Project management is a daunting undertaking, and trust us when we say that you'll need all the help from Excel that you can get.
Creating project management templates from scratch, however, would be another daunting task on top of being a massive waste of time.
So, whether you’re an experienced project manager or someone starting their project management journey, you're probably here because you're on the lookout for new templates to make the job better and easier to handle.
Well, consider yourself lucky because we have compiled some Excel templates that we think you’ll find very useful.
Project Portfolio template by Power-user
When managing projects, the first thing you need is to reference, describe and analyze all your projects.
The Project Portfolio template from Power-user provides you with the perfect tool to manage all your projects, handle priorities and easily share reporting on the progress made, the necessary alerts or the value created.
You can access it along with other Excel templates by downloading the Power-user add-in.
Gantt Chart Template by vertex42
Gantt charts are one of the most well-loved and well-used templates among project managers. It takes your project timeline a step further by letting you add more details such as start dates, end dates, project duration, and other milestones you have to accomplish before the project is finally completed.
With each milestone are a list of tasks and the people they are assigned to, so you can easily track which stage of the process the work is at and what's left to be done before the deliverables are due.
Gantt charts come in handy when dealing with more complex projects and co-dependent tasks. By sharing them with the team and stakeholders, you can improve accountability while keeping all the key players in the loop.
Project Timeline Template by Smartsheet
Timelines are essential for project management because they keep you and your team posted of important milestones throughout the course of completing the project, so you're all on the same page.
A project timeline template will help you digest complex information better, track the progress of every task involved, and identify potential causes of delay. The project timeline template from Smartsheet can help you plan, track, and manage tasks – it is great for projects of any scale. Use it to collaborate with the team and update everyone of the project's status.
To-do List Template by Power-user
After creating your general timeline and laying out your Gantt chart, you’ll need something that will help you manage due dates, organize individual tasks, and schedule your priorities while keeping your team updated. Well, look no further than the to-do list template from Power-user.
You can use the To-do List template to set due dates, establish priority levels, and indicate who's in charge of specific tasks or stages of the project to keep everybody informed. You can even set alerts for assignments that are due soon so that no task is missed and each member is held accountable for their individual role in the project.
You can access this template as well as all other Excel templates directly from the add-in for Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
Issue Tracking Template by ProjectManager
Every project has its share of issues. What's important is that you don't let these issues fall through the cracks. Whether the problem is big or small, it is crucial to identify and resolve it right away to prevent it from affecting deliverables and causing unwanted delays.
An issue tracking template may be underrated, but it can ultimately affect the success of your project. With such a template at your disposal, you can spot issues as soon as they arise, pinpoint where they came from, and figure out a way to solve them as quickly as possible.
Make use of the issue tracking template to encourage team members to raise whatever issues they encounter in the project so that you or the managers can set priority levels and assign the problem to someone who can address them before they get lost in the shuffle.
While some issues are too small to cause any serious damage or inconveniences, it’s better to document and sort them out right away than be bothered with them again in the future.
KPI tracking template by Smartsheet
Organizing your projects is obviously very important, but just as important is measuring their performance. With a KPI tracking template, you can gauge whether or not you're hitting your mark at every phase.
Use a KPI dashboard to track key data points and easily share the reports and metrics with your team so together you can assess better ways of maximizing your business’ performance.
With a KPI tracking template, you can evaluate and alter your strategies before it’s too late to do anything about it.
Truly, project managers deserve a reliable software that can help them juggle the varying demands of their job. That said, we hope these project management templates help you improve efficiency and bring much-needed standardization to the whole process.
About The Author
Anthony Stevens is the Content Specialist for Excel Templates, a resource for free Excel templates including calendars and charts. When not writing, he spends time building furniture and running with his dog.