To understand how that works, first, we’ll define what a program roadmap is and go into the many benefits of using one. Then we’ll outline what should be included in the program roadmap and provide an example to give readers a better understanding of what they are and how they work. Finally, we’ll provide a link to download a free program roadmap template to help readers get started.

What Is a Program Roadmap?

A program roadmap is a strategic tool that is used by program managers to plan, communicate and execute a program’s goals and vision. It’s a high-level overview of all the projects in the program captured in one visual timeline. This includes the stages and objectives as well as tasks, resources and more.

Planning and managing isn’t the only use of a program roadmap. They are also a communication tool, as noted above, in that they help stakeholders understand the status and goal of each project in the program. This helps keep stakeholders informed and manages their expectations. Program managers can also use the program roadmap to track progress to ensure that all projects are staying on schedule, budget and keeping to quality standards.

This visual representation lays out the projects in a program in a digestible way. Project management software can help program managers create and manage program roadmaps. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with robust program roadmaps that group and organize projects. Program managers can keep track of their programs and get valuable insights into all the projects from this high-level overview. Building roadmaps keeps projects aligned with targets and helps to surpass expectations. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Benefits of Using a Program Roadmap

We’ve already touched on the benefits of using a program roadmap, but it’s such a useful tool that we’d like to take a moment to go more deeply into those advantages. We’ve mentioned how a program roadmap can help with communication for program managers and stakeholders but didn’t mention the project teams. As program roadmaps are visual documents, they can be more easily understood by everyone involved in the various projects. Teams can see the deliverables they’re responsible for.

Program roadmaps also help recognize priority tasks. They help program managers identify the stages of the project that require the most attention, as well as provide an estimate of the complexity and effort involved. Another benefit is resource allocation. Organizations have limited resources that must be shared across multiple projects. The program roadmap helps identify the needed resources to better allocate them, whether human, raw materials, money, etc.

All projects have risks and a program roadmap is a tool that helps with the risk management process. Potential issues can be added to the program roadmap to help identify and mitigate those issues if they show up. By visualizing risks with milestones and deliverables, program managers and project management offices (PMOs) can develop contingency plans and edit timelines in real time to keep all the projects on schedule.

Another benefit of using a program roadmap is that it helps program managers make more insightful decisions. Because it provides a high-level overview of all the projects in the program on one page, it helps to show the interconnectedness of all tasks and milestones. This allows for a better understanding of where resources can be allocated more effectively, what activities to prioritize and how to adjust schedules to keep all projects on track.

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Program Roadmap Template

Use this free Program Roadmap Template for Excel to manage your projects better.

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What Should Be Included in a Program Roadmap?

A program roadmap is an overview of multiple projects, but that doesn’t mean it’s superficial. The following are the basics for any thorough program roadmap. Remember, a program roadmap is a living document, so it should be reviewed and updated regularly as things change. The latest version should then be shared with the project team and stakeholders.

Project Tasks

A program is made up of related projects. Projects are broken down into single units of work called tasks. Each task has a start date and deadline and contributes towards the work-related objectives of the project. These project tasks are plotted on a program roadmap.

Project Timelines

The project timeline is a visual representation of a project’s schedule from beginning to end. Each of the projects collected in the program roadmap has a project timeline. The project tasks are plotted on this timeline and all the projects are visible at once on the program roadmap to provide an overview.

Project Milestones

Project milestones mark important dates, deliverables or events. They can show when one project phase has been completed and another is to start. They are important for a program roadmap as they help track the scope, schedule, budget and quality of the project, as well as keep stakeholders informed on progress.

Task and Project Dependencies

Task dependencies are connected tasks in that one can’t start or stop until the other has started or stopped. Just as there are task dependencies, there are project dependencies. Not identifying these dependencies can cause delays and negatively impact the budget for one or more projects.

Project Costs

Project costs are the total funds needed to execute and complete each project in the program roadmap. Tracking these costs is essential to keeping to each project’s budget. The program roadmap provides a high-level overview that allows program managers to track costs and control spending.

Program Roadmap Example

We’ve been discussing what a program roadmap is and the pieces that make one up. Words only go so far in describing the value of a program roadmap. The program roadmap is, after all, a visual project portfolio management (PPM) tool and to grasp its value and use there needs to be a visual representation.

The above program roadmap was made in ProjectManager. On the left is a spreadsheet that lists the phases of the different projects and the tasks related to each. Some columns show the planned hours, actual costs and planned costs, which help track if the costs align with the budget. On the right are the timelines for all the projects in the program. They are color-coded to make it easier to distinguish one from the other. There are also diamond icons that represent milestones.

Program Roadmap Template

While it’s always better to make and use a program roadmap in project management software, some prefer to start with the less robust but still useful program roadmap template. Download our free program roadmap template to start listing all the projects in your program and tracking their cost, time and more.

Our free program roadmap template can be color-coded to differentiate one project from another, milestones can be added to the timeline. On the left-hand side, list all the projects and tasks in the program. Download the free program roadmap template to get started managing programs better.

More Free Program Management Templates

The program roadmap template is only one of the over 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word that users can download from our site. There are free templates that cover every phase of the project and are suitable for multiple industries, such as construction, manufacturing, professional services, IT and more. Below are a few of the free templates that address program management.

Multiple Project Tracking Template

Use this free multiple project tracking template for Excel to monitor the progress of all the projects in a program. List all the projects and tasks, including dependent tasks, and show who is assigned to each. There are also columns for planned start and end dates as well as actual start and end dates to help keep the projects on track.

Project Dashboard Template

Another way to monitor progress, tasks, workload, costs and more is with this free project dashboard template for Excel. Users add project data from the program and the template creates colorful graphs and charts that make it easy to see program metrics.

Project Task Tracker Excel Template

To monitor the individual tasks in the projects that make up a program, use this free project task tracker template for Excel. It lists all the project tasks, any dependencies and who is assigned to it. The priority is identified as well as the start date, planned end date and actual end date. Finally, there’s a column to note the status of the task, whether it’s open or closed.

ProjectManager Is Advanced Program Management Software

All of these free templates are a great introduction to program management. However, once started, users will quickly find themselves frustrated by the limitation of templates. These are static documents. They must be manually updated, which takes one away from the real work and doesn’t provide real-time data. To make more insightful decisions about program management, use project management software. ProjectManager is award-winning project, program and portfolio management software that has more than program roadmaps to monitor, control and communicate programs.

Track Programs and Resources With Multiple Project Portfolio Management Tools

A program roadmap provides a high-level overview, but it’s only one of many ways to monitor progress and more. Customizable program dashboards also give a high-level overview of all the projects in the program, but they automatically capture live data and display it on easy-to-read graphs and charts that track time, cost, workload and more. Resource management tools help plan, allocate and monitor resources in real time. For example, the color-coded workload chart shows everyone’s allocation and program managers can balance their workload from that page to keep everyone working at capacity without eroding morale and keep productivity high.

Make Project Portfolio Management Reports in Minutes

Use customizable project portfolio reporting to manage the program and keep stakeholders informed. All reports can be generated with only a keystroke and filtered to give managers an in-depth view or stakeholders a more high-level one. Portfolio status shows tasks, timelines and more, which can highlight customers, priority and other metrics. There are also reports on variance, timesheets, workload and more. Every report can be shared in a variety of formats to keep stakeholders up to date and manage their expectations.

Related Program Management Content

Program roadmaps are only one piece of the larger program management picture. For those looking for more to read about program management, there are links below to related pieces that have recently been published on our site.

• Program Management: The Ultimate Guide
• Project vs. Program Management: Key Differences and Similarities
• How to Make a Program Management Plan
• What Is Program Governance? Importance & Benefits
• How to Hire a Program Director (Job Description Included)
• What Is a Program Manager? (Job Description Included)

ProjectManager is online project, program and portfolio management software that connects managers, teams and stakeholders whether they’re in the office, out in the field or anywhere else in the world. 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 What Is a Program Roadmap? (Example & Template Included) appeared first on ProjectManager.

We thought it’d be helpful to look at the main roles, responsibilities, skills and qualifications required from project managers and further explain with project manager job description samples.

What Is a Project Manager?

A project manager is a professional who leads a team through the project life cycle by planning, budgeting, scheduling and tracking a project plan. The project plan thoroughly explains how the project will be executed and includes a budget, timeline, schedule, roles and responsibilities among other things.

To lead projects to successful completion, project managers need the right tools. ProjectManager allows project managers to plan, schedule and track their projects all in real time with tools like Gantt charts, kanban boards, project dashboards and task lists. Get started for free.

What Does a Project Manager Do?

Project managers plan, budget, monitor and report on the project with project management tools, sometimes pitching the idea of the project or being assigned to it once it’s been approved. They make sure the project plan is sound, report regularly on its progress and monitor it to ensure that its execution stays within the approved budget and schedule.

However, the project manager isn’t alone in this process. The project manager is the bridge between upper management, stakeholders and cross-functional teams tasked with the execution of the project. Besides collaborating with these teams, project managers use project management software to track costs, tasks, time and project progress.

Project Manager Job Description Sample

Now let’s review what an average project manager job description would look like. We hope it’s inspiring for you either as an applicant or as an employer.

Job Description

A project manager is responsible for the direction, coordination, implementation, executive, control and completion of the project while remaining aligned with the strategy, commitments and goals of the organization.

Responsibilities

• Plan and implement projects
• Help define project scope, goals and deliverables
• Define tasks and required resources
• Collect and manage project team
• Manage the project budget
• Allocate project resources
• Create a project schedule and  timeline
• Support and direct team
• Lead quality assurance
• Report on the project status
• Present to stakeholders reports on progress as well as problems and solutions
• Implement and manage changes when necessary to meet project deliverables
• Evaluate and assess the result of the project

Qualifications

• Excellent communication skills
• Problem-solving and leadership skills
• Project planning, risk management, time management and other project management skills
• Project management qualification (PMP), Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), or equivalent experience as a project manager
• Experience in strategic planning, risk management and/or change management
• Proficiency in project management software and tools
• Contract negotiation
• Conflict resolution experience

Project Manager Salary
According to Payscale, the average salary for a general project manager in the US is $75,000.

Project Manager Job Description: In-Depth Analysis

Now let’s review each of the elements that make up a project manager job description in more depth. You must understand them as they can apply to your project manager’s resume or job description.

Project Manager Qualifications

There are many entry points into project management. There is no one path, but there are more linear routes that one can take, just as if learning a trade. Being a project manager is a trade, after all, and there are many trade schools and universities that offer a course of study resulting in a degree.

Beyond academia, there is project management training and certifications. There are two major certifying bodies, PRINCE2 and the Project Management Institute (PMI). The latter offers a certification called Project Management Professional (PMP), which has become the primary certification for professionals in the field of project management. To obtain it, project managers must meet qualifications such as 35-60 months of project management experience, 35 hours of project management education and complete a certification exam with 180 questions.

Project Manager Education & Certifications

The Project Management Professional (PMP) certification is the most common certification for project managers, but it’s not the only one there is. Here are the main project management certifications offered by the PMI:

• Project Management Professional (PMP): This certifies that you’re a capable project manager who is competent in waterfall and agile project management.
• Agile certifications: These are ideal for those project managers who want to work in agile environments as a scrum master, agile certified practitioner or agile value stream consultant.
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM): This project management training program is the first step toward getting your PMP certification. It’s recognized by many employers for entry-level project manager positions.
• Program Management Professional (PgMP): As the name implies, this certification is meant for those who want to become a program manager. Program managers specialize in managing a group of closely related projects that are part of a program.
• Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP): This project management training will allow you to apply for project portfolio management roles.
• Associate in Project Management (APM), Professional in Project Management (PPM) and Certified Project Director (CPD): The Global Association of Quality Management (GAQM) offers these three certifications. The first is more entry-level, the second is more advanced and the third is only for those with significant experience.
• Certified Scrum Master: Scrum is part of an agile environment favored in IT and software development. The nonprofit Scrum Alliance offers this certification and teaches the values, practices and applications of the discipline.
• PRINCE2 Certification: PRINCE2 stands for projects in controlled environments and was developed in the UK. It’s mostly used in Europe for governmental projects and is provided by AXELOS, a joint venture between the UK and Capita.

If you’re looking to get your project management career started but you’re not ready for those certifications, you could check the Google project management certification program, which is not as recognized as PMI or PRINCE2, but it’s a good place to start before getting into more advanced project management certifications.

However, many people land as project managers without any education or certification in the field. While there’s nothing wrong with getting educated and certified, experience is also a great teacher. Then some become “accidental project managers,” or people who find themselves being tasked to lead a project and must hit the ground running.

Project Manager Responsibilities & Duties

Plan Projects

A project can begin and certainly is designed to fail if there first wasn’t a plan devised to see it through, on time and within budget. The project manager’s first role is to make a feasible plan that achieves the goals and objectives of the project and aligns with the organization’s overall business strategy. This involves creating a project schedule, securing the resources and defining the project goals, among other things.

Understand Methodologies

There are many methodologies for managing projects, from traditional waterfall to newer agile approaches. A project manager should be fluent in these methodologies and know which is best for each project, as well as the ability to train new team members as needed.

Assemble and Lead a Project Team

Project managers need resources to complete the project tasks, which include skilled and experienced team members. A project manager either takes a leadership role with an existing project team or creates one. Once a team is created, the project manager creates a project schedule to assign tasks and deadlines, giving the team the tools to collaborate without micromanaging every activity. It’s important to meet regularly and get status updates to chart progress while reallocating resources as needed to avoid blocking team members or overburdening them.

Track Time

Time is always ticking towards the project deadline. While communication is key to addressing changes and making sure everyone is doing what they need to do, the project manager must also define, schedule and accurately estimate the task duration to develop and maintain a realistic project schedule.

Oversee Resources

Nothing is going to get done without money. Figuring out what the proper funding for the project is, having that get accepted and then keeping the project within or under budget is often what makes or breaks a project. You can get your stakeholder their deliverables on time, but if that costs more than the budget you created, then the project is a failure.

Manage Stakeholders

You want to deliver to your stakeholders what they expected or better and make sure that they’re satisfied with the results. But that doesn’t mean ignoring them to focus solely on the project. Rather, you need to be in constant communication with them, reporting on progress and being open to their feedback to keep them happy and coming back to you with future projects.

Identify Risks

Problems will inevitably arise in a project. That’s called an issue. You need to be ready for them and work towards resolving them quickly so they don’t derail your project. Then there are risks, which are potential problems, ones that have yet to occur or might not ever. Regardless, you must figure out beforehand what the risks are and set in place a plan of action if they in fact occur.

Monitor Progress

To make sure a project is progressing as planned, you must constantly measure it and compare those metrics against the plan you created. It’s essential to have a way to collect project data, such as status reports from your team, to see if the actual progress of the project is meeting what you had initially planned.

Solve Problems

Project managers have to be able to identify problems, determine what caused them and come up with solutions on the fly. From there, they can delegate tasks to the project team to ensure the project stays on track.

Report and Document

Reporting is one of the ways you communicate with your team and stakeholders. While teams need more detailed information and stakeholders are looking for broader data to check the project’s progress, both are essential tasks for the project manager. This project documentation, along with all paperwork, must be collected, signed off on and archived by the end of a project, which provides a history that you can revisit when planning for a similar project in the future.

Project Manager Job Description Skills

Project managers may be required to have a certain skill set depending on the job, project, industry and experience level. However, there are general project management skills that are common to any project manager job description. These are the most essential.

Soft Skills for a Job Description

• Leadership skills
• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Team mentality
• Organizational skills

Hard Skills for a Job Description

• Time management
• Team management
• Risk management
• Stakeholder management
• Industry-related technical skills
• Knowledge of project management software
• Project management certifications

Project Manager Salaries for a Job Description

A project manager’s salary depends on many things such as experience, industry and certifications, but in general, project managers are well-compensated for their work. Project manager salaries range around the low six figures. Project management is an exciting career path, rife with opportunities for well-organized individuals.

Project Manager Job Description Examples

Here are some more project manager job description examples to give you an idea of what’s required of project managers for different roles.

IT Project Manager Job Description

Job Description

An IT project manager is responsible for developing and managing information technology projects and their cost, time and scope. Responsibilities include creating a project plan, communication plan, allocating tasks and setting milestones. This will also work as a technical project manager job description for IT.

Responsibilities

• Create & manage project plans
• Define project schedules, allocate resources and monitor progress
• Align project objectives with company goals, and make sure the project team is clear on objectives
• Deliver and install technology solutions
• Help the project team with the design and development tasks
• Lead process of issue identification and resolution
• Manage risk-tracking process
• Monitor and manage project scope
• Manage all project documentation
• Work on multiple projects within the company’s project portfolio simultaneously
• Foster partnerships with customers, stakeholders and sponsors

Qualifications

• Three or more years of project management experience in information technology I.T.
• ITIL or ITSM certifications are preferred. PMP certifications are required.
• Detail oriented
• Thrives in a collaborative environment
• Good communication skills, with customers, teams and stakeholders
• Business & IT strategy experience
• Customer-focused mindset
• Knowledge of related software development and project management tools

IT Project Manager Salary
According to Glassdoor, the average salary for an IT project manager in the US is $122,000.

Senior Level Project Manager Job Description

Job Description

The senior project manager is in charge of schedules, budgets, resources and project deliverables. Delivers business results by ensuring that project management best practices are being met. Monitors teams to make sure the project goals and objectives are being kept. Knowledge of larger landscapes without neglecting granular details while tracking project health, staying alert for risk and resolving issues as they arise. Maintains standards and monitors project scope and quality requirements.

Responsibilities

• Works with key stakeholders to understand the business needs, and creates a project management plan that aligns with the company’s strategic objectives
• Oversees strategic plan, monitoring and adapting as needed
• Creates project plans, project charters and project schedules
• Maintains project objectives
• Monitors production and quality to customer/stakeholder/sponsor standards
• Identifies and resolves issues and risks
• Reports on project progress offer viable solutions and opportunities as they arise
• Implements change practices
• Manages resources to make sure the schedule is on track
• Project portfolio management
• Lead meetings and set expectations for the project team
• Maintain budget
• Reporting on projects and portfolios

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA preferred. Business administration, management, leadership and related fields.
• 10+ years experience in project management, especially larger projects with established firms
• PMP certification required; PMO experience preferred
• Knowledge of agile and lean approaches such as Scrum, Kanban and SAFe, among others.
• Experience in Agile project management teams
• Proven leadership skills
• Expertise in conflict resolution
• Analytical and strong organizational skills, with excellent verbal and written ability
• Proficiency with project management software and related tools including but not limited to ProjectManager, JIRA, MS Excel, etc.

Senior Project Manager Salary
According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a general project manager in the US is $92,000.

Assistant Project Manager Job Description

Job Description

The assistant project manager will work with the project manager to plan and execute projects for the organization. They will be tasked with identifying clients’ or stakeholders’ project needs and goals, creating detailed plans to complete the project and organizing and archiving project reports and documentation.

Responsibilities

• Liaise with project stakeholders about deliverables
• Assist in the planning and implementation of projects
• Help coordinate and manage project tasks and deliverables
• Analyze data as needed
• Conduct administrative duties, such as setting up meetings, drafting invoices and drawing estimates
• Track and report on project progress
• Perform other duties as tasked

Qualifications

• Three years plus experience in project management or administrative assistance
• Proficiency in management software
• Strong written and verbal skills
• Excellent multitasking abilities
• Can work under pressure with little or no supervision
• Problem solver
• Detail-oriented and highly organized

Assistant Project Manager Salary

According to Glassdoor, an assistant project manager can earn an annual salary in the range of $65,000-$109,000.

Construction Project Manager Job Description

Job Description

The construction project manager will lead and oversee the construction projects for the organization. They will work with engineers and architects to develop plans, create project timeframes, distribute resources and ensure projects are delivered on time and within budget. Duties also include the planning, hiring, firing and supervision of employees

Responsibilities

• Plan work, including assembling the necessary personnel and assigning the roles and responsibilities
• Hire personnel for the job site, reprimand and fire if necessary
• Coordinate tasks across various teams and job sites, ensuring uniformity upon project completion
• Work within the budget by accurately estimating the costs and cutting unnecessary expenses
• Procure and allocate resources to avoid shortages, delays, etc.
• Manage internal and external risks within the project

Qualifications

• Leadership skills
• Effective communication
• Highly organized
• Five years of experience or more managing construction projects
• Risk management skills
• Understanding of budgetary and financial resources
• Willing to take feedback and use it to improve processes

Construction Project Manager Salary

According to Glassdoor, a construction project manager can expect an average annual salary of $144,252.

Digital Marketing Project Manager Job Description

Job Description

The digital marketing project manager will be responsible for managing and overseeing all aspects of a digital marketing campaign to effectively promote the brand’s product. Their duties will include planning a digital campaign, delegating responsibilities to the marketing team and measuring the performance analytics of the campaign.

Responsibilities

• Handles strategic online initiatives
• Leads marketing campaigns from idea to execution and implementation
• Monitors and evaluates online media campaigns to keep them fresh and relevant
• Directs the hiring of marketing and promotions staff, supervising their work
• Negotiates advertising contracts
• Works with other departments to discuss plans and strategies
• Collaborates with finance staff to keep within budget
• Stays up to date with emerging opportunities in the digital marketing world

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing or related field
• Five or more years of experience in digital marketing and advertising
• Understanding of social media as a marketing tool
• Comprehends website metrics and best practices
• Experience with search engine optimization, lead generation and email marketing
• Collaborative at all levels to achieve goals and evaluate results
• Problem solver
• Strong writing and verbal communication skills

Digital Marketing Project Manager Salary

According to Glassdoor, a digital marketing project manager can make an average annual salary of $82,253.

Project Manager Interview Questions

A project manager job description is crafted to find the best project manager for an organization. The next step will be a series of interviews to gauge whether the candidates meet the qualifications required of them. For that reason, we’ve compiled the top project manager interview questions, so you’re better prepared either as an employer or project manager.

ProjectManager Is Ideal for Project Managers

You’ve crafted a thorough job description and landed a highly qualified and motivated project manager. But they can’t do it alone. They need ProjectManager, an online project management software that gives project managers the tools they need to better plan, monitor and report on their projects.

Planning & Scheduling

Think of all the responsibilities that weigh on the shoulders of a project manager. For starters, they must create a project plan. No problem. ProjectManager makes planning easy and there are even industry-specific templates to get started fast. Once tasks are inputted, they can use the Gantt chart to create timelines and roll out a schedule. From here, the project manager can assign work and even direct the team, commenting at the task level and adding relevant documents. ProjectManager also offers kanban boards to facilitate task management.

Tracking & Reporting

Monitoring production while the plan is being executed is how a project manager keeps track of time, work and costs. ProjectManager has multiple project management tools to track progress on your project. A real-time dashboard gets six project metrics and turns them into easy-to-read charts and graphs for a high-level view of the project, which keeps stakeholders updated.

Resource & Team Management

Project managers need more detailed data to manage resources and their team’s workload. ProjectManager has one-click reporting that can be filtered to give you just the information you need. These reports can be shared with stakeholders if they want to take a deeper dive into the project.

It’s always important to make sure teams have a balanced workload. ProjectManager has a workload page that is color-coded making it easy to see who is overtasked and who needs more work. Resources can be reallocated on the workload page so production can continue to move forward. To get all these features and more for your project manager, try ProjectManager today!

Related Content

There’s a lot to learn about being a project manager. On top of overseeing projects, the role involves collaborating with similar leaders, cross-functional teams and third parties. For that reason, we’ve created blogs, guides and templates to help you better understand all the different aspects of this role.

• Project Roles and Responsibilities
• Program Manager vs. Project Manager
• Product Manager vs. Project Manager
• Top 30 Project Management Skills
• Top 10 Project Management Qualifications
• Best 12 Project Management Certifications

No matter what type of project you’re working on, project managers need tools to help them manage all the moving parts of their project. ProjectManager was developed by project managers for project managers. It’s a cloud-based tool that gives you real-time data to better monitor your projects but also has features to help you plan, manage teams and report with ease. Try our award-winning software today with this free 30-day trial.

The post Project Manager Job Description (Free Copy+Paste Examples) appeared first on ProjectManager.

Project teams look to project managers to clarify what they should be doing and when, but they don’t want you hovering over their shoulders as they check off tasks in their project management software. It’s important to strike a balance between controlling your team’s tasks and giving them room to work.

What Is Workload Management?

Workload management is the process of assigning tasks to keep individuals and teams working at maximum efficiency. The workload management process involves planning, scheduling, distributing and monitoring workload to ensure teams achieve their goals while making sure work is evenly distributed among team members. Let’s take a closer look at the key stages of the workload management process mentioned above.

ProjectManager is project management software that’s equipped with workload management, task management and resource management tools to help you manage your team’s workload in minutes. When onboarding teams, you can add their availability to make assigning easier. Then check the color-coded workload chart to see who is overallocated and balance the workload from that chart. Keep teams more productive and working at capacity. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Workload Forecasting & Capacity Planning

Understanding your project’s current and future workload needs is one of the most important steps when managing workload. To do so, you’ll need to measure your resource utilization and check your workload capacity to make sure they match your business forecasting and customer demand projections. If needed, your organization might need to hire new personnel or acquire new resources such as raw materials or equipment.

Workload Distribution & Scheduling

Once you’ve determined what your team’s workload will look like in the future, it’s important to use project management tools such as Gantt charts, kanban boards or project calendars to assign tasks to your team members depending on their skills and overall resource availability.

Workload Monitoring

Planning and scheduling tasks are as important as keeping track of them to make sure they’ve been completed on time and under budget. To do so, you should use workload management software with features like dashboards and reports. To manage your team’s workload, you’ll need to create a workload plan that entails understanding your resources and the business priorities or tasks to be completed.

Get your free

Workload Management Template

Use this free Workload Analysis Template for Excel to manage your projects better.

Download Excel File

What Is Workload Management Software?

Workload management software is a tool used in business to organize tasks and through planning and distributing work achieve the goal of maximizing team skills and resources. When successful, workload management software can reduce costs, increase productivity and prevent burnout.

Workload Management Tools

There are many workload management software products to choose from. When in the market for a workload management tool consider things like security, data encryption, role-based access controls and compliance with data protection regulations. In terms of workload management tools or features, look for the following.

Workload Management Chart

This tool manages team capacity, prioritizes tasks and plans work allocation. It can also identify obstacles in the path of a smooth workflow. Workload management charts are usually designed like a calendar that shows each team member’s task allocation.

Gantt Chart

Gantt charts are scheduling tools in project management that are made up of a spreadsheet on one side with the whole project illustrated on a timeline on the other. They assist workload management through the visual representation of the project’s schedule over time, including identifying task dependencies, start and finish dates, milestones, assignees and resources.

Kanban Board

Kanban boards visualize workflow and provide a clear representation of how tasks progress. In terms of workload management, this offers valuable data, such as prioritization, team workload and work-in-progress. This leads to greater efficiency, focus and accountability that drives productivity. The kanban board can also identify potential issues and resolve them before they interfere with work.

Timesheets

Though primarily thought of to manage payroll, timesheets can also be used in workload management to track how much time teams spend on their tasks. This also impacts labor costs and the budget but supports teams by rewarding their hard work and offering help where needed.

Dashboards

Dashboards provide a high-level overview of the project and can track workload performance in visual graphs and charts that are quick and easy to digest. Many dashboards can be customized to display time, cost, workload and more, which provides project managers with an instant status report.

Free Workload Management Template

Ready to start managing the workload for your projects? Download this free workload management template for Excel. It has everything you need to manage workload: log hours by day, track resource utilization, set labor rates and more. Download your copy today.

More Workload Management Templates

For those who aren’t ready to upgrade to workload management software templates can be an alternative. We offer over 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word that cover all phases of the project across multiple industries. Here are a few that relate to workload management.

Workload Analysis Template

Use this free workload analysis template for Excel to manage a workforce better. It seeks to balance workload across project teams, keeping the working at capacity, which leads to greater productivity and reduces the chance of burnout.

Gantt Chart Template

This free Gantt chart template for Excel organizes tasks in a spreadsheet, including their start dates, deadlines and duration. When this data is added to the spreadsheet it automatically populates the timeline, which can then be color-coded to differentiate project phases.

Kanban Board Template

The free kanban board template for Excel is divided into customizable columns that represent process steps. The task cards can then move from one column to the next as they go through the workflow. Each card captures vital information, such as the task name, a description, who is assigned to it and the due date.

Workload Management Example

Imagine a construction general contractor hired by a client who wants to build a house. Based on the project’s scope of work, the contractor begins estimating the resources that will be needed, including labor, raw materials, equipment, heavy machinery and more.

For this workload management example, we’ll focus on human resources, which in this case, is the crew that will execute the construction phase work. The workload analysis chart below shows the estimated hours that each employee is scheduled to work, for a total of one month, which is the total length for this project.

As you can see, this workload management chart allows the contractor to visualize the work hours for each employee. However, making this workload management chart is only the beginning.

Throughout this project, the contractor will face workload management challenges, such as weather events that make it impossible to execute tasks at the job site, some employees will likely quit, or there will be material shortages, which means this workload management chart will need to be monitored permanently.

What Is a Workload Management Plan?

A workload plan or workload management plan is simply a project calendar or dashboard that tracks an employee’s working hours on a timeline. A workload plan is used to determine resource utilization, calculate team capacity and track employee performance.

Workload plans can vary to show more or more minor details, such as percent complete, deliverables, constraints and milestones. The more details, the more task management information you’ll have to better assign work to your team. ProjectManager’s workload chart, dashboard and task management tools are ideal for workload planning.

Why Is Workload Management Important?

Workload management is a way to keep your teams busy and productive. It’s a strategic way to distribute the work throughout your team to boost performance. However, managing workload isn’t only about efficient resource management but is also about reducing team stress, burnout and errors. Workload management helps organizations deliver projects successfully. It’s also beneficial for capacity planning, resource utilization and employee performance among other positive business impacts.

Workload Management Tips

Here are some of the main tips for effective workload management.

• Avoid burnout: A good rule for work management is that employees should be allocated to specific tasks for only 80 percent of their time. The remaining 20 percent will be for answering phone calls, attending team meetings, dealing with customers who call with urgent problems and so on.
• Check your team performance: As a team leader, it’s important to make sure that your team members are meeting their goals. If they’re not, your workload planning might be compromised. If you find team members who aren’t meeting their deadlines, then you should level your resources to help the team produce deliverables and reach milestones.
• Use a work breakdown structure: Using a work breakdown structure it’s a great way to define what are the activities required for a given project, which is a necessary step before creating a workload plan.
• Consider your value stream: Measuring how many of the tasks assigned to your team add value to your customer is a great way to gauge your team’s performance and how effective your workload distribution is.

How to Manage Workload With ProjectManager

ProjectManager is a robust workload management tool that has features that let you plan, schedule, distribute and track your team’s workload. The fastest way to find this information is to use task management, capacity planning or resource management features from your project management software to show who’s working on which tasks.

1. Map Out Your Workload Plan

With ProjectManager, you can use multiple planning tools to balance the workload across your team and map out their work schedule. With our Gantt charts, kanban boards, project calendars and workload charts you can map out your tasks in phases and assign them to team members. The assignee’s name appears next to the task so you can view who is working on what.

2. Create Workload Schedules

You can use the online Gantt chart to create detailed workload schedules that let you assign work to team members by simply dragging and dropping tasks on the timeline. Since it’s an online Gantt chart, all data updates in real time so the entire team sees their new tasks in an instant. Simply click on a task and assign it to certain team members. You can add several team members or simply yourself if needed. Team members are even organized by department so you can quickly identify the best person for the job.

3. Monitor Workload Capacity

ProjectManager’s workload chart lets you see the number of assigned work hours to each team member to monitor your team’s performance and control heavy workloads. The box is green if the team member has a good number of hours; it’s orange if they are over or under-assigned. In the same view, you can click the box and instantly reassign tasks to adjust the workload. Adjustments are automatically reflected in any workload plans on the Gantt chart, the team workload dashboard and elsewhere in our project management tool. Look for team members who are under or over-allocated so you can adjust their schedule accordingly.

4. Track Workload Costs With Timesheets and Reports

Use ProjectManager’s timesheets to keep track of labor costs as you assign work to your team. They sync automatically whenever you make changes to your workload plan from the Gantt chart, kanban boards and other task management tools. You can also generate one-click reports in minutes so you can share your workload management information with team members and stakeholders.

5. Communicate With Team Members

If you’re going to change an assignment in your workload management system, don’t forget to speak to the people involved first. You can explain that you’re reallocating resources to balance the work and that it isn’t a reflection of their performance. In fact, as a result of your workload planning, they may end up with a better work schedule. Communicating with your team is key to success, so you’ll also need effective team collaboration tools. Talk to them about upcoming holidays and include those in your workload planning so you don’t assign them tasks while they’re away.

Related Content

• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Workload Analysis: Steps, Examples & Tools
• What Is a Work Plan? How to Make a Work Plan In 7 Steps
• What Is a Statement of Work? Definition & Examples
• What Is a Work Package in Project Management?
• How to Write a Scope of Work (Example Included)
• Workforce Planning Basics for Businesses and PMOs

Resource management software makes the workload management process easy, especially when it’s integrated into your project management solution. Updating your workload plan automatically updates the resource reports in ProjectManager so you quickly see who has time to take on additional tasks. Start your free trial today.

The post Workload Management: Planning Workload Distribution appeared first on ProjectManager.

Managing all those marketing assets is challenging. Get a headstart on your next marketing project by using these 15 free marketing templates for Excel and Word. They’ll help you from the planning stage and budgeting to tracking your campaign to ensure you stay on schedule and within your budget. We have dozens of free project management templates to choose from. Here’s a selection of marketing-related templates.

1. Marketing Plan Template

Organize the phases of your marketing plan by downloading our free marketing plan template for Word. Our free marketing plan template gives you a place to define your strategy and how you intend to implement it over the month, quarter or year.

You can use the marketing plan template to highlight your goals and current position in the market. Use it to schedule tasks over a timeline with start and end dates, track KPIs and much more. A marketing plan offers a high-level view of the marketing campaign and helps you market your brand, product or service more effectively.

Use our free template to build a framework for your marketing plan within the context of the potential customers you want to target. It helps you reduce risk and increase the chances that your marketing will be successful.

2. Marketing Campaign Template

Using our free marketing campaign template will help you plan how you introduce your product or service across multiple platforms. The template helps you use market research to better map out a product or service launch and communicate the plan to everyone on your marketing team.

You can use the template to organize everything you need for a successful marketing campaign including the goals of the marketing campaign, who you’re going to target, the media plan and how you’ll execute it. Not only that, but you have the tools to keep track of the marketing campaign, including collecting key performance indicators (KPIs).

Use our free marketing campaign template when the product or service you created is done but hasn’t launched. Our free marketing campaign template will help you successfully promote the product or service, connecting with your target audience. See your plan on our kanban board, which visualizes the workflow and gives marketing managers visibility into their team’s process. If they see issues, they can quickly reallocate resources to keep work moving forward uninterrupted. Teams can manage their backlog and collaboratively plan sprints.

3. Marketing Budget Template

Marketing costs money, but you don’t have unlimited funds. That’s why you need our free marketing budget template for Excel. It ensures you get a good return on your investment and don’t overspend on your marketing campaign.

The free marketing budget template outlines the financial investments related to your marketing project broken up by year or quarter. It helps you collect your costs, from paid advertising and sponsored web content to marketing personnel, software and more.

Using a marketing budget template goes hand-in-glove with the marketing plan, as it’s an integral part of the larger marketing plan. It helps you forecast what you need to spend to deliver a successful marketing campaign.

4. Marketing Calendar Template

Capture important dates in an easy-to-read format to make sure you don’t miss deadlines, meetings and more with our free marketing calendar template for Excel. Use the free template to view your marketing campaigns by the month, quarterly or over the course of a year.

Marketing calendars are essential pieces to a larger marketing plan. Marketing plans can be complicated, whereas a marketing calendar is easy to read at a glance to make sure you’re meeting the necessary milestones.

A marketing calendar template is also a great tool for communication with stakeholders. They don’t need to get into the weeds of your marketing campaign. They’re interested in your progress and your schedule, both of which can be tracked on a marketing calendar template.

5. Creative Brief Template

Marketing, advertising and design projects require project briefs just as construction, manufacturing or engineering projects do. Only they’re not called project briefs, they’re called creative briefs. If you’re managing one of these projects, then you need our free creative brief template for Word.

The creative brief is used to plan the project, define its objectives and keep everyone involved clear on what the project is about. It’s created at the beginning of the project but referred to throughout the project life cycle as a roadmap to keep everyone working together.

Our free creative brief template details the target audience, your competitors in the marketplace, what the key message is and how it should be delivered plus more. It’s the rule by which you measure the project requirements to ensure that you’re keeping to them.

6. Marketing Change Log Template

Change can have a big impact. Whether you change the messaging of an ad, adjust a budget or redesign your homepage, you need to log such events. Use this free change log template for Excel to control and manage change.

This marketing template is a document that captures whatever change is impacting work and tracks it throughout. It captures the date the change was identified, its priority, who’s assigned to dealing with it and its status to ensure that it’s on track and doesn’t fall through the cracks.

7. Marketing Flowchart Template

Marketers use flowcharts to visually represent the steps involved in the marketing process, from developing plans and content marketing to advertising. Using this free flowchart template will help marketers communicate these processes more clearly, identify weaknesses and improve the client or customer experience.

This marketing template can save time and increase efficiency by eliminating unnecessary steps as well as making sure the important steps are done on schedule. It can analyze the performance of the firm or its campaigns in terms of data reach, digital presence, website visits, lead generation and customer conversion.

The flowchart template is fully customizable, which allows it to be easily edited and reused over and over again. Through ovals that represent the start or finish of a process, arrows that indicate the direction of the process steps, diamonds that mark a decision or activity and rectangles that represent a process, marketers get valuable insights.

8. Marketing Event Plan Template

Whether it’s a tradeshow, corporate retreat or networking party, events are projects and they need to be planned to be successful. Our free event plan template for Excel lays out everything you need to do and helps you avoid any glitches that will negatively impact your event.

You’ll find places to list the tasks you need to complete to have the event, including the resources you need to execute that work. Every task will have an owner, an estimated time it’ll take to complete and a checklist to mark if it’s been started and to note when completed.

This is your first step to scheduling your event and figuring out a feasible timetable to get everything ready. The more accurately you can forecast the amount of time it’ll take to prepare for the event, the less likely you’ll miss deadlines and threaten the success of the event.

9. Vision Statement for Marketing Template

Marketing is targeted and must deliver a product or service to an intended audience. But if that target is not clear, the marketing message will be equally vague and not effective. That’s why this free vision statement template for Word is so important.

A vision statement is a document that defines the purpose of a business, or it can be used to define the reason behind a marketing campaign. This marketing template is a way to ensure that all work is being done to achieve that vision in the future. The vision statement template will guide the strategic plans for a marketing firm, or its client’s plans, in a way that’s easy to understand by all.

The vision statement template works by following a few simple steps, such as defining the mission, core values and value proposition of the brand. For each of these steps, there is a corresponding question that the marketing leadership team will answer. Through this process, the vision for the firm or the project becomes clear and the work that follows more impactful.

10. Strategic Roadmap for Marketing Template

Marketing firms and teams must keep strategy in mind. All campaigns and tactics should feed into a higher goal. That’s where the free strategic roadmap template for Excel comes in. It allows for the long view, which is often how businesses stay in business.

A strategic roadmap template visually communicates the strategy of a marketing firm as well as those steps that will be taken to achieve its long-term goals and objectives. This marketing template is a powerful tool for ensuring that everyone from leaders to marketing team members are on the same page when it comes to why the firm is doing what it’s doing.

The strategic roadmap template has a timeline that gives a bird’s-eye view of where the firm currently is and where it wants to be in the next five to 10 years. This is an essential tool to prepare and disseminate strategy throughout the organization.

11. Marketing Action Items Template

We’ve talked a lot about planning for campaigns or events, but we haven’t covered how you’ll go about accomplishing your goals. Our free action items template for Excel will help you outline the steps you have to take to successfully complete that marketing plan.

Action items are the steps you have to take to implement your marketing plan. In other words, they’re the activities or tasks that’ll carry the project over the finish line in time. This helps you figure out how you’re going to get the marketing project work done.

Once you have the action items laid out, you can then begin to assign them to the marketing team. Without first knowing what the action items for the marketing project are, it would be impossible to fully plan for either a small or larger project.

12. Marketing Project Timeline Template

All marketing initiatives have a deadline that you have to align with a product launch or campaign. Whatever the marketing project is, without a schedule you’ll never get it done in time. You can quickly schedule your marketing push with our free project timeline template for Excel.

A timeline is a visual tool to see your entire marketing campaign in one place. It helps you see when tasks need to be completed, which in turn can make you allocate resources more wisely. It’s also the backbone of any thorough marketing schedule.

When you’re done filling out our free project timeline template, you’ll see where your major deliverables and milestones are and have a better idea of how much the project will cost and the resources you’ll need to complete it.

13. Marketing Project & Task Tracker Template

Of course, all of this planning and scheduling is for nothing if you’re unable to track the work as your marketing team is executing it. That’s why you need the free project task tracker template for Excel to know if your actual progress is keeping up with your planned progress.

Having a project task tracker template means you have the tools to see if you’re keeping to your schedule. If you’re not, then you have the opportunity to get back on track before it’s too late. Best of all, you can follow the task throughout the marketing project life cycle, from planning through execution.

Our free project task tracker lets you list all your tasks and describe them. You can add any dependent tasks that need to be done before, after or during. Plus, you can add the marketing team members assigned to that task. Then add priority, start and end dates, the actual end date and whether the status is opened or closed to keep track of your tasks.

14. Event Proposal Template

Marketing comes in all shapes and sizes. There’s direct mail, billboards, digital ads, websites and much more. But one of the most effective ways to connect with the target audience is in an event. Whether that’s a tradeshow, webinar or launch party, this free event proposal template for Word is the perfect document to get things moving.

This marketing template is a detailed document that takes the coming event and defines its goals and objectives to better serve the client. It is a thorough tool that is designed to win the bid, which is the first step of any event planning process.

All the pertinent information is collected on this customizable marketing template, from its purpose, target audience and event stakeholders to the even schedule. That comprehensiveness will show the client that the firm understands the event and mapped out all the steps to ensure its success.

15. Cost-Benefit Analysis Template

Not all marketing ideas are good ones. To know which to follow through on and which to skip you need to figure out if the benefit is greater than the cost of implementing the campaign. To do that, use our free cost-benefit analysis template for Excel.

Cost-benefit analysis works by comparing what you expect to pay against the benefits or opportunities you’ll get from the marketing project. It’s a way to determine if the investment is worth the return in terms of costs.

Using our free cost-benefit analysis template allows marketing executives to look at data when figuring out if the marketing push is worth the price they’ll be paying. Having this knowledge is a powerful tool for keeping your company financially viable.

Go Beyond Templates With ProjectManager

Download the above free marketing templates and you’ll be able to better manage your campaigns. However, templates can only take you so far. They are, after all, static documents. If you need to change anything, it’s time-consuming, and time shouldn’t be wasted in business. ProjectManager is online software that does what the free templates do and more, plus it does it in real time so you have more insight.

Use the Tools You Want to Collaborate

One thing templates can do is help you collaborate. You can’t have multiple marketing teams working on the same document or allow different versions to float around. Our software has multiple project views, all of which are updated in real time so you’re always working on the most current version. Managers can play on robust Gantt charts with timelines that can link dependencies, add milestones and set a baseline to track planned vs. actual effort in real time. Design teams can use kanban boards for a visual workflow and other teams can use task lists or calendars.

See How You’re Doing in Real Time

The task track template requires that you add to the document. Our real-time dashboard tracks the marketing project automatically. There’s no setup required as in competitors’ lightweight products. Our live dashboard collects data and displays it in colorful graphs giving you a high-level view of your costs, workload and more. We even have customizable reports for more detail, and they’re easy to share to update stakeholders.

Marketing teams, be they in copy, design or another department, need to collaborate across tools. Our collaborative platform allows them to comment at the task level, share files and tag anyone on the project team. Real-time communication is facilitated by email notifications and alerts in the tool so you don’t have to leave your work to stay in touch with team members in different departments or locations.

ProjectManager is award-winning software that empowers teams to work better together and gives managers the tools they need to plan, manage and track work in real time. Use task, resource and risk management features to further drive successful projects. Join teams at businesses as varied as Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

The post 15 Marketing Templates for Planning, Strategy & More (Free Excel Downloads) appeared first on ProjectManager.

What Is a Workflow?

A workflow is a repeatable sequence of activities that are undertaken by an organization with regularity to achieve its business goals. In essence, all workflows use inputs such as people, systems, machines and other project resources to create outputs such as finished goods or the completion of a business process. Usually, organizations must execute multiple workflows simultaneously to produce goods or services, so managing them is very important to prevent bottlenecks regardless of your industry.

Key Components of a Workflow

Three main workflow components help understand how workflows work: inputs, transformation and outputs.

• Input: The project resources needed to complete tasks. These inputs can be information, materials and labor among other things.
• Transformation: The term transformation refers to the tasks or steps that are taken to turn inputs into outputs.
• Output: Outputs are simply deliverables that are obtained by transforming inputs through tasks. Outputs can be as small as completing a single activity within a workflow or as big as delivering a final product.

If you want to manage work effectively and efficiently, you need to understand workflow tools, such as workflow management software, and set up a workflow system that lets you continue improving the workflow process. ProjectManager is online work management software that helps manage workflow. Build automated workflows, create task approval processes and ensure everyone is productive while maintaining quality processes. Get started with ProjectManager for free today!

What Is Workflow Management?

Workflow management is the process of creating, monitoring and improving workflows and task sequences that are executed by organizations with regularity to achieve their business goals or strategic objectives. Workflow management is similar to project management and business process improvement. However, while they share certain characteristics their scopes vary drastically.

Workflow Management vs. Project Management

Workflow management is part of project management, but they’re not interchangeable terms. The ultimate goal of workflow management is to streamline task sequences. Project management, on the other hand, has a larger scope that consists of managing the project life cycle, which involves areas such as project planning, scheduling, tracking and closing.

That doesn’t mean that the two are completely different—in fact, the two are complementary to one another. Both serve to deliver a specific outcome. Workflow is part of any project, and without workflow management to keep that process running smoothly, projects will fall behind schedule and costs will exceed the project budget.

Workflow Management vs. Business Process Management (BPM)

Though workflow management and business process management (BPM) are similar, there are differences in the type of process management. Workflow management mainly focuses on the execution of your task sequences and repetitive workflows while BPM has a wider scope and attempts to streamline business processes at large to improve the productivity of a company.

BPM is about capturing and improving business processes. It’s used to improve the efficiency of an organization. First, you need to identify the current state of the business processes and document these actions. Once the company’s full processes are mapped out, you can analyze the BPM. This should expose bottlenecks in your process and help you reduce costs and improve processes by making insightful changes.

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Flowchart Template

Use this free Flowchart Template for Word to manage your projects better.

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Workflow Management Process

The workflow management process involves the coordination of tasks and resources to maximize operational efficiency. It includes designing, executing and refining the process to improve collaboration, reduce errors and streamline business processes. That process follows these six steps.

1. Map the Steps in a Business Process

List all the tasks, systems, stakeholders, rules and dependencies in the business process.

2. Make a Workflow Diagram

Turn the list above into a visual representation of all the steps needed to complete the process from start to finish.

3. Estimate the Needed Resources and Make a Budget

To make an accurate estimate of resources to inform the budget, consider the project scope and historical data, seek experts for their judgment and use a work breakdown structure (WBS) to ensure all deliverables are accounted for. Other techniques can be used, such as bottom-up estimating, multiple scenarios and the critical path method (CPM).

4. Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable metrics that measure how well the process is achieving its goals and objectives over time. Choose KPIs, such as process efficiency, process control, revenue growth, etc.

5. Make a Process Improvement Plan

This is a strategic document that outlines the steps needed to make changes to a workflow. It can include background information, data and performance metrics about the current workflow and why changes are needed. Those goals should be clearly defined.

6. Standardize Workflows by Making Standard Operating Procedure Documents

Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are used to create standardized workflows by providing clear instructions on how to complete tasks. This will improve efficiency, consistency and compliance with operational practices.

Workflow Diagram Template

A workflow diagram or flowchart illustrates the solution to a problem in a visual format. It maps the steps of a process and provides clarity to complex workflows that can be easily understood by everyone on the team.

Download this free flowchart template for Word and share it with the team to communicate their part in the process and how it all fits together with other’s work. Use this free template to boost efficiency and identify inefficiencies.

Workflow Management Examples

To better understand workflow management, let’s look at how it’s used in a couple of different industries by reviewing the examples below.

Construction Workflow Example

This pre-construction workflow shows the process a construction project owner takes to plan a construction project and then hire a general contractor to execute its construction phase.

This workflow starts from the creation of the construction plan and other construction documentation to receiving bids from contractors and the start of the construction phase. This business process allows this firm to take on multiple projects without having to invest in labor, machinery or equipment.

Production Workflow Management

This simple production workflow diagram shows the industrial processes that a manufacturer executes to produce its products: cutting, painting, and assembling components.

After each of these steps, there is a corresponding inspection procedure represented by the diamond icon. If the work in progress doesn’t pass the inspection, it must be redone, as indicated by the arrows in the workflow diagram below.

Supply Chain Management Workflow Example

This workflow example shows the process that a manufacturer follows to ensure there are sufficient materials and production capacity to accept new purchase orders from customers.

This process starts when a purchase order is received. The manufacturer then measures its available production capacity and production inventory to determine the quantity of materials that will be needed. It then goes through the various steps to prepare the materials for production.

Types of Workflow Management

There are two main types of workflow management. Their main difference is how they allow tasks to be completed, either sequentially or simultaneously.

• Sequential workflow management: In this type of workflow management, every task must be completed before the next one can begin, which results in a sequence of dependent tasks.
• Parallel workflow management: As the name suggests, parallel workflow management allows teams to execute multiple tasks or even workflows simultaneously or in parallel.

More Free Workflow Management Templates

There are more than 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word that cover all phases of a project across multiple industries. The following are a few that can help with workflow management.

Critical Path Template

Knowing the critical path can help workflow management. This free critical path template for Excel allows users to estimate task duration to make a more accurate project schedule or workflow.

PERT Chart Template

PERT, or program evaluation review technique, is another scheduling tool. It can visually represent the project timeline. This free PERT chart template for Excel breaks down tasks allowing the project manager to analyze them.

Kanban Board Template

A kanban board is a visual workflow, with columns that represent the steps and cards that represent the tasks, which are moved from one column to the next as they move through the process. Use this free kanban board template for Word to visualize your team’s workflow and collaborate on work.

What Is a Workflow Management System (WMS)?

A work management system is how a workflow is set up and monitored in a project or organization. A WMS is made up of procedures and tools that are used by an organization to identify, run and improve workflow. It involves some manner of workflow software but can be more than just using a tool.

WMS organizes company policy, procedures and software tools to better manage the workflow process of the organization or project. It includes everything from form modeling, role-based accessibility, reporting, notification, cloud-based storage and more. A critical component of any WMS is workflow management software or workflow software.

What Is Workflow Management Software?

Workflow software is part of a workflow management system. It’s a tool that shows tasks you need to complete, tasks that are being executed, their status and the steps that you’ve completed. A WMS lets you give assignments to team members that have detailed descriptions of the work.

It provides transparency into the workflow process, which lets managers catch issues before they become problems. They can then reallocate resources to the project and make sure that they resolve the potential bottleneck before it slows the team down.

There are also reporting features that collect data and calculate that information to show project metrics, whether in reporting tools or dashboards. All of these features are designed to improve productivity and efficiency by streamlining processes, reducing paperwork and identifying bottlenecks.

Key Workflow Management Tools

WMS generally has features that show task status, reporting tools and email notifications to keep everyone on the same page. Some also have resource management tools to reallocate resources and keep teams working at capacity without over-allocating their workload.

Gantt Chart

This project management tool is a graphical representation of a project’s schedule, with a spreadsheet to the left and a timeline to the right. Gantt charts show start and end dates for each task, their duration is represented by a taskbar. It can also link dependencies, add milestones and more.

Kanban Board

Kanban boards are visual tools that organize tasks, workflows and communication. The board is made up of columns that represent different stages of the workflow, while cards are tasks that move from one column to the next. At their simplest, the columns are to be done, doing and done, though they can be customized in greater detail.

Workload Charts

This is another visual tool used to represent the work planned for a specific period, whether a day, month or quarter. Workload charts show how work is allocated and can be used to identify issues.

What Is the Importance of Workflow Management?

Workflow management helps organizations of any industry improve their business processes, which has a series of benefits such as reducing their operational costs, increasing productivity, and helping them do better resource allocation throughout departments, programs and project portfolios. To effectively apply workflow management, most organizations use a workflow management system.

Benefits of Workflow Management

The benefits of using workflow management software should be obvious. The better your workflow, the better your project or organization. One of the ways WMS does this is by reducing the number of errors. Even if a few get by, the software can tell you and you can set up procedures to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Workflow management is like connective tissue keeping people, software and work culture productive. Teams can communicate with one another, which facilitates collaboration. It also integrates different software systems to help them work better together.

There are many pros to using workflow management software. From helping you work on multiple tasks at the same time to increasing control and transparency, workflow management systems improve the work culture in an organization.

Workflow Management Best Practices

Finally, once you’ve selected the workflow management software that fits your project or organization’s needs, here are five tips to get the most out of your workflow.

1. First, have a workflow plan to document information about your workflow, such as the needed resources are needed and the different roles and responsibilities of the team, among other things. A workflow diagram is ideal to get started with the workflow planning.
2. Think about things that could go wrong in your workflow system and how you’ll respond to them. Risk mitigation is always good practice because it’s inevitable that something will go wrong. Try to figure out where there might be delays or bottlenecks that will slow down production and how to resolve them quickly if they should appear.
3. If you’re using workflow for a project, it can be helpful to apply the same workflow management to the whole organization. There can be issues in your project that are outside of your purview and part of a poorly thought-out workflow in the organization of your company.
4. Make sure you’re using workflow management software and that it has tools that fit with your project or organizational structure.
5. Don’t rest on the workflow once you have one set up and running, even if all is going well. Take time to do an audit, review the process and come back with ways to improve it. Workflow isn’t a once-and-done process but an ongoing and constantly evolving system.

ProjectManager Helps with Workflow Management

ProjectManager is online workflow management software that organizes workflow, connects teams and lets you build efficiencies and boost productivity. Teams can collaborate wherever they are in real time and stay updated with workflow automation tools, such as email notifications and in-app alerts.

Work In Multiple Project Views

Having multiple project views means teams can work how they want, whether they’re remote or in different departments. Experts and newbies alike can visualize the workflow on ProjectManager’s kanban board view. Teams can take control of their backlog and manage those tasks. Then they can work together and plan sprints while managers can transparency into the workflow and can reallocate resources to clear bottlenecks before they slow down work.

Track Issues on Dashboards

Keeping an eye on the workflow is how you can catch issues and resolve them before they become problems. Using ProjectManager’s live dashboard is like having an instant status report. It captures project data in real time and automatically calculates information in easy-to-read graphs and charts showing workload, tasks and more. Unlike other software that requires a lengthy setup, ProjectManager’s dashboard is ready when you are.

Improve Processes Through Reporting

To find ways to improve your workflow, use ProjectManager’s one-click reporting tools. They generate detailed data on time, cost and more. You can filter each report to let you focus on only the information you want to analyze. You can also share reports to keep your stakeholders updated.

ProjectManager is the best workflow software with resource management tools to adjust workflows fast and easily. Our tool integrates with most apps and can help enterprise workflow management with portfolio management features. Get organized and try ProjectManager today for free!

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Too often processes are relied on as if they were somehow perfect and cannot be touched. That type of thinking is what will quickly send a project off track and possibly cause it to fail.

Complacency has no place in project management. Constantly analyzing your processes is the best way to reach a successful end. How you improve processes is through a technique called process improvement. Implementing what you learn through process improvement is done by creating a process improvement plan.

What Is a Process Improvement Plan?

Simply put, a process improvement plan is a document outlining how to improve your business processes after identifying and analyzing them. In a nutshell it’s how can you get better at what you do.

The process improvement plan is part of a larger, overall strategic plan of an organization. It guides businesses on how to analyze its various business processes and outlines where there’s room for measurable improvements.

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The point of a process improvement plan is to find weak links in the process chain or bottlenecks that are impeding work, and then figure out ways to rectify those inefficiencies. This leads to processes being completed faster, more efficiently and with a greater quality of deliverables.

A process improvement plan is an important business process management tool that will also help to reduce wasted efforts and keep teams working more productively. It helps to reduce any friction that exists in the processes, and ensures processes meet regulatory compliance standards when required.

ProjectManager has planning, scheduling and tracking tools that allow organizations to manage their projects and business processes. Use Gantt charts, timesheets, real-time dashboards among many other features to make project timelines, estimate costs, make budgets, allocate resources and much more. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Process Improvement Plan Example

Here’s a simple process improvement plan example to better understand what its contents are and how it works.

Imagine a manufacturer that intends to improve its production process to make it more efficient. This manufacturer makes wooden doors for construction projects, which means it generally works on production orders for multiple clients simultaneously so it needs to manufacture its products faster to be able to take on more projects.

Business Process Map

The process of manufacturing a door is shown in the business process map below. This process consists of four steps; cutting the wood, sanding, painting and finally assembling the doorknobs, hinges and other pieces. From there, the finished units are transferred to the warehouse and prepared for shipping. If work in progress doesn’t pass the inspection after one production process has been performed, it needs to go back and be redone, as shown by this workflow diagram arrows.

Bottlenecks & Issues

After mapping the steps of this business process, the manufacturer can now begin identifying the bottlenecks, issues and other areas of improvement. Here are some of their findings:

Bottlenecks

Inspecting work in progress after each of the production steps takes the most time out of any other activity in this process because there are not enough production quality inspectors. This issue halts production when working with large production volumes or when manufacturing production orders for multiple clients.

Issues

• The painting step has the highest error rate of these activities because it relies almost exclusively on manual labor.
• Cutting machines are becoming old, malfunctioning and breaking down more frequently. This not only halts the production process, but causes defective
• products which increases costs and affects the profitability of a manufacturing contract.
• The shop floor layout and production routing of this manufacturer isn’t efficient because it has pieces of machinery too far apart from each other, so employees need to physically transport raw materials throughout the production floor, which takes time and effort and lowers productivity.

Process Redesign

Here are the improvement strategies that have been developed for each of the bottlenecks and issues described above.

• Hiring an external consulting firm to audit the inspection processes, standardize them and make them faster.
• Hiring additional production quality inspectors.
• Purchasing machinery to significantly reduce or eliminate the use of human labor in the painting process.
• Then reassign these production workers to other activities, such as cutting and sanding. This will improve the production capacity of the organization.
• Purchasing new cutting machinery to reduce defect density, production downtime, scrap rate and increase productivity.
• Audit the shop floor plan and reorganize it to make it easier for work-in-progress materials to flow around the production line faster and require less effort from production workers.

Process Improvement Team

These individuals will be responsible for making the process improvement plan and implementing the changes to the business process.

• Production management consultant: The manufacturer will hire an external production management consultant who will be asked to come up with a new inspection standard operating procedure for each of the steps in the production process. The main objective is to make inspection faster while maintaining the company’s high standards.
• Production workers: In this process improvement plan example, production workers are the best source of information regarding bottlenecks and issues in a workflow as they experience them on a regular basis. They will ultimately implement any changes and improvement strategies so it’s important to communicate to them what their new role is and what’s expected from them.
• Production quality inspector: This is a critical role in this process improvement plan example as they are the solution for speeding up the inspection process, which is currently the most significant bottleneck. Fixing this means the manufacturer will be able to make products much faster, take on more projects at a time, scale and grow its revenue.
• Production managers: The production manager is responsible for overseeing the production process as a whole and acting as a liaison between the other members of the process improvement team.

Implementation Plan

Now that the issues, solutions and the people who will execute the work have been defined, it’s time to define the action steps that will be taken to execute this process improvement plan.

1. Hiring a production management consultant to improve the inspection procedures
2. Training the production quality inspectors and production managers team on new inspection guidelines and standard operating procedures
3. Purchasing new cutting and painting machinery
4. Reassigning painting employees to new positions
5. Training employees on their new roles and the correct use of new production equipment

This implementation plan should also include a timeline, which can be created using a Gantt chart. Here’s what this timeline looks like in ProjectManager’s Gantt chart.

Budget

A process improvement plan should also define what resources will be required and what their costs are. Then all these costs are added to make a budget. This allows organizations to determine whether a process improvement plan is feasible from a financial perspective. ProjectManager’s Gantt chart also helps you keep track of the costs of all the tasks of the process improvement plan.

Process Improvement Plan Template

This process improvement plan template helps you gather the key information that your organization will need to improve its business processes.

Build a Process Improvement Plan in 7 Steps

To do the work of identifying the weak points in a process and do nothing about it is counterproductive. It might feel like the effort of creating and implementing a plan is not worth the investment.

But if you believe that there are flaws in your process and you don’t respond to improve them, you’re setting yourself up for a bigger problem down the line. Therefore, it’s always in your interest to respond to the problem and work towards resolving it. To do this requires a plan. The process improvement plan can be broken down into these seven steps.

1. Map

The first step is to get a full overview of the process that needs improvements. Take that process and break it down into a map. You can use a free work breakdown structure from ProjectManager to thoroughly map every step of the process. This will help you get an idea of where the weaknesses are in the process.

2. Analyze

Now that you have the process in question mapped out and every step delineated, you need to analyze the process to see where the issues might lie. Look closely at each of the steps and see where there was a problem, such as delays, over-allocation of resources, too much money spent, idle team members and so on.

Once you’ve found those problem spots, trace back the issue to its origin to address its cause and how to avoid it in the future. You can use tools, such as the root cause analysis method to help guide you.

3. Redesign

Once the cause of the problem has been uncovered, it’s time to redesign the process to improve it and avoid the issue when next using it. At this point, you’ll want to bring in the whole project team.

They are, after all, the ones who have the most intimate knowledge of the process and hands-on experience with it. They’ll make sure there are no stones left unturned and everything has been documented in the process. They’re an invaluable resource for process improvement and should be listened to.

Get their ideas on how to redesign the process and brainstorm with them for more solutions. Then analyze all the solutions offered and figure out which one is the best and most likely to improve the process. Now you’ll want to think about the schedule and whatever risks might be inherent in the redesign.

4. Assign

You’ve identified the problem and have a solution, now you need to get working on it. That means assigning your resources. The go-to people would be the team members who are impacted by this process and its change. However, you might need to reach out beyond that sphere to other people in the organization with the skill sets required.

Once you’ve assembled a team, give them detailed instructions on how to redesign the process and why it’s important. You can use the map you created earlier in the plan to help with this step.

5. Implementation

This is where the process improvement plan is put into action, which means creating a detailed task list and assignments. This part of the process is just as you would create any project plan, breaking down the deliverables into tasks and assigning each team member with those tasks. Project planning software can help.

You’ll want to create a schedule with a timeline and add tasks, their duration, and any dependencies.

6. Communication

The better your communication, the better the project. Therefore, take the time to communicate your plan to the team and make sure they fully understand their part. Listen, be open to feedback, and make sure the team understands that they’re going to be kept in the loop throughout the whole process. This creates buy-in and helps them embrace the new process.

7. Monitor

Once the team is executing the project, it’s important to track their progress. Monitoring is not micromanaging. It provides a window into the project and allows for any tweaks to keep it moving as scheduled.

Also, once the improvement has been implemented into the process, you have to monitor the team to make sure that they’re following it. As problems arise, the process starts again.

ProjectManager Manages Process Improvement Plans

A process improvement plan is no different than any other project plan. It requires planning, scheduling, assigning teams and tracking their progress. ProjectManager is online project management software that can do all of this and more.

Manage Tasks  & Build Timelines

Once you have a process that needs improving and have a plan and team ready to execute that plan, ProjectManager comes in with the controls you need to keep the plan running smoothly. First, you can upload your task list into the software and create a project.

Once the tasks are given a duration, they show up on a Gantt chart timeline. Now you can link the dependent tasks to prevent bottlenecks. If there are changes, ProjectManager makes it easy to edit the schedule. Just drag and drop the task start and end dates.

Team Members Can Manage Their Work & Collaborate

Team members can be assigned from the Gantt chart project view, but they also have the option of managing their tasks with a task list, calendar or kanban view. Each task can have detailed directions from the project manager and even documents and images attached as needed.

Team members can then collaborate at the task level, commenting, adding files and even bringing in other team members by tagging them. They’re then notified by email and can join the conversation. Because ProjectManager is cloud-based, remote teams can collaborate wherever they are, and at any time.

Track Progress as It Happens

Project managers can use the dashboard to monitor six project metrics at a high-level view, all in real time. For a more detailed view, ProjectManager has one-click reports that can be filtered to show exactly the information you want. Reports are great for tracking the project and reporting back to stakeholders, so they’re always in the loop.

ProjectManager gives you the tools you need to improve any process. From making a process improvement plan to executing that plan and monitoring its progress, ProjectManager has features like Gantt charts and kanban boards, all made to foster team collaboration and productivity. Use ProjectManager for your next process improvement plan by taking advantage of our free 30-day trial today.

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Let’s start by digging deeper into the definition of organizational project management and the various components that make it up. Then we’ll explore some types of organizational projects, who oversees them and the challenges organizations face executing those projects.

What Is Organizational Project Management?

Organizational project management (OPM) is used by organizations to better execute their strategies by aligning the project, program and portfolio management practices with the organization’s objectives. This approach lends itself to all project management methodologies, from a traditional waterfall approach, agile environment or hybrid.

When an organization uses organizational project management, it can help manage their projects, programs or portfolios in several ways. For example, it helps with selecting, defining and delivering projects. It can also improve estimating, deliver projects closer to the planned deadlines and achieve better performance and results.

Other benefits include reducing waste, improving overall productivity and making more informed decisions. Organizational project management also helps manage resources across multiple projects, whether those are internal or external resources. However, this can only be achieved with powerful project management software with features that help project portfolio management.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that has robust roadmaps that can group and organize all the projects in a program or portfolio and display them on one Gantt chart, which has resource management, time tracking and task management features. Users can filter by assignee, project manager or customer to make forecasts, view which projects are open and who’s assigned to tasks and highlight key metrics for stakeholders. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Components of Organizational Project Management

Organizational project management oversees three domains including projects, programs and portfolio management. While those are the main three, smaller parts make up these three components. Some of those components are organizational structure, project planning and investment management. However, they all fall under one of the three main components of organizational project management, which we explain below.

Project Management

Project management is the process of planning, organizing and managing resources to deliver a project on time, within budget and meeting quality expectations. All types of businesses use project management to achieve short- and long-term goals. This is done by a variety of skills and techniques, led by a project manager and includes defining project scope, identifying deliverables, managing risks and effective communication across teams.

Program Management

Program management is similar to project management, only it involves managing multiple projects that are related and aligned with the business objectives. The goal is to improve organizational performance. A program manager oversees this process. Program management is found in many industries, such as business, government and non-profit. It involves strategic planning, program governance, resource management, status reporting, direction setting and problem-solving.

Portfolio Management

Portfolio management is like program management only the multiple projects it oversees aren’t necessarily related. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), it “ensures that an organization can leverage its project selection and execution success. It refers to the centralized management of one or more project portfolios to achieve strategic objectives.” It’s used to bridge the gap between an organization’s strategy and its implementation.

Types of Organizational Projects

In broad terms, there are three types of organizational projects in organizational project management. They are capital, operational and strategic projects. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Capital Projects

Capital projects, also known as capital improvement projects, tend to be large-scale, long-term investments that involve significant planning and resources to improve or add to an existing asset. These are usually permanent structural changes that can increase the value of an asset, extend its life or enhance its capabilities. These organizational projects are found in both the public and private sectors. Examples of capital projects include manufacturing plans and office buildings in the private sector and roads, railways, power plants and libraries in the public sector.

Operational Projects

Operational projects are used to identify processes that can be improved and then execute a project to exploit that opportunity. Examples include implementing new technologies or developing a new procedure that boosts efficiency and productivity. Examples of operational projects are implementing a new inventory management system, improving supply chain logistics, updating an organization’s IT infrastructure or streamlining its customer service processes.

Strategic Projects

Strategic projects, also called key initiatives or priorities, are major initiatives that help an organization achieve its long-term goals and objectives. These projects differ from organizational projects, which focus on the day-to-day functioning of a company. Once a SWOT analysis at a strategic planning meeting takes place, businesses can choose strategic projects. A business plan, budget and responsibilities by the leadership team define them. Examples of strategic projects include a new product launch, entering new markets, creating a new retail, branch or division, etc.

Who Oversees Organizational Project Management?

Many professionals are tasked with overseeing organizational project management. Here are a few key groups and people responsible for operational project management.

Project Management Office (PMO)

A project management office (PMO) is a group within an organization or outsourced by the organization to help projects by providing support and making sure the projects comply with best practices and standards. The goal is to maximize the value of the projects and ensure that they remain aligned with the organization’s strategic goals. There is a PMO manager who is the operational leader responsible for managing and implementing processes and methodologies as well as overseeing project managers to make sure projects are delivered on time, within budget and meeting quality expectations.

Project Portfolio Managers

A project portfolio manager is responsible for managing a portfolio of projects to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives. This role evaluates projects and programs strategically, choosing which to prioritize and allocating resources effectively. They help select projects and deal with budgets, risk and reporting.

Project Managers

A project manager is responsible for the planning, executing and closing of a specific project. They aim to deliver that project on time and within budget, meeting quality standards. Project managers oversee the day-to-day activities of the project, driving the strategy, managing resources and resolving issues as they arise. They also report to stakeholders on the project’s progress.

How to Manage Organizational Projects

Managing one project is hard enough, but things get complicated fast when multiple projects require on-time delivery. Plus, all these projects must provide value for an organization and align with its strategic goals. However, there’s a process to manage multiple projects. Follow these steps to deliver operational projects successfully.

1. Establish a Project Management Office

The first step is to create a PMO if there isn’t one in the organization. This service can also be contracted out to a PMO as a service company. There are many reasons why a PMO can help manage organizational projects. It creates a centralized repository for project information, which helps stakeholders stay up to date. It also can standardize processes to help project teams use reliable methods to produce consistent results. This improves efficiency and breaks down silos.

2. Select and Prioritize Projects

Selecting and prioritizing projects helps an organization achieve its goals, use resources better and build trust with its stakeholders. It can also help to reach customers first, allocate resources more efficiently, improve work quality and manage stakeholder expectations.

3. Establish a Project Intake Process

A project process intake defines the steps that the organization follows to review and accept new projects. This helps to make sure that those projects that have been selected are properly planned and organized. This avoids confusion and delays.

4. Build the Project Management Maturity

By building project management maturity (PMM), an organization’s projects can better achieve their goals, manage risk and improve project outcomes. It’s a key part of strategic planning and offers a framework for evaluating and improving project management capabilities. It can also identify gaps in resources and quality to develop a strategy to improve them.

5. Ensure Projects Align With the Strategic Objectives of the Organization

This is done by defining objectives clearly, prioritizing projects, aligning those projects and allocating resources for those prioritized projects. It also helps by assigning roles and responsibilities so everyone knows what to do. Managers track progress and encourage cross-functional teams to communicate and report on progress.

6. Manage Resources Across Projects, Programs and Portfolios

Finally, resource management is essential to successful operational projects. It is used to plan, organize and measure the use of both human and nonhuman resources so that they’re allocated and scheduled appropriately.

How ProjectManager Helps With Organizational Project Management

Organizational project management requires the same tools to manage one or multiple projects. Many project management software programs don’t have the features needed to plan, manage and track projects, programs and portfolios in real time. But ProjectManager can. It’s award-winning project and portfolio management software that has tools that PMOs, portfolio, program and portfolio managers need to plan roadmaps, allocate resources and monitor progress while keeping stakeholders informed.

Balance Workload for Greater Productivity

Managing resources across multiple projects is complicated. However, with our color-coded workload chart, managers can see resource allocation at a glance. All teams working across projects are represented on the chart, with a color to indicate if they’re over- or underallocated. Managers can then balance the teams’ workload from the chart and keep everyone working at capacity without risking burnout.

Monitor Progress, Cost and More in Real Time

Stakeholders need to be managed and the best way to do that is by keeping them informed. Our software has a couple of ways to do that while giving managers an overview of their projects. Real-time portfolio dashboards automatically collect live data for a high-level overview of time, cost, workload and more. It’s like an instant status report. Then there are customizable reports that can be generated with a keystroke. Filter them for details a manager needs or a more general picture for stakeholders. It’s also simple to share portfolio reports with stakeholders to keep them up to date.

Related Organizational Project Management Content

Organization project management is a larger topic than what has been discussed above. For those interested in learning more, follow the links below.

• Organizational Resources Basics: Managing Company Resources
• What Is Organizational Planning in Project Management?
• Organizational Process Assets: Definitions, Examples & Templates
• Matrix Organizational Structure – A Quick Guide
• How Project ERP Can Benefit Your Project-Based Organization

ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office, out in the field or anywhere else in the world. 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 successfully manage their projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

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How can you wrangle in all that work, organize it and make sure that you’ve completed everything required to complete the project? In construction project management it’s common practice to use a construction punch list—but they can be used in any industry!

What Is a Punch List in Construction?

A construction punch list is simply a list of tasks that must be completed before project closeout. It doesn’t include the major work of the project, but rather the smaller or minor tasks, the stragglers that still need to be finished.

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They are used by project managers, general contractors, engineers and architects to track work that must be completed to comply with the terms of the contract. The general contractor on the project usually creates a punch list during a process known as the punch walk.

Why Is It Called a Punch List?

If you’re curious as to the origins of the term “punch list,” it comes from when people used to punch a hole next to the item on their to-do list once it was done. Like then, today the punch list means that the project is substantially complete.

At that point, the general contractor and the project owner will do a site walkthrough and use a punch list to note any deficiencies that require work before the contract can be closed out. Once these last items are taken care of, the final payment for the job can be delivered. In the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, punch lists are called snag lists.

When to Use a Punch List: The Punch Walk

A punch walk is a process in which the owner of a construction project, general contractor, architect, engineers and other key project stakeholders walk through the construction site during the project’s post-construction phase. This is a final inspection of the completion of the scope of work before the project can be closed.

The team will closely inspect the building after it’s been built and it’s only details away from completion and its handover process. The goal of a punch walk is to identify defects, omissions or discrepancies between the actual structure and the scope of the project, specifications and other details stated in the construction contract. Most construction firms use punch list software to help with this process.

What Is Punch List Software?

Punch list software is a broad term that refers to various programs and apps equipped with task management tools for construction projects such as task lists, kanban boards, Gantt charts or project calendars.

While it sounds similar to project management software, punch list software is much simpler. Project management software goes beyond task management and offers resource management, cost tracking and budgeting features.

For example, ProjectManager is project management software that allows construction firms to make detailed punch lists, schedule tasks and allocate resources and monitor their utilization and costs as work is completed using a wide variety of tools including Gantt charts, timesheets, workload management charts and much more. Get started with ProjectManager for free today.

Other Types of Construction Punch Lists

While most punch lists are created during the post-construction phase of a project, there are other types of punch lists utilized during the construction phase.

Rolling Punch List

A rolling punch list refers to using a construction punch list throughout the project execution. It’s a constant check of the work and each task has a hard deadline. This helps to save time later in the project because you’re getting the work done right the first time.

Zero Punch List

If you keep track of all your project tasks from the beginning, you might have a zero-punch list project. This term is used when you can complete projects without having pending punch list items at the end.

Punch List Example

The image below shows a punch list for a commercial construction project, a parking lot building. A punch walk has been completed and the project owner and contractor have identified work items that need to be completed before the project can be closed. There’s a description of those tasks, their estimated cost of labor and materials, priority level, due dates and status.

Then, once these punch list items are completed, there still are other post-construction activities such as finishing operations and maintenance manuals, regulatory and safety walkthroughs, post-construction training and more. However, those activities outside the scope of work shouldn’t be included in the punch list.

How to Make a Punch List

The punch walk is only the final step in the punch list process. There are many preparation activities that the project owner and contractor should do before they meet. These help set realistic expectations for either one of these parties.

1. Evaluate the Scope of Work

The most fundamental step when making a punch list is to review the project’s scope of work. In this document, the project owner and general contractor agree on the work that will be performed and identify milestones, deliverables and timelines for the project. The project owner should ensure that these are delivered as promised by the contractor in the scope of work, which is described in the construction contract between them.

2. Analyze the Bill of Quantities and Material Takeoff

During the punch walk, project owners must verify that the contractor not only completed construction work but also used the materials specified in documentation such as bill of quantities and material takeoff. Some general contractors or subcontractors might use lower-quality materials or in less quantity than agreed upon by the owner.

3. Review Construction WIP Reports

A construction work-in-progress report, or WIP report allows contractors and owners to measure the project’s progress by comparing the contract value against estimated costs, actual costs incurred to date, amount billed, profit margin, retainage and more. Reviewing WIP reports throughout the project execution helps determine with more certainty what’s been done and what’s been paid for.

4. Involve Key Stakeholders and Subject Matter Experts During the Punch Walk

Project owners and contractors should involve all key team members such as architects, engineers and project managers. Their insight and technical expertise is needed when establishing what’s left to be done and what’s not included in the project scope.

5. Clearly Describe Punch List Items

The items included in a construction punch list are dependent on the project, the owner, client, contractors, architects, subcontractors, etc. There is no one standard. There is, however, some commonality between all of them.

Every punch list item should include the location of the work, the name of the task and a deadline by which it must be completed. In construction projects, some common punch list items that will make it onto the snag list can include appliances not working, cabinets, doors and drawers not opening properly, damaged floors, and so on.

Construction punch lists are helpful documentation for your project. They prevent having to rework items over and over again. It’s through documentation and communications that the items are tackled effectively.

6. Define Reporting Guidelines for the Completion of Punch List Items

One thing that helps you work more efficiently when managing the punch list is having only one person responsible for its upkeep. They will be the person who has authority over the punch list management. That person needs to report to someone higher up in the management of the project, even the project manager.

Keeping everyone talking will facilitate the work and likely lead to fewer problems that will have to be addressed on a punch list. Remember, the goal is to achieve a zero punch list project, without any pending items at project closeout!

Let’s go over a real-life example to better understand how construction punch lists work.

Punch List Template

The basics of a punch list format are who, what and where. But that’s only the foundation, and most will have space for much more construction management information. The following image is the free punch list template that we offer on the site.

Sample Punch List Checklist

If you’re using our punch list template for Excel or looking to make your own, here’s a checklist of the components that make up a thorough punch list.

• Project Information: Every construction punch list needs to identify the project, including the project number, the address if applicable, the project manager and the architect.
• Punch Number: Every punch list item should have a number to distinguish it and make it easier to find and talk about.
• Description: Here’s where you’ll explain what the task is and how to execute it.
• Location: Where is the task located? This is especially important when referring to a construction site.
• Type: It helps to define the type of work, for example, what department it might apply to, such as maintenance, carpentry, etc.
• Owner: The owner is the person on the team who is responsible for executing the punch list item and following it through to close.
• Priority: Not all tasks are the same, some are of a high priority, others are not. This is where you can make that clear so people know what to do first.
• Date Observed: The site walkthrough is usually where the task is first observed, but it can be noticed by a crew member. That date needs to be captured.
• Date Expected to Be Complete: This notes the estimated duration of the punch list item.
• Date Approved: Just because a task is identified doesn’t mean it will be executed. Only after someone in authority says it must be done will work commence on it. That date is recorded here.
• Date Completed: The date the actual work is finished.
• Status: Notes if the work is in progress or complete, open or closed, etc.
• Notes: Anything that falls outside the perimeters of the above categories.

A punch list template will help you manage your construction projects, but it’s not the only way to create one. Most construction projects today use punch list software or punch list apps. ProjectManager is robust construction project management software that offers robust planning and tracking features to help you manage your punch lists.

Why Use a Punch List?

A punch list is a construction management tool used to ensure that the terms of the contract have been met, and they are typically created during a punch list walkthrough of the almost complete job site. This walkthrough allows all parties to observe and note anything that is missing or needs attention. These punch list items are collected on the list, which then is used to save time and meet the requirements of the project effectively.

A punch list is a communication tool used between the general contractor and owner to make clear what outstanding work or issues remain in the construction project. This way, both the contractor and the project owner can sign off on the work. This avoids confusion or misinformation that can prolong the project and wreak havoc on its schedule and budget.

Punch Lists Help You Delegate

The punch list format is used to not only identify and detail the work but also designate the responsible party and the timeline that it is expected to be completed. They give teams a construction management tool to record and track their task, as well as a means to collaborate to complete them more efficiently. This simple list keeps everyone on the same page and helps to meet deadlines and expectations.

A Perfect Tool to Finish Strong

Therefore, the uses of a punch list are many. They help create a clear communication channel between the general contractor or specialty contractors and the project owner. It identifies and helps to manage issues or small work that requires attention. It assigns someone to make sure the work is done. Finally, it tracks the progress on that work.

Making and executing punch lists is easy with the help of project management software. With ProjectManager for instance, teams can update punch lists anywhere with an internet connection. Plus, all project information updates in real time, so everyone else on the project can see progress. You can even assign them tasks if you need additional help.

ProjectManager Goes Beyond Punch List Software Features

The traditional way to use a punch list is to have a list and punch out those tasks once completed. But punch list software has created efficiencies that make managing a punch list easier and more productive. ProjectManager is award-winning software that helps you organize your construction management work better than any punch list app.

Multiple Views for Completing Your Construction Punch List

Instead of a punch list, use our kanban board, which is one of our features that visualizes workflow. It’s made up of columns and cards. The columns are the stages of work and the cards represent the items on your snag list. Like on a regular punch list, you can add a detailed description and set the priority, but you can also create customized tags to link it to a department or location. Of course, we have both a traditional list view and a Gantt chart view if you prefer.

Construction Management Data That Updates Instantly

Stakeholders can be updated with one-click filterable reports or show them the high-level view on a real-time dashboard. Data is automatically collected and calculated, then displayed in easy-to-read graphs and charts that show metrics such as time, costs and more.

ProjectManager is an online tool that helps you plan, monitor and report on your construction projects. Our multiple project views let you work how you want. Use Gantt charts to see your tasks on a timeline, kanban boards to visualize workflow, dynamic task lists and even a calendar view for important dates. Try ProjectManager free today with this 30-day trial.

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To better understand a client brief, first, let’s define the term and identify who is responsible for creating one. Then we’ll go into the steps necessary to write a client brief, outline an example of one and provide a free client brief template for Word to get started.

What Is a Client Brief?

A client brief is a project document that outlines the strategy and deliverables for a creative project such as a marketing or advertising campaign. It contains the client requirements for the project and guides the creative team in achieving the campaign’s goals.

The goal of the client brief is to provide an action plan for the campaign and articulate its vision. It should justify the benefits of that vision and plan how it will target the audience. The client brief also manages expectations and establishes key messaging. In short, it contains all the information the agency executing the campaign needs to know about its customer’s needs.

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Client Brief Template

Use this free Client Brief Template for Word to manage your projects better.

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An organization may use a client brief if they don’t have a marketing department and hires a marketing agency to launch its new product. The client will include all the information the agency needs to understand the client’s needs, including the available budget, estimated timeline and other details in the client brief. This allows both parties to be on the same page. Then, the agency can decide on the work.

If the agency decides to proceed with the client, the client brief must be turned into an actionable project plan. This is where project management software comes in. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with multiple project planning tools to better plan, manage and track work related to the client brief. Managers can plan on robust Gantt charts that link task dependencies, filter for the critical path and set a baseline to track planned effort against actual effort in real time. The plan is then shared across multiple project views. Teams can manage their work on kanban boards or task lists, while the client can get an overview on the calendar view. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

Who Is Responsible for Writing a Client Brief?

The client brief is a tool to communicate the client’s specific requirements for the service provider or agency so the client usually creates it. However, it’s not uncommon for a client to work with a potential agency to collaborate on writing the client brief.

If the client and agency work together to write the client brief, it will most likely fall on the project lead to collaborate with their possible client. But, as noted, this is a collaborative effort and often considers the entire project team rather than a solo endeavor. The team is more likely to be thorough in gathering pertinent information.

However, marketing teams will sometimes write the client brief. This is especially true when an agency is seeking work and wants to impress a client with their knowledge of the work to be done. They’ll still have to interview the client and get their input to fully understand their needs.

How to Write a Client Brief

Writing a client brief provides clarity and eliminates uncertainty in the working relationship between a client and the agency. It also saves time and resources by avoiding misunderstandings through creating clear guidelines. This goes a long way to improving client satisfaction. Let’s go through the steps to create a powerful client brief.

1. Describe the Overall Purpose of the Project

First, understand what the client wants by defining the project’s purpose. This project summary should include everything the client wants and how it will be accomplished. Identify potential challenges and how they’ll be resolved, including team members and their responsibilities. Also, include the following.

• Target Audience: Define the audience the client wants to reach, including demographics, income ranges, ages, education levels, cultural groups, genders, etc
• Brand Guidelines: Understand the rules and standards that help maintain brand consistency across channels
• Company Background: Add important information about the client, such as core values, mission and vision, brief history, what makes them unique, goals and objectives, etc.

2. Define Project Goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Before goals are achieved, they must be defined. Make sure these are SMART goals, which stand for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. To track those goals throughout the project and show the client that they’re getting what they paid for, make sure to monitor the key performance indicators (KPIs), which can be anything from return on investment (ROI), budget variance, cost performance index, resource capacity and more.

3. Outline the Project’s Scope of Work

At this point, the client brief will outline the project. This document is called a scope of work. It defines the relationship between the client and the agency and includes tasks, timelines and the following.

• Deliverables: List the major deliverables created throughout the project and lead to the final deliverable, which is the client’s campaign.
• Milestones: Key points in the project, which can include the end of one phase and the beginning of another, project kickoff, meetings, handoffs and more.
• Exclusions: Items, tasks or work that are not included in the project scope to avoid misunderstanding between the parties.

4. Estimate Costs and Make a Project Budget

Use various techniques to estimate the costs of the project, such as resources, which will become the foundation of the project budget. This shows the client the money needed to complete their project.

5. Make an Estimated Project Timeline

There’s enough information now to create a detailed timeline of the project. It will show the schedule for the project from inception to completion. Milestones and tasks will be plotted on the timeline to show the project’s breakdown over time.

6. Establish a Communication Plan

Finally, define the information that will be communicated and who will receive what information. It’s also important to define the preferred communication channels and the frequency of the communication.

Client Brief Template

Instead of making a client brief from scratch every time a client is looking for an agency to manage their campaign, download this free client brief template for Word. It outlines everything necessary to deliver a thorough understanding of a client’s needs to a potential agency.

The free client brief template is fully customizable allowing users to add or subtract what they like. Included is the information we’ve discussed above, from the target audience, brand guidelines and company background to goals and KPIs, budget and timeline.

Client Brief Example

To better understand how a client brief works, imagine a real-life scenario where Acme Manufacturing is launching a new product. They don’t have a marketing department and want help from a marketing agency, we’ll call XYZ. First, Acme will create a client brief to present to XYZ.

It opens with a statement of purpose to expand its market reach and successfully launch the new product. Milestones, deliverables and exclusions are all defined so the agency knows what’s expected. The target audience for the product is urban professionals, either male or female.

Acme wants the scope of work to develop and launch the advertising campaign over six months and across multiple platforms. KPIs include the first month of researching and planning, the second and third months of creating content for the ads and the fourth, fifth and sixth months of executing the campaign and getting back performance statistics.

A plan is developed, with tasks aligned to those KPIs, which follow the Acme brand guideline to ensure that advertising stays on message. The cost is budgeted at $500,000 and a communication plan outlines the various stakeholders and how they’ll be updated.

More Free Project Management Templates

There are more free templates that can help when launching a campaign. Our site has over 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word that cover many industries. Below are a few that can help when delivering a client brief to an agency.

Project Proposal Template

Before creating a client brief, the project might need approval from executives. This free project proposal template for Word helps explain the rationale behind the project. It includes everything from a cover letter to an acceptance letter with deliverables, cost and more.

Creative Brief Template

Similar to a client brief, this free creative brief template for Word outlines a project’s objectives to ensure that everyone understands the key aspects of the project. It does this by detailing the company background, target audience, key messages, customer benefits and more.

Project Estimate Template

To help with the budget part of a client brief, use this free project estimate template for Excel. It breaks the project into phases, tasks and costs, such as labor and materials. Once users fill out this free template, they’ll have an accurate idea of how much the project will cost.

ProjectManager Helps Track the Client Brief’s Execution

Templates are fine for things like a client brief or a project proposal as these project documents trigger a project. But from there, a template won’t cut it. They’re static documents that pull users away from the work to manually update templates. And forget about collaboration. Templates aren’t built for working together. When the project is approved, the professionals use project management software. ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software that has multiple project views for planning, executing and monitoring work. There are also features to track progress, time and costs to keep clients updated on progress.

Track Progress, Time and Costs With Real-Time Data

Planning is only the beginning. The client brief has a specific timeline and budget that the project must keep to be successful. To ensure that deadlines are met and there is no overspending, managers must monitor and control the project. Our software can do this in several ways. Progress can be monitored on Gantt charts where taskbars are shaded to represent the percentage done. Toggle over to the real-time dashboard to get an overview of KPIs displayed in easy-to-read graphs and charts that show metrics on time, cost, workload and more. Labor costs are visible with our secure timesheets that do more than streamline payroll, they show if team members’ work aligns with the schedule and budget.

Make Reports and Share Them With Stakeholders

Managers aren’t the only ones who have to stay updated with progress. Clients are stakeholders with a vested interest in the success of the project. Keeping them updated benefits both stakeholders and the project. Stakeholders can pull managers away from work if their expectations aren’t managed. This can be done through the communication plan. One way to keep stakeholders informed is with our customizable reports, which filter results for managers who want details, or stakeholders who want a more general overview. Create a status or portfolio report in a keystroke. Managers can also benefit from variance, workload and timesheet reports. All reports can then be shared in a variety of formats.

Another aspect of managing projects is keeping track of resources. The Gantt chart can plan for human and nonhuman resources. There’s also a team page and color-coded workload chart that shows an allocation breakdown for all team members. From there, managers can balance workloads to keep everyone working at capacity, which is good for morale and productivity.

ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office, out in the field or anywhere else. 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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What Is a Workflow Diagram?

A workflow diagram lets teams map all the activities of a business process or project in one flow chart to easily visualize workflows. Workflow diagrams are commonly used for project planning, business process mapping and workflow analysis, but they have other applications. A workflow diagram has many names and is also referred to as a workflow chart, process flowchart, business process diagram or process workflow diagram.

Creating a workflow diagram is the first step toward business process improvement. ProjectManager is online work management software that goes beyond workflow diagrams by letting you create automated workflows to eliminate busy work and accelerate productivity. Plus, teams can build project plans on Gantt charts, kanban boards, task lists and more. Get started today for free.

What Are Workflow Diagrams Used For?

While workflow charts can be used for several purposes, they’re primarily used for business process management (BPM) and project management.

How Do Workflow Diagrams Help in Business Process Management (BPM)?

A business process is a set of activities that allows an organization to achieve its strategic goals and objectives. Workflow diagrams are used to map the business processes that an organization needs to operate normally. With this workflow analysis information, they can create process improvement strategies to improve their overall operational efficiency.

How Do Workflow Diagrams Help With Project Management?

Workflow diagrams are used in project management for a variety of reasons. First, it helps teams better understand the task sequences in which they’re involved. This creates better communication between departments and provides teams with a firm grasp of what they must do. Also, when a new person is onboarded, a business process mapping tool like a workflow diagram speeds up the time it takes for the new hire to acclimate to the project.

Workflow diagrams also help unveil potential roadblocks and bottlenecks in the project schedule before execution. A workflow chart, therefore, identifies areas that can throw the overall project plan off track. This provides time to brainstorm process improvement strategies with the team before an issue negatively impacts the schedule and/or budget.

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Flowchart Template

Use this free Flowchart Template for Word to manage your projects better.

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Benefits of Workflow Diagrams

The workflow diagram can improve business processes in many ways, from providing a visual overview to helping team members understand a process. As a result, it prevents bottlenecks and improves collaboration to identify areas for improvement. But there’s much more that a workflow diagram can do.

Facilitates Resource Allocation and Scheduling

Visibility into the sequence of tasks and the roles and teams involved in executing those tasks helps project managers optimize resource allocation and schedule resources more efficiently.

Estimates Timelines Accurately

Workflow diagrams also visualize project timelines, which allows project managers to organize tasks and add milestones. This provides a more accurate estimate of how long the project will take to complete by mapping its start and end dates.

Introduces New Processes to Employees

We’ve already highlighted the communication element of workflow diagrams. This is especially useful when new business processes are taught to employees and project teams. The visual nature of a workflow diagram makes it easy to digest and better understand everyone’s role and responsibilities, which is why they’re often used in training.

Standardizes Business Operating Procedures

Using workflow diagrams allows business operating procedures to become standardized, which makes sure that everyone is following the same steps. This acts as a form of quality control and facilitates communication, as the workflow diagram serves as a common language for team members, managers and stakeholders alike.

What Should Be Included in a Workflow Chart?

For a workflow chart to be effective, it needs certain basic components. Whether called a flowchart or process diagram, it’s always a visual representation of a business process and uses shapes and symbols to show how the work is completed. There are also these elements.

• Input: Materials, services or dates that enter the process
• Transformation: Represents the changes that inputs undergo to produce an output
• Output: Materials, services or data that leave the process

Workflow Diagram Symbols

A workflow diagram uses symbols to plan steps in a business process. These steps show the activities needed to turn inputs into outputs. Here’s how these workflow diagram symbols work.

• Oval: Notes the start and end points of a workflow diagram
• Rectangle: Represent an activity within a business process
• Arrow: Shows the transition from one task to another to help understand how the workflow progresses
• Diamond: Depict decision-making steps that determine the next activity
• Circle: Used to connect different sections of a workflow diagram

Workflow Diagram Template

While the above illustrations are helpful examples, they aren’t interactive tools. Download our free flowchart template for Word to build a workflow diagram in the familiar Microsoft Word interface.

How to Create a Workflow Diagram

As noted above, a workflow diagram doesn’t magically appear. Teams must do the work, which involves analysis. Follow these steps to make a workflow diagram:

1. Identify all the activities in the business process: Outline the activities involved in your business process using a work breakdown structure. Be sure to determine the order in which these tasks will be sequenced.
2. Define start and end points: The workflow diagram needs a kick-off point to start the process and an end goal where that process is completed. It doesn’t illustrate a continuous process but, like any project, one with a beginning and an end. It’s the first step when drafting the workflow diagram.
3. Map the business process activities: From top to bottom, start mapping out the activities using rectangles. If there’s a point where an inspection needs to be made, use a diamond symbol, as shown in our workflow diagram example. Then, continue to map activities until you’ve reached the last one, which is followed by an oval symbol, depicting the end of the workflow diagram.

Workflow Diagram Examples

As stated above, workflow diagrams are versatile and can virtually map any task sequence or business process from diverse industries. The best way to understand how a workflow diagram works is to make one. This is why we’ve created two simple workflow diagram examples. Our first workflow diagram example shows the steps a manufacturing company takes to order raw materials from a known supplier. The second illustrates the main pre-construction steps a project owner would take to select a general contractor and begin the construction project.

Manufacturing Workflow Diagram

This workflow diagram shows a simple resource capacity planning process of a manufacturing business. The starting point for this workflow diagram is when you’ve received a large purchase order from a buyer. First, check the production capacity to confirm whether the facility can manufacture the units the client wants to buy from you.

Then, check the production inventory to assess if there are enough raw materials. The next step is to conduct careful demand planning to estimate what raw materials are needed not only for this project but also considering future business needs.

Once you’ve done demand planning along with business forecasting, market research and other techniques to estimate demand, order raw materials from the supplier. Once you receive the raw material, inspect it before accepting it. This is represented by a diamond symbol below in our workflow diagram example because it involves deciding whether you find the raw materials acceptable. If they are, you’re ready to add those raw materials to your production inventory, which marks the end of this simple workflow diagram.

PERT Chart

PERT stands for program evaluation and review technique. A PERT chart, also called a PERT diagram, is a tool used to schedule and map out tasks within a project. When done, it visually represents the project’s timeline and breaks down its tasks.

Critical Path Method (CPM) Diagram

The CPM diagram, also known as a network diagram, is another visual representation of the project’s task sequences. It’s a step-by-step breakdown of a project into tasks, estimations of each task’s duration and then calculates the overall duration. This identifies the longest sequence of tasks that must be completed on time to complete the project. That’s called the critical path.

Construction Workflow Diagram

Every construction project is unique and might be planned differently depending on the organization. This workflow diagram shows some simple pre-construction steps a small construction project management team uses to get everything lined up for their construction phase.

Let’s say you’re about to hire a general contractor to make a building. Start by defining the project scope, budget and timeline, which will go into the construction plan. Then, hire an architect to create a schematic design, which will help estimate construction costs. Once there’s a better idea of what the final design would look like, proceed to check the regulations for similar construction projects and get any permits that might be needed, early on in the process to help establish its feasibility.

Now use the schematic design and other information from the architectural design process to acquire materials and evaluate bids from general contractors, as represented with a diamond symbol in the workflow example below. Once there’s a general contractor, proceed with a site analysis and a preconstruction meeting and start the construction phase.

Types of Workflow Diagrams

Illustrate a workflow diagram in several ways:

• ANSI flowchart: The ANSI flowchart uses symbols from the American National Standards Institute, hence the acronym. It’s the most commonly used variation.
• UML Activity: UML, or unified modeling language, graphically shows the order of the steps in a process. It also represents the flow of control.
• Business Modeling Notation: The business process modeling notation (BPMN) is similar to the UML, but is more likely used by technical and business people who focus on business processes and information rather than output.
• Swimlane: Swimlane is a diagram that separates the different parts of an organization to highlight the interaction between these units. It gives users a high-level view that exposes potential inefficiencies.
• SIPOC: The supplier, input, process, output, customer, or SIPOC shows who created and received the data. It also outlines the high-level processes involved.

More Free Workflow Diagram Templates

The free workflow diagram template is one of over 100 free project management templates for Excel and Word that can help with every phase in a project’s life cycle. It’s not the only workflow diagram template, but one of many. The others are linked below.

PERT Chart Template

Use this free PERT chart template for Excel to break down all the tasks in a project so they can be analyzed to estimate the minimum time needed to complete the project. It can help organize even complex projects by visualizing the dependencies between each step.

Critical Path Template

Download this free critical path template for Excel to calculate the critical path of a project. It will help project managers identify the essential tasks that must be completed to deliver a successful project.

SIPOC Template

With this free SIPOC template for Excel, organizations can visually show all the elements of a process. This can help when onboarding a team to a new project by providing a high-level view of the process, including suppliers, inputs, outputs, customers and more.

Kanban Board Template

A kanban board is a visual representation of the workflow of a team. This free kanban board template for Excel allows the team to manage their tasks and better collaborate, while managers get transparency into their work to remove roadblocks that threaten their progress.

Service Blueprint Template

A service blueprint maps the customer journey and the processes a service provider uses to deliver that service to its customers. Use this free service blueprint template for Excel to improve service quality, customer satisfaction and communication between customers and providers.

Workflow Diagram Software

Drawing a network diagram by hand is good for getting your point across, but in terms of using one for a project, you need something clear and easy to read at a glance. In many cases, a diagramming tool is best. They’re easier to share and edit, too. The following are a few free ones to get you started.

• Canva: This is a free online design and visual communication platform. One of its uses is making workflows smoother.
• Lucidchart: This helps to visually solve complex problems by creating architectural diagrams and flowcharts that help create more clarity.
• Miro: This software helps with collaboration, especially with cross-functional teams, helping to organize meetings and workshops, use video chat, make presentations and more.
• Mindmanager: This visual brainstorming tool helps to gather, capture and structure information, which leads to better analysis, comprehension and recall of information.
• edraw by wondershare: This free diagram solution makes workflow charts but also mid-maps, and other visual tools. Great for collaboration.
• draw.io: This free diagram-maker works with Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, GitHub and more. It makes flowcharts, process diagrams, network diagrams and more.
• SmartDraw: This free drawing program has many templates, from flowcharts to floorplans. It integrates with Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, Atlassian’s Confluence and Jira.

ProjectManager Is Robust Workflow Management Software

Knowing your process and mapping a workflow diagram is only the start. Teams must implement that plan and execute it on time and within the agreed-upon budget. That takes visibility into the process and resource management tools to keep your team working at capacity. ProjectManager is online software that delivers real-time data to make more insightful decisions to control the workflow.

Create Workflows on Kanban Boards

Turning a workflow diagram into a tool that gives teams assignments and managers transparency into their work requires kanban boards. Kanban boards help visualize agile workflows, allowing teams to manage their backlog and work collaboratively to plan sprints. Managers can view the board and catch bottlenecks before they block the team and reallocate resources to keep them working. Even if the manager is working on one of the other multiple project views such as our interactive Gantt chart, all data is updated simultaneously on the kanban workflow.

Manage and Track Resources

Workflow diagrams show the path forward for teams but resource management tools keep them working productively. One thing to manage is how many tasks you’ve assigned to each team member. Our color-coded workload chart makes it fast and easy to see who is overallocated and who has too few assignments. Then you can reallocate resources right from the workload chart and balance your team’s tasks to keep them working at their best.

Report on Progress on the Fly

Stakeholders want to see the workflow chart but as the project proceeds, they’ll also want data on its progress. One-click reports on tasks, time, budget and more can be filtered to show only the information they want. These reports are easily shared as a PDF attachment or even printed out if that’s how they prefer to get their status updates.

Related Workflow Management Content

• What Is Workflow Management? 5 Tips for a Better Workflow System
• How to Define a Workflow Process
• Project Workflow Software
• What Is Workflow Automation? A Quick Guide
• How to Make a Project Network Diagram (Free Tools & Examples Included)
• Gantt Chart vs. PERT Chart vs. Network Diagram: What Are the Differences?

Don’t rest the project success project on workflow diagrams alone. You have the map now you need to get there with project management tools that help teams collaborate, automate workflows and help monitor, track and report on performance. ProjectManager is award-winning software that organizes work to help you achieve your goals. Our work management tool is designed to aid teams no matter where they are, how they like to work or their skill level. Turn workflow diagrams into an interactive project management tool. Try ProjectManager today for free.

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