Find the top project portfolio management templates in Microsoft Excel that you can easily download and use for free to help you track project status, communicate progress among team members and stakeholders, and manage issues as they arise.
Do you want to get started with Project Portfolio Management and need a Microsoft Excel template? We got you covered.
If you want to broaden your hands with tracking you project portfolios in Microsoft Excel, you may want to consider looking for a suitable template - and we got you covered. Please find our little template for project planning with Excel below.
A project portfolio dashboard is a tool utilized by project portfolio managers to monitor all ongoing projects. This project portfolio Microsoft Excel template effectively tracks the progress of projects and tasks and can also be referred to as a Project Management Office (PMO) template.
This template is suitable for tracking any project with milestones, budgets & effects, stage gates, and risks. It enables the project planning with Excel as well as the creation of a visual representation of all projects within the portfolio.
Features of our Excel Template
- Portfolio Dashboard: A summary view of all projects with key metrics
- Portfolio List: Simple list with all projects and key metrics
- Milestones: Simple milestone and responsibility tracking
- Effect / Budget Tracker: Keep an eye on project expenses versus budgets
- Stage Gates & Phases: Keep an eye on your stage gates
- Status & Risks: Identify and track potential risks
Project Planning with Microsoft Excel: This template is designed to be simple and flexible. You can easily adapt it to meet your specific needs by:
- Adding or removing columns to capture additional information.
- Creating new sheets for other aspects of project tracking.
- Customizing the existing structure to align with your project management processes.
- By following this guide, you can effectively track and manage your project portfolio, ensuring all necessary details are captured and up-to-date.
Whilst Microsoft Excel may be the go to solution... you should try to avoid project planning with Excel
Let us set a few things straight: In today's fast-paced business environment, effective project portfolio management (PPM) is crucial for organizations to maintain a competitive edge. PPM involves the centralized management of processes, methods, and technologies used by project managers and project management offices (PMOs) to analyze and collectively manage current or proposed projects based on numerous key characteristics. Excel is surely not the way to go, for many reasons:
- Excel makes mistakes
- Excel is unsafe
- Excel quickly becomes confusing
- No multi-user capability
- No rights management
- Work requires special Excel knowledge
- Hidden costs are high
We wrote an entire article about why that is the case - and you can find it here.
Getting Work Started
To start using our project portfolio tracking Excel template, simply download it from our website. Here’s a quick guide on how to use it for project planning:
- Copy project sheet: Copy the projec template for each project you want to track.
- Enter Project Details: Fill in the project name, start and end dates, and all other details on the designated project sheets you created.
- Update Progress: Regularly update the progress percentage for each project.
- Track Budget, Milestones, Stages Gates, and Risks: Keep the tracker updated with actual data.
- Review Dashboard and Portfolio List: Use the project dashboard and list view to get a snapshot of the overall portfolio status.
Conclusion
In conclusion, whether you choose sophisticated PPM software or a versatile tool like Excel, the key is to ensure that your project portfolio management approach is aligned with your organizational goals and capabilities. By leveraging these tools effectively, you can enhance visibility, control, and ultimately, the success of your projects. Download our template now and start your project planning successfully!
