Keeping track of several projects can be a challenge. But if you have a multiple project tracking template, it can help make the task more manageable. With this template, you can manage your projects using a single file. In this article, we’ll go through everything you need to know about multiple project management spreadsheet or templates.
Table of Contents
- 1 Multiple Project Tracking Templates
- 2 Why should you use a multiple project tracking template?
- 3 Excel Project Management Templates
- 4 Common types of multiple project tracking templates
- 5 Excel Project Plan Templates
- 6 Using a multiple project tracking template in Microsoft Excel
- 7 Project Management Spreadsheets
Multiple Project Tracking Templates
Why should you use a multiple project tracking template?
The easiest way to make a template is by using Microsoft Excel. An Excel project management template can be a very effective tool, especially when you need to manage a number of projects whether simple or complex, big or small. Some people believe that you only need an Excel project plan template if you’re dealing with big, elaborate projects.
But the truth is, you can utilize such a template in every project, no matter how small your projects are. This document will help you stay more organized, therefore, giving you one less thing to worry about.
A multiple project tracking template can be very useful in all the different phases of your projects. The template will provide you with a place to keep all of the important information about your project. It’s easy to access, and you can even share it with your entire team to keep them updated. The best part is, after making your own template or using the one we’ve made for you, you can keep reusing it every time you have many projects that need handling.
Excel Project Management Templates
Common types of multiple project tracking templates
If you’re planning to use a multiple project tracking template, you should know that there are different types you can choose from. Each type of Excel project plan template suit different kinds of projects. So, you need to know which template to use for which situation. Here are some of the most common types of multiple project tracking template Excel to use:
Agile project plan
The basis for this type of project management spreadsheet is the projects’ features. With it, you can provide estimations of how long the delivery of each feature will be without adding too many details about the delivery process itself. In this template, you can group projects which have similar features into categories. After developing this type of template, one person needs to keep on updating the information as needed.
An agile project plan includes the tasks of the projects, the people responsible for those tasks, start dates, end dates, and the status of each task.
Gantt chart
This is one of the most popularly used templates available. In this type, you can include the names of the tasks, the start dates, end dates, and the duration of those tasks. Then you would transform all of this information into a horizontal bar chart. With a Gantt chart, it’s quick and easy to visualize the priority levels of the tasks and find out which of them depend on each other. This is especially effective when you’re dealing with an elaborate project with many features.
With the right software, you can even use an interactive Gantt chart. With such software, you can customize the chart using different symbols and colors to make it more detailed and easy to understand. You can make use of conditional formatting and other features to highlight the important parts of your projects.
Just like the other types of templates, a Gantt chart allows you to keep all of the information about your projects in a single place. After sharing the document with the other members of your team, everyone will know all of the details of the projects and the most important tasks.
This type of template is especially useful when you’re managing a big project as it will help you keep everything organized and under control. Whether you use simple software to make the chart or one that has a lot of features, a Gantt chart will make project management simpler and easier.
Issue tracker
When you’re dealing with several projects, there’s always a chance that some issues go unnoticed. By nature, most projects come will hidden risks. For instance, you might not have defined the scope, you might have inaccurate dependencies and more. Then their effects only come to light at crucial times when they become impossible to manage.
You can prevent this from happening by making an issue tracker template. The key to dealing with risks is to identify them early on so that you’re prepared to deal with them. That way, there’s very little chance that they will affect your projects’ budgets or deadlines.
An issue tracker can be one of the documents you use for your project tracking or project management. Such a template you allow you to identify any issues quickly and assign someone to resolve them as soon as they come up. Such a template is very useful, especially when dealing with medium to big projects which involve several modifications.
Project budgeting
Managing more than one project might take a toll on your company, especially if you don’t think about the budget. This is one of the most important parts of project management. Without a budget, you won’t have money to spend on materials, labor, and other costs.
Using a project budgeting template for your different projects will help you maintain diligence in terms of spending. It will also inform everyone involved in the project of whether you still have money to spare. Such a template is very useful no matter how many projects you have and no matter what their sizes are.
Project timeline
A timeline is another important tool, especially if you’re managing several projects. This will allow you to visualize your projects better in a way that’s easy to understand. In the timeline template, you can track the progress of your projects, identify any potential sources or causes of delays, keep track of how long each task of your projects would take, and more.
Just like the budgeting template, you can use this type for projects of different sizes. It’s especially effective if you’re managing different projects which have varying resources. That way, you know exactly how to allocate your time to finish everything. You can even show it to the investors or stakeholders of your projects to give them an idea of when you will accomplish everything.
To-do list
If you’re managing a number of projects, you need to know all of the tasks involved in their completion. You can do this by using a to-do list type of multiple project tracking template. Make a list of all the tasks according to their priority level so you can focus more on the most relevant tasks. You can create this template to be as specific or as detailed as you want it to be. Doing this will give you a better idea of which tasks to do first and which ones you can delay if needed.
You can create the different types of templates on your own or download the one you need from here. Then you can start customizing it by adding all of the relevant information about your projects. After that, you can start managing your tasks with ease!
Excel Project Plan Templates
Using a multiple project tracking template in Microsoft Excel
As aforementioned, one of the most commonly used software for making templates for tracking projects is Microsoft Excel. A multiple project tracking template Excel will keep all of the information organized and easy to find. Of course, you need to know how to create and use such a template in Excel to make your job easier rather than more complicated. Here are some tips to help you out:
- Whether you’re making the template on your own or downloading it, the first thing to do is begin with a list. That way, you know what projects to incorporate into your template along with the information pertaining to those projects.
- The next thing to do is to establish the goals of your projects. Provide statements for your projects too to make them more specific.
- Now you can start making your Excel project management template. You can either download this template or create one on your own.
- Start adding your projects and make a list of the tasks you need to accomplish for them arranged by priority. It would be very helpful to add your target start dates and end dates for your projects.
- When adding tasks, it’s important to differentiate the more important ones from the less important ones.
- If you’re working with a team, talk about how the tasks work and how long they should take for completion. Then assign the different tasks to the members of your team.
- After inputting all of the relevant information, make sure to save your document using a unique file name. Use this document to keep track of your projects and their progress.
Once you’ve begun with your projects and the tasks within them, you can keep going back to the template you’ve made. Use it as a reference or a guide to ensure that you don’t leave any task undone or unaccomplished. When you’ve finished everything, keep the template on file and use it as a reference for your future projects.