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Project tracking template

Monitor every task and project milestone from conception to completion with a project tracking template.

best for

Project management

key features

Task planning

Prioritization

Pipeline management

What is a project tracking template?

Project timeline

A project tracking template is a project management framework for managing and monitoring the progress of a project. It includes a timeline and a duration for each work increment. Use a project tracking template to outline the milestones for each project phase, including start dates and the targeted completion date.

By dividing a project into smaller chunks and giving each increment a deadline, stakeholders and team members can quickly understand the overall scope and schedule. Comparing actual progress with your projected timeline helps you identify and mitigate potential delays and resource bottlenecks early.

Task list

A project tracking template acts as a centralized hub for all pending tasks. A template provides a structured framework that breaks down large tasks into smaller, more manageable subtasks. This allows you to visualize the project workflow more accurately. With clear visibility of all project tasks, you can easily assign ownership to specific team members. This improves accountability, enhances efficiency, and ensures awareness of deadlines and major milestones.

What does the project tracking template include?

Project overview

A project tracker template provides a centralized overview of your entire project, accessible by all team members. By having one place to see how the project is progressing, you cut down on unnecessary communication that stifles productivity and flow.

Project tracking templates include a project timeline that shows due dates and milestones as well as dependencies between tasks. This timeline helps facilitate effective communication between team members and all the various stakeholders as it provides access to essential information about the project’s status.

Task progress and status

A project tracking template allows you to track overall progress and monitor the status of individual tasks. A good project tracking template provides easy-to-digest, visual answers that inform stakeholders about project or task status.

Issues log

A good project tracker template includes an issues log that documents all issues negatively affecting the project. This helps the team identify potential risks, issues, and delays early by tracking task statuses and dependencies. 

How to get started with the project tracking template

Define project scope
  

To use the project tracker template in Jira software, first articulate the scope of work. Consider these questions:

  • What are the project’s overall objectives? 
  • What deliverables does the project need to achieve those objectives? 
  • What resources are necessary? 
  • What constraints will the team face? 
  • As the project scope evolves, what is the change control process? 

Your answers will help define the project’s scope and clarify the work necessary to complete the project. These answers also help define the processes your team will follow when issues arise. Clearly outlining the process at the start helps alleviate any delays.

List all tasks
  

List all the tasks required to achieve your objectives. Include a due date, assignee, priority, and any dependencies. Break down large tasks into manageable and achievable subtasks to prevent overburdening team members.

Establish a project timeline
  

Working backward from the project completion date, map out the due date for every project milestone. This provides goalposts to measure overall progress. Create a realistic and manageable project timeline that you can track and measure.

Assign responsibilities
  

Assign each task to a specific team member based on their skills and expertise. Reassign tasks if overload occurs. Agile project management encourages team members to take on tasks they have the bandwidth to handle. Ensure someone is accountable for seeing each task through to completion.

Regularly update and monitor
  

Establish a regular cadence for meeting and updating the project tracking template, whether that’s a weekly backlog grooming meeting or a daily standup for an Agile team. This helps foster continuous improvement.

Ready to use this template?

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