Before planning or starting a project, it is essential to ensure that you have the right materials necessary to collect data for efficient strategizing. This immense responsibility falls in the hands of the project manager. It takes a lot of time and effort and requires efficiency. The good news is that there are tools available that can make work easier. A good example are project management excel templates.
These pre-made project management excel templates significantly help lighten project managers’ workload by ensuring time convenience, productivity, functionality, and availability of resources. It eliminates the need to do things the traditional way, such as manual data collection, schedules, and appointments written on notebooks, Post-It notes, and paperwork. These templates have practically everything ready for you.
Pre-made templates abound online, but the most popular would have to be Microsoft Excel. While some prefer to go with newer options, many project managers prefer Microsoft Excel pre-made templates.
They’re easy to use and save time. Good templates help make work easier and more efficient. These templates help project managers delegate tasks and determine which ones are more important and critical. Most PM templates can be downloaded for free.
Microsoft Excel is ideal for practically all areas of project management. However, even something as user-friendly as Excel can become a bit daunting for someone who has no idea what to do or where to start. This is where the pre-made PM templates come in.
Gantt Chart
The Gantt chart is a go-to template for project managers who value details. This bar chart specifies the tasks (vertical axis) and the time intervals or schedules (horizontal axis). As such, users can identify when the project starts and the target completion dates. Some Gantt charts include subtasks and other details such as task description and assignments for proper task hierarchy and convenient monitoring of deliverables.
There are different Gantt charts, but the Excel Gantt chart is the most ideal for project managers handling small to mid-sized projects. It is simple and easy to use for those who are not too technical and equipped with basic Microsoft Excel skills.
Project Tracker Template
Managers want their team members to update their projects constantly, and that is precisely what the project tracker template is for. It keeps track of and stores all essential project details and information in one location (usually a spreadsheet). As such, team members can easily access whatever they need to monitor and ensure that the project moves towards the right path and schedule.
Project tracker templates plan, organize, and monitor tasks and projects in real-time. Additionally, managers can edit and add elements to the template, such as priorities, breakdown of deliverables, deadlines, and more tasks.
Critical Path Method Template
This project management template helps managers and teams identify tasks they need to attend to immediately and those that they can afford to delay a little bit. The template uses a spreadsheet that comes with a Gantt chart that indicates the most critical tasks and the flexible schedule for the non-critical ones. This simpler CPM template is preferable to the complicated specialized versions because anyone in the team will find it easy to use.
Work Breakdown Structure Template
WBS or Work Breakdown Structure is about organizing and breaking down larger tasks into smaller details and defining the deliverables. This allows managers and their team members to visualize tasks, subtasks, and everything else they need to attend to. The breakdown gives teams a complete view of the entire project, ensuring more efficient and comprehensive planning, budgeting, and scheduling.
Social Media Plan Template
Social media is an important marketing tool, and businesses know this. As such, project managers also need to recognize social media’s value by creating a concrete plan. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter can serve as reliable platforms for internal and external project updates.
Internal social media updates allow managers and their teams to stay updated with ongoing tasks, actions, and progress. External updates are geared towards stakeholders, informing them of vital project details.
A good social media plan template helps teams organize and identify their goals and target market or audience. Likewise, task assignments and the status of each goal are also indicated in the plan. With the template, project managers and their teams will find it easier to develop a solid social media strategy.
Budget Template
Budgeting is not an easy task regardless of the type and size of a project. After all, not everyone is confident or comfortable with numbers. Nevertheless, all projects need a budget, especially the small and medium-sized ones. This is where the budget template comes in.
Excel budget templates help project managers and teams create a detailed budget indicating the expenses, income, and essential details that can guarantee the success of a project’s financial aspects.
Event Planning Template
Almost every project needs an event or two (or more), especially if the goal is to spread the word to as many people as possible. However, event planning is never easy as there are tons of details and a long checklist to take care of. This is why an event planning template is a vital tool for every team.
With the template, teams no longer have to write pages upon pages of things to do – find a venue, look for a caterer, send invitations, choose a date, and work out a budget. All they need to do is access the template, create the checklist, and go about fulfilling their tasks.
Event planning templates likewise allow teams to create a guest list and then send off the invites without any hassle. Additionally, users can also take note of entertainers (such as bands or singers) and guest speakers for their events. Getting in touch with the concerned parties is easier. It’s the most convenient way of communicating with all parties involved in the event.
The best way to know which project management excel templates are right for you is to determine your goals – for the project and your team. You can choose to go with one or two, or probably all the options available. The most important thing to realize is the value that Excel PM templates can add to your project.
