Project Management Excel Templates are important in the project planning and tracking phase. We’ll show you how to turn your data into easy-to-read graphics using data visualization. It’s an easy way to show the actual status to clients or management without sharing the project details.
The bundle will help you track the actual status of the project. Furthermore, you can manage risks and communicate progress to your team members and project owners. What are you waiting for? Browse and download useful free project management templates.
Project Management Templates
Can Excel be used for project management? Project managers can use Excel to track and manage their projects in several ways. Discover our 22 useful and free downloadable project management templates. Each template is fully compatible with Microsoft Excel.
The first target is project tracking. There are many diverse tools at our disposal to support this primary goal. For example, we have modeled a software development task in Excel and complemented it with some decision-supporting tools. This is the best way to show and share the project’s status without deeply diving into the details.
Phases of Project Management
Now let us see the key project phases and the project life cycle. The main goal is to improve control and quality. So here are a few words about what part tasks we should list in the specific phases!
- In the initiation phase, we perform the following tasks: resources management, cost management, the definition of goals, risk analysis, and finally, the approval phase.
- In the second stage (development phase), the main tasks are: creating WBS (work breakdown structure), setting up the budget, and cash-flow planning. Finally, at the end of this phase, we have to decide, based on the collected Data, if we should launch the project.
- We can proceed with the most important phase if we get the green light. This is the execution phase, which is about effectively doing the work. The following key tasks must be done: progress monitoring, testing, resolving issues, and creating templates, reports, and forecasts.
- The fourth phase is the project’s ending (deliverance); all testing is done, and we analyze the tasks done so far.
Gantt Chart Project Planner Template
You can plan and track project activities using the Gantt chart Excel template. The template uses a Gantt chart for project planning to create a quick overview. You need to add only a few data: dates and duration of the task.
Project Planner uses periods for intervals. For example, start = 1 is period 1, and duration = 5 means the project spans 5 periods starting from the start period. Enter data starting in B5 to update the chart.
You can manage different activities using the Gantt chart and focus on your selected stage.
Project Activity Template
The project activity template will overview the planning and scheduling phase. Switch between the ‘Project’ and ‘HR’ views! Have you many tasks at the same time? No problem, you can reassign the human resources. We are using conditional formatting to create the heat map.
Critical Path Method (CPM) Template
The critical Path Method (CPM) gets an overview for project managers to check which tasks are critical and which are late.
At first, this template helps you to define the required tasks and build a sorted list. After that, create a Gantt chart to show the relationships between tasks. Last but not least, find the critical and non-critical paths! As a result, resolve the predicted completion time for each task. You can find more on Vertex42.
Issue Tracker Template
We recommend our one-page spreadsheet if you are looking for a simple issue-tracking template. The reusable template contains the following columns: ID, issue, type, priority, and open and close dates.
Project Risk Template
In this project management example, the project risk template uses an average ranking to get the final score. The relative ranking of the risks sets this priority list. Risk is any unexpected event that affects the main project. In the example, you can choose three flags for risk: high, medium, and low.
Project Timeline Template
Project control will be easy if you use a project timeline template. Create milestone events and show the activities in a given period.
Project Tracker
Manage, track, and update your project details using this project tracker template. The tracker can be useful to show and track each task’s progress against the plan. However, our Gantt chart template-based tool is the best choice if you can manage sub-tasks using a single Worksheet.
Project Budget Template
The project budget template aims to compare the target values with actual ones. As usual, you can edit the template according to your needs.
Project Timesheet Template
Calculating the differences between the finish time and the start time is easy. Use the =MOD(‘finish time’-‘start time’,1)*24 formula to convert the gap into hours. Project timesheets are an essential part of the business. Track your employee’s work hours, sick days, and overtime hours, and save your money. The spreadsheet (examples on this post) can help you accurately track time without boring paperwork.
Project Management Dashboard Template
Dashboard and data visualization are important if you are a project member or owner. Use this spreadsheet to overview the status of your project! Think out of the box and drill down the data for the team members. Extract and share your project details quickly! Don’t forget: Gantt chart is your friend!
