Whether you’re managing inventory, requesting quotes or scheduling maintenance, having a clear and structured template can save time, reduce errors and improve accountability. Anyone who is a small business owner, department manager or part of a larger corporate team will find these service templates helpful

Free Service Templates

Below are a selection of templates from the over 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word that users can download immediately from our site. These templates cover all aspects of managing projects across multiple industries. The ones we’ve chosen for this roundup will help improve customer service and business efficiency.

1. Service Proposal Template

Download this free service proposal template for Word to outline the scope, approach and pricing for a service offered to a potential client. This service template acts as a persuasive pitch and a formal plan, helping clients understand exactly what’s being offered, how it will be delivered and at what cost. It includes sections like an executive summary, company background, service details, deliverables, timelines, pricing and terms and conditions.

This service template saves time and ensures a polished, consistent presentation with every client opportunity. It allows service providers to customize key details while maintaining a professional format that communicates value. A well-crafted template improves the chances of winning business and sets the stage for clear expectations and smooth collaboration. Whether you’re a freelancer, consultant, agency or service-based company, a strong service proposal template is essential for closing deals and building trust with clients.

When that proposal is accepted, it’s time to move from a template to project management software. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software designed to handle the dynamic nature of a project in a way that static templates cannot.

The agreed-upon information in the service template can inform our robust Gantt chart, which schedules tasks, resources and costs. But it can also link all four types of task dependencies to avoid cost overruns, filter for the critical path and set a baseline to track progress in real time. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

2. Service Agreement Template

This free service agreement template for Word outlines the terms and conditions under which services will be provided by one party to another. It’s a formal contract between a service provider and a client, clearly defining the scope of work, payment terms, deadlines, responsibilities, dispute resolution methods and other relevant conditions. The main goal of a service agreement is to protect both parties by setting clear expectations and providing a framework for accountability and legal recourse if issues arise.

Using a service agreement template helps ensure consistency, professionalism and legal coverage in client engagements. It saves time by offering a ready-made structure customizable to fit different projects or industries. It’s suitable for a freelancer, contractor, agency or business owner.

A solid service agreement minimizes misunderstandings and supports smoother, more transparent working relationships. It’s a critical tool for formalizing agreements and building trust in any service-based business.

3. Service Blueprint Template

Use this free service blueprint template for Excel as a strategic visual tool to map out the entire service delivery process—from the customer’s experience to the behind-the-scenes operations that make it possible.

The service template breaks down a service into key components such as customer interactions, frontstage (visible) employee actions, backstage (invisible) processes and supporting systems. The template includes a flow of activities, with layers representing each component, helping teams understand how the service works holistically.

This service template is especially valuable for designing, analyzing or improving complex service offerings. It helps identify pain points, inefficiencies or opportunities for enhancement by connecting customer actions and internal operations.

This level of visibility is crucial for aligning teams, improving consistency and enhancing the overall customer experience. It’s useful when launching a new service, optimizing an existing one or training staff. A service blueprint template is a powerful tool for service design and delivery.

4. Service-Level Agreement Template

This free service-level agreement template is a structured document that outlines the specific commitments and performance standards a service provider agrees to meet when delivering services to a client or internal team.

It defines key metrics such as uptime guarantees, response times, resolution times and service availability, along with roles, responsibilities and procedures for monitoring and reporting on performance. The service template also typically includes provisions for penalties or remedies if service levels are not met.

This service template ensures consistency and clarity in how service expectations are set and managed. It’s a foundational agreement that helps prevent misunderstandings, strengthens accountability and supports better communication between parties.

SLAs are especially common in IT services, customer support, SaaS, telecommunications and other industries where service reliability and responsiveness are critical. Organizations can customize this well-designed SLA template to efficiently draft agreements that align with business goals and customer expectations while maintaining professional standards.

5. Service Quote Template

Use this free service quote template for Excel to offer clients a detailed estimate for requested services before work begins. The service template includes a breakdown of the services to be provided, pricing for each item or task, total estimated cost, timelines, payment terms and any conditions or disclaimers. The quote serves as a non-binding proposal, giving clients clarity on what to expect in terms of both scope and cost.

Using a service quote template helps ensure professionalism and consistency in the quoting process. It saves time by providing a repeatable structure that can be customized for different clients or projects. A well-designed quote template also helps reduce misunderstandings, facilitates client approval and can even form the basis of a later service agreement or invoice.

Freelancers, consultants or a part of a larger service business will find that a clear and accurate quote template is a key tool for winning business and setting the right expectations from the start.

6. Terms of Service Template

Download this free terms of service template for Word to outline the rules, responsibilities and conditions users must agree to to use a product, service or platform—especially common for websites, apps and software services.

The service template includes sections on acceptable use, user obligations, intellectual property rights, disclaimers, limitation of liability, privacy policies and procedures for account termination or dispute resolution. The goal of the template is to protect the service provider legally while setting clear expectations for users.

Using this service template allows businesses to create a consistent and legally sound agreement quickly, which can be customized to fit their specific operations or industry requirements. It helps prevent misunderstandings, reinforces user accountability and can serve as a safeguard in the event of legal disputes.

It should be used when launching a new online service, mobile app or digital platform. A well-drafted terms of service document is essential for operating professionally and minimizing risk.

7. Service Report Template

This free service report template for Word is used to record and communicate the details of a service job after it has been completed. It includes information such as the client’s name, service date, technician or employee involved, a description of the work performed, time spent, materials used and follow-up recommendations. The service template acts as an official record of the service provided, useful for the provider and the client.

Using a service report template helps ensure consistency, accuracy and professionalism in documentation. It streamlines reporting across teams, supports quality control and provides valuable data for internal reviews, billing or customer communication. In industries like maintenance, IT support, field services and consulting, a clear and well-organized service report is essential for accountability, customer satisfaction and operational transparency.

8. Service Invoice Template

Use this free service invoice template for Word to bill clients for work completed. The service template includes essential details such as the provider’s and client’s contact information, an itemized list of services rendered, hourly rates or fixed charges, total amount due, invoice number, payment terms and due dates.

Using a service invoice template ensures that all billing communications are clear, professional and consistent. It saves time by providing a repeatable format that can be quickly tailored to each client or job. A well-structured invoice template not only supports accurate record-keeping and timely payments but also reinforces your brand’s credibility.

9. Service Request Form

Download this free service request form for Excel to formally request specific services or support from a department, team or service provider. The service template includes information such as the requester’s contact details, a description of the needed service, urgency or priority level, preferred timelines and any relevant supporting documentation.

These forms are commonly used in IT support, maintenance, customer service, facilities management and other operational areas to streamline how service needs are communicated and addressed.

The main benefit of using this service template is that it brings structure and clarity to the request process, ensuring that all necessary details are captured from the start. This reduces misunderstandings, improves response times and supports more efficient service delivery. By centralizing and organizing requests, teams can prioritize tasks, allocate resources more effectively and maintain a clear record of service activities.

ProjectManager Delivers Service Better Than Templates

These free service templates are useful tools until it’s time to deliver that service. Then, it’s clear that these static documents are unequipped to handle the dynamic nature of managing a project. That’s why there’s project management software. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that delivers better service planning, execution and monitoring.

Besides our powerful Gantt chart, there are task lists, kanban boards, sheet and calendar views that allow teams to use the tools best suited to their work. Custom and automated workflows, with task approval settings, ensure quality deliverables. There are also resource management and time-tracking tools.

Manage Resources Efficiently

Keeping to the agreed service template requires allocating resources efficiently to ensure the project is delivered on time and on budget. This starts with scheduling on Gantt charts and continues when onboarding the team, when project managers can set their availability, such as PTO, vacation, global holidays, skills and pay rate. This streamlines the assignment process and puts the right resources at the right time and place.

Resource allocation can be viewed for one or multiple projects by visiting the color-coded workload chart. It shows who is overallocated or underutilised, and can balance their workload without leaving the chart to keep everyone working at capacity but not burning the team out. A team page provides a daily or weekly summary of their activities, which can be filtered by priority or progress. Tasks can be updated, too, without leaving the page.

Stay on Track With Real-Time Dashboards and Reports

Project managers need to monitor more than just resources to keep the project on its course. For a high-level overview, they can toggle to our real-time dashboards. These dashboards require no setup and automatically collect live data that’s displayed on easy-to-read graphs and charts showing metrics such as time, cost, workload and more.

For greater detail, visit the customizable reports. Generate reports on status, variance, workload, timesheets and more with a keystroke. Each report can be filtered to focus on key data points or offer a general overview of progress, which can then be shared with stakeholders in a variety of formats. Even the secure timesheets help by tracking labor costs to help stay on budget.

Related Business Operations Content

Service templates are part of the larger business operations process. For those who would like to explore this area in more detail, follow the links below. They lead to some of the blogs we’ve posted on the subject.

• The Importance of Operational Project Management for Business
• How to Make an Operations Plan
• Business Project Management Basics
• How to Write a Business Plan

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 9 Service Templates: Service Agreement, Service Invoice & More appeared first on ProjectManager.

In this roundup, we’ve selected various free order form templates from our site, which has over 100 free templates for Excel and Word that cover all aspects of managing projects across numerous industries. These ready-to-use formats save you time, boost professionalism and make collecting the information you need easy.

Ensuring alignment between what was agreed upon with the customer and how the internal team plans and tracks progress requires more than an order form template can provide. For that, project management software is required. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with robust Gantt charts that can link all four types of task dependencies to avoid cost overruns, filter for the critical path and set a baseline to track progress in real time. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Free Order Form Templates

While it’s recommended to upgrade to software to deliver on the content of the order, that doesn’t mean templates are without value. They can help in several ways we’ve already detailed above. That’s why we’ve selected the following order form templates below from our vast repository of free templates. Download them to help with the order form process.

1. Purchase Order Form Template

Download this free purchase order form template for Excel to formally request goods or services from a supplier. It outlines the key details of the transaction, including item descriptions, quantities, prices, delivery instructions and payment terms. By using a template, businesses can ensure consistency and accuracy in their procurement process, minimizing the risk of miscommunication or errors. Once the supplier accepts the purchase order, it becomes a legally binding agreement between both parties, serving as a record of the terms agreed upon.

An order form is especially useful because it streamlines the purchasing workflow. Instead of drafting a new document for every order, employees can fill in the relevant details, saving time and maintaining a standardized format across the organization. A good template also supports internal tracking, budgeting and auditing by clearly documenting each purchase. A purchase order form template is vital for organized, professional and accountable procurement practices.

2. Sales Order Form Template

Use this free sales order form template for Excel to confirm and process customer purchases. It includes important details such as the buyer’s information, the products or services being sold, quantities, prices, total costs, delivery schedules and payment terms. Once completed and approved, the sales order serves as an internal document that guides inventory management, order fulfillment and invoicing. It ensures that everyone involved—from sales and logistics to accounting—has a clear and consistent understanding of what the customer has ordered.

A sales order form template brings structure and efficiency to the sales process. It helps prevent errors, supports clear communication with customers and simplifies tracking and reporting. This order form also ensures that all required information is consistently captured, making it easier to process orders quickly and accurately. A well-designed sales order form template plays a key role in delivering smooth, reliable customer service and maintaining organized business operations.

3. Work Order Form Template

This free work order form template for Excel is used to request and track specific tasks or services to be performed, typically within maintenance, repair, service or project-based industries. It outlines the details of the job to be completed, including a description of the work, location, personnel assigned, materials required, estimated time and any associated costs. Work order forms serve as a formal record that helps coordinate efforts between departments or service providers and ensures accountability and consistency in how work is requested and executed.

Using a work order form template improves efficiency by streamlining the workflow from job initiation to completion. It provides a clear reference for technicians or workers, helping them understand what needs to be done, when and with what resources. The order form also supports progress tracking, status updates and documentation of completed tasks, which is especially useful for recurring maintenance, audits or customer billing. It’s a vital tool for organized, transparent and effective task management.

4. Inventory Order Form Template

Businesses use an inventory order form template to request, track and manage the ordering of stock or inventory items. This free order form includes key information such as item names or codes, quantities needed, unit prices, supplier details and the order date. It helps ensure inventory levels are maintained efficiently, avoiding both shortages and overstocking. It’s commonly used by inventory managers, warehouse staff or purchasing departments to communicate clearly with suppliers and keep internal records accurate and up-to-date.

An inventory order form template streamlines the inventory management process by providing a consistent format for ordering stock. It helps businesses stay organized, reduces the chances of ordering errors and facilitates easier tracking of what has been ordered and received. Over time, these order forms also serve as valuable historical records for analyzing purchasing trends, supplier performance and budget management. Use an inventory order form template as a practical tool for maintaining control over a company’s supply chain operations.

5. Request for Quote (RFQ) Template

Businesses use a request for quote template to solicit price quotes and terms from potential suppliers for specific products or services. It includes detailed information about the items needed—such as descriptions, quantities, specifications and delivery requirements—along with other relevant terms like payment conditions, deadlines or quality standards. The goal of this order form is to gather comparable proposals from vendors so the buyer can evaluate options and select the most suitable supplier based on cost, availability and service.

This free order form for Word helps streamline the procurement process by ensuring all necessary details are communicated to suppliers. It also allows the buyer to easily compare responses, as each vendor is responding to the same structured request. A well-prepared request for quote template reduces misunderstandings, speeds up decision-making and supports more competitive and transparent supplier selection. It’s especially useful in larger organizations or for more complex purchases where formal bidding and vendor evaluation are essential.

6. Request for Information (RFI) Template

Download this request for information template for Word to gather preliminary data from potential suppliers, contractors or service providers. It’s typically used early in the procurement or project planning process when a business needs to explore the capabilities, products, services or solutions available in the market. This order form does not request pricing or binding proposals—instead, it focuses on gathering insights, qualifications and general information to help the organization make informed decisions about next steps.

The value of this order form lies in its ability to bring consistency and clarity to the information-gathering process. By using a structured format, businesses can ensure they receive comparable data from multiple sources, making it easier to analyze and assess options. A good request for information template includes sections for company background, service offerings, technical capabilities, previous project experience and general timelines. It sets the stage for more detailed order forms later, like a request for proposal or request for quote, and helps narrow down the list of vendors or partners for future engagement.

Why Are Order Forms Important?

Order forms are an essential component of any business transaction, bridging a customer’s needs and a company’s ability to fulfill them. At their core, order forms formalize and streamline the purchasing process. They capture vital information such as the type of product or service, quantity, pricing, customer details and payment terms. This not only reduces the risk of miscommunication but also ensures that both parties are clear on what is being requested and provided. By setting expectations early in the process, order forms help avoid costly errors, delays or misunderstandings that could damage customer relationships.

Operational Efficiency

Beyond logistics, order forms also contribute significantly to a company’s operational efficiency. For businesses, having a standardized format for collecting and processing orders means less time spent clarifying details and more time fulfilling requests. This structure enables better inventory management, accurate forecasting and improved customer service. It also supports the finance team in tracking receivables, managing cash flow and preparing for audits, since order forms serve as documented proof of an agreed-upon transaction.

Improved Customer Perception

From a customer experience standpoint, a well-designed order form can reflect a company’s professionalism and reliability. It shows that the business is organized and takes orders seriously, which can build trust and encourage repeat business. Especially in online and B2B environments, where face-to-face interaction is limited, the clarity and usability of an order form can make a lasting impression. In summary, while often overlooked, order forms are critical tools that support accuracy, efficiency, accountability and customer satisfaction in the sales process.

Informs Project Plans

In project-based or service-driven industries where tasks need to be scheduled and tracked over time, the order form can inform the creation of a Gantt chart. When an order form contains detailed information about deliverables, deadlines, phases and resource requirements, it becomes a valuable input for creating a Gantt chart.

For example, if a client places an order for a marketing campaign, website development or custom manufacturing, the order form might specify: the project start and end dates, milestones or key deliverables, dependencies between tasks, assigned personnel or departments and client approvals or review stages. This data can be used to build the timeline in a Gantt chart.

ProjectManager Helps Control the Order Form Process

An order form serves a purpose. They are helpful throughout the life cycle of a project. But it is not useful for planning, managing and tracking that project. While they can complement the process a more dynamic tool than a static template is needed. That’s where project management software comes in.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that keeps the project moving forward, staying on budget and meeting quality standards. With multiple project views (Gantt charts, kanban boards, sheet, task and calendar views) that allow teams to work on the right tool for their tasks, automated workflows with task approval settings to add efficiency without sacrificing quality and resource and tracking tools, it’s the one tool to deliver successful projects.

Stay Productive With Resource Management Features

To keep to the details agreed upon in the order form, projects have to carefully manage their resources to ensure they have what they need when they need it. This starts on the Gantt chart, scheduling resources. Then, when onboarding teams, project managers set their availability to streamline the assignment process.

To view resource allocation for one or multiple projects, use the color-coded workload page. It makes it quick and easy to see who is overallocated or underutilized, balance their workload right from the chart and keep everyone working at capacity, but not burnt out. A team page shows daily or weekly activity. It can be filtered by priority or progress and tasks can be updated without leaving the page.

Track Key Project Metrics With Real-Time Dashboards and Reports

Resources are one, but not the only metric to monitor. For a high-level project overview, toggle to the real-time project or portfolio dashboards. They don’t require setup and are automatically updated with live data. They display time, cost, workload and more in easy-to-read and quickly digestible graphs and charts.

Customizable reports on status, variance, workload, timesheets and more can be filtered to go deeper into the data or provide a progress report to share with stakeholders. Even the secure timesheets help by monitoring labor costs to stay on budget.

Related Content

For those who want to read more about order forms and the procurement process, below are some related pieces that we’ve published on our blog.

• What Is a Purchase Order? (Example Included)
• Purchase Management: A How-To Guide With Best Practices
• Creating a Request for Quote (RFQ) for Procurement
• How to Make a Procurement Management Plan
• Procurement Contracting: Types of Contracts & Best Practices

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 up to date 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 6 Free Order Form Templates for Excel and Word appeared first on ProjectManager.

Why Use a Proposal Template?

Across industries, a proposal template is a starting point for customizing proposals to suit specific needs. For example, in construction, the focus may be on deliverables, site plans and contractor timelines. In IT, the emphasis might be on system architecture and technical requirements.

Despite the differences in content, the template’s consistent format—typically including an executive summary, goals, methodology, budget and risk assessment—ensures that decision-makers can quickly evaluate the feasibility and value of a proposed project. This cross-industry adaptability not only saves time and improves clarity but also enhances collaboration and decision-making across departments and sectors.

12 Free Proposal Templates for Submitting Proposals

These proposal templates provide a standardized structure that helps stakeholders understand the project’s objectives, scope, timelines and resource requirements, regardless of the field.

1. Project Proposal Template

Download this free project proposal template for Word to outline the details of a proposed project in a clear, organized manner. It serves as a structured framework for presenting important project information to stakeholders, clients or decision-makers to gain approval, funding or support.

This fully customizable proposal template can be easily adapted for use in construction, IT, marketing, engineering or any business proposal. This document is created to kick off a new project. It’s in-depth with a clear and concise cover letter and executive summary to provide an overview of the proposal and convince the sponsor to approve it.

If the project is approved, the proposal template will continue to be useful as it informs the project planning phase. That’s because it defines the project scope and objectives, identifies key activities and milestones, resources and roles, estimates timelines and shows dependencies. The project proposal template explains what will happen and why, which then allows a Gantt chart to show when it will happen and in what sequence.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with robust Gantt charts that can do all that and so much more. Yes, it schedules tasks, resources and costs, but unlike many of the competitors, it can also link all four types of task dependencies to avoid cost overruns. Also, we can filter for the critical path and set up a baseline to track progress in real time. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

2. Event Proposal Template

Download this free event proposal template for Word to outline key details, objectives and logistics of an event for potential clients, sponsors or internal stakeholders. It serves as a blueprint that describes the event’s purpose, target audience, venue, schedule, budget, marketing strategies and expected outcomes. By organizing this information in a clear, persuasive format, the template helps event planners present a professional and convincing case for why the event should be approved, funded or supported.

An event proposal template streamlines the planning process and ensures consistency across different events or clients. It allows planners to quickly adapt proposals to various audiences while maintaining a high standard of quality and thoroughness. A strong template not only improves communication but also demonstrates the planner’s expertise, attention to detail and understanding of the client’s or organization’s goals.

3. Request for Proposal Template

Use this free request for proposal template (RFP) for Word to solicit bids from vendors, contractors or service providers for a specific project or service. It outlines the project’s requirements, objectives, scope of work, timelines, evaluation criteria and submission guidelines. Templates help organizations ensure that every RFP they issue is clear, consistent and detailed enough for vendors to prepare thorough, comparable proposals.

A good RFP template reduces misunderstandings, improves the quality of vendor responses and helps the organization select the best partner for the project. This proposal template not only saves time but also increases transparency and fairness in the vendor selection process.

4. Budget Proposal Template

This free budget proposal template for Word presents a detailed estimate of the financial resources needed for a project, event or organizational activity. It outlines expected costs across categories like labor, materials, equipment, travel, marketing and other expenses. A budget proposal helps stakeholders understand the financial requirements, justify funding requests and evaluate whether the proposed project is feasible and aligned with organizational goals.

This proposal template ensures that all necessary financial details are included, organized clearly and presented consistently and professionally. A well-prepared budget proposal not only strengthens the overall project proposal but also helps with financial planning, accountability and decision-making once the project is underway.

5. Construction Proposal Template

Download this free construction proposal template for Word to outline the scope, timeline, materials, labor and pricing for a construction project they are bidding on. It serves as a formal offer to a client, clearly detailing what work will be performed, the terms and conditions, project milestones, estimated costs and payment schedules.

This kind of proposal template ensures that all critical information is included, presented professionally and customized easily for different projects, helping contractors win jobs and protect themselves legally if disputes arise later. It not only clarifies expectations between the contractor and client but also builds trust by demonstrating transparency, thorough planning and professionalism.

6. Consulting Proposal Template

Use this free consulting proposal template for Word to pitch services to potential clients by outlining the solutions they will provide, how they will deliver them and the value the client can expect. Unlike more technical proposals, a consulting proposal focuses on diagnosing the client’s problem, presenting a tailored approach and explaining why the consultant’s expertise is the right fit.

It’s both a strategic and persuasive document, meant to demonstrate understanding of the client’s needs and build confidence in the consultant’s ability to drive results. Because consulting work often varies widely between clients, the proposal template is designed to be flexible, allowing for customization based on project scope, industry or business goals. A well-crafted consulting proposal not only lays the groundwork for the project but also sets the tone for the client-consultant relationship.

7. Bid Proposal Template

Businesses, contractors and freelancers use this free bid proposal template for Word to formally offer their services or products at a specified price in response to a client’s request. It outlines key details such as the scope of work, timeline, cost breakdown and terms and conditions.

The goal of this proposal template is to convince the client that the bidder not only understands the project requirements but is also offering the best combination of price, quality and reliability. Using a template ensures that bids are professional, complete and easy to compare against competitors’ submissions.

8. Service Proposal Template

Use this free service proposal template for Word to offer professional services to potential clients in a clear, organized way. It outlines what services will be provided, how they will be delivered, the timeline for completion, pricing and any terms and conditions. A service proposal is not just a pricing sheet—it’s a persuasive document that explains the value and approach of the service provider, aiming to align the proposal with the client’s needs and goals.

This proposal template helps service providers maintain consistency across different proposals while saving time and ensuring no important information is overlooked. A strong service proposal makes it easier for clients to understand exactly what they are getting, builds trust and increases the likelihood of securing the business.

9. Business Proposal Template

This free business proposal template for Word is used to present a product, service or solution to a potential client, partner or investor to secure a deal or agreement. It organizes key information—such as the problem being addressed, the proposed solution, implementation strategies, pricing and terms—into a clear, persuasive document.

A business proposal is meant to show not only what you are offering but also why your offering is the best choice. This proposal template ensures that proposals are consistent, comprehensive and professionally presented, saving time while improving the quality of communication.

10. Marketing Proposal Template

Download this free marketing proposal template for Word to outline a strategic plan for promoting a client’s products, services or brand. It presents a clear framework that explains the client’s current challenges, proposed marketing solutions, specific tactics (like digital ads, SEO, social media campaigns), timelines, expected outcomes and associated costs.

The purpose of this proposal template is to help marketers communicate their vision effectively, making it easier for clients to understand the value and impact of the proposed strategy. A marketing proposal not only highlights what actions will be taken but also emphasizes how those actions align with the client’s broader business objectives.

11. Grant Proposal Template

Use this free grant proposal template for Word to apply for funding from a grant-making entity, such as a government agency, foundation or nonprofit. It provides a clear, organized way to present the project or program needing financial support, outlining objectives, methodologies, expected outcomes and budget requirements.

The goal of this proposal template is to convince the funding organization that the proposed project aligns with their goals and is worthy of financial backing. A grant proposal template helps ensure all necessary components are included in a way that meets the funder’s expectations and guidelines.

12. Work Proposal Template

This free work proposal template for Word is used to outline a specific task or project, usually between a service provider (like a contractor, freelancer or consultant) and a client. It details the work to be completed, how it will be done, the timeline and the costs involved.

The purpose of this proposal template is to define expectations and terms, ensuring that both parties are on the same page before work begins. It serves as an agreement to avoid misunderstandings and sets a clear roadmap for how the work will progress.

ProjectManager Turns Proposals Into Winning Projects

A proposal template is valuable when appraising or bidding or a project. Once the project is accepted, the template is less useful. It’s not a waste, of course, as the information gathered can be used to plan the project. But that planning, managing and tracking of work shouldn’t be done on templates. That’s what project management software is for.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that has Gantt charts, but also multiple project views, such as sheet, task, list and calendar views and kanban boards to execute work in the way that’s right for you. Use custom or automated workflows, with task approval settings to ensure quality, to add efficiency to processes. This helps to meet the goals of the proposal.

Manage Resources and Stay Productive

Efficient resource management starts with scheduling the human and nonhuman resources on the Gantt chart. The next step is to onboard the team, but before assigning them to tasks, set their availability to streamline the process and ensure the right resources for the right job at the right time.

View all project resources on the color-coded workload chart to see who is overallocated or underutilized. Balance the team’s workload right from that chart to keep them productive. A team page offers a daily or weekly overview of their activities, which can be filtered by priority or progress. Their tasks can even be updated without leaving the page.

Track Metrics and Keep on Schedule

Other project metrics need to be monitored and controlled. For a high-level project overview, toggle to the real-time project or portfolio dashboards. They’re already set up and ready to view easy-to-read graphs and charts that show time, cost, workload and more.

Greater detail can be found with one-keystroke customizable reports on status, variance, workload, timesheets and more. Filter each to focus on key data points or progress, which can be shared with stakeholders to keep them updated. Even our secure timesheets help track labor costs to help projects stay on budget.

Related Proposal Content

For those who want to explore the subject beyond the boundaries of proposal templates, below are some links to articles and a video that go into how to write and make different types of proposals.

• How to Write a Project Proposal (Examples & Template Included)
• How to Write a Service Proposal: Sample & Template Included
• How to Make a Request for Proposal (RFP)
• Project Proposal Writing: How to Write A Winning Project Proposal

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 up to date with email and in-app notifications. Join teams at Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjetManager today for free.

The post 12 Free Proposal Templates for Submitting Proposals 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.

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The process of controlling management is essential for any business to remain viable. When you monitor with software and control the process of your manufacturing, you’re able to see what works and what isn’t working.

What Is Controlling Process in Business Management?

The controlling process in business management is when managers set, measure and refine their business operations and manage cost control.

By using a controlling process, a company can navigate changes to the supply chain, customer demand and other variables that impact a company’s livelihood. It’s a critical task in keeping any business solvent.

Through the process of controlling in management, a company can accurately tell if plans are moving in the right direction and are fully implemented. If those plans aren’t working and take the company off-track, they can right the ship and stay on course.

Project management software helps you measure performance. ProjectManager is software that does this in real time. You can see the difference between your planned and actual effort with ProjectManager’s live dashboard. The dashboard collects production data, automatically crunches the numbers and then displays the result in easy-to-read graphs and charts. Try ProjectManager today for free!

Who Is Involved in the Controlling Process?

A range of individuals and groups are involved in the controlling process, but the specific people involved can vary depending on the company’s size and structure. Usually, management such as the executive team, the CEO and the department managers are involved. They work to set the overall strategic goals and business targets, and are responsible for monitoring their team’s performance.

The finance department, including the CFO and financial analysts, is also involved as they help ensure the controlling process offers relevant and reliable information for strategic decision making and financial reporting. While not directly involved in controlling, employees across departments may contribute to this process by offering data related to their role, following established budgets or providing feedback.

Controlling Process Steps in Business Management

There is a five-step procedure for controlling processes that will help you set, measure and tweak your business activities—whether that’s production, packaging, delivery or another business process.

If you’re not applying a controlling process, then you’re not really managing your business processes. You can’t lead your workforce without controlling the process.

For organizational control that leads to fulfilling your company’s goals and strategic plans, follow these five steps:

1. Set Performance Standards

You need a goal for your business, but you also need guidance for your team to keep them working towards that goal. Without such standards, it’s possible that they’ll move away from the plan, whether intentionally or not.

Standards are like goals tasked to a specific department or team member. They must achieve these standards through cooperation, teamwork and a collaborative effort. To ensure these standards are being met, though, you must-have criteria to measure them by.

By setting up rules you can measure with, you can judge or rate performance to keep the results standard. This helps management understand how production is progressing, and whether it’s on track or needs adjustment. Having standards to base performance on means that work doesn’t have to stop to get a picture of how it’s progressing.

There are two groups of standards: tangible (or specific) and intangible (or abstract). The former is measurable; you can see it and count it. The latter cannot be seen nor counted. A tangible standard would be time, cost, profit, expenditure, output, etc. Intangible standards are a manager’s performance, a worker’s attitude and so forth.

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Status Report Template

Use this free Status Report Template for Excel to manage your projects better.

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2. Measure Performance

Setting a standard makes it possible to measure performance using a control function. Through this measurement of performance, you can quickly catch and correct any deviation from the plan before it goes off-track and runs production into the ground.

Measurements are easier when dealing with tangible standards that can be seen and counted. This is naturally more difficult with intangible standards. By definition, intangible performance is difficult to measure in an information system, as you cannot quantify it.

One way to make up for this shortcoming is by looking at a manager’s performance through the eyes of their team. What is the team attitude like towards their work? Is morale high? How are communications between the team and the manager? Is the team loyal to each other, their manager and the company?

Although these are intangible standards, together they paint a picture of the manager’s performance. All of those questions speak to the ability of the manager to successfully manage their team. Draft the standard for measuring what teams do, what is their expected performance, etc. You can collect this data regularly by reports, whether weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly.

3. Compare Actual Performance Against Performance Standards

Once you have a baseline for how your teams are performing when manufacturing, packaging, delivering, etc., you can compare the actual to the planned performance and determine the extent of the deviation. This is called variance, or the difference between actual performance and goals. Schedules can be immensely helpful when it comes to analyzing variance.

ProjectManager has online Gantt charts that allow you to set concrete milestones and project phases, so you can see at a glance if you are ahead or behind schedule. Plus, the Gantt updates in real time as your team completes their work. Take a free trial and build a schedule in minutes.

The manager must look at this data and accept or reject the outcome. This depends on the deviation and the impact on the business. If everything is going as expected, that’s great, but it’s more likely that there will be deviation of some sort. It’s up to the manager to determine if that gap is one that can be ignored or acted on.

4. Analyze Deviations

This brings us to the next step: where you analyze data using the acceptable limits. If standards weren’t met, the manager must then figure out whether more control is required—or if maybe, the standard itself should be changed.

If there is a gap between planned and actual performance, the next step is figuring out what is causing it and what the extent of it is. Then, you have to determine how this deviation is impacting the business. If the difference is only a small one, then it’s probably okay to ignore it. But if the gap reflects gains, appointing workers, changing or repairing equipment and other critical issues, it must be addressed. A gap analysis template can help in that decision-making process.

5. Take Corrective Actions

Once you have analyzed the deviation and determined its cause, the manager will have to set up a plan in which corrective measures, critical point control and other means are used to resolve the issue. This is to reduce the deviation and ensure the standard is met. This might involve changes to processes and/or behaviors.

Some situations discovered in a controlling process might require corrective action to save the business, while others might just be a below-standard performance that needs correcting to improve processes and bring production back on schedule. Therefore, actions might be needed immediately because of the urgency.

Corrective actions include a variety of activities. For example, you might change how certain business operations are carried out. However, some operations and performances might not be able to change and may require more resources. For example, hiring more team members might be the solution to correct the deviation you’ve discovered.

It’s important that managers monitor and control the process from start to finish. That includes not only the controlling process but any actions planned to resolve the deviation or reset the standards. An understanding of the controlling process shows if plans are being met and, if not, what actions need to take place in order for them to be met.

How to Get Buy-in From Your Team for the Controlling Process

For the controlling process to be effective, the team needs to buy into it. This often revolves around focusing on communication, transparency and involvement. For example, the top management team can explain why certain controlling measures are put into place and how they benefit the overall business. When team members can understand how their work impacts the bigger picture, they are more likely to understand the importance of their work.

As performance standards are apparent in the controlling process, it’s ideal to share the results openly and honestly. This can help build trust and show those in the business that data is being used constructively.  Teams need the right training and support to hit their performance standards. Make sure they have the knowledge and skills to understand the controlling process, any relevant KPIs and how their work contributes to the bottom line. If needed, offer training on software or tools that can help with data collection and reporting.

Templates to Help the Control Process

Project management templates are one of the most helpful tools a project manager can utilize during the control process. Here are a handful that can help.

Quality Control Template

Download this free quality control template for Excel for a standardized way to establish and maintain production standards. It details quality assurance measures and methods of accountability to ensure the delivery of quality products.

Operating Budget Template

Cost control is integral to the control process. Use this free operating budget template for Excel to forecast revenue and expenses over a period. It helps map out the expected costs for the quarter or year ahead, resulting in a more accurate budget.

Corrective Action Plan Template

If plans aren’t moving in the right direction, a company should take action. Download this free corrective action plan template for Excel to outline and develop the action items that can correct errors, reduce risks and improve processes.

How ProjectManager Helps With the Control Process Steps

ProjectManager is onlind work management software that manages plans and monitors performance in real time to help managers make more insightful decisions. Multiple project views make it easy for hybrid teams to use the tool how they want, no matter where they are, what they do or their level of expertise.

Track Progress on Gantt Charts

Setting performance standards can be done on ProjectManager’s interactive Gantt charts. Milestones can be set, tasks assigned and priority and other tags added to better organize the standards. A baseline is set to capture the plan, which can then be used later to compare the actual performance with the standards and goals set. Then, the manager can share the Gantt with the team and stakeholders.

Measure Performance on Dashboards

Measuring actual performance is more accurate with ProjectManager’s cloud-based reporting software. It collects data in real time and displays them on the live dashboard, which also can be shared with stakeholders. Reports are a way to dig deeper into the data. Teams can deliver status reports to update their performance as they execute their tasks, and managers can generate reports on variance, workload, timesheets and more.

Manage Workload and Reallocate Resources

Resource management tools help you analyze and take corrective action. Workload is one of the standards that can slow down production if too few team members are tasked with too many tasks. ProjectManager’s color-coded chart shows you who is overallocated, and then you can reallocate resources right from the workload chart. Once the workload is balanced, production will increase as will team morale.

ProjectManager is award-winning software that helps with controlling processes. It has features to help you plan, monitor and report on performance. Multiple project views make it accessible to anyone from management to team members. It’s perfect for hybrid teams looking to improve their work management. Try ProjectManager today!

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How does a business or organization make sure that its processes and people are aligned with creating success and customer satisfaction? That’s where total quality management comes in.

What Is Total Quality Management (TQM)?

Total Quality Management is a management approach that focuses on delivering products and services with the highest quality to maximize customer satisfaction and meet regulatory standards. Total quality management is an organization-wide effort for continuous improvement. That improvement can be defined as an employee’s ability to provide on-demand products and services that are of value to their customers, even as their needs change.

That’s the “quality” in total quality management. The “total” indicates that the effort is one that touches every inch of every employee of an organization. As a methodology, however, total quality management has no widely agreed-upon approach. It does, though, draw from other tools and techniques, such as project quality control, quality assurance and testing, and others.

To make sure you’re delivering quality to your customers, you need to be able to monitor the processes you’re using to create the product or service you’re making for them. ProjectManager is online work and project management software that tracks real-time data with its live dashboards, which monitor six project metrics automatically. There’s no setup. It’s ready when you are. Get started with ProjectManager for free today.

Why Is Total Quality Management Important?

Total quality management is important for several reasons. First, it fosters a culture of continuous improvement and customer satisfaction, leading to higher-quality products and services. When customers are satisfied, they’re more likely to be loyal and can help spread positive messages about your company.

It also streamlines processes and eliminates waste, helping to reduce errors and increase productivity. Not only does this translate into cost savings, but it also contributes to the idea that preventing problems is usually less expensive than fixing them.

Finally, TQM helps organizations gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. They can deliver high-quality products and services and are better positioned to attract and retain customers.

Total Quality Management Principles

Just as the definitions of total quality management (TQM) differ, so do its principles. However, we’ve gathered the most important TQM principles for you below.

• Customer Focused: The definition of quality lies with the customer, and all efforts to achieve success in the organization lead to customer satisfaction.
• Total Employee Involvement: The effort is not isolated to one department of an organization. To be successful in its objective of customer satisfaction, there must be a common goal for all aspects of business and for each employee.
• Process Oriented: Process thinking is fundamental to total quality management; the internal steps a company takes directly result in the external output delivered to the customers.
• Integrated System: Basically, regardless of the size or complexity of the organization, all its distinct parts must work together.
• Strategic and Systemic Approach: Using strategic planning to create a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component of the company is a way to structure total quality management into an organization’s mission.
• Continual Improvement: The mantra for total quality improvement is customer satisfaction, but that is not a one-shot goal: the act of improving quality for the customer is a process without an end.
• Fact-Based Decision Making: In order to know if an organization is meeting its objectives, there must be data on performance, and those metrics must be collected and analyzed with accuracy and without prejudice. (For more on this, learn how to use data to be a better manager.)
• Communications: It’s impossible to maintain a successful TQM approach without an effective communication plan. Communication plans make sure that every department is aware of what they and others are responsible for, so they can coordinate operations to achieve their common goal.

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Quality Control Template

Use this free Quality Control Template for Excel to manage your projects better.

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Total Quality Management Methodologies

Being able to deliver total quality management requires methodology. There isn’t just one way to manage quality in your project. There are several approaches you can take. A few of them are listed below.

Lean Manufacturing

Lean manufacturing is a type of lean projection that comes from Japan, specifically, the car manufacturer Toyota. It’s all about targeting and eliminating what it calls muda or waste, in order to add value and maintain quality.

Six Sigma

Six Sigma is another quality management methodology that is directed towards improving current processes, products or services. It does this by finding and removing any defects in order to streamline quality control.

ISO 9000

ISO 9000 is a set of international standards focused on quality management and quality assurance. It was created to help companies document quality system elements that they needed to maintain an efficient quality system.

How to Implement Total Quality Management in 4 Steps

Getting started with total quality management requires that the top management learns about the methodology, and then commits to it as one of the organization’s strategies. The organization writ large must then assess its customer satisfaction and quality management systems.

One of the easiest methods to implement TQM is called PDCA. PDCA stands for Plan, Do, Check and Act. It’s a four-step management method to control the continuous improvement of processes and products.

1. Plan

Planning includes identifying and understanding the problem or opportunity as it relates to TQM. From the information you’ve gathered, come up with ideas and develop the best into an implementation plan.

2. Do

With a planned solution, you can now test it and build a pilot program to see if you achieve the quality improvements you expected. Document the results.

3. Check

Here you’ll analyze the results of your pilot program against what you expected to achieve. If you’ve met those criteria move on to the next step. However, if you’ve fallen short, then you need to return to step one.

4. Adjust

Once you’ve tested and are satisfied with the solution, you can implement it at full scale. This process is a loop, however, with no beginning or end. The success is only the new baseline of which you’ll again test to improve.

The need for active management participation is critical to the success of any total quality management plan. This is done by creating steering committees to make sure everyone is working together to improve quality.

There is also the formation of ad hoc cross-functional teams that are responsible for addressing the immediate process issues. There are also standing cross-functional teams that have similar responsibilities, only those are over the long term.

Total Quality Management Systems & Tools

When it comes to analyzing quality-related issues, the U.S. Navy employed the seven basic tools of quality. This is a fixed set of graphical techniques identified as being most helpful in troubleshooting quality-related issues. These tools are often used in Six Sigma as well.

The seven tools for TQM are:

• Check sheet used to collect data in real time
• Control chart to determine if a process is in a state of control
• Stratification (or flow or run) chart to sample a group
• Pareto chart, which is both a bar and line graph that assess the most frequently occurring defects by category
• Histogram to roughly assess the probability distribution of a given variable by depicting the frequencies of observations occurring in certain ranges of value
• Cause-and-effect diagram
• Scatter diagram to display the value for two in a set of data

How to Get Your Team to Buy Into Total Quality Management

To get your team excited about total quality management, it’s ideal to take a strategic and consistent approach. Rather than solely implementing a set of procedures, aim to foster an underlying culture shift in the organization.  For example, senior management needs to lead by example and embrace TQM principles. Actions speak louder than words, so participating in training and recognizing quality efforts can go a long way in getting team buy-in.

Education on TQM principles, tools and techniques is another important aspect. Customize training to address the specific needs and roles of team members and offer continuous learning opportunities to reinforce key concepts.

History of Total Quality Management

The roots of total quality management can be traced back to the economic instability of the late 1970s and into the early 1980s. It was at this time that the dominance of North America and Western Europe was challenged by competition from the East, specifically Japan’s skill at making high-quality inexpensive products.

While the origin of the term is not clear, many think it was inspired by the book Total Quality Control by quality control expert and businessman Armand V. Feigenbaum and What Is Total Quality Country? The Japanese Way by the organizational theorist Kaoru Ishikawa.

The Role of the U.S. Navy

It was the United States Navy that promoted the idea in 1984 when it asked its civilian researchers to offer recommendations on improving its operational effectiveness. The recommendation was to use the teachings of engineer and statistician W. Edwards Deming, which the U.S. Navy called total quality management in 1985.

The methodology was employed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s underground storage tanks program in 1985. The private section soon followed as a way to remain competitive against the growing influence of the Japanese.

Key Concepts in Total Quality Management

The key concepts of total quality management developed by the U.S. Navy include:

• Quality is defined by what the customers’ requirements are
• Top-tier management is directly responsible for the improvement in quality
• It is by systemic analysis and using that data to improve work processes, that an increase in quality occurs
• The improvement of quality is a continuous effort and is conducted throughout the entire organization

The U.S. Navy employed certain techniques and tools to achieve those concepts. For example, there’s the Plan Do Check Act or PDCA cycle, which is a four-step management method to control the continuous improvement of processes and products.

Related: How to Implement Business Process Improvement

Quality Control Template

This quality control template is ideal to document any issues that are found when evaluating the quality of your products or project deliverables. It allows you to describe the quality management issue, who’s responsible for fixing it, its status and the expected date of completion.

Free Templates to Help with TQM

Total quality management is best achieved through the use of project management software, which streamlines processes and helps you capture issues fast and resolve them. However, if you’re not using software or are not ready to upgrade to software, ProjectManager has dozens of free project management templates that can help you maintain the quality your customers expect. Here are a few.

Project Dashboard Template
Being able to monitor and track activities in your project is how you make sure you’re meeting your quality expectations. While our real-time dashboard will capture live data, the free project dashboard template for Excel is the next best thing. You have to input the data but then you get the charts and graphs you need to see how your project is performing.

Gap Analysis Template
In order to improve the quality of your product or service, you need to know where you are and where you want to be in the future. This is what a free gap analysis template for Excel can do for you. It captures the current and future stats and then shows the gap percentage you have to close, plus the actions and resources you’ll need to do it.

Issue Tracking Template
When you find issues that are negatively impacting the quality of your project or service our free issue tracking template for Excel can help you monitor your progress in resolving it. The free template has space for you to describe the issue and its impact, add a priority, date and owner and track its status.

Use ProjectManager for Total Quality Management

ProjectManager is cloud-based work and project management software that delivers real-time data to help you make more insightful decisions when monitoring the quality of your work. Then you have features to plan, track and report on your quality management to implement total quality management.

Control Quality With Task Automation

One way to make sure you deliver quality is by removing as much human error as possible. Our workflow automation allows you to create custom workflows that trigger actions to change status, priority, assignee and much more. You can also add task approval settings so only those authorized to close a task can do so, further ensuring you deliver to your quality expectations.

Plan TQM With Interactive Gantt charts

Once you have a total quality management plan, you need to organize all the tasks and get your team assigned. Our online Gantt chart allows you to link task dependencies to avoid delays, set milestones to help with tracking and even filter for the critical path. Then set a baseline so you can measure project variance between what you planned and where you actually are in the schedule to stay on track.

Track Progress and More With One-Click Reports

To help you make sure you’re meeting deadlines and not overspending on your QTM plan, we have everything from status reports to reports on workload, time, cost and more. Generate them with a keystroke, and each report can be filtered to show only the data you want to see. They can also be easily shared to help keep stakeholders updated.

Our multiple project views allow your team to work how they want, on kanban boards, task lists and more. All data is updated together across the tool so you have a single source of truth to keep everyone working on the same page. Our collaborative platform allows team members to share files, comment and get notified of any updates to let them work more productively—all of which leads to more quality work.

As the name says, total quality management is a systemic change to the strategic goals of an organization. It impacts everyone and every department. Therefore, having the right tools to manage and communicate this process throughout an organization is critical. ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that gives managers and teams the control to plan, track and report on the progress of this or any methodology. See for yourself by taking this free 30-day trial.

The post Total Quality Management (TQM): What Is It, Principles and Systems appeared first on ProjectManager.

Business disruption happens whenever a radical change occurs and affects how companies compete in a given industry. An example of business disruption could be the development of a new technology that renders the current methods useless. In this case, what can business managers do? Execute a business impact analysis (BIA).

Business impact analysis is an important tool to help plan for the inevitability of consequences and their cost. BIA is a versatile process that’s used for risk assessment, business continuity planning and disaster recovery planning. Risk is always on the horizon and the better-equipped businesses are to prepare for risk management, the more likely they’ll be able to continue doing business in the future.

What Is Business Impact Analysis (BIA)?

Business impact analysis (BIA) is a method to predict the consequences of disruptions to a business, its processes and systems by collecting relevant data. This data can be used to develop strategies for the business to recover in the case of an emergency.

ProjectManager is project management software that’s equipped with planning tools for business impact analysis, business continuity planning and disaster recovery planning. Our project reports and real-time cost and workload dashboards allow managers to plan more efficiently and communicate key information to clients and stakeholders in minutes. Get started for free.

Scenarios that could potentially cause losses to the business are identified. These can include suppliers not delivering, delays in service, etc. The list of possibilities is long, but it’s key to explore them thoroughly in order to best assess risk. It’s by identifying and evaluating these potential risk scenarios that a business can determine a plan of investment for recovery and mitigation strategies, along with outright prevention.

What Does Business Impact Analysis Address?

The business impact analysis analyzes the operational and financial impacts of a business disruption. These impacts include lost sales and income, delayed sales or income, increased expenses, regulatory fines, contractual penalties, a loss of customers and a delay of new business plans.

Another factor to take into account is timing. The timing of a disruptive event can have a major impact on the loss suffered by a business. If your store is damaged by a natural disaster before a big sale or large seasonal holiday, the impact is greater than during a slower period.

The business impact analysis operates under two assumptions:

1. Every part of the business is dependent on the continued operations of the other parts of the business.
2. Some parts of the business are more important than others, requiring more allocations when disruptions occur.

BIA vs. Risk Assessment

BIA and a business risk assessment are similar, but the main difference is that a BIA is more specific as it focuses on the business continuity requirements, resource availability and the impact of a business disruption.

On the other hand, risk assessment focuses on the severity and likelihood of potential business risks. This is done to prioritize the risks and create mitigation strategies to solve them.

BIA vs. Business Continuity Planning

Business impact analysis is a component of business continuity planning because a BIA is meant to provide important data for a business continuity plan. How does this work?

A BIA is conducted to determine the most critical business processes, the impact of business disruption in those processes and the resources needed to restore them.

These are all fundamental variables to factor in when creating a business continuity plan, which will act as the course of action that’s taken to ensure that a business will be able to recover from a business disruption.

BIA vs. Disaster Recovery Planning

Similar to the relation between BIA and business continuity planning, BIA is also a useful tool when creating a disaster recovery plan. The BIA identifies failure modes and the costs associated with them. The information obtained from the BIA report is then used as input to create a fully-fledged disaster recovery plan.

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Who Should Be Involved in a Business Impact Analysis?

The BIA is a collaborative process that requires input from different stakeholders in the organization. The specific roles involved depend on the business’ size and complexity, but generally speaking, here’s who to include.

Senior management and executives offer overall direction and support for the business impact analysis. They help authorize the resources and ensure the BIA aligns with the company’s strategic goals. Also involved are functional or department managers. They help assess the impact of disruptions on their specific functions and offer detailed information on their departments’ operations.

IT managers may also be involved due to their technical expertise. They can offer input on IT systems, data dependencies and infrastructure. Other potentially involved roles include finance managers, human resources department managers, subject matter experts or customers.

How to Conduct a Business Impact Analysis in 4 Steps

While there’s no set way to conduct a business impact analysis, the process follows the general path outlined below.

1. Get Approval for the BIA

The first step is to initiate the process by getting approval from senior management for the project. To begin, define the objectives, goals and scope of the business impact analysis. It should be clear what the business is seeking to achieve.

Then, it’s important to form a project team to execute the business impact analysis. This can be existing staff as long as they know how to conduct a business impact analysis, but this team can be outsourced to a team that’s skilled in this process if the business doesn’t have people for this task.

2. Collect Information

The next step is collecting the information needed to make the analysis. This data can be gathered in several ways, from interviews to a business impact analysis questionnaire, which is the most common tool.

The questionnaire is a detailed survey that’s been developed by the business impact analysis team and has targeted questions that are designed to get answers that assess the potential effect of a disruption to the business.

People who should be interviewed or given the questionnaire include managers, team members, supervisors and others who are knowledgeable about the business processes. It can also include business partners and those working outside of the organization as long as they have sufficient insight. In other words, consider who your stakeholders are.

The information that you collect for your BIA report should include the following:

• The name of the process
• A detailed description of where the process is performed
• All the inputs and outputs in the process
• Resources and tools that are used in the process
• The users of the process
• The timing
• The financial and operational impacts
• Any regulatory, legal or compliance impacts
• Historical data

3. Review the Information

All of this collected data must be documented and reviewed before the information is analyzed. This can be automated by computer or done manually, depending on which is easier, more reliable and practical in terms of formulating a conclusion.

This review accomplishes multiple objectives: it creates a prioritized list of business functions or processes, it identifies the human and technology resources needed to maintain an optimal level of operations and it establishes a recovery timeframe in which to recover the process or function and return it to normal.

4. Create the BIA Report

After this, you’ll want to document the findings. This is when the business impact analysis report is prepared. While the format is not regulated, it often follows the following structure:

• Executive summary
• Objectives and scope
• Methodologies used to gather data and evaluation
• Summary of findings
• A detailed finding on each department of the business (including their most crucial processes, the impact of disruption, acceptable duration of the disruption, tolerable level of losses, cost of recovery, etc.)
• Supporting documents and
• Recommendations for recovery

This document is then presented to management. The decision on how to proceed is in the hands of senior management, so they’re the ones who receive the report. Note that the business impact analysis is not set in stone. Technology, tools and processes change, and the business impact analysis must evolve with them.

Business Impact Analysis Examples

To better illustrate a business impact analysis, let’s delve into some examples across industries. It helps identify critical processes, assess potential disruptions and determine the financial and operational impact.

• Cybersecurity BIA: Let’s start with cybersecurity as an example. If there’s a ransomware attack on customer and order data, this would stop all online sales. The business could lose customer trust and have potential legal ramifications. The BIA could identify the need for data backups and recovery procedures, resulting in more offline backups and a data recovery plan.
• Manufacturing BIA: If a critical machine fails during production, production would halt, impacting order fulfillment. This impacts metrics such as daily revenue and the number of delayed customer orders. The outcome would be a contingency plan that identifies backup supplies or communicates effectively with impacted customers.
• Construction BIA: If a severe storm impacts a construction project, it could damage a partially completed house. This would result in a significant timeline delay, potential safety hazards and potential contract disputes with the homeowner. As a result, project costs would increase. A contingency plan can help establish weather monitoring protocols and establish relationships with backup suppliers for materials.

Why Business Impact Analysis Is Important

The reason that every business should include a business impact analysis is that it’s a part of any thorough plan to minimize risk. All businesses can be disrupted by accidents and emergencies including a failure of suppliers, labor disputes, utility failures, cyber-attacks and not to mention natural or man-made disasters.

Plan Ahead

It’s not ideal to produce a response when one is in the midst of a crisis; a smart business has already prepared for these risks. A response created in dire straits will likely be arbitrary or random, and it will almost certainly be less effective.

With the due diligence of a business impact analysis in hand, a business has a well-thought-out plan of action to recover from adversity. It gives management more confidence in their decisions and judgments when responding to these events.

Prioritize Accordingly

The business impact analysis with allocation instructions prioritizes which operations need immediate recovery and which can wait. It also provides a set of criteria to test the recovery plans. Furthermore, it should identify lost income from the disruption, higher costs the business is likely to accrue if there will be any expenditure on fines and penalties, and the erosion of the business’s reputation and customer base.

All of this information is critical to a business’s success. Problems are part of the business landscape, and ignoring the possibility of some disruption to the process threatens solvency and long-term survival.

Business Management Templates

ProjectManager is project and work management software that’s great for businesses and we offer dozens of tutorial videos and blogs, templates and guides for your business management needs.

SWOT Analysis Template

A situational analysis or SWOT analysis is a great tool to assess the current state of any business. It allows managers to understand the internal and external factors that make up their company’s business environment.

Business Case Template

Our business case template is a versatile document that helps business managers, project managers and entrepreneurs to communicate their business ideas to stakeholders and clients.

Executive Summary Template

Our executive summary template is a great tool to summarize your business plans and project proposals so that you can quickly show project stakeholders and clients the value of your projects.

Turn BIA into Action with ProjectManager

Now that you’ve done the impact analysis, what’s next? The plan is the foundation of any successful project, but a plan needs tools to organize all of its different parts into a working whole. ProjectManager is an online work management software that’s built exactly for this purpose.

Once you have approval, you need to break down the project into tasks. Those tasks will each need a deadline, and they should be assigned to a team member to execute them. ProjectManager gives you multiple ways to initiate your project plan, from the more structured Gantt chart for long-term planning to the visual workflow tool of a kanban board.

But how do you get your spreadsheet into a project? With ProjectManager, that’s easy. You can upload your tasks and it opens as a new project. From the Gantt view, your tasks are plotted on a project timeline to give you the big picture and allow you to link dependent tasks while breaking the project into phases or milestones.

You can assign tasks from any project view and teams can work how they want to work. Team members like kanban boards because they have the necessary context and resources to work on what matters. Managers like the transparency kanban boards provide, showing them who is working on what.

Business impact analysis gives the project life, but ProjectManager gives that life a means to success. Practical and easy to use, projects are productive, making the work that you put into the analysis pay off.

A business impact analysis is a great tool to assess risk and set up a plan of recovery if and when it occurs. That sounds like a project. ProjectManager is project management software that helps you plan your business impact analysis and monitor and report on it when you need to execute it. There’s no risk to taking this free 30-day trial.

The post What Is Business Impact Analysis? How to Conduct One with Examples appeared first on ProjectManager.

While it can be challenging, creating project code names is a meaningful task that you and your team will value. Then, you’ll need project management software like ProjectManager to get the job done. ProjectManager lets you choose between a wide variety of project management tools such as Gantt charts, dashboards, timesheets, calendars, reports and much more. Get started for free today.

How Do You Create a Project Name?

There are no right or wrong answers when creating a project name and no method either, which makes it difficult for some people. Today, there’s a lot of advice on how to name projects and even project code name generators online that are fun to use when starting a project. But we thought it’d be most instructive to look at key tips to create a project name, along with the best project code names of all time.

8 Tips to Create Project Names

A project name captures its essence and can create a sense of ownership in the team. However, creating a project name is much harder than it sounds. Here are some tips to spark your creativity.

1. Use a Project Name Generator

You might be out of ideas right when choosing a project name. In fact, most of us do. Luckily, there are some AI-based project code name generators that’ll make things easier. They’re capable of providing dozens of project names you can skim through. While these project name generators might not be perfect, they’re definitively a source of inspiration.

2. Make the Project Name Concise and Memorable

While it may be tempting to think of a long name, aim for brevity when possible. Short project names are easier to remember and say. The name should be easy to pronounce, and you’ll want to avoid complex or unique spellings that could result in mispronunciations. Don’t be afraid to be creative; make the name stand out from other projects.

3. Consider Your Audience

Is the project internal or external? Internal project names may be more technical or humorous, while external ones need more professional or client-friendly names. Keep in mind any cultural differences and avoid names that might be misinterpreted as something offensive.

4. Brainstorm With Your Project Team

As always, you should welcome your team members’ ideas when naming your projects. Just like you, they’re involved in the project and can help you come up with great project name ideas that you might have missed.

5. Align Your Project Name With Your Organizational Culture

Coming up with a project name goes beyond choosing a cool or catchy name. It’s also important to factor in aspects of your organizational culture such as your brand tone, business name or company values. As a general rule, you don’t want to choose a project code name that goes against any of those.

6. Do a Trademark Check

Many projects involve the development of a final product. In those cases, you must be cautious about not using any registered trademark in order to avoid any negative consequences for your project. If you’re located in the United States, you can do a trademark search by using the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database. There are similar regulatory entities around the world.

7. Use a Theme for Your Project Names

In large organizations, most of the time your project will be part of a program or project portfolio. It’s important to consider that there should be a logical connection between project names. You could do this by using project names that follow a theme. A typical example of this is to name your projects after Greek mythology gods such as Zeus, Poseidon or Ares.

8. Think Long-Term

Will the project evolve and grow over time? Choose a name that will be relevant even if it’s used years in the future. There may be potential future extensions or related projects, so try to avoid trendy names that could quickly become outdated.

Now, let’s review 15 of the most famous project code names of all time.

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15 Project Name Ideas from History

The military first started creating project code names for strategic reasons. Churchill himself, it was said, named the Normandy invasion and had his own code of sorts for how operations were to be named. Projects with a higher risk of casualty “ought not to be described by code words which imply a boastful or overconfident sentiment,” he penned. He also recommended avoiding names of “frivolous” characters and living people.

Project code names and project names then started expanding across industries, languages and continents and are now a common practice for most organizations. Here are some of the best project names from history.

1. Project Starlink

This is a satellite internet constellation that SpaceX operates. The goal is to provide high-speed, low-latency broadband internet access to underserved areas worldwide. Project Starlink uses a large network of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to minimize delay compared to traditional geostationary satellites. It’s a rapidly expanding project that has the potential to help bridge the digital divide.

2. Project Nightingale

Although it’s now over, Project Nightingale was a data storage and processing project that involved Google Cloud and Ascension, one of the United States’ largest healthcare systems. It involved transferring millions of patient records from Ascension to Google Cloud to improve healthcare delivery.

3. Amazon Project Kuiper

Project Kuiper is Amazon’s initiative to build a satellite network that will provide broadband internet to underserved areas around the world. It’s a major initiative in satellite internet and global connectivity. Competitive to the initiative by Starlink, Project Kuiper will orbit the Earth at a slightly higher altitude.

4. Operation Warp Speed (OWS)

This significant public-private partnership aimed to accelerate the development and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and diagnostics. The goal of this project was to significantly shorten the typical timeline associated with vaccine development, a process that often takes several years.

5. Project Hanks

When Verizon Communications was looking to take over AOL, they needed to keep the deal secret and came up with a code name. According to the Telegraph, Project Hanks is the name they chose, which may not make sense until you remember that Tom Hanks starred in the movie You’ve Got Mail (1998), a romantic comedy about a relationship built on AOL’s famous mail notification.

6. Kodiak

Unlike some other companies that have a codename and then change it to something else when it comes to market, in 2000, Apple developed its first version of Mac OS X with the codename Kodiak. It’s since followed that theme with updates with other powerful creatures of the wild, such as Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion.

7. Code Talkers

This was the project name for the secret WWII program to recruit Cherokee, Creek, Choctow and other tribal members to transmit coded messages in Native American languages. It was also popularized in the Nicholas Cage classic of cinema, Windtalkers.

8. Project Blue Book

If you don’t already know, then you probably don’t have the clearance. But for the sake of disclosure, Project Blue Book was the code name for the US Air Force investigations into UFO sightings. But you didn’t hear that from us.

9. Artemis Program

This is NASA’s project to return humans to the Moon. The goal is to establish a sustainable presence there and to prepare for future human missions to Mars. It aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface. This project represents a new era of human space exploration.

10. X Lab

They may have been known earlier for their unofficial slogan “Don’t be evil,” but that doesn’t mean Google doesn’t have a secret lair. At the company’s secret “X” Lab, projects like the Self-Driving Car and Google Glass are built under the cloak and veil of secrecy deserved by its uber-mysterious name.

11. Project 404

The code name for a covert US Air Force mission to Laos during the Vietnam War was to supply line crew technicians. Today, it’s the code name for a webpage that can no longer be found. Coincidence?

12. Manhattan Project

The super-secret project to develop an atomic bomb during World War II was a beehive of activity for some of the smartest minds at the time, but all they could come up with in terms of a name for their work was “Manhattan” because they began the research in a simple office building located in Manhattan, New York. They eventually moved to more secure environs out of the area, but the classy name remained.

13. Vision Pro

This project name refers to Apple’s development and release of its mixed-reality headset called the Apple Vision Pro. It represents Apple’s entry into the spatial computing market as it combines augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Today, the high price point is a significant hurdle for mass market adoption.

14. Durango

When Microsoft was looking to build upon its wildly popular Xbox 360 gaming console, Durango was its name. But like all Microsoft projects, the project name was far from the final product name. In this case, they thought long and hard and hired the best people to release Xbox One.

15. Apollo

One of the most famous projects of the last century, the Apollo program, was designed to land humans on the moon and bring them back alive. It’s the kind of story more told in myth, which is maybe why NASA (an acronym for National Aeronautics and Space Administration) went back to the Greeks. Apollo is associated with the Greek verb meaning to destroy. That may sound counterintuitive, but in Greek mythology Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto, twin of Artemis, was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty and wisdom.

ProjectManager Turns Project Names Into Successful Project Plans

Once you’ve come up with a great codename, you need to start the project. The codenames of the projects we collected above are memorable because they were successful, and every great project begins with a plan. ProjectManager, our award-winning project management software, simplifies that process with online Gantt charts that turn your tasks into timelines for easy scoping. Keep projects on schedule and under budget with this visual tool.

Team Collaboration for Better Execution

The codename for a project is cool, but your team is your most valuable resource. ProjectManager frees them to be more productive. They can collaborate with each other at the task level, adding relevant files and images. They can even tag people and send out email alerts to keep everyone in the loop. Give your teams the tools they need to get the work done.

ProjectManager has all that and more. Our software enables you and your team to deliver any kind of project in any kind of industry. Take a look at what we can offer your next project, then come up with a winning codename. Try ProjectManager for 30 days with this free trial. 

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A well-organized project ensures that everyone knows what’s expected of them, what their authority is and what they need to do. Project organization provides the track on which to run a project. Without it, a project is in shambles.

What Is Project Organization?

The project organization is the structure of the project. It’s created separately, with specialists and workers from various departments. These personnel work under the project manager or project management office (PMO).

Project organization is a process. It provides the arrangement for decisions on how to realize a project. It decides the project’s process: planning how its costs, deadlines, personnel, and tools will be implemented. The project organization is then presented to the project stakeholders.

Areas of Responsibility

There are three areas of competence and responsibility in a project organizational structure: project leadership, the project team and the project board. The project leadership is responsible for the management of the project, and the project team implements the project. The project board is the decision-making body that defines project success and whether or not a project must be canceled.

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Types of Project Organizational Structures

There are a variety of project organizational structures. Review some of the structures below and choose the best one for your project.

Functional Project Organizational Structure

In this traditional organizational setup, project work is handled within a company’s existing functional departments. Each department is responsible for completing its portion of the project, and employees are grouped by functions such as marketing, engineering, IT, finance, etc. Each functional manager oversees their department and uses the existing resources as needed.

Projectized Organizational Structure

A stark contrast to functional project organization, this is when the entire company is organized around projects. In other words, the organization’s main focus is on projects, and employees are assigned to project teams. Each employee is loyal to the project instead of a functional department, and project managers have significant authority over the project and its resources.

Matrix Organizational Structure

The matrix organizational structure blends functional and projectized characteristics. Employees report to both a functional and a project manager to create a matrix of reporting relationships. Resources are shared between functional departments and projects for more efficient resource utilization. As teams are cross-functional, it helps improve collaboration.

Organic Organizational Structure

This structure is a flexible and adaptive model where decision-making authority is distributed throughout the organization instead of concentrated at the top. As there are few levels of management, this results in a wide span of control and an emphasis on horizontal and informal communication channels.

Virtual Organizational Structure

Also known as a modular or network structure, a virtual organizational structure is a highly adaptable model that relies on technology to connect dispersed individuals and organizations. Technology such as video conferencing, the internet and collaborative tools helps facilitate communication. Team members can be located anywhere in the world.

Multi-Divisional Organizational Structure

This organizes a company into separate and semi-autonomous divisions based on factors such as product lines, customer types or geographic regions. Each division operates as a relatively independent business unit with its own resources and functions. It allows them to quickly adapt to changes in their specific markets.

Understanding what type of organizational structure to use determines a project’s management. The structure provides the bones for the project, and therefore the project plan must align itself with the structure. This is usually done with a project organization chart.

Project Organizational Structure Charts

Figuring out what structure to make a project organization is only the start of organizing a project. The real work is implementing and applying that project organization. That’s why a project organization chart is so important. It establishes the formal relationships between the project manager, project team, development organization, the project itself and project stakeholders.

Best Practices

The project manager creates the project structure, which must meet the project needs throughout its phases. The project organizational structure, however, cannot be too rigid or too loose but strike the right balance between those two points. The object of a project organization is to help the team achieve the project goal and do their best. Therefore, a project manager must analyze their team members’ strengths from the start and, when assigned, ask them if they’re comfortable in their roles.

While the project organization chart fosters collaboration cost-effectively, avoiding duplication and overlaps of effort, it has only limited value. That’s because it only illustrates a hierarchical relationship among the team, not how they’ll do the work. That said, it is still a valuable tool and part of any well-planned project or portfolio.

Organizational Chart Template & Example

You can use ProjectManager’s free organizational chart template to help you get started making your own chart. It’s an example of an organizational chart in an Excel file, where each department is broken down along with their teams and specializations. Download it for free today.

We offer a variety of free PMO templates you can use to manage all aspects of your projects, programs and portfolios.

How to Make a Project Organization Chart

The project organization chart will identify the roles and responsibilities of the team, but also detail those team members selected for those roles. This includes identifying training if needed, recognizing how to allocate resources and determining appropriate ways to involve stakeholders. To do this, there are six steps to take.

1. Identify Personnel

First, who are the people that are related to the project scope? These are those who have an impact on the project. They are the key staff. These people can run the gamut from marketers to salespeople, department heads and IT personnel to consultants and support staff, etc.

2. Create Senior Management Team

The next step is to get a team that is responsible for the project. These are, of course, those individuals with a vested interest in the project and are committed to its success. This team is usually made up of project sponsors or the client, though it can also include experts who offer guidance throughout the project.

3 Assign Project Coordinators

There’s a need to have a point person, or group at the mid-to-low management level, to carry out duties that fall to this level. This person or group will help synchronize team tasks. The number of coordinators will be determined by the size of the project, but always focus on three areas of a project: planning, technical and communications.

4. Note Stakeholders

Outside of the team that will execute the project, it is key to identify the stakeholders, as they are also impacted by the project and participate in the project development.

5. Identify Training Requirements

Sometimes teams are proficient at their tasks and with the tools that have been furnished to help them. Sometimes they’re not and need a period of training before the project can be executed. This is the point where any training that is needed is established and offered to the team. The project coordinator is usually managing the task of upskilling team members.

6. Create Project Organization Chart

Finally, it’s time to develop the project organization chart. First, review the previous steps and then make this visual representation of how the people in the project will collaborate, what their duties are and where they’re interrelated. You can use a free network diagram tool, such as Google Draw, and when done have it disseminated to the necessary parties.

The project organization chart must have the primary decision-makers listed. Each person involved in the project must have an assignment and identified the role and the responsibilities of those roles are clearly defined. Any links connecting roles must be identified, as well as all the stakeholders. Be sure that the reporting and communications channels are also defined and described.

Project Organization Tips

Without project organization, you risk projects that veer off track. Here are some key tips to improve project organization.

• Develop a clear plan: Everyone should understand the project’s goals, objectives and scope. From there, document the project’s scope to avoid scope creep.
• Ensure effective communication: Tools like a communication plan, regular meetings and clear communication can better outline when and how project information will be shared.
• Document and organize information: A centralized repository for all documents and information can help improve organization and project outcomes.
• Seek regular feedback: Open and honest feedback can help spot potential errors before they worsen and cultivate a more inclusive team environment.
• Embrace change: Learn from previous mistakes and be prepared to adapt to changes in the project scope or environment.

How ProjectManager Helps with Project Organization

Once you have your project organization structure and chart, it’s important to make sure that structure holds up over the life cycle of the project. ProjectManager has the tools that project managers or program managers need when working on one or a portfolio of projects. Our features make sure your project organization is solid with features that keep track of project portfolios.

ProjectManager lets you create project groups for individual project portfolios. This allows you to have a portfolio-level dashboard, which can generate graphs and charts for reporting or a Gantt chart on select groups of projects. Then you can organize by the team, region, schedule or portfolio manager.

ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that has a full set of features to help project managers and their teams work efficiently and productively. Whether you’re working on one project or a portfolio of projects, our robust software gives you the controls to manage them successfully, with planning, monitoring and reporting tools. See how ProjectManager can take your project organization chart and carry it through your project portfolio by taking this free 30-day trial.

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First, you should be equipped with the requisite experience and a resume that sums it up. Then there was the cover letter that was attached, where you expanded on why you’re a good fit for the position and the company.

The interview is the last hurdle, but unlike those other steps, you can’t take your time composing the perfect pitch. Yes, you should have prepared yourself for what might be asked. You could even meditate before and arrive in a state of quiet preparedness, but you still can be thrown a curve. Don’t worry: there’s hope if you learn the STAR method for answering interview questions.

What Is the STAR Method? An Interview Technique

The STAR method is a structured way to respond to behavioral interview questions that one might encounter during the interview process. It’s an acronym that stands for situation, task, action and result, which are four aspects that need to be addressed in a behavioral interview question. These behavioral questions are situational, such as, “How would you balance workload across a team?”

The STAR method is basically a process to help you take one of these questions and break down your response into a four-step answer that will satisfy the person interviewing you. It not only answers the question, but it allows you to put it in context and show your ability to respond.

• Situation: To begin, describe a related situation or task from a previous job, volunteer experience or anything that’s relevant. Describe a specific situation and establish context. Don’t generalize or offer a litany of your accomplishments, but speak directly to the question as posed. Be detailed enough that the person asking the question is informed.
• Task: Once the context is clear, then go to the specific task that you had to do. Be clear about what that task was. It should relate to the question asked and whatever ability the interviewer is looking to evaluate. It’s crucial that the task is set up with clarity and relevancy so that you can take the next step in the STAR method—action.
• Action: Describe the action you took to deal with the situation or task. Be detailed, but only so much as to answer the question. Stay on topic. Don’t use this as an opportunity to go off on tangents about your other skills. Focus on what you did in the situation to resolve the task and keep that focus on you. So, be specific about your actions and your contribution. Use first-person singular, and don’t talk about us or the team. Don’t take credit for others’ work, but only talk about what you did, regardless of whether it was within a larger group or team context.
• Result: Now comes the time where you explain the outcome of the task due to your actions. Take credit for what you did. This is not the time for modesty. Explain what happened, how did the situation or task resolve itself, what did you accomplish, did you learn anything, etc.? Your answer should be positive, of course, and can speak to several positive results.

The STAR method works if you follow the steps and are specific and not overly detailed in your answers.

STAR Method Resume Tips

When it comes to putting together a STAR Method resume, several strategies can help you convey your relevant skills and accomplishments to land an interview. Tailor each STAR story to the job you’re applying for by highlighting the skills and qualifications listed in the job description.

Instead of using vague generalizations, use concrete examples. Any bullet points should be concise, strategically structured and easy to read. Whenever possible, use strong action verbs such as “implemented,” “analyzed” and “developed” to help quickly get your point across.

If you can, quantify your results using percentages, numbers or other metrics. For example, instead of “increased company sales,” say “increased company sales by 20 percent” to make your accomplishment more tangible. Each STAR Method resume bullet point should provide the context, action and results of your experience.

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Prepping for Behavioral Interview Questions with the STAR Method

Before you go into the interview, there are ways to prep, so that your answers are at the tip of your tongue. For one, think back on recent examples where your behavior or action showed leadership or resolved some problem or task.

Prep yourself by having a library of situations memorized in short, descriptive ways, so you can pick and choose which is most appropriate to the question. Make sure those descriptions are tied to a story that begins, has a middle and ends. You don’t want to find yourself at a dead end.

Remember, keep it positive even if the situation or task didn’t end that way. It’s about you and your actions, which should always be in a positive light, regardless of how things turned out. That said, don’t makeup stuff. Be honest and stick to the facts. They’ll speak for themselves, and interviewers can usually tell when someone is making more of something.

Related: What Are Your Strengths & Weaknesses? Ace This Interview Question

Again, specifics over-generalizations are going to win your case. But don’t repeat the same thing over and over again. It’s best to have a few different types of examples and ones that come from different times in your life and work experience.

STAR Method Examples During an Interview

Now that you got the structure down, the bare bones, so to speak, it’s time to flesh it out with some practical STAR method examples.

Interview Question: “How did you handle a stressful situation?”

• Situation: A stressful situation I handled was a company event in which all the C-level executives were there as well as customers. It was a fundraising golf tournament, put on by us to serve the customer base and raise money for the organization.
• Task: I oversaw registration, which included fielding questions about the course, game, scoring, etc. At the time of my task assignment, I knew nothing about golf but didn’t want to show my ignorance to my boss or the customers I served.
• Action: The first thing I did was cram. I learned everything about the club that was hosting the event, the course, the gift shop and even what the restaurant served. Then I read about the game, learned the rules and how to score. For example, I found out that a mulligan allowed you an extra stroke if you didn’t like the shot you took.
• Result: I came to the event confident and was able to handle all the questions I was asked. Instead of feeling anxious, I was loose and all smiles. I had fun and helped others enjoy the event, too. It was a roaring success. Now I’m a golfer!

Interview Question: How would you get a potential customer to commit to a large purchase in spite of budget constraints?

• Situation: A potential customer was interested in placing a large purchase order but was hesitant because of budget constraints.
• Task: I needed to demonstrate the ongoing value of the product and persuade the client to make the purchase.
• Action: I conducted a detailed needs analysis, presented a customized solution that aligned with the client’s budget and provided a clear ROI projection. I also offered a flexible payment plan to help the customer feel more comfortable.
• Result: The client signed a contract for a $50,000 purchase, which helped me to exceed my quarterly sales target by 15%.

Interview Question: “When you were overly tasked, how did you prioritize?”

• Situation: It was a perfect storm. I had a deadline beating down on me. There was another team member who couldn’t start his task until I finished mine, and there was a bad flu going around. A lot of people were out sick as a dog. My manager had to saddle me with their work on top of my own, and their tasks were just as critical and time-sensitive.
• Task: It was clear that if I was going to keep us on our production schedule, I had to prioritize. The first thing I did was list everything I was expected to do.
• Action: Then I looked at which of those tasks were dependent on another. They were of the highest priority because if I neglected them, I would be blocking other team members and jeopardizing the timeline for the project. There were other tasks that were not as important, so they went to the bottom of my list. I began working on the high-priority ones, seeking help from others when it was available, and working through lunch, of course. I wasn’t leaving the office until those tasks were complete. I managed to finish the most important ones and even had time to get the less critical ones done.
• Result: The project didn’t suffer a setback! I was able to learn from the experience how much I need to always be prioritizing, so I have a clear path through my day about what must be done and what can wait another day.

Interview Question: How would you handle a project that’s behind schedule?

• Situation: A critical software development project was behind schedule and at risk of missing its launch date. This would have a major impact on the budget and would impact stakeholder relationships.
• Task: I needed to get the project back on track and ensure it was completed on time using as little budget as possible.
• Action: I conducted a thorough review of the project plan, identified bottlenecks and reallocated resources accordingly. I facilitated daily stand-up meetings to improve communication and track progress. I also worked with the development team to prioritize tasks and streamline the workflow.
• Result: I was able to recover the project! The project was completed on time and within budget, resulting in a successful product launch and a 10% increase in team productivity.

Interview Question: “How do you deal with conflict in the workplace?”

• Situation: At one of my first jobs, a coworker and I were always at odds. I’m not sure why. It was personality, I guess. But we had to work closely together, and I couldn’t just avoid him.
• Task: Of course, I had to deal with this. It was not something I was going to bump up to my boss. They have more important manners to deal with. If I can’t work with a diverse group, then I’m not worth having as an employee.
• Action: The first thing I did was read up on peaceful conflict resolution. There is actually a lot of literature on it. The first thing I did was talk to the person, but not talk to them. I listened. I learned that I was always using their favorite mug for my coffee in the morning; that was an easy fix. There are certainly less clear-cut examples I could bring out, but the action was always the same. Listen, emphasize, show compassion and work together to clear things up.
• Result: Not surprisingly, the two of us worked better together than ever, and the boss saw that. I can’t say we became best buds, but the tension that was felt by not just the two of us was no longer hanging over the office. I’m sure everyone was happier about it.

Did you get the job? Once you’re hired, then you continue to use the STAR method to help structure answers to questions. It works for all sorts of situations, but it’s only a start. Communication is key, but so are the tools to get the job done. ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that is also a great communications platform. It keeps teams collaborating and helps managers assign and track project progress. Try it today with this free 30-day trial.

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