Have you heard of the kaizen method? It’s a set of principles and techniques for continuous improvement that helps organizations across industries be more productive. But before we dive into it, let’s begin by defining the Japanese word “Kaizen.”

What Is Kaizen?

Kaizen means improvement, but more than just that, it means continual improvement for your business operations. Improvement that is not reaching beyond what it can currently do is static.

Kaizen, more precisely, means change for the better (kai is change and zen is for the better). In terms of business, kaizen means that all activities must be continuously improving. That means everything in the organization, from employees to the CEO. But it’s not just applying to personnel, processes are also included.

The idea was codified by Masaaki Imai, an organizational theorist and management consultant, over 30 years ago with the publication of this book, Kaizen: the Key to Japan’s Competitive Success. Since then, the implications have reached beyond industry and the kaizen principles have been used to help in healthcare, psychotherapy, government, banking and even life coaching.

The kaizen methodology works at constant improvements through the elimination of waste. It’s been around in Japan since after World War II, though influenced by quality management ideas from the United States. It’s part of The Toyota Way, which is a set of principles that support the company’s management approach to production.

What Is the Kaizen Method?

Kaizen is a continuous improvement philosophy to increase the efficiency of business operations, rooted in Kaizen principles such as eliminating waste (muda, mura, muri), standardizing business processes through the 5S system, and using the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle to implement operational and organizational planning changes.

Kaizen is a methodology that emphasizes bottom-up management, empowering employees at all levels to identify problems, offer their input and participate in solving them.

Practices like Gemba Walks encourage firsthand observation of employee performance and operations, while focused Kaizen events target rapid process improvements. Together, these tools and mindsets foster a culture of efficiency, teamwork and long-term operational excellence through small, incremental changes that drive meaningful progress and lasting results over time.

Let’s now define each of the elements that make up this continuous improvement method.

Kaizen Principles

A philosophy focused on continuous, incremental improvement in all areas of life, especially in the workplace. It emphasizes small, consistent improvements over time to achieve larger long-term gains.

Kaizen Waste Types (Muda, Mura, Muri)

Muda refers to waste in any form that does not add value, such as excess production or time spent on non-essential tasks. Mura is unevenness or inconsistency in processes, often leading to inefficiency or unnecessary stress. Muri refers to overburdening people, equipment or processes beyond their capacity, which can cause breakdowns or fatigue.

Kaizen Gemba Walk

A practice where managers and team members go to the “Gemba” (the actual place where work is done) to observe processes, understand challenges and gather insights directly from the people involved in the work.

Kaizen 5S System

A methodology for organizing the workplace to increase efficiency and reduce waste. The 5S principles are: Sort (seiri), the removal of unnecessary items; set in order (seiton), organize items for easy access; shine (seiso): clean the work area; standardize (seiketsu): establish consistent processes. sustain (shitsuke), maintain the improvements.

Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)

A continuous improvement cycle used to test and implement changes. It involves planning a change (plan), implementing it (do), checking the results (check), and taking action based on the results (act).

Bottom-Up Management

A management approach where decisions are
made with input from lower-level employees, encouraging their involvement and fostering a sense of ownership in improvement initiatives.

Kaizen Events

Focused, short-term activities where a cross-functional team works intensively to make significant improvements to a specific area, often using the Kaizen principles.

Kaizen Board

A tool for visualizing and tracking the status of improvement
initiatives. It typically displays a list of ongoing, planned and completed projects or ideas, helping teams stay aligned and transparent in their improvement efforts.

Kaizen Principles

The five principles of kaizen are fundamental to any application of kaizen.

1. Know Your Customer: Knowledge of who your selling a product or service to is how one creates value. It is key that companies identify their customer’s interests to enhance their experience.
2. Let It Flow: This applies to the target of achieving zero waste. It might be an impossible goal, but that’s kaizen for you: if you could achieve that objective improvement would stop. Therefore, everyone in the organization is working towards removing any waste from their corner of the business while also in the process creating value.
3. Go to Gemba: The literal translation for gemba is “the real place.” In this context, it’s about leadership and knowing what is happening at every level of the organization. You can think of it as following the action, as value is created where something is actually happening. That’s where you want to be.
4. Empower People: This one is directed towards teams and having them organized in such a way that it supports the kaizen principles. Therefore, leadership must set goals for their teams that are not contradictory. They should offer a system and tools to help the teams achieve these goals.
5. Be Transparent: Data is the strongest determining factor. It’s the metric that measures success. Therefore, performance and improvements must be tracked with real data

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Kaizen in Action: Practical Tips

The principles are the guiding lights; the action plan is where kaizen hits the road running. It’s all about organizing, so that the focus is always on improvement and its targets are every part of the organization. Everyone is part of the process. A consistent application of the kaizen action plan leads to continuous improvement.

First, take each corner of your organization and look at ways it can be improved. This will involve team collaboration and total involvement from everyone. Individuals need autonomy to take action on improvements themselves, which builds a culture of engagement. This is done with a continuing flow of suggestions and then implementing them to improve the organization.

Each event is outlined by the acronym PDCA, which stands for plan, do, check, act. Begin by setting goals, with documentation and background. Then review what the current state is with that part of the business and plan towards improving it. Identify what improvements will be implemented and try and fix what isn’t working. Report the results, follow up and repeat.

The idea of always making small improvements is not dissimilar to lean manufacturing, especially with the emphasis of eliminating waste. Kaizen, like a lean or agile approach, works with iterations. It keeps companies flexible.

How Kaizen and ProjectManager Work Together

Ideas are great and methodologies are fundamental to implementing those ideas. But the best plans of mice and men often go astray if they don’t have a project management tool to track their progress. ProjectManager is a dynamic and nimble software that cashes the check that kaizen writes.

ProjectManager has Kanban Boards to Track Progress

What ProjectManager.com provides is a way to monitor that improvement. Kanban is another Japanese work, which translates as signboard or billboard. It also grew from the Toyota Way of manufacturing, offering a visual workflow that increase efficiencies by making sure that the supplies you need now are always on hand, but not more than must be stored.

It’s an elegant system of columns and cards. Each column can have a to do, doing and done heading. Under each of those column headings are cards, which capture the individual task. These cards are then moved from column to column as they’re identified, worked on and completed.

These boards are a great way to track the progress of the improvements. With ProjectManager.com, the kanban boards are even more useful, as they can be assigned to specific team members or a whole group. Then, because the software is online, as teams update their status that information is instantly reflected across the software.

ProjectManager’s Real-time Dashboard Tracks Progress

Kaizen encourages collaboration and ProjectManager supports teamwork by giving teams a platform to communicate at the task level. Documents and images can be attached to the card in the board view of our software, so these important files are easy to access. There is a conversation box to dialogue with other team members. When a comment is added, all those assigned the task are notified. It’s especially helpful if your teams are distributed on different sites.

But teams aren’t the only ones who benefit from ProjectManager. Just as kaizen involves the whole organization in making continuous improvements, ProjectManager also gives managers the tools they need to assign easily and monitor the progress of the improvements as they’re implemented.

While project managers can view the progress of the kaizen implementation on the kanban board, they probably are going to want more detailed information. ProjectManager has a real-time dashboard that collects all the data team members input and then crunches those numbers into a series of project metrics that are displayed all in one place.

The real-time dashboard has colorful and easy to read graphs and charts that track progress, workload, timelines and more. These can be shared or printed out for presentation. But in ProjectManager.com, the graphs and charts can be filtered to show just the amount of data you need. This means when a project manager is discussing items with the team, they can go deep into the data, but if the stakeholders need a more general overview, that can be displayed in a click.

Kaizen and ProjectManager.com are a match made in project management heaven. But ProjectManager can do so much more than help you implement change. Our cloud-based project management software can plan, monitor and report on any kind of project. Online Gantt charts make scheduling collaborative and teams love our easy-to-use task lists and timesheets. See how ProjectManager can improve your project management today by taking this free 30-day trial.

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In this roundup, we’ve gathered a range of scope templates designed to support various project and program needs. Whether you’re managing a small initiative or a complex multi-project program, these free templates, documents and Excel spreadsheets will help you outline deliverables, boundaries, responsibilities and success criteria clearly and consistently.

1. Project Scope Template

Download this free project scope template for Word to define and outline a project’s boundaries, objectives, deliverables and key requirements. It serves as a foundational planning tool that clarifies what is included in the project, and just as importantly, what is not, to ensure alignment among stakeholders, avoid misunderstandings and manage expectations from the start.

This free scope template includes sections such as project objectives, deliverables, milestones, exclusions, constraints, assumptions and approval requirements. By standardizing how scope is communicated, the template helps project managers maintain focus, reduce the risk of scope creep and ensure that all efforts are directed toward the agreed-upon goals. It’s a critical reference point throughout the project lifecycle, guiding decision-making and change management.

2. Scope of Work Template

Use this free scope of work template for Word to outline specific tasks, deliverables, timelines and responsibilities in a project or contract. It serves as a detailed agreement between parties—typically a client and a service provider—clearly defining what work will be performed, how it will be done and under what conditions. This scope template helps ensure all stakeholders have a shared understanding of the project’s scope and reduces the risk of miscommunication or disputes.

A scope of work template includes sections such as project objectives, detailed work descriptions, deliverables, timelines or milestones, payment terms, success criteria and any assumptions or constraints. In both project and program management, using a standardized scope template improves consistency, transparency and accountability across teams and vendors. It also forms the basis for tracking progress and evaluating whether the work is completed to expectations.

3. Project Plan Template for Excel

This free project plan template for Excel is used to outline the key elements of a project, including its goals, scope, timeline, resources, budget, risks and communication strategy. It serves as a comprehensive roadmap that guides project execution and ensures all team members and stakeholders are aligned from the outset. As with a scope template, it helps project managers organize their planning efforts and maintain consistency across different projects.

A project plan template includes sections such as project objectives, scope, milestones, task breakdowns, roles and responsibilities, risk management strategies and monitoring and reporting processes. By using a project plan template, teams can reduce planning time, improve clarity and more effectively manage timelines, deliverables and resources. It’s a foundational tool for keeping projects on track and ensuring successful outcomes.

Not only that, but this scope template directly influences the creation of the Gantt chart when scheduling the project. What it outlines is translated into the task list, sequencing and duration used in the Gantt chart. While there are Gantt chart templates, it’s not advisable to use such a static tool to plan a dynamic project. For that, we recommend upgrading to project management software.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with robust Gantt charts (among other project views) that schedule tasks, resources and costs. Unlike much of the competition, our Gantt charts can link all four types of task dependencies to avoid cost overruns, filter for the critical path to identify essential tasks and slack, plus set a baseline to track progress in real time. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

4. Statement of Work Template

Download this free statement of work template for Word to define the specific work to be performed on a project, including objectives, deliverables, timelines, roles and conditions. This scope template acts as a binding agreement between a client and a contractor or service provider, detailing what is expected, how it will be done and under what terms. The statement of work template helps prevent scope creep, miscommunication and disputes by clearly outlining responsibilities and expectations from the start.

This scope template includes sections such as the project purpose, scope of work, detailed task descriptions, deliverables, schedule, performance criteria, payment terms and acceptance criteria. In project and program management, using a standardized scope template ensures consistency across engagements, strengthens accountability and facilitates smoother project execution by providing a clear and shared understanding of the work to be completed.

5. Project Charter Template

Use this free project charter template for Word to formally authorize the start of a project. It outlines the project’s purpose, objectives, key stakeholders, scope, high-level timeline and resource requirements. This project scope template serves as a reference point for all involved parties, providing a clear understanding of what the project aims to achieve. It establishes the authority of the project manager to allocate resources and make decisions.

A project charter template includes sections such as project background, goals, scope (inclusions and exclusions), assumptions, constraints, key milestones, roles and responsibilities and approval signatures. This scope template is essential for securing stakeholder buy-in, aligning the team around a shared vision and reducing ambiguity before detailed planning begins. It sets the foundation for all subsequent project documents and activities.

6. Estimate Template

This free estimate template for Excel can calculate and present the projected costs, time and resources required to complete a project or a specific set of tasks. It helps project managers, clients and stakeholders understand the financial and logistical expectations before work begins. By itemizing costs—such as labor, materials, equipment and other expenses—this scope template provides a transparent and detailed overview that supports budgeting, decision-making and planning.

An estimate template is closely tied to the project scope, as it derives its inputs directly from the scope’s defined deliverables and boundaries. The project scope outlines what work needs to be done, including specific tasks, features, milestones and objectives. The estimate template then takes that scope and translates it into quantifiable elements—such as time, labor, materials and costs—needed to complete each part of the project, which is why it’s included in this scope template roundup.

7. Needs Assessment Template

Use this free needs assessment template for Excel to identify and evaluate the gaps between current conditions and desired outcomes. It helps organizations determine what resources, processes or changes are necessary to achieve specific goals. This scope template includes sections for identifying the target audience or stakeholders, documenting existing problems or inefficiencies, outlining desired results and prioritizing needs based on impact and feasibility.

In project management, a needs assessment template plays a key role in defining project scope. By systematically analyzing what the organization truly needs, this scope template helps project teams avoid unnecessary or misaligned work. It provides a fact-based foundation for determining what should be included in the project (inclusions) and what should not (exclusions), helping to ensure that the scope directly addresses real, validated needs. This process supports more focused, efficient project planning and increases the likelihood of delivering meaningful, value-driven outcomes.

8. Work Breakdown Structure Template

Download this free work breakdown structure (WBS) template for Excel. It’s a visual, hierarchical tool used to break down a project into smaller, more manageable components. This scope template organizes project deliverables into a structured tree, starting with high-level objectives and progressively dividing them into tasks, sub-tasks and work packages. The goal of a WBS is to clearly define all the work that needs to be done to achieve the project goals.

The WBS template directly informs and supports the project scope by translating broad scope statements into specific, actionable work items. This scope template ensures that all aspects of the scope are captured and nothing is overlooked. By detailing every deliverable and its related tasks, the WBS helps clarify the project boundaries, making it easier to estimate resources, assign responsibilities, schedule tasks and monitor progress. In essence, the WBS is a blueprint that operationalizes the scope, serving as a bridge between planning and execution.

ProjectManager Manages Scope Better Than Templates

Scope templates can help define a project’s scope. But they’re not ideal for planning, managing and tracking projects. That’s not just scope templates, of course, but all of them. That’s because whether created in Excel or Word, they remain static documents that are poor collaborative tools. Put the templates away and take out project management software for a more dynamic and integrated way to manage projects. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that can help teams plan and execute their work, but also manage resources and track progress in real time.

Allocate and Track Resources in Real Time

Gantt charts schedule resources and, when onboarding teams, project managers can set their availability to allocate those resources as efficiently as possible. But that’s only the start of our resource management tools. Color-coded workload charts show resource allocation in real time across one or more projects.

It’s easy to see who is overallocated or underutilized and balance the team’s workload to keep them productive. A daily or weekly team page summarizes their work. It can be filtered by priority or progress, and tasks updated without leaving the page.

Monitor Scope With Real-Time Dashboards and Reports

Changes in scope have to be monitored, whether that’s adding tasks or deliverables. Our software does that automatically, reflected in Gantt chart timelines, depending on the aforementioned workload chart. This helps to capture scope creep fast and mitigate it. A high-level overview of the project’s metrics can be found with our real-time dashboards and more detailed information uncovered in customizable reports on resource usage, task completion, budget impact and more.

Related Scope Content

Scope management relies on much more than scope templates. For those that are curious to learn more about the subject, below are links to recently published articles from our blog, which offer tips, tools and more.

• What Is Project Scope? Scope Management Steps, Tips & Tools
• Project Scope Statement: How to Write One With Examples
• What Is Scope Creep and How Can I Avoid It?
• How to Make a Scope Management Plan (Template Included)

ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

The post 8 Free Scope Templates: Documents, Excel Spreadsheets & More appeared first on ProjectManager.

Whether you’re managing a single initiative or overseeing multiple interrelated projects, the right templates can streamline communication, improve efficiency and reduce the risk of errors. Download these free templates for program management and provide a practical foundation for building successful, scalable programs across industries.

1. Program Roadmap Template

Download this free program roadmap template for Excel as a strategic planning tool. It visually maps out the key initiatives, goals and milestones of a program over a set timeframe, providing a high-level overview of how different projects within a program interconnect and contribute to broader organizational objectives. The program management template helps stakeholders understand the overall direction of the program, anticipate major phases or deliverables and coordinate efforts across teams.

A program roadmap template includes elements such as timelines (by month, quarter or year), key deliverables, project phases and responsible teams. Unlike detailed project plans, a roadmap focuses on “what” and “when” rather than the “how,” making it ideal for executive communication, strategic planning sessions or cross-functional alignment. Using a program management template ensures consistency, saves time and makes complex program information easier to digest.

2. Project Dashboard Template

This free project dashboard template for Excel is a visual reporting tool used to track and display key information about a project’s status, performance and progress in a clear and concise format. The program management template consolidates data from various project areas—such as budgets, tasks and resource allocation—into one centralized view, making it easy for project managers and stakeholders to monitor the health of a project at a glance. The template is especially useful for quick updates and decision-making, as it highlights both achievements and potential issues.

A well-designed dashboard improves transparency, promotes accountability and allows teams to proactively address problems before they escalate. However, a program management template isn’t designed for real-time updates, which means the data being displayed is always going to be behind the actual effort of the project or program being monitored. To resolve this issue, upgrade to project management software.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with powerful dashboards that track one or multiple projects. There’s no setup required, though dashboards can be tailored to show the data users want to see. Either way, it’s automatically collecting live data and displaying it on easy-to-read graphs and charts that show time, cost, workload and more. This keeps project managers and their teams updated and can inform stakeholders, who can also use guest licenses for a view-only look at the project’s progress. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

3. Program KPI Dashboard Template

Use this free KPI dashboard template for Excel to track, display and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) in a centralized, easy-to-understand format. It helps teams and decision-makers monitor the success of business activities, projects or strategic goals by presenting real-time or regularly updated data in charts, graphs and summary metrics. This program management template is valuable for identifying trends, measuring progress and making informed decisions based on performance against defined objectives.

A KPI dashboard template includes sections for goal tracking, performance metrics, targets vs. actuals, trend indicators and visualizations like bar charts, line graphs and color-coded status indicators. Program management templates like these can be tailored for different functions, such as sales, marketing, operations or finance. By consolidating key metrics into one accessible view, a KPI dashboard makes it easier to communicate results, align teams and drive continuous improvement.

4. Project Status Report Template

Download this free project status report template for Excel to communicate the current state of a project to stakeholders. It includes key information such as progress against milestones, completed and upcoming tasks, budget and timeline status, risks or issues and overall project health. This can be used as a program management template to ensure that updates are consistent, easy to digest and aligned with stakeholder expectations, regardless of the project’s size or complexity.

In program management, a project status report template is especially useful because it allows program managers to monitor multiple projects simultaneously and maintain visibility across the program. By collecting standardized reports from individual project leads, program managers can quickly assess performance, identify risks or delays and make data-driven decisions to keep the overall program on track. This program management template also improves communication across teams, supports accountability and provides a clear audit trail of progress over time.

5. Multiple Project Tracking Template

Use this free multiple project tracking template for Excel to help manage and monitor several projects at once within a single, unified view. This program management template provides a high-level snapshot of each project’s key data—such as status, deadlines, budget and assigned team members—so that project managers and stakeholders can quickly compare progress, allocate resources efficiently and identify potential risks or delays across the portfolio.

By centralizing information, the program management template improves visibility, streamlines reporting and enables better decision-making across complex project ecosystems. This is especially valuable in program or portfolio management environments where coordination across projects is critical to overall success.

6. RACI Matrix Template

This free RACI matrix template for Excel clarifies and documents roles and responsibilities within a project or program. RACI stands for responsible, accountable, consulted and informed—four key roles that define who is involved in specific tasks or deliverables. This program management template is structured as a grid, with tasks or decisions listed on one axis and team members or stakeholders on the other. Each cell in the matrix identifies the role a person or group plays in that particular activity.

In program management, a RACI matrix helps establish clear lines of ownership and communication across multiple projects and teams. This program management template minimizes confusion, reduces duplication of effort and ensures that all tasks have appropriate oversight. Especially in complex programs with cross-functional collaboration, the RACI matrix promotes accountability, avoids role overlap and enhances efficiency by clearly outlining who does what, who makes decisions, who provides input and who needs to stay informed. It serves as a planning and reference tool, supporting alignment and smoother execution throughout the program lifecycle.

7. RAID Log Template

Download this free RAID log template for Excel to track and manage four critical elements of project and program management: risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies. Each category is listed in a separate section of the program management template, where relevant entries are documented along with descriptions, owners, status updates and mitigation or resolution plans. The RAID log helps teams proactively manage uncertainties and obstacles that could affect project or program success.

A RAID log is particularly valuable in program management because it provides a centralized, real-time view of key factors that impact multiple projects within the program. This program management template enables program managers to identify and address systemic risks, coordinate dependencies across workstreams and keep leadership informed of critical issues. By using a RAID log template consistently, teams improve communication, enhance accountability and reduce the chance of delays or surprises that can derail timelines or outcomes.

8. PESTLE Analysis Template

This free PESTLE analysis template for Word is a strategic planning tool used to identify and evaluate external factors that could impact a program, project or organization. The acronym PESTLE stands for political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors. Each category provides a lens through which to assess potential opportunities or threats in the broader operating environment. The program management template typically includes columns or sections for each factor, alongside descriptions, potential impacts and suggested actions or responses.

While PESTLE analysis is more commonly used in strategic planning and market research, it can also play a useful role as a program management template, particularly during the planning or risk assessment phases. By identifying external influences early, program managers can design more resilient strategies, anticipate disruptions and align their initiatives with the external landscape. For large, long-term, or public-sector programs, it can be especially helpful in ensuring that broader contextual risks are not overlooked.

9. Lessons Learned Template

Use this free lessons learned template for Excel to capture insights, experiences, successes and challenges encountered during the execution of a project or program. It includes sections such as what went well, what didn’t go as planned, key takeaways and recommendations for future improvements. The goal of this program management template is to promote continuous learning by documenting practical knowledge that can be applied to future projects or programs.

In program management, a lessons learned template is extremely valuable. Because programs often involve multiple projects with diverse teams and objectives, capturing lessons across all components helps identify recurring issues, best practices and systemic improvements. This program management template enables program managers to refine processes, reduce future risks and ensure knowledge is retained and shared across the organization. Ultimately, it supports more efficient, effective program delivery over time.

10. Project Review Template

Download this free project review template for Word to assess and evaluate a project’s performance after key phases or at its completion. It covers aspects such as objectives vs. outcomes, budget and timeline adherence, quality of deliverables, team performance, stakeholder satisfaction and risk management. The template helps document what worked, what didn’t and why—providing a factual basis for decision-making, accountability and improvement.

A project review template plays a vital role in program management by offering consistent, data-driven insights across multiple projects within a program. By aggregating findings from individual project reviews, program managers can identify patterns, systemic challenges and opportunities for improvement across the broader initiative. This helps refine resource allocation, improve planning accuracy, strengthen risk controls and align future projects with strategic goals. This program management template contributes to a more cohesive, efficient and successful program delivery.

ProjectManager Is Better Than Program Management Templates

Managing a program with program management templates is not ideal. They’re static documents and projects are dynamic. Not only that, these templates require manual updates and are poor collaboration tools. To plan, manage and track programs, upgrade to project management software. Better yet, ProjectManager, award-winning project and portfolio management software, has the tools project managers and their teams need to manage multiple projects.

Manage Resources Across Projects

Ensuring there are enough resources to share with all the projects in the portfolio is one of the challenges of program management. Our software ensures program managers have the right resources at the right time for the right project by allowing them to set availability, skills and pay rates when onboarding their teams.

They can also view resource allocation across all projects with the color-coded workload page. It’s easy to see who is overallocated or underutilized and balance their workload from the chart to keep them productive. A team page can provide a daily or weekly snapshot of their activity, filtered by progress or priority, which can update tasks when necessary without leaving the page.

Monitor Progress, Costs and More With Customizable Reports

We’ve already shown how our portfolio dashboard allows program managers to get a high-level overview of all their projects in one place. When they want to get deeper into the data, they can use our customizable reports. There are portfolio status, variance, workload, timesheets and other reports.

All can be filtered to focus on key data points or give stakeholders a snapshot of the project’s progress compared to where it is planned to be at that time. Even secure timesheets, which streamline payroll, help keep projects on budget by monitoring labor costs.

Related Program Management Content

There’s more to program management than program management templates. For those curious to learn more, below are some articles we’ve posted to our blog on making a program management plan, the difference between project and program management and much more.

• Program Management: The Ultimate Guide
• How to Make a Program Management Plan (Free Templates Included)
• What Is a Program Manager (Job Description Included)
• Project vs. Program Management: Key Differences and Similarities

ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Join teams from Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

The post 10 Free Program Management Templates for Excel and Word appeared first on ProjectManager.

In this roundup, we’ll explore a variety of task management templates designed to support different needs and industries, from daily to-do lists to complex project task trackers. Each template is built to streamline productivity, ensure accountability and keep the team aligned every step of the way.

1. Project Task Tracker Excel Template

Download this free project task tracker template for Excel to monitor, organize and manage the tasks that make up a project. It provides a centralized system for teams to break down large projects into smaller, manageable pieces, assign responsibilities, set deadlines and track progress. This task management template ensures that every team member knows what they need to do, when they need to do it and how their work contributes to the larger project goals.

A project task tracker improves team transparency and accountability, helping prevent tasks from slipping through the cracks. This task management template enables project managers to quickly identify bottlenecks or delays and adjust to keep things on schedule. Whether managing a marketing campaign, software development sprint or event planning timeline, a task tracker keeps all stakeholders aligned and informed.

Improve Task Management With ProjectManager

Project management software improves task management by automating it, making it collaborative and by combining it with reporting features. ProjectManager helps managers and teams build plans, execute tasks and deliver on time and on budget.

• Build detailed project plans and schedules with cost and hourly data
• Execute with intuitive online task management tools like lists and kanban
• Guest licenses and tailored dashboards keep stakeholders informed. Try it free

2. Task Tracker Dashboard

Use this free task tracker dashboard for Excel to get an overview of task progress, status and priority across a project. It consolidates key task data into an easy-to-read format, including charts, progress bars and color-coded indicators that reflect task completion, assignment and more. This task management template allows teams and project managers to quickly assess the current state of work, spot any overdue tasks or bottlenecks and make informed decisions without digging through detailed task lists.

A task tracker dashboard template enhances team visibility and communication. By keeping the task management template updated and its visual summaries, it aligns the team on goals and responsibilities. This template is especially useful for large or multi-phase projects, as it can highlight trends, track milestones and support status reporting for stakeholders. A well-designed dashboard helps ensure nothing falls through the cracks and the project remains on track.

3. To-Do List Template

A to-do list template is a simple yet powerful tool used to organize, prioritize and track tasks in a clear and structured manner. This free to-do list template for Excel includes columns for task names, due dates, priority levels and completion status. This task management template helps individuals and teams break down larger goals into manageable actions, making it easier to stay focused and productive throughout the day or a project.

This task management template is highly versatile and can be customized for personal, academic or professional use. From daily task management to long-term project planning, a to-do list template serves as a visual roadmap that keeps responsibilities front and center. Naturally, project management software magnifies the advantages by adding functionality like notifications, progress tracking and collaboration features, making them ideal for managing individual work and team efforts.

4. Punch List Template

Our free punch list is a unique task management template. That’s because it can be opened in ProjectManager, which gives it multiple advantages over the static template version. Our software improves upon a traditional template-based punch list by offering real-time tracking, automation and enhanced collaboration. Tasks on a punch list can be assigned to team members, prioritized and updated in real time. This means stakeholders no longer have to manage static documents—everyone can see the status of each punch list item, add comments, attach photos or documents and track progress from anywhere.

Additionally, ProjectManager integrates punch lists directly with the overall project plan, timeline and resources. Users can link punch list tasks to our robust Gantt chart, which links and monitors all four types of task dependencies and automatically updates schedules as items are completed. This level of integration ensures that the final phases of the project are tightly controlled and that all tasks are completed on track for successful delivery.

5. Gantt Chart Template

For those not ready to upgrade, we offer a free Gantt chart template for Excel. This pre-structured visual planning tool helps project managers and teams organize tasks along a timeline. As a task management template, it also outlines project activities, start and end dates and durations of tasks, all displayed in a horizontal bar chart format. Using a template saves time during project setup, offering a framework where teams can quickly plug in their information and adjust as needed.

Our Gantt chart template automatically populates the horizontal bar chart once the spreadsheet on the left is filled out. This can help with progress tracking and stakeholder communication. Teams can color-code tasks to help make the Gantt chart easier to read at a glance. For stakeholders, it provides a clear, high-level view of what’s happening and when, making it easier to understand timelines and deliverables. While limited compared to project management software, this time management template is better than managing a project without a Gantt chart.

6. Kanban Board Template

Download this free kanban board template for Excel to streamline workflow and increase task visibility across teams. Typically organized into columns such as to-do, in progress and done, the task management template allows users to move tasks (represented by cards) through each stage. This approach makes it easy to see where work is piling up, identify bottlenecks and keep teams aligned on progress.

Kanban board templates are especially effective in agile environments or teams that rely on continuous delivery, like software development, marketing or operations. They provide clarity for team members and stakeholders alike, offering insight into the status of every task without requiring formal meetings or updates. By customizing labels, priorities and due dates on the cards, users can tailor the board to fit their workflow needs.

7. WBS Template

This free work breakdown structure (WBS) template helps teams break down a complex project into smaller, more manageable components. The task management template provides a structured format—in a hierarchical tree layout—that allows users to divide the overall scope of work into deliverables, tasks and subtasks. By using a WBS template, project managers can clearly define the project’s structure from top-level objectives down to the smallest work packages, making it easier to assign responsibilities, estimate costs and track progress.

One of the key benefits of a WBS template is that it promotes clarity and alignment across teams. It ensures that everyone understands what needs to be done, how each task contributes to the overall goal and who is accountable for each component. A well-organized WBS also lays the foundation for accurate scheduling, budgeting and resource allocation—critical elements for creating a realistic project timeline and Gantt chart.

8. Action Plan Template

Use this free action plan template for Excel to outline the steps required to achieve a goal or complete a project. It includes key components such as goals and objectives, tasks, deadlines, responsible parties and necessary resources. By organizing this information in one place, the task management template helps individuals and teams stay focused and accountable throughout the execution phase. Action plan templates can be used for anything from launching a new product to implementing organizational changes or offering a repeatable framework for strategic follow-through.

Using an action plan template enhances visibility and coordination across teams. It breaks down broader goals into actionable steps, making it easier to prioritize work and track progress. With deadlines and responsibilities clearly defined, this task management template reduces ambiguity and supports proactive problem-solving when tasks fall behind. Whether used in a business, nonprofit or academic setting, an action plan template is essential for turning plans into measurable results.

9. Work Order Template

This free work order template for Excel is a standardized document used to initiate, track and complete specific tasks or service requests. This task management template includes fields for task description, requester details, assigned personnel, deadlines and labor and material costs. By using a consistent template, teams can ensure that all relevant information is captured and communicated clearly, minimizing the risk of misunderstandings or missed steps. Work order templates are especially useful in industries like maintenance, facilities management and IT services, where structured task tracking is essential for efficiency.

A work order template serves as a bridge between planning and execution. It helps assign accountability, document progress and provide a paper trail for internal records or client communication. Teams can customize this task management template to suit their workflow, adding elements like cost estimates, materials needed or customer signatures. This organized approach not only enhances productivity but also supports better reporting and data-driven decision-making over time.

10. Scope of Work Template

A scope of work (SOW) template for Word clearly defines the objectives, deliverables, timelines and responsibilities associated with a specific task or project. It serves as a foundational agreement between stakeholders, ensuring everyone understands what work needs to be done, by whom and by when. This level of clarity helps prevent scope creep and aligns expectations across teams, clients and contractors. The task management template includes sections for background, scope description, milestones, timelines, deliverables and payment terms.

A scope of work template provides a roadmap for execution and evaluation. By outlining measurable outcomes and project boundaries, it guides the allocation of resources and scheduling of activities. This makes it easier to prioritize tasks, monitor progress and ensure accountability throughout the life of a project. A well-drafted SOW template can also streamline communication and reduce the risk of conflicts or delays, making it an essential task management template for both short-term tasks and complex, multi-phase projects.

ProjectManager Is Better Than Task Management Templates

A task management template is helpful, but as we’ve already discussed, there’s a limit to what it can do. That’s because templates for Excel and Word are for static documents. They must be manually updated, which isn’t efficient, and they’re not feasible as a collaborative platform. To better manage work, try project management software. There’s no need for a hard sell, its benefits are self-evident.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with task management tools, such as multiple project views, including kanban boards, sheet, list and calendar views, but also tools that track progress and more in real time and resource management features.

Schedule Tasks, Resources and Costs on Robust Gantt Charts

We’ve mentioned our Gantt chart above, but it’s such a powerful tool that it deserves further attention. It schedules tasks, resources and costs, adds milestones and can assign team members to those tasks, which are tracked on the task bar, but most other Gantt charts do that.

What many don’t do is link all four types of task dependencies to avoid cost overruns, filter for the critical path to identify essential tasks and slack, as well as set a baseline to track the planned effort against the actual effort in real time.

Keep Teams Productive With Resource Management Tools

Scheduling resources on the Gantt chart is the start of making sure that they’re efficiently allocated. That continues when onboarding teams. At this point, project managers can set the team’s availability, including PTO, vacation, global holidays, pay rate and skill set, which makes it easier to assign the right resource to the right task at the right time.

Resource allocation across one or multiple projects can be viewed on the color-coded workload chart to see who is overallocated or underutilized. Balance their workload from the chart to keep teams working at capacity without threatening burnout. There’s also a team page for a daily or weekly summary of their activities. It can be filtered by progress and priority, and tasks can be updated without leaving the page.

Related Task Management Content

A task management template is a good start to organizing work, but it’s just a tool. To learn how to use these templates more effectively, we’ve gathered recently posted articles on task management, project scheduling and other essential techniques to deliver successful projects.

• The Ultimate Guide to Task Management
• The Ultimate Guide to Managing Tasks with Lists
• 22 Project Management Tools & Techniques for Project Managers
• Project Management Basics: Definitions, Methods and Tools
• How to Make a Project Schedule: The Ultimate Guide

ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that works better than task management templates by connecting teams in real time, whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Join teams from Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

The post 10 Free Task Management Templates appeared first on ProjectManager.

Use this roundup of free meeting agenda templates for Word and Excel to make it easier to plan and execute efficient meetings. They can be used repeatedly to consistently improve collaboration, accountability and overall meeting effectiveness—without the extra time spent creating documents from scratch.

1. Meeting Agenda Template

Download this free meeting agenda template for Word, which outlines the structure and key elements of a meeting. It includes sections for the meeting title, date and time, participants, agenda items, time allocations for each item and more. By providing a consistent format, meeting agenda templates help organizers prepare thoroughly and ensure meetings stay focused and productive.

Meeting templates benefit the organizer and participants by setting clear expectations in advance. It helps prioritize discussion points, manage time efficiently and track follow-ups after the meeting. Whether used for internal team meetings, client discussions or strategic planning sessions, good meeting agenda templates foster better communication and collaboration by keeping everyone aligned on goals and responsibilities.

Meetings end with action items. Turn them into actionable plans with project management software. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with robust Gantt charts that can schedule tasks, resources and cost. To ensure the work is done on time, users can link all four types of task dependencies to avoid delays and cost overruns. Filter for the critical path to identify essential tasks and slack, then set a baseline to track progress in real time. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

2. Meeting Minutes Template

Use this free meeting minutes template for Word to record the key points, decisions and action items discussed during a meeting. It includes fields for the meeting date and time, attendees, agenda items, key takeaways and when the next meeting will be scheduled. This meeting agenda template ensures that all critical information is documented consistently and can be easily referenced by anyone involved in the meeting.

Using meeting minutes templates streamlines the note-taking process and improves accountability. It provides a record of who said what, what was agreed upon and what needs to happen next. This supports better follow-up and task tracking and helps maintain transparency and alignment within teams or with stakeholders. Whether for internal team syncs or formal board meetings, meeting templates ensure nothing important is missed or forgotten.

3. Meeting Action Items Template

This free action items template captures and tracks tasks that arise during meetings, planning sessions or project discussions. Meeting agenda templates like this include fields such as a description of the task, the person responsible, the due date, priority level and status. This standardized format ensures that everyone involved knows exactly what needs to be done, by whom and by when, reducing confusion and helping teams stay organized and accountable.

Using team meeting templates improves follow-through and supports effective collaboration by making responsibilities and deadlines visible to all stakeholders. It also serves as a running log of progress and decisions, making it easier to review past work or prepare for upcoming meetings. Whether managing a small team or coordinating across departments, an action items template helps keep momentum going and ensures the assigned work is completed on time.

4. Action Plan Template

The free action plan template for Excel outlines the steps needed to complete the action items from a meeting, achieve a goal or complete a project. It includes tasks or actions, assigned team members, deadlines, required resources and costs. By laying out each step clearly, these meeting agenda templates help teams break down complex objectives into manageable tasks, promoting efficiency and accountability throughout the process.

Using an action plan template ensures that everyone involved in a project understands their responsibilities and the timeline for completion. It supports clear communication, helps track progress and allows project managers to identify bottlenecks or areas that need adjustment. These meeting agenda templates are great for launching a new product, organizing an event or improving internal processes, keeping efforts focused and aligned toward the end goal.

5. Decision Matrix Template

No roundup of meeting agenda templates would be complete without this free decision matrix template for Excel. They evaluate and compare different options based on predefined criteria, which can be critical during a meeting. It works by allowing users to assign weights to each criterion according to its importance and rate each option against these criteria. The weighted scores are then tallied, providing a clear, objective way to identify the most suitable choice. This method is especially useful for complex decisions that involve multiple variables and stakeholders.

A decision matrix template with meeting agenda templates helps remove bias from the decision-making process by introducing a transparent and repeatable framework. It also promotes collaboration, as teams can discuss and agree on the importance of each criterion and the scores assigned to each option during the meeting. They’re ideal for selecting a vendor, choosing between project strategies or evaluating new software tools.

6. Decision Log Template

Download our free decision log template for Excel to record key decisions made throughout a project or during meetings. It includes information such as the decision description, date, responsible parties, rationale and any supporting details. By capturing this information consistently, teams can maintain a reliable record of why and how decisions were made, making it easier to reference later if questions or issues arise.

A decision log template complements meeting agenda templates as it helps improve transparency, accountability and alignment among team members and stakeholders. It ensures that important decisions are not forgotten or misunderstood and provides continuity for those who may join the project at a later stage. Additionally, a well-maintained decision log supports better project governance by offering an audit trail that can be revisited during reviews or lessons-learned sessions.

7. Decision Tree Template

This free decision tree template is a visual tool that maps potential choices and their possible outcomes in a tree-like diagram. Each branch of the tree represents a decision or an event, allowing teams to explore different scenarios, assess risks and weigh the consequences of various paths. By laying out options in a structured format, decision tree templates help clarify complex problems and support more informed, logical decision-making.

It works with meeting agenda templates because in meetings, the decision tree template enhances collaboration and discussion. It makes the decision-making process more transparent and participatory. They allow teams to visually follow how a decision may unfold, anticipate challenges and agree on the most beneficial course of action. This clarity can reduce misunderstandings, streamline debate and lead to faster, more confident consensus among stakeholders.

8. Meeting To-Do List Template

Use a to-do list template for Excel to capture, organize and track tasks that must be completed. It’s formatted with columns for task descriptions, deadlines, priority levels and responsible parties. These meeting agenda templates help ensure that action items are documented and not forgotten. By using a consistent layout, teams can maintain accountability and stay aligned on what needs to be done, by whom and by when.

In meetings, a to-do list template is a practical tool for recording tasks that arise during discussions. It ensures that key follow-ups are documented in real time and provides a reference point for reviewing progress in future meetings. This improves continuity across meetings, helps prevent miscommunication and fosters a results-oriented culture by turning ideas and decisions into actionable next steps.

9. Lessons Learned Template

The free lessons learned template for Excel captures insights, experiences and key takeaways from a project or a specific phase of work. It includes sections for what went well, what didn’t go as planned and suggestions for improvement. By organizing this feedback in a standardized way, meeting agenda templates help project teams reflect on their performance, document best practices and identify opportunities to avoid past mistakes in future projects.

These meeting agenda templates are especially helpful in post-project reviews or retrospectives. Lessons learned templates guide the discussion and ensure all relevant points are covered. It helps participants focus on constructive feedback and provides a formal record of the team’s reflections. This promotes a culture of continuous improvement and serves as a valuable knowledge-sharing tool for future teams working on similar initiatives.

10. Progress Report Template

Download this free progress report template for Word to track and communicate the current status of a project. It includes key sections such as completed tasks, ongoing activities, upcoming milestones, challenges faced and any deviations from the original plan. These meeting templates help ensure that all team members and stakeholders receive consistent updates, which promotes alignment and transparency throughout the project lifecycle.

In a project meeting, a progress report template serves as a structured agenda item that guides discussion and decision-making. It keeps conversations focused on measurable outcomes and helps identify any issues that need immediate attention. By presenting clear, concise updates, meeting agenda templates like this foster accountability and ensure everyone is on the same page about project timelines, deliverables and goals.

ProjectManager Manages Meetings and Their Aftermath

Meeting agenda templates are helpful, but they’re also limited. These are, after all, static documents. They can’t notify participants or turn action items into actionable plans. They’re not even collaborative, which is essential in a meeting.

ProjectManager has powerful Gantt charts, as we’ve shown above, but also multiple project views so everyone can work how they want, including on kanban boards, sheet, calendar or task list views. Recurring tasks can be set up with email and in-app notifications to ensure no one misses a meeting. There are also features to help run better meetings.

Get Real-Time Metrics With Tailored Dashboards

Projects run on data and so do the best project meetings. Team members don’t want to waste time. They need to know where they are about where they should be according to the plan. Our real-time project and portfolio dashboards are constantly updating with live data and display it on easy-to-read graphs and charts that show time, cost, workload and more. These visual presentations help make complex data easy and quick to digest.

Use Customizable Reports for More Detail

When the meeting needs to delve deeper into the data, our customizable reports on status, variance, workload, timesheets and more provide that information. Each of these reports can be filtered to focus on key data points of interest to the meeting. They can also provide a high-level overview of progress and be shared in various formats to keep stakeholders informed.

Related Meeting Content

Meeting agenda templates are helpful, but they’re only part of the larger process of having successful meetings. Learn how to run meetings and more by reading the following articles from our ProjectManager blog.

• How to Run Team Meetings: Tips & Best Practices
• 10 Project Meetings to Guide Your Project Management Team
• Meeting Planning Steps: How to Plan a Meeting
• Project Kickoff Meeting: How to Write a Kickoff Meeting Agenda

ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

The post 10 Free Meeting Agenda Templates for Word and Excel appeared first on ProjectManager.

While project management software does the job better than these process management templates, we understand that not everyone is ready to upgrade. Therefore, in this roundup, we explore key types of process management templates, including flowcharts, service blueprint and RACI matrix templates, to name a few.

1. Flowchart Template

Download this flowchart template for Word. It’s a visual tool used to map out the sequence of steps in a process or workflow. By using standardized symbols and directional arrows, flowcharts help teams understand how different tasks connect, where decisions are made and how work flows from one stage to the next. This clarity makes it easier to identify inefficiencies, redundancies, or potential bottlenecks that could impact productivity.

Flowchart templates are especially valuable during process analysis, improvement initiatives and onboarding new team members. They offer a bird’s-eye view of operations that can be easily interpreted by stakeholders at all levels. With customizable fields and formats, a flowchart template can be tailored to suit a variety of industries and use cases, from software development pipelines to customer service workflows. Incorporating this template into your process management toolkit enhances communication, alignment, and overall process optimization.

However, as much as this process management template helps facilitate communication, it stops at executing the process. The template simply isn’t equipped to plan and schedule work, which is why we noted the need to upgrade to project management software.

Improve Flowcharts with ProjectManager

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that turns a flowchart into an actionable plan. Our robust Gantt charts schedule tasks, resources and costs to make it easier to monitor flowcharts.

• Link all four types of dependencies to avoid cost overruns
• Use other project views like the board, sheet, list or calendar to monitor plans
• Share plans with stakeholders using free guest licenses. Try it free

2. Process Map Template

Another free process management template is this process map template for Excel, which is a detailed diagram that outlines the individual steps, roles, inputs and outputs involved in a specific business process. Unlike a flowchart, which focuses on the sequence and decision points, a process map provides deeper insight into how work is performed and who is responsible at each stage. This template helps teams document and visualize their operations with a higher level of granularity.

Process map templates are instrumental for identifying inefficiencies, standardizing procedures and ensuring compliance with industry regulations. By clearly defining each component of a process, they help uncover gaps and overlaps that might otherwise go unnoticed. These templates can also facilitate cross-functional collaboration, making them valuable in complex environments where multiple departments are involved. Whether auditing a process or designing one from scratch, a process map template ensures that nothing falls through the cracks.

3. Service Blueprint Template

A service blueprint template is another useful free process management template that is a powerful visualization tool that maps out the interactions between customers, employees and backend processes within a service experience. It typically includes customer actions, frontstage employee interactions, backstage processes and support systems—all aligned along a timeline. This level of transparency helps organizations design and deliver more seamless and effective service experiences.

Our free service blueprint template for Excel is especially useful in service design and customer experience (CX) projects, as it highlights pain points, handoffs and service gaps that could affect customer satisfaction. By clearly illustrating both visible and behind-the-scenes activities, these templates promote better alignment between teams and ensure that internal processes support the intended customer journey. Service blueprint templates are adaptable for various industries, including hospitality, healthcare, retail and tech support, and serve as a strategic tool for continuous service improvement.

4. SIPOC Template

A SIPOC (which stands for suppliers, inputs, process, outputs and customers) template is a high-level process mapping tool that provides a structured overview of a process from start to finish. This format helps teams identify key elements of a process before diving into the details. Download this free SIPOC template for Excel, which is particularly useful during the early phases of process improvement or Six Sigma projects, offering a clear snapshot of how a process functions and who is involved at each step.

This process management template simplifies complex processes by breaking them into five fundamental components. It helps stakeholders align on scope, expectations and responsibilities. They are especially valuable in cross-functional environments, where different teams contribute to different parts of the process. By using a SIPOC template, organizations can improve communication, set boundaries and ensure that process changes align with strategic goals.

5. Standard Operating Procedure Template

This free standard operating procedure (SOP) template for Word is a structured document used to detail the steps necessary to carry out routine operations. SOPs serve as the foundation for consistent performance and quality assurance by documenting how tasks should be performed, who is responsible and what standards must be met. A well-crafted SOP template typically includes sections for purpose, scope, responsibilities, step-by-step instructions and references.

This process management template helps organizations ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, minimize errors and reduce training time for new employees. They are particularly valuable in highly regulated industries such as healthcare, manufacturing and finance, where procedural consistency is critical. SOP templates not only promote accountability and transparency but also provide a reliable reference that teams can return to when questions arise or updates are needed. Implementing SOPs within your process management system builds a strong operational framework for repeatable and scalable success.

6. RACI Matrix Template

Use this free RACI matrix template for Excel as a responsibility assignment tool that clarifies team roles for tasks, milestones or processes. RACI stands for responsible, accountable, consulted and informed—four key roles that help ensure work is clearly assigned and effectively executed. By mapping out who does what, this process management template reduces confusion, eliminates overlaps and prevents important responsibilities from falling through the cracks.

RACI matrix templates are especially useful in projects that involve multiple stakeholders or cross-functional teams. They promote alignment and accountability by setting expectations from the outset and improving transparency in decision-making. With a well-structured RACI matrix, team members can better understand their contributions to a project’s success and avoid bottlenecks caused by miscommunication or role ambiguity. This template is essential to any process management toolkit aiming for clarity, efficiency and collaboration.

7. Requirements Gathering Template

This free requirements gathering template for Word is a structured document used to collect, organize and analyze the needs and expectations of stakeholders for a project or system. It typically includes fields for business objectives, functional and non-functional requirements, stakeholder inputs, constraints and acceptance criteria. This comprehensive approach ensures that all critical information is captured before the project begins.

Using this process management template improves communication between stakeholders and development teams, reduces the risk of scope creep and provides a clear foundation for project planning. It is particularly useful in software development, product design and systems engineering—anywhere precise and agreed-upon specifications are essential for success. By documenting requirements consistently, teams can minimize misunderstandings and deliver solutions that meet stakeholder expectations.

8. Method Statement Template

Download this free method statement template for Word. It is a formal document that outlines how specific tasks or activities will be carried out safely and efficiently. Commonly used in construction, engineering and manufacturing, method statements describe the scope of work, resources required, step-by-step procedures, safety precautions and quality control measures. They help ensure tasks are completed according to defined standards and legal requirements.

This process management template ensures consistency, enhances safety compliance and promotes accountability. It serves as a reference for workers and supervisors to understand the expectations and technical requirements of a job. Additionally, method statements can support risk assessments and facilitate approvals from regulatory bodies or clients. As part of a broader process management strategy, method statement templates provide structure and foresight for executing complex or hazardous tasks.

9. Workflow Template

Use this free workflow template for Excel to create a standardized framework that outlines the sequence of activities required to complete a task or process from start to finish. It includes predefined steps, roles and decision points, making it easy for teams to follow a consistent and efficient path to completion. Workflow templates eliminate ambiguity, automate repetitive tasks and ensure accountability across operations.

These process management templates are highly adaptable and can be used in a range of industries and functions, from onboarding new employees and processing invoices to managing content creation and software deployment. By adopting workflow templates, teams can increase productivity, reduce errors and ensure processes are scalable and replicable. They are an essential component of any process improvement or digital transformation effort, helping to align daily operations with strategic objectives.

10. Swimlane Diagram Template

This free swimlane diagram template is a type of flowchart that categorizes and visualizes processes, tasks or responsibilities within a workflow by organizing them into lanes. Each lane represents an individual, team or system, making it easy to track who is responsible for what and where the handoffs occur. This visual structure simplifies the understanding of complex processes by showing how various participants or departments interact throughout the process. It allows teams to see their role in a larger system and identify potential inefficiencies or bottlenecks that could impact the workflow.

This type of process management template is especially useful in scenarios where multiple teams or individuals are involved in a process. By assigning different lanes to stakeholders, it highlights accountability and clarifies dependencies between actions. These diagrams can be used in a variety of contexts, from project management and business process optimization to customer service operations and software development. Whether represented horizontally or vertically, swimlane diagrams help create a shared understanding of the process flow, enabling better communication, coordination and process improvement.

ProjectManager Manages Business Processes and Workflows

Process management templates are great until one tries project management software, which is a more effective tool for managing complex projects. While templates provide a useful structure, project management software enhances the overall project lifecycle by integrating multiple functions into a single platform.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that enables real-time collaboration, automatic workflow with task approval settings, multiple project views, progress tracking, resource allocation and more, all in one place.

Effectively Manage Resources Across Processes and Workflows

Our software allows project managers to allocate resources based on availability, skill set and workload by setting those parameters up when onboarding teams. This helps prevent resource overutilization or underutilization. Managers can view resource allocation for one or multiple projects on the workload chart and balance the team’s workload without leaving the page. There’s also a team page for a daily or weekly overview of the team’s activities, which can be filtered by progress and priority. Tasks can also be updated there, if necessary.

Gain Insights into Processes and Workflows With Online Dashboards and Reports

Real-time project or portfolio dashboards give project managers a high-level overview of key metrics, such as time, cost, workload and more. All this data is collected automatically and displayed on easy-to-read graphs and charts. Customizable reports allow users to focus on specific data points or retrieve general information on progress, which can be shared with stakeholders to keep them updated. Even our secure timesheets, which streamline the payroll process, can help by tracking labor costs to ensure the budget is kept.

Related Business Process Management Content

Process management templates can be used in business process management, but they’re only a small part of this discipline. For those who want to read more on the subject, below are some recently published blog posts that cover everything from making a process improvement plan to an overview of workflow management processes.

• A Quick Guide to Business Process Mapping
• Business Process Improvement: Steps & Methodologies
• How to Make a Process Improvement Plan (Free Template)
• Process Implementation: A Quick Guide
• Workflow Management Process
• Process Optimization: Get More From Your Processes

ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who are using our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

The post 10 Process Management Templates for Excel and Word appeared first on ProjectManager.

From business reports to project summaries, these templates will help you create clear, organized and visually appealing documents in no time. But templates aren’t a perfect solution. Project management software offers a more efficient reporting method for those ready to upgrade. Not ready to make that commitment? That’s okay. These free report templates will still prove useful.

1. Status Report Template

A status report template is valuable for keeping projects on track and stakeholders informed. It provides a clear overview of progress, highlights any challenges and ensures everyone stays aligned with the project goals. Whether you’re managing a small task or a large initiative, using a status report template saves time and ensures consistency. Download this free status report template for Excel to streamline the reporting process and keep teams on the same page.

Once users download this fully customizable free report template, they’ll see it captures the project’s health and progress for a certain period. It begins with general information about the project, such as the name, project managers, etc., as well as defining the reporting period. Progress is outlined in a chart that lists completed and upcoming work, project deliverables and milestones. One section provides an overview of the project’s health, including its budget, schedule, scope, quality control and more. There’s even a risk and change management log. The report ends with conclusions and recommendations.

As we mentioned, free report templates are great. They serve the same purpose as reports in project management software. The big difference is that templates are static documents. Whoever is creating the report has to manually update the data. This not only takes time but can result in human error. Project management software avoids those pitfalls. ProjectManager has real-time status reports that can be generated with a keystroke and deliver data immediately. They can even be filtered to focus on key data points or provide a more general summary to share with stakeholders and keep them updated. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

2. Progress Report Template

A progress report template helps effectively communicate updates on ongoing projects or tasks. It provides a structured way to outline accomplishments, challenges and next steps, ensuring transparency and accountability. Whether you’re reporting to a manager, client or team, using a progress report template saves time and keeps everyone informed. Download this free progress report template for Word to simplify your reporting process and keep your projects moving forward.

Use this free report template to get an overview of all the activities and tasks that have occurred over a period. Besides the general project information, the report opens with a summary. Here it provides an overview of the project scope, schedule, cost and risk, including the current and prior status and a short summary. It also lists all tasks from the reported period, with their status, objective, planned due date and actual due date. Also covered are issues, the budget, accomplishments and expected accomplishments that should be done by the next progress report.

3. Daily Report Template

A daily report template is an efficient way to track daily activities, progress and challenges. It helps teams stay organized, improves communication and keeps everyone aligned on priorities. Whether you’re managing a project, supervising a team or simply keeping track of your tasks, using a daily report template ensures consistency and saves time. Download this free report template for Excel to enhance your productivity and reporting routine.

Whether used as a daily work report, daily activity report or daily progress or task report, this report template is a thorough way to streamline task tracking and keep one’s manager informed. It holds team members accountable and helps management identify trends, optimize workflows and reduce inefficiencies through standardized reporting. In other words, it keeps updates consistent, structured and actionable for project management, operations management or stakeholder management.

4. Inspection Report Template

An inspection report template is a useful tool for documenting observations, findings and recommendations during an inspection. It ensures that all relevant details are recorded consistently, helping you maintain accurate records and comply with regulatory requirements. Whether you’re conducting safety checks, quality assessments or property inspections, using this template saves time and keeps your reports organized. Download this free inspection report template for Excel to streamline your inspection process and improve reporting accuracy.

Use primarily in construction for building inspections, this free report template allows inspectors to thoroughly gather information and track that work. This ensures that the structure being inspected is safe and meets building inspection standards. As with most reports, it opens with general information, which is followed by an inspection summary of key observations and findings, as well as suggested actions and recommendations. Next, is a breakdown of what’s being inspected, such as roofing, sewer lines, security systems, etc.

5. KPI Dashboard Template

A key performance indicator (KPI) dashboard template is an effective way to track and visualize key performance indicators in real time. This free report template provides a clear overview of your team’s progress toward strategic goals, helping you make data-driven decisions. Whether you’re monitoring sales, marketing metrics or operational performance, this template keeps essential data organized and easy to understand. Download this KPI dashboard template for Excel to improve the reporting process and keep teams focused on what matters most.

Use this free report template to track and analyze progress and performance in business or when managing a project. It monitors the performance of individuals, teams, departments, projects and organizations, including financial health and progress toward strategic goals. Managers can use it to quickly identify trends and businesses can then respond to challenges or opportunities faster. In short, it’s a report that tracks metrics and helps make more data-driven decisions.

6. Bug Report Template

A bug report template helps document software issues clearly and consistently, ensuring they are tracked and resolved. It provides a structured format to describe the problem, its impact and the steps to reproduce it, making it easier for developers to understand and fix the issue. Whether you’re a tester, developer or project manager, using a bug report template streamlines the reporting process and improves communication within the team. Download this free bug report template for Excel to manage bugs more efficiently and enhance your product’s quality.

Our free bug report template for Excel should be used during the QA process of a software product to identify and track a problem in its functionality until that issue has been resolved. This report template ensures that all the pertinent information developers need to do their jobs is included. That saves money and time by getting these bugs out of the product before it’s shipped to end users. It can also be archived and reviewed as historical data when working on similar products.

7. Service Report Template

A service report template is an essential tool for documenting the details of a service call or maintenance visit. It helps service technicians record tasks completed, issues encountered and customer feedback, ensuring transparency and accountability. Whether you’re in field service, maintenance or customer support, using this template keeps your reports organized and consistent. Download this free service report template for Word to streamline the reporting process and improve client communication.

Not only does this free report template summarize the work completed for the customer, but it also helps the company by tracking changes, showing where performance improvements can be made and identifying areas for cost reduction. Companies can use this template to identify trends in service requests by archiving the reports and reviewing them in bulk to better anticipate and respond to customer needs.

8. Project Dashboard Template

A project dashboard template is a powerful tool for tracking project progress, milestones and key metrics in one place. It provides a visual overview of timelines, tasks and budget status, helping project managers make informed decisions and keep stakeholders updated. Whether you’re managing a small task or a complex project, this template keeps your team organized and focused on goals. Download this free project dashboard template for Excel to enhance your project management and streamline your reporting process.

The free report template is made up of a pie chart and three bar charts. These colorful charts make it easy to see at a glance how far the team has gone in completing their tasks, showing their workload and task lengths. There’s also a bar chart that tracks costs. Use this free report template to monitor the project to keep it on schedule and within its budget.

9. Lessons Learned Template

A lessons learned template helps teams reflect on completed projects by documenting successes, challenges and areas for improvement. It captures valuable insights that can enhance future projects and prevent repeat mistakes. Whether you’re closing out a small task or a large initiative, this template ensures knowledge is preserved and shared. Download this free lessons learned template for Excel and improve your team’s performance and project outcomes.

This free report template is a great tool to apply after completing a project, whether it failed or succeeded. That is because it gives the project team space to speak freely on what went right and what didn’t in the project. This information must be truthful if it’s to have a positive impact on the way future projects are managed.

10. Project Review Template

A project review template is a valuable tool for assessing the outcomes and performance of a completed project. It helps teams reflect on what went well, what could be improved and how to apply these insights to future projects. Whether you’re conducting a post-project evaluation or sharing results with stakeholders, this template ensures a structured, comprehensive review process. Download this free project review template for Word to learn, adapt and improve.

Similar to the report template on lessons learned, this free template offers a different format to collect that data. It’s recommended to use both templates. Reviewing projects is so important that the extra time to make sure that nothing vital has been overlooked is time well spent. Review project objectives, goals, risks, issues, staffing, resources, success criteria, baseline versus actual results and more.

11. Change Impact Assessment Template

A change impact assessment template helps organizations evaluate the potential effects of proposed changes on processes, teams and systems. It provides a structured approach to identifying risks, benefits and necessary adjustments, ensuring that changes are implemented smoothly and effectively. Whether managing a small update or a major transformation, this report template will help to thoroughly analyze and plan. Download this free change impact assessment template for Excel and anticipate challenges and manage change more successfully.

Use this free report template to inform resource allocation and reduce risk by walking the organization through how the change will impact things and the related costs of implementing it. This report sets the stage for whatever change is coming and makes sure everyone is prepared, whether that’s a new system, policy or the business relocating.

12. Operating Budget Template

An operating budget template is a valuable tool for reporting and managing operating costs within an organization. It provides a clear structure to track expenses, forecast future costs and ensure financial resources are allocated efficiently. Whether you’re preparing a report for stakeholders or monitoring day-to-day operations, this template helps maintain control over your organization’s financial health. Download this free operating budget template for Excel to improve cost management and ensure your operations stay within budget.

This report template can map out the expected costs for the year to create a more accurate budget and be used to review that year to report on operating costs to stakeholders. This report template can then show whether the operating budget was accurate and if costs increased or came in under what was forecasted.

ProjectManager Is a Better Than a Report Template

Free report projects are great, but they’re more of a workaround than a viable solution to monitoring and controlling a project. Templates are static documents. That means every time one wants to generate a report, they have to gather the data and then manually input it into an Excel spreadsheet or Word document. It’s time-consuming and can be ripe for human error. Rather than wasting time and tempting fate, use project management software. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that can create multiple reports with a keystroke and even filter them to focus on what one wants to know. Other features can help track projects.

Get a High-Level Overview With Real-Time Dashboards

Reports can zero in on aspects of the project or provide a detailed summary, but when a project manager wants an instant status report they can toggle over to the real-time dashboards. Some dashboards cover individual projects and portfolio dashboards that gather data on multiple projects in one place. Both dashboards don’t require any setup and capture live data automatically. Then, they display key metrics, such as time, cost, workload and more, in easy-to-read graphs and charts.

Track Resource Allocation Across One or Multiple Projects

Once resources have been scheduled on the Gantt chart, then onboard teams and set their availability, such as PTO, vacation and global holidays, even skill sets and pay rate, to make it easier to assign them. Then check resource allocation on the color-coded workload chart. Project managers can see who is overallocated or underutilized and balance the team’s workload from that page. There’s even a team page to get a daily or weekly summary of the team’s activities, which can be filtered by progress, priority and more.

Related Reporting Content

While these free report templates cover a lot of territory, there’s still more to learn about reporting. For those that want to continue learning about business report templates, reporting software and more, follow these handful of links to some recent pieces we’ve published on our blog.

• Must-Have Business Report Templates
• Project Reporting Software
• Free Project Report Templates for Excel & Word
• Project Performance Reporting: Key Performance Reports
• What Is a Budget Report? Purpose, Components & Benefits

ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

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These actions can be annoying, but if the lazy coworker doesn’t impact your work, then simply avoid them. Don’t hold onto resentments. On the other hand, if their laziness starts to affect your work life, then you need to address it.

But first, do a little soul-searching. Are you just being judgmental? Does the lazy coworker trigger you? Before you start tattling and spreading toxic emotions, try speaking to the person. Communications are key. If it’s too embarrassing to speak about in person, reach out via email or other online collaboration tools. It could all amount to a simple misunderstanding.

But if you can’t work out the issue with the lazy coworker, then what? You might have to report the person to your superior. Before you escalate the issue, though, try these 13 tips for dealing with a lazy coworker.

1. Don’t Let Your Feelings Fester

Yes, ignore the petty issues. But if there is a real problem, the worst thing you can do is ignore it because then you’re just going to sit and stew. This will pollute your entire person in time.

Naturally, you first need to determine if the problem is small. If it’s not, then be proactive and do something about it. Nothing rash, of course, but the first step is acknowledging that there’s a problem. Then next step is letting the person know. After that, well, it depends on how the lazy coworker responds.

2. Deal with the Lazy Coworker Head On

If the lazy coworker ignores their own work and asks you to do it instead, don’t. Sometimes you need to just stand up and say, “No!” It’s as simple as that. Now helping once or twice is called teamwork. You’re all in this thing together. But once it becomes habitual, then that’s called enabling. You’re becoming part of the problem and not the solution.

3. Focus on Your Own Work

While a lazy coworker can undoubtedly be a distraction, one of the easiest ways to deal with the problem is to focus on your own tasks. Continue to perform and execute your work to the best of your ability without letting your frustrating coworker drag you down.

In some cases, you might find yourself taking on work that’s outside of your responsibilities. The last thing you want is for this to detract from your tasks and cause larger issues. If this is the case, be sure to communicate with your manager or supervisor so you can find a solution.

4. Offer Some Guidance

Maybe your lazy coworker isn’t really goofing off; they’re just in over their head. They might need some help. That doesn’t mean you’re going to do their work for them, but it could mean that you’re going to tell them how to manage their tasks and workload so they can be more efficient and productive.

5. Understand the Potential Underlying Issues

A little bit of empathy can go a long way in understanding why your lazy coworker acts the way they do. Laziness can sometimes be a symptom of a deeper problem such as personal issues, burnout or a lack of motivation.

While there isn’t any excuse that justifies this type of behavior at work, consider where your coworker is coming from and approach the situation with as much empathy as possible.

6. Be Dispassionate

When you can’t avoid the problem, and the attempt at guiding them back on track wasn’t fruitful, then you’re going to want to communicate more firmly what the problem is and how it’s impacting you and others. It’s important to try and resolve the issue yourself first, but don’t go into that conversation with a hot head. If you’re upset, then wait, and even if you’re angry, don’t speak from a place of anger. You want to state your case professionally and dispassionately. If this doesn’t work, well, at least you tried.

Related: How to Negotiate in the Workplace: A Practical Guide

7. Talk to Someone About Your Lazy Coworker

If you’ve talked and nothing comes from it, before doing something like lodging a complaint, seek outside counsel. No, you’re not going to need to hire a lawyer (hopefully!), but you can use a friend as a soundboard and maybe get some perspective on the situation. Do you have a mentor, someone who’s been around the block? They might offer insights that can help you resolve the problem.

8. Use Positive Reinforcement

In the case that you catch your lazy coworker putting in true effort, be sure to acknowledge and praise their work. Even something as simple as a “Great job!” message on Slack or an email thanking them for their work can help encourage them to keep it up.

If their contributions benefit the team and the project, let them know. Emphasizing this team angle can help them feel valued and motivated to accomplish their tasks.

9. Don’t Gossip About Your Coworker

While it’s suggested you talk with someone about the problem, that’s different than gossiping and complaining. Yes, you’re frustrated, and so there is a tendency to get that off your shoulders by sharing it with coworkers.

Gossiping might alleviate your frustration momentarily, but it’s not a long-term fix. Plus, your negative comments are likely to get back to the person, and that will only make the matter worse. If you talk to the lazy coworker directly, you can control the situation better, but if they pick up on office gossip then they’re going to get resentful and the cycle will continue.

Related: The Dangers of Self-Serving Bias at the Workplace

10. Don’t Enable Their Laziness

You could think that by picking up the slack you’re doing them and yourself a favor. After all, if there’s work to be done, then someone’s got to do it. Why not you?

This isn’t dealing with the problem, though. It’s a passive way of avoiding it, and such inaction will backfire on you. You’ll burn yourself out, or you’ll grow resentful. Either way, what might feel like an easy way to solve the situation is really just prolonging it until it becomes something worse.

11. Keep a Good Attitude

A lazy coworker that impacts your work is also going to influence your attitude. You might feel that if they’re not doing any work, well, then you won’t either! That’ll show’em!

Unfortunately, this little act of rebellion will only put you in the hot seat. Instead, do your work, and try and ignore the laziness of others. But if you do feel that bitterness rising to the point that it affects your personality, then you know that action is required.

12. Talk to Your Manager About Your Lazy Coworker

While it’s never ideal to bring interpersonal issues to your manager, sometimes it can’t be avoided. Again, you should try to work these problems out by talking with the person, but if they are a bad boss and don’t listen, or tell you that you don’t have the authority to tell them what to do, then go to that person in the office who does.

This is especially true if their laziness is impacting the business. Then, frankly, it’s no longer an interpersonal matter, but one that could jeopardize the project or the company.

13. Keep Documentation

Once you’re sure that the problem isn’t your thin skin and that it cannot be ignored without detrimental impact on the business, then it’s time to approach the manager. When you do, make sure you have a strong case. That means before going to a superior you start documenting the actions (or inactions) of the coworker, so that their infractions are clear.

Don’t be a snoop, but you should collect any issues as they arise in a file. So, if it comes to it, you’ve got evidence. You might not even have to name the person, but just mention that some people are not carrying their weight. Either way, when it becomes a bottom-line issue, then it’s one that must be brought up to the boss.

How ProjectManager Helps with Lazy Coworkers

There’s one more thing you can do to help a lazy coworker get out of their rut: give them the right tool to make them work better. You might even spark some enthusiasm if you get them to use ProjectManager, which organizes projects and tasks, fosters team work and holds people accountable.

ProjectManager gives managers a window into the lazy worker’s productivity, so it’s not like you won’t be able to track their progress. For example, there’s a workload page with a color-coded chart that shows how much each person is working and if they’ve too much or too little responsibilities. This provides transparency, so you don’t have to micromanage but still can stay updated.

There’s also the Team page, which shows what everyone is working on this week. That way, no one can skate by with an empty plate.

Maybe your coworker isn’t lazy, they’re just not a self-starter. ProjectManager makes it easy to assign them tasks and then track their progress on a real-time dashboard, so you don’t feel the need to hover over them. Given that sort of freedom, a lazy worker might bloom into a exceedingly productive one.

But a lazy coworker might just be lazy. Don’t worry. ProjectManager makes them accountable for their work. You can attach all the important files and requirements for their assignment to the task and even comment and dialogue with them at the task level, to make things clear. There’s no way they can say their dog ate the homework, where it’s all present and accountable ProjectManager.

Maybe your lazy coworker is just not equipped to handle the work, and they need better tools to get the job done. ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that supplies real-time data and provides a collaborative platform for teams. Give your team the right tools, and watch them go from lazy to productive. Take this free 30-day trial and see for yourself.

The post 13 Ways to Deal with a Lazy Coworker appeared first on ProjectManager.

Having your eye on KPI metrics is one of the best ways to track the progress of your team. But first, let’s define some key terms and then get to the essential KPI metrics for teams.

What Is a KPI?

KPI is an acronym that stands for key performance indicator. It is a measurement that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving its key business objectives. KPI metrics are often monitored with online dashboards or tracking templates. Organizations use KPI metrics to evaluate their success in reaching targets. When you use KPIs on projects, you’re measuring team and project progress.

The importance of KPIs is that they keep your project objective always on the front burner, so there’s little chance that you’ll leave them unattended. The project objectives must be communicated clearly throughout the project team, so everyone knows the KPIs they’re responsible for.

What Makes a KPI Effective?

For a KPI to be an effective project measurement, it first must be agreed on by everyone in the project and be meaningful to its intended audience, whether stakeholder or end-user.

The KPI metric must be quantifiable and able to be analyzed. It has to be measured regularly to have any team management value.

Naturally, all this is to say that the KPI is aligned with the overall objectives of the project and the organization. They must be realistic and cost-effective, and align with the culture of the organization, resource constraints or overall project constraints.

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KPI Dashboard Template

Use this free KPI Dashboard Template for Excel to manage your projects better.

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Two Types of Team KPIs: Quantitative & Qualitative

There are two different types of KPIs: quantitative and qualitative. A quantitative KPI is measurable by numbers and a qualitative KPI is more descriptive, such as measuring through a survey to get an understanding of your end-user.

14 essential KPI metrics are listed below.

Quantitative Team KPIs

1. Overall task programs: Provides measurable insights into project performance, efficiency and resource utilization. It includes data on task completion, milestone achievement, task duration, schedule variance, etc.
2. Workload efficiency: Refers to how effectively team members use their time and resources to complete project tasks. This KPI can be calculated differently depending on the context and goals.
3. Timesheet submittals: Tracks employee work hours to ensure accurate payroll and helps manage project costs. An example of a time worked calculation is end time – start time = hours worked.
4. Task dependencies: Assigns measurable values to relationships between tasks to result in better analysis and prediction of project schedules. They are quantifiable through lead or lag time, critical path analysis, resource dependencies and more.
5. Project schedule: Involves translating the planned project activities into measurable values to help objectively analyze and track progress. Quantify this project KPI through task durations, dependencies, milestones, critical path analysis and more.
6. Cost variance (CV): Measures the difference between the budgeted and actual costs of the project. The formula is CV = earned value – actual cost.
7. Milestone achievement: Notes the number of milestones completed on time. The formula is (number of milestones achieved / total number of planned milestones) * 100.

Qualitative Team KPIs

1. Mentoring time: Refers to the time allocated for experienced project team members or managers to guide, support and develop less experienced members. This KPI focuses on skill development and career growth.
2. Collaboration: Outlines the process of communication on project deliverables, whether it be in-person collaboration, commenting on tasks in a software, sending emails, etc.
3. Stakeholder/client satisfaction: Gathers subjective feedback from stakeholders on their perception of project progress, communication and overall satisfaction. This KPI can be achieved through group discussions, informal feedback, interviews, etc.
4. Communication: Ensures the project team and all relevant stakeholders are aligned on the project’s goals, objectives and progress. It’s helpful for building trust and understanding throughout the project.
5. Team evaluation: Outlines how well the team is communicating and working together toward the project’s goals. KPI evaluations can take place both informally and formally to better understand how the team is working together.
6. Project risk assessment: Identifies, analyzes and evaluates potential risks that could impact the project’s objectives. It’s a proactive approach to project KPIs that can mitigate potential problems before they arise.
7. Deliverable assessment: Gathers qualitative feedback from stakeholders on the quality and usability of project deliverables. This feedback can help guide deliverables on future projects.

How to Use KPIs

In order to use key performance indicators effectively, you should blend the two types to get a complete metric for team performance. To achieve this, take these steps:

1. Write a Clear Objective: What are you trying to measure and control? Be specific, the more pointed your objective, the better you’ll be able to measure and control.
2. Share with the Team: Make sure those objectives are communicated throughout your project team, so everyone is on the same page. This, as noted, is crucial so that the KPIs are met throughout the project.
3. Update: Regularly update the team, as objectives can change. A KPI is a moving target and to take a picture only once is not going to give you the data you need to get anything of value.
4. Review Weekly: Meet weekly to make sure that as the project progresses, everyone stays informed on what you’re measuring and how. This is how you can track and control your project’s progress and communicate the most important topics to your team.

Best Practices for Team KPI Tracking

There are a lot of things that make a KPI effective, as noted above, but these three tips will keep your KPIs working accurately and effectively:

1. Make sure the KPIs you created are aligned with the organization and project.
2. Make sure they’re achievable and not unrealistic for your team.
3. Make sure that they’re actionable.

If you use an online project management software, you’ll get live data, which means your team is able to update in real time. Not only does this lead to more accuracy, but with a real-time dashboard, you can see the project’s progress at a glance with easy-to-read graphs and charts.

KPI Dashboards

While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to tracking project management KPIs, one of the easiest and most effective ways to do so is through a KPI dashboard. This powerful tool provides a comprehensive overview of project and health progress using updated data. As a result, project managers and stakeholders can see the project’s current status at a glance. Other roles that might use this KPI dashboard include functional managers, department heads, top management teams or C-level executives.

KPI Dashboard Template

For those interested in using a KPI dashboard but aren’t sure where to start, our free KPI dashboard template for Excel is the ideal place to start. It helps identify trends so businesses can stay alert of challenges or opportunities.

In our KPI dashboard template, users will find a section on the timeline, budget, task priority, task status, workload analysis, resource planning and profits and losses. There is even a revenue and expenses breakdown by month. Feel free to customize the template so it reflects the information you need to track.

How to Measure KPIs with ProjectManager

KPIs are only as good as the instrument you’re using to measure them. ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that instantly updates as teams update their statuses. These updates are displayed on our real-time dashboard, with widgets that track your tasks, costs, teams, project health and more.

Some of the KPIs you can monitor include your team’s workload. On the dashboard, you can see each individual team member’s progress. Our color-coded charts and graphs let you know if they’re on, ahead or behind schedule for time, cost, workload and tasks, with their percentage of progress calculated automatically.

When teams update their tasks and timesheets that information populates the dashboard to keep you on track when managing a project. No more having to calculate your KPIs on an overly complicated spreadsheet or by hand.

Your KPIs are only as good as the tools you use to track them, and no project management software offers you features like ProjectManager. But don’t take our word for it, try it yourself with this free 30-day trial.

Learn More About KPIs

KPIs can differ from organization to organization, but the essentials remain constant. Project managers understand how KPIs are a helpful benchmark to increase productivity in teams and improve costs, cycle time and stakeholder satisfaction.

But they’re more than just a performance tool, they can be used to motivate teams as well. Getting your team behind a common goal fosters positive competition. Meeting KPIs can be used as incentives and be rewarded to get even more out of your team. Watch Jennifer Bridges, PMP, to start your KPI adventure.

Here’s a screenshot for your reference.

Thanks for watching!

Transcription:

Today, we’re talking about Eight Essential KPI Metrics for Teams. But first of all, I want to talk about what a KPI is. I want to talk about two different types. I also want to talk about how we create them and a few best practices.

So first of all, what is a KPI? So, KPI is a key performance indicator, and it’s a measurement that demonstrates how effectively a company is at achieving key business objectives.

Organizations also use these to evaluate their success in reaching targets, but we can also use these in projects, and when used in projects, we’re looking to evaluate and measure the team’s progress.

So, let’s look at two different types. We have quantitative KPIs and qualitative KPIs. And when we’re talking about quantitative, we’re measuring those KPIs using numbers. When we talk about qualitative, we’re measuring the KPIs by opinions or traits.

So, the four quantitative ones that we commonly look at are the overall tasks programs. We’re also looking at the workload efficiency of the team, as well as timesheet submittals. How good or how regular and how accurate are they at submitting their timesheet? And also, looking at some of the task dependencies.

And when we look at qualitative, we’re considering how much time is spent with mentoring. We’re looking at collaboration and how much time is spent with collaboration. We’re looking at stakeholder and client satisfaction, as well as communication.

So, we want to use a blend of these two types. So how do we create these KPIs? How do we come up with them?

Well, first of all, we write a clear objective of what we’re trying to measure and control. And then, once we do that, we share that or those with the team. And then we update those on a regular basis and we review them weekly.

So, a few best practices are that you want to make sure that the KPIs that you create for your project or your team is aligned with your project and your organization.

You also want to make sure they’re attainable by your team members so they don’t become demotivators.

And you want to make sure they’re actionable.

Now, with project management software, these can be managed and updated in real time. And when your team members can update them in real time, there is a tendency towards more accuracy.

So, you can also use these in your dashboards and have a visual view so that not only you as the manager or project manager but also your team members can have insights into what’s going on on the project and the team’s progress.

So, if you need a tool to manage and track your KPIs and keep them visible for your team, then sign up for our software now at ProjectManager.

The post 14 Essential Team KPIs for Any Project appeared first on ProjectManager.

What are the 5 whys and how can it be used in project management as well as other disciplines? We’ll get to that and how to use it. Then we’ll provide a real-life example and even a link to a free 5 whys template to download and use.

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5 Whys Template

Use this free 5 Whys Template for Excel to manage your projects better.

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What Is the 5 Whys Analysis?

The 5 whys analysis is a problem-solving technique used to identify the root cause of an issue by asking “why” five times (or as many times as needed) to dig deeper into the cause-and-effect chain. Sakichi Toyoda originally developed it and it is widely used in lean and Six Sigma methodologies.

It is particularly effective for troubleshooting recurring issues and is useful in quality control, process improvement and incident investigations. The 5 whys are a simple yet powerful tool that enables teams to uncover the underlying reasons behind problems rather than merely addressing surface-level symptoms.

Of course, the 5 whys only sets up the successful mitigation of whatever issue is plaguing the project. Resolving it requires creating a plan of action. In other words, there needs to be a project. To implement a project properly, that plan must be created and executed with project management software.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that has multiple project views to schedule and execute work. Project managers can schedule tasks, resources and costs on Gantt charts, including linking dependencies to avoid costly delays, filter for the critical path and set a baseline to track progress in real time. Teams can use kanban boards or task lists to manage their work, while the calendar view offers a monthly overview of progress to keep stakeholders updated. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

When to Use the 5 Whys Analysis Technique

The 5 whys analysis technique is a powerful tool for identifying the root cause of problems, making it useful in various scenarios where understanding the underlying issue is crucial. It is most effective when applied to recurring problems, process inefficiencies or unexpected incidents. By asking “why” multiple times, it digs deep into cause-and-effect relationships, helping teams develop targeted solutions.

Project Management

In project management, the 5 whys technique is used to analyze project issues, delays or failures. It helps project managers understand why a project is not meeting its objectives, whether due to resource constraints, miscommunication or scope creep. By uncovering the root cause, teams can implement corrective actions, making sure that similar problems don’t arise in future projects. It’s particularly useful during post-mortem reviews to learn from project challenges and enhance planning and execution.

Business Process Improvement

For business process improvement, the 5 whys technique is instrumental in identifying inefficiencies and bottlenecks. It helps teams understand why a process is underperforming or producing defects. By addressing the root cause, organizations can streamline workflows, reduce waste and improve productivity. This approach aligns with methodologies like lean and Six Sigma, where continuous improvement and waste reduction are key goals.

Operations Management

In operations management, the 5 whys technique is valuable for troubleshooting operational issues such as equipment breakdowns, supply chain disruptions or quality control failures. It allows operations managers to identify why problems occur, whether due to maintenance lapses, inadequate training or poor supplier performance. By resolving the underlying cause, businesses can enhance operational efficiency, minimize downtime and maintain consistent quality. This approach supports preventive maintenance and process reliability strategies.

How to Implement the 5 Whys Analysis Technique

The 5 whys analysis technique is a straightforward yet effective method for identifying the root cause of problems. As noted above, by repeatedly asking “why” a problem occurred, teams can dig deeper into the cause-and-effect chain, revealing the underlying issue rather than just addressing symptoms. This structured approach ensures that solutions are targeted and effective, preventing recurring problems. Here’s how to implement the technique step by step.

1. Identify and Describe the Problem

The first step is to identify and describe the problem. This involves defining the issue in specific, measurable terms. It’s important to be precise and avoid vague statements. For example, instead of saying “production is slow,” a more detailed problem description would be “production output is 20 percent below the target for the past month.” Gathering data and involving team members familiar with the process helps ensure an accurate understanding of the issue.

2. Ask 5 Whys to Find Underlying Causes of the Problem

Next, ask “why” the problem occurred and continue asking “why” to each subsequent answer. Typically, this is done five times, but the number of repetitions can vary depending on the issue’s complexity. The goal is to move past symptoms and superficial causes to uncover the underlying reasons. It’s important to maintain objectivity, rely on facts and avoid assumptions. Documenting each question and answer helps maintain clarity and traceability.

3. Identify the Root Cause of the Problem

After completing the questioning process, identify the root cause of the problem. This is the fundamental reason behind the issue, often related to a process failure, policy gap or system weakness. At this stage, it’s crucial to confirm that the root cause is within the organization’s control and actionable. Once the root cause is identified, develop and implement corrective actions to eliminate it, ensuring the problem does not recur. Regularly reviewing the effectiveness of these solutions helps maintain continuous improvement.

5 Whys Analysis Template

To further explain the usefulness of this technique, download our free 5 whys template for Excel. It lays out the structure for the process and allows users to simply input the data and come to the root cause of the problem they’re experiencing.

Once users download the free template, it’s customizable if users want to add more whys. As formatted, there’s a space to add the problem, then the five whys and their answers, which leads to the last cell where the root cause is determined.

5 Whys Analysis Example

Let’s look at using the 5 whys in a real-life scenario. For our example, we’ll focus on a manufacturer that has a production line that is not working regularly.

Problem: A manufacturing line experiences frequent equipment breakdowns.

• Why? The equipment overheats.
• Why? The cooling system is not functioning properly.
• Why? Maintenance of the cooling system was delayed.
• Why? Spare parts were not available on time.
• Why? There is no inventory management system for critical spare parts.

Root Cause: Lack of an inventory management system for critical spare parts.

Solution: Implement an inventory management system to track and reorder spare parts proactively.

Benefits of Using the 5 Whys Analysis Technique

There are many advantages of using the 5 whys to figure out the root cause of a problem. Here are some of them.

• Simplicity and Efficiency: It is easy to implement without complex tools or extensive training.
• Cost-Effective: It requires minimal resources and can be conducted in a short timeframe.
• Focus on Root Cause: It avoids superficial solutions by uncovering the underlying issue.
• Promotes Continuous Improvement: It fosters a culture of questioning and learning from mistakes.

Disadvantages of Using the 5 Whys Analysis Technique

That doesn’t mean that the 5 whys are without criticism. There are issues with the method, which are listed below.

• Subjectivity: The quality of the analysis depends on the team’s knowledge and perspective, leading to potential bias.
• Inadequate for Complex Problems: It may oversimplify complex, multi-faceted issues. In such cases, other tools like fishbone diagrams or failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) might be more effective.
• Risk of Stopping Too Soon: Teams may stop asking “why” prematurely, leading to incomplete root cause identification.

Related Project Management Templates

There are other ways to resolve problems other than the 5 whys, and we have free templates to do so. Below are a few of the over 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word that cover all aspects of managing a project across multiple industries.

Issue Tracking Template

Download this free issue tracking template for Excel to document, manage and monitor issues or problems that arise during a project or within a business process. It helps teams keep track of reported issues, assign responsibilities and ensure timely resolution.

Fishbone Diagram Template

A fishbone diagram, also known as a root cause analysis, is a tool used to identify and organize the potential causes of a problem. Use this free fishbone diagram template for Word to visually map out all possible contributing factors, helping teams analyze complex issues systematically.

Risk Register Template

Use this free risk register template for Excel to identify, assess and manage risks throughout a project or business process. It provides a structured way to document potential risks, evaluate their impact and likelihood, and plan appropriate responses.

How to Manage Problems With ProjectManager

All of the above templates, including the 5 whys, are great for brainstorming the cause of an issue and figuring out a plan to address it, even track it. But the truth is that once the templates have been used to identify the root cause, then it’s time to abandon the templates. These static documents aren’t equipped to handle the dynamic nature of managing a project. Resolving a problem successfully requires project management software. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with multiple project views to plan, manage and track the work in real time.

Robust Resource Management Keep Everyone Productive

After resources are scheduled on the Gantt chart, project managers can onboard their teams. But before assigning them to tasks, our software lets them set the team’s availability. That includes PTO, vacation and global holidays as well as pay rate and skill sets. This streamlines the assignment process and gets the right resources on the right job at the right time.

The color-coded workload chart offers an overview of resource allocation, which makes it easy to see who is overallocated or underutilized. The workload can be balanced from the same chart to keep teams working at capacity without threatening burnout. A team page provides a daily or weekly summary of the team’s activities, which can be filtered by priority and progress. Managers can update tasks without leaving the team page.

Track Work With Real-Time Dashboards, Reports and More

Problems have to be solved within a specific timeline and budget. To ensure that occurs as planned, project managers must monitor and control the execution of project tasks. They can get a high-level project overview with our real-time project or portfolio dashboards. They’re automatically updated with live data that’s displayed on easy-to-read graphs and charts showing time, cost, workload and more.

For a more detailed view, customizable reports on project or portfolio status, variance, timesheets and workload can be generated with a keystroke and filtered to show individual data points or a more general summary that can be shared with stakeholders. Even our secure timesheets help keep track of labor costs to stay on budget.

Related Content

The 5 whys is one way to get to the root cause of a problem. However, there are many different methods to identify and manage issues in project management. Below are some examples from the more recent posts we’ve published on our blog.

• Issue Management Process in Project Management
• How to Conduct a Gap Analysis: Definition, Steps & Example
• What Is an Issue Log? Templates & Tips
• Steps for Effective Problem Management in IT
• What Is Project Risk? 7 Project Risks to Track
• Project Risk Analysis: Tools, Templates & Techniques

ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated on email and in-app notifications. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

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