

Always have a approval hierarchy to make sure that you are making the right decisions.
In some organisations the resources are jointly owned and having approval hierarchy gives an opportunity to validate the resource requests.
Senior managers in the approval hierarchy can also validate the alignment of the resource requests with the organisations priorities.

#12 : Plan forward for long term and be conscious of upcoming projects

Always try to plan forward and keep your resource plans updated for at least one quarter in advance.
Also, keep a track of the new upcoming projects to find out what kind of resources will be needed.

#13 : Keep buffer for on-boarding and training

When a new resource is on-boarded it takes a while for the resource to start getting productive.
Make sure that the project manager leaves buffer for the boarding and training activity in the project plan,
Some buffer is needed to be maintained when a new resource from a different project joins.

A project management dashboard is an handy tool for any project manager to give the project status in a snapshot. A dashboard should be able to convey status of key project parameters visually. This dashboard can be used for status updates with senior management or directors don't have time to go through the details.

Project Management Dashboard

Features and Advantages of the Project Management Dashboard

Covers the key project management parameters with visual graphs for easy visualization.
Covers project schedule, budget, risks, issues and change management.
Provides an option to visualize the project timeline. As the timeline is manual it can be changed as per needs.
The Schedule section allows to update % complete and task break up - On Track, Concern and Delayed.
The Budget section caters for different expense categories like Resources, Software, Hardware and others. Each category allows Planned, Spent and Remaining costs.
The Risks and Issues section allows high, medium and low open items to be displayed.
Open Change Requests, Action Items and Pending Decisions can be displayed in a graph.
A free form update for any other project activities and basic attributes like project name, project manager etc are also covered.
As it is PowerPoint based dashboard it can be used to combine and report multiple projects.
And it is free to download and customize as per your needs !!!

How to use the Project Management Dashboard

The Project Management Dashboard contains 3 main sections - Project basics, Project Health and Project Timeline and Key Updates.

Project Basics

The project basics section has Project Name, Project Manager/Sponsor, Status Date and Project Status. All of them are text fields and can be modified as per requirement.

Project Basics

Project Health

Project health has 4 graphs - Schedule, Budget, Risks/Issues and Change Requests. You can edit the data by right clicking on the graphs. You will have two options to edit the data.
First("Edit Data"), you can do a edit in the presentation. You can edit the data but cannot column/field names.
Second("Edit Data in Excel"), you can do a edit in excel which will allow to edit data and do any other changes to the columns/fields.

Project Health

Project Timeline and Key Updates

The project timeline is manual and does not use any graphs. It can get a bit cumbersome to use but provides a lot flexibility as you can change the timeline to reflect days/weeks/quarters and add new project phases without much of change. The timeline should be used only for high level project phases.
The other key updates and notes should be used to provide a brief update on project activities. The updates should be kept as brief as possible.

Project Timeline and Key Updates

Click Here to Download the Free Project Management PowerPoint Dashboard

Showing multiple project timelines is a routine task for anyone managing multiple projects. The multiple project timeline not only allows displaying multiple project is also allows to provide a quick status about the project parameters.

Multiple Project Timeline Template

Different sections in Multiple Project Timeline PowerPoint Template

Different section in the timeline template

1. The title and the timeline - you can give a title that suits you and change the timeline as per you needs. By default the timeline is monthly but you can change it to weekly and quarterly.

2. The projects and phases - each project is separated by a line and can have multiple tasks. As this is a high level timeline I suggest you keep it high level. I prefer using different colors for different projects so that it is easy to visualize the timeline.

3. The project health - the project health for each project can be changed. The project health is a chart. To mark the status red, amber or green enter 1 in the respective columns.

Project Health

Click Here to Download the Multiple Project Timeline PowerPoint Template

When you are managing multiple projects it always a challenge to report the current status in a quick and easy format. This project portfolio dashboard will allow you report status on multiple projects.

Portfolio Dashboard PPT Template

Features of the Project Portfolio Dashboard PPT Template

The dashboard has a project road map for the year.
The road map can be used to display project timelines.
The project health card covers the key parameters about the project - schedule, budget, resources, risks and changes. Depending on the status change the color of the traffic lights.
Use red if the situation is out on control, amber is it is concern and green if all ok.
The project funding section displays the costs for each of the project.
The resource allocation will tell how many resources are allocated to each project.
The project risks can be used to display risks count for high, medium and low. This section is also used to display open changes requests, issues and the total no. of risks open.
The project funding, resource allocation and project risks are graphs. The graphs can be edited by right clicking and selecting edit data.
The edit data can be used to do an edit in PowerPoint or do an edit in excel. Doing it in excel will allow to change formulas.

Project Summary

Project Overview

Project Costs

Project Benefits

Intangible Benefits

Project Risks and Issues

Project Closure Terms

Project Proposal Approvals

Tangible Benefits

Increased Revenue

Resource Cost Savings

Hardware Cost Savings

Software Cost Savings

Productivity Gain

Process Improvements

Intangible Benefits

Enhanced User Experience

Increased Customer Satisfaction

Increased Compliance

Brand Equity

Contents of a the Project Kick Off Meeting Agenda Template -

Few tips for an effective project kick off meeting agenda -

The detailed project status report has the following sections –

Project Team

Project News and Updates

Project Health Card

Project Schedule and Tasks

Project Financials

Project Change Log

Project Risks and Issues

Project Actions and Decisions

Click Here to Download the Free PPT Template for Detailed Project Status Report

Key Points about the Excel Issues Register

Fields Excel Issues register

Tips when using the register

Excel Single Project Timeline

Excel Multi Project Timeline

Excel Manual Project Timeline

Reasons to Maintain a Decision Log

Few Tips when Maintaining a Decision Log

Using the Decision Log

Advantages and Features of the Project Dashboard Excel Template

Disadvantages of the Project Dashboard Excel Template

How to Use the Project Dashboard Excel Template

Features and Advantages of the Excel Resource Plan Advanced Version

How the Excel Resource Plan Advanced Version works

Resource Plan

Resource Load

Config Section

Steps to start using the Excel Resource Plan Advanced Version

Features and Advantages of the Capacity Planning Template Excel

Sections in Capacity Planning Template Excel

How to use the Capacity Planner

Some things to know about Resource Matrix Template Excel

How to use the Resource Matrix Template Excel

Project Health Card for the Weekly Status Report

Project Schedule

Project Financials

Top Items Pending

How to use the Daily Status Template

Advantages and Features of Excel Task Management Dashboard

Some key points about task statues

How to use the Excel Task Management Dashboard

Some limitations of the Excel Task Management Dashboard

Focus

Ownership, Priorities and Decision Making

Documentation

Status Reporting

Step 1 : Tasks and Skills Required

Step 2 : Create a draft project timeline with high level project phases

Step 3 : Overlay resources and project phases

Step 4 : Finalize your Project Resource Planning

#1 : Maintain a resource plan

#2 : Have dedicated resource manager

#3: Regularly update. review and publish resource plans

#4 : Leave enough room for other day to day activities

#5: Maintain a resource leave and public holiday register

#6 : Enforce additional leave approval policies

#7 : Automate and track resource time sheets

#8 : Demand to see project plans and track project progress