The Ultimate Guide to Project Tracking in 2023
Project tracking is one of the most essential elements of successful project management. With robust project tracking, project managers can ensure projects stay on time, within budget, and deliver the expected results. This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about project tracking in 2023 - from choosing the right tools to best practices for monitoring project progress. Read on to learn how to track your projects like a pro this year!
Why Project Tracking Matters
Project tracking is the process of monitoring a project's progress to identify potential problems before they derail the project. When done consistently, project tracking provides critical insights that enable project managers to keep projects on track.
Without tracking, it's nearly impossible to determine a project's overall health and likelihood of success. Poor tracking can lead to missed deadlines, cost overruns, and projects that fail to meet stakeholders' expectations. On the other hand, diligent tracking helps ensure the project is progressing smoothly and allows project managers to make data-driven decisions about resources, budgets, timelines and more.
In essence, consistent tracking is essential for successful project delivery in today's fast-paced work environment. It gives project managers the visibility they need to steer projects in the right direction.
Choosing a Project Tracking Method
Many project managers rely on manual methods like spreadsheets or whiteboards for tracking. But in 2023, using dedicated project management software is by far the most efficient way to monitor project progress.
Project management tools provide specialized features for tracking including:
Task lists to break projects into manageable chunks
Interactive dashboards that consolidate project data in one place
Timelines and Gantt charts to visualize schedules
Workload views to track team member availability
Customizable reports and notifications
This level of functionality simply isn't possible in spreadsheets. The right software becomes a project manager's best friend, automating much of the tedious tracking work.
When evaluating tools, look for solutions that match your team's size and needs. Scalable options like monday.com, Asana, Trello, and Teamwork grow along with your projects. Leading tools also integrate with widely used apps like Slack, Dropbox, and Salesforce so your team can work in systems they already know.
Best Practices for Tracking Project Progress
With the right tracking tools in place, you can begin monitoring project work. Follow these tips and techniques for effective tracking:
Set measurable goals
Break large projects down into smaller pieces that have clear, measurable outcomes. Setting quantifiable goals like "Build 10 client portals by August 1st" makes progress easier to track.
Use project plans
Well-defined project plans serve as a blueprint for execution and help align all stakeholders. They also provide an essential benchmark for tracking progress.
Track time daily
Require team members to log their time spent on project tasks on a daily basis. This gives you insight into how work is progressing and helps identify potential bottlenecks early.
Automate reporting
Leverage your PM software to automatically generate reports that highlight project health. Use them to keep stakeholders informed and spot trends.
Hold regular status reviews
Conduct regular standups or meetings for teams to share progress and risks. This helps keep everyone on the same page and surfaces issues quickly.
Update project plans frequently
As work progresses, continually update plans to reflect new timelines, budgets, resources needed, and risks encountered. Revised plans help you track correctly.
Stay on top of issues
Document any problems that arise including their impact on the project. Maintain an issue log and monitor frequently to prevent small issues from becoming major setbacks.
Communicate often
Keep communication open between team members, stakeholders, and clients. Frequent updates on progress help align expectations and prevent surprises.
When you instill these tracking best practices across your projects, you gain the visibility needed to keep work on track and deliver within constraints. Tracking takes commitment but pays off exponentially in successful project results.
Tracking Project Scope and Preventing Creep
A key part of tracking is monitoring the project scope. Scope refers to the defined features, requirements, and work to be delivered on a project.
Scope creep occurs when uncontrolled changes are made to the scope without adjusting other parts of the project plan, like the timeline or budget. This causes projects to take longer, cost more, and fail to meet original goals.
To prevent creep, clearly define scope upfront in a project charter or statement of work. Get formal sign-off from stakeholders on scope to set firm expectations.
Throughout a project, continuously track work being done against the defined scope. Each time a new request comes in, determine if it fits within the existing scope or if it constitutes creep that requires evaluation.
Use change management processes to formally approve and document any scope changes that occur. Update your project plan to reflect approved changes. With proactive scope tracking, you can avoid the pitfalls of scope creep.
Tracking Project Resources
In addition to monitoring scope and timelines, smart project managers also track resource allocation. Your resources include team members, materials, technology needs and budget.
Create a resource plan that maps out the resources assigned to each project task. Track both overall budget and time allocated per resource.
With resource tracking, you can:
Make sure tasks are not under or over-resourced
Spot upcoming bottlenecks where resources are overallocated
Shift resources between tasks or projects as needed
Avoid unbudgeted resource usage that can drive up costs
Resource planning and tracking helps you optimize the use of resources for maximum project efficiency.
Using Dashboards for Centralized Tracking
Project dashboards provide at-a-glance visibility into project status. Rather than digging through multiple spreadsheets or reports, you can view consolidated project data in one dashboard.
Effective dashboards summarize details like:
Task completion status
Milestones achieved
Budget vs actual costs
Hours logged against tasks
Upcoming deadlines
Data visualizations like bar charts, indicators, and tables help spot trends quickly. Drill-down capabilities let you access details behind summary numbers.
Set up personalized dashboards so each project stakeholder can access the data they need most. When used regularly, dashboards become indispensable project tracking hubs.
Key Metrics to Track
When setting up your project tracking process, identifying key metrics to monitor is essential. Useful metrics to track include:
Schedule variance
Shows whether tasks are starting/finishing on time or not. Negative variance indicates delays.
Cost variance
Tracks budgeted costs against actual spend to date. Negative variance reflects cost overruns.
Earned value
Measures the value of completed work against the total project budget. Low values signal issues.
Percent complete
Simple progress indicator showing the % of project work finished so far.
Workload
Tracks capacity vs assigned hours for team members to prevent overallocation.
Risk score
Quantifies overall risk level based on likelihood and impact of identified risks.
Choosing a core set of metrics tailored to your projects ensures you track against factors that matter most. Consistently monitoring metrics enables data-driven decisions.
Tracking Multiple Projects
Juggling multiple projects simultaneously is the reality for most project managers. This complexity magnifies the importance of tracking.
Portfolio management tools give visibility across all projects so you can balance priorities and resources successfully. Features like cross-project reports help you spot issues across portfolios.
Set standards for tracking across projects to maintain consistency. Establish common metrics, status update formats, and risk logs to cascade across initiatives.
Build timelines for each project in one master calendar to spot conflicts and bottlenecks. This helps you schedule projects and meet deadlines realistically.
With robust tracking processes in place, you gain the visibility needed to manage any project portfolio with success.
Signs Your Tracking Process Needs Improvement
If your projects frequently run late or go over budget, it's time to reevaluate your tracking process. Warning signs your tracking needs work include:
No central repository for project data
Metrics that don't provide meaningful insights
Irregular project status updates
Lack of documenting issues and risks
Poor communication to stakeholders
Resources being used ineffectively
Uncontrolled scope changes
Be honest about which signs of poor tracking you see in your projects today. Address these areas one by one to get your projects back on track.
Project Tracking Templates
Good templates help you start tracking quickly and consistently. Here are common templates every project manager should have ready to use:
Project charter: Documents the business case, objectives, scope, stakeholders, and risks upfront.
Task list: Breaks down project work into specific activities needed to complete the project.
Gantt chart: Visualizes the project timeline with dependencies between tasks.
Risk register: Logs identified risks and mitigation actions to control threats.
Status report: Shares a regular progress update on milestones, metrics, issues and more.
Issue log: Records problems that arise and details the impact and resolution.
Leverage these templates across your projects to implement tracking best practices from the start.
Choosing Project Tracking Software
Project tracking tools empower managers to monitor work efficiently. With so many options available, how do you choose? Here are key criteria to evaluate:
Ease of use: The tool should be intuitive and easy to learn for your team. Complexity hampers adoption.
Customization: Look for systems that allow you to set up customized workflows, fields, reports and dashboards tailored to your needs.
Collaboration: Features like @mentions, comment streams and task assignments help teams collaborate within the tool.
Integration: Seek a tool that easily connects with your other systems like email, calendars, and communication platforms.
Scalability: Pick a solution that can expand as your team and project portfolio grows over time.
Data and analytics: Robust reporting and dashboard features give you data-driven insights into project health.
Budget: Keep costs in mind and look for quality tools offered at reasonable price points.
Choosing the right software lays the technology foundation for successful tracking. Take time to thoroughly evaluate options against your "must-haves" to find the best fit.
Getting Buy-in for Project Tracking
Some team members view tracking as unnecessary "busy work" that slows them down. As a project manager, getting their buy-in is key to adoption.
Explain how diligent tracking directly benefits the team by:
Increasing transparency so everyone understands project status
Helping identify issues early so they can be resolved quickly
Keeping projects on track to meet deadlines and objectives
Preventing avoidable stress from surprises or chaos
Empowering data-driven decisions vs guesswork
Set expectations that tracking is required, but seek feedback on how to implement it effectively. Strike the right balance so tracking is simple yet consistent.
With time, project teams discover firsthand how disciplined tracking helps projects succeed - turning them into believers.
Common Project Tracking Pitfalls
Project managers should be aware of these common tracking mistakes to avoid:
Not breaking projects into tasks small enough to track progress
Failing to set up templates and processes before launching tracking
Leaving tracking responsibilities unclear among the team
Updating project plans infrequently as work progresses
Lacking controls to prevent scope creep
Failing to automate reporting for efficient updates
Skipping regular status reviews and touchpoints
Not tying tracking metrics to project objectives
Avoiding these pitfalls from the start prevents tracking efforts from faltering quickly. Institute tracking practices to circumvent these issues.
Key Takeaways and Next Steps
Tracking is essential for on-time, on-budget delivery of projects. Don't wait until issues arise to track progress.
Choose intuitive PM software with robust tracking capabilities to gain visibility.
Implement scope, resource, schedule, and financial tracking based on best practices.
Leverage centralized dashboards and key metrics to monitor project health.
Keep project plans and other tracking artifacts updated as work happens.
Getting team buy-in ensures tracking processes take hold across projects.
Avoid common pitfalls like poor task breakdowns, lack of templates, and infrequent updates.
Effective project tracking delivers insights needed to proactively manage projects. To start tracking your initiatives successfully:
Document project scope, resources, timelines and budgets in project plans
Set up dashboards to monitor metrics and status in one place
Implement issue logs, status reports and meetings for regular updates
Choose user-friendly PM software that supports robust tracking
Train your team on tracking processes and expectations
With consistent tracking, you can keep projects on track to deliver results on time and budget. Use this guide as a roadmap to implement tracking processes that work. Get started now to boost your project success rates in 2023 and beyond.
The Ultimate Guide to Project Tracking in 2023
Project tracking is one of the most essential elements of successful project management. With robust project tracking, project managers can ensure projects stay on time, within budget, and deliver the expected results. This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about project tracking in 2023 - from choosing the right tools to best practices for monitoring project progress. Read on to learn how to track your projects like a pro this year!
Why Project Tracking Matters
Project tracking is the process of monitoring a project's progress to identify potential problems before they derail the project. When done consistently, project tracking provides critical insights that enable project managers to keep projects on track.
Without tracking, it's nearly impossible to determine a project's overall health and likelihood of success. Poor tracking can lead to missed deadlines, cost overruns, and projects that fail to meet stakeholders' expectations. On the other hand, diligent tracking helps ensure the project is progressing smoothly and allows project managers to make data-driven decisions about resources, budgets, timelines and more.
In essence, consistent tracking is essential for successful project delivery in today's fast-paced work environment. It gives project managers the visibility they need to steer projects in the right direction.
Choosing a Project Tracking Method
Many project managers rely on manual methods like spreadsheets or whiteboards for tracking. But in 2023, using dedicated project management software is by far the most efficient way to monitor project progress.
Project management tools provide specialized features for tracking including:
Task lists to break projects into manageable chunks
Interactive dashboards that consolidate project data in one place
Timelines and Gantt charts to visualize schedules
Workload views to track team member availability
Customizable reports and notifications
This level of functionality simply isn't possible in spreadsheets. The right software becomes a project manager's best friend, automating much of the tedious tracking work.
When evaluating tools, look for solutions that match your team's size and needs. Scalable options like monday.com, Asana, Trello, and Teamwork grow along with your projects. Leading tools also integrate with widely used apps like Slack, Dropbox, and Salesforce so your team can work in systems they already know.
Best Practices for Tracking Project Progress
With the right tracking tools in place, you can begin monitoring project work. Follow these tips and techniques for effective tracking:
Set measurable goals
Break large projects down into smaller pieces that have clear, measurable outcomes. Setting quantifiable goals like "Build 10 client portals by August 1st" makes progress easier to track.
Use project plans
Well-defined project plans serve as a blueprint for execution and help align all stakeholders. They also provide an essential benchmark for tracking progress.
Track time daily
Require team members to log their time spent on project tasks on a daily basis. This gives you insight into how work is progressing and helps identify potential bottlenecks early.
Automate reporting
Leverage your PM software to automatically generate reports that highlight project health. Use them to keep stakeholders informed and spot trends.
Hold regular status reviews
Conduct regular standups or meetings for teams to share progress and risks. This helps keep everyone on the same page and surfaces issues quickly.
Update project plans frequently
As work progresses, continually update plans to reflect new timelines, budgets, resources needed, and risks encountered. Revised plans help you track correctly.
Stay on top of issues
Document any problems that arise including their impact on the project. Maintain an issue log and monitor frequently to prevent small issues from becoming major setbacks.
Communicate often
Keep communication open between team members, stakeholders, and clients. Frequent updates on progress help align expectations and prevent surprises.
When you instill these tracking best practices across your projects, you gain the visibility needed to keep work on track and deliver within constraints. Tracking takes commitment but pays off exponentially in successful project results.
Tracking Project Scope and Preventing Creep
A key part of tracking is monitoring the project scope. Scope refers to the defined features, requirements, and work to be delivered on a project.
Scope creep occurs when uncontrolled changes are made to the scope without adjusting other parts of the project plan, like the timeline or budget. This causes projects to take longer, cost more, and fail to meet original goals.
To prevent creep, clearly define scope upfront in a project charter or statement of work. Get formal sign-off from stakeholders on scope to set firm expectations.
Throughout a project, continuously track work being done against the defined scope. Each time a new request comes in, determine if it fits within the existing scope or if it constitutes creep that requires evaluation.
Use change management processes to formally approve and document any scope changes that occur. Update your project plan to reflect approved changes. With proactive scope tracking, you can avoid the pitfalls of scope creep.
Tracking Project Resources
In addition to monitoring scope and timelines, smart project managers also track resource allocation. Your resources include team members, materials, technology needs and budget.
Create a resource plan that maps out the resources assigned to each project task. Track both overall budget and time allocated per resource.
With resource tracking, you can:
Make sure tasks are not under or over-resourced
Spot upcoming bottlenecks where resources are overallocated
Shift resources between tasks or projects as needed
Avoid unbudgeted resource usage that can drive up costs
Resource planning and tracking helps you optimize the use of resources for maximum project efficiency.
Using Dashboards for Centralized Tracking
Project dashboards provide at-a-glance visibility into project status. Rather than digging through multiple spreadsheets or reports, you can view consolidated project data in one dashboard.
Effective dashboards summarize details like:
Task completion status
Milestones achieved
Budget vs actual costs
Hours logged against tasks
Upcoming deadlines
Data visualizations like bar charts, indicators, and tables help spot trends quickly. Drill-down capabilities let you access details behind summary numbers.
Set up personalized dashboards so each project stakeholder can access the data they need most. When used regularly, dashboards become indispensable project tracking hubs.
Key Metrics to Track
When setting up your project tracking process, identifying key metrics to monitor is essential. Useful metrics to track include:
Schedule variance
Shows whether tasks are starting/finishing on time or not. Negative variance indicates delays.
Cost variance
Tracks budgeted costs against actual spend to date. Negative variance reflects cost overruns.
Earned value
Measures the value of completed work against the total project budget. Low values signal issues.
Percent complete
Simple progress indicator showing the % of project work finished so far.
Workload
Tracks capacity vs assigned hours for team members to prevent overallocation.
Risk score
Quantifies overall risk level based on likelihood and impact of identified risks.
Choosing a core set of metrics tailored to your projects ensures you track against factors that matter most. Consistently monitoring metrics enables data-driven decisions.
Tracking Multiple Projects
Juggling multiple projects simultaneously is the reality for most project managers. This complexity magnifies the importance of tracking.
Portfolio management tools give visibility across all projects so you can balance priorities and resources successfully. Features like cross-project reports help you spot issues across portfolios.
Set standards for tracking across projects to maintain consistency. Establish common metrics, status update formats, and risk logs to cascade across initiatives.
Build timelines for each project in one master calendar to spot conflicts and bottlenecks. This helps you schedule projects and meet deadlines realistically.
With robust tracking processes in place, you gain the visibility needed to manage any project portfolio with success.
Signs Your Tracking Process Needs Improvement
If your projects frequently run late or go over budget, it's time to reevaluate your tracking process. Warning signs your tracking needs work include:
No central repository for project data
Metrics that don't provide meaningful insights
Irregular project status updates
Lack of documenting issues and risks
Poor communication to stakeholders
Resources being used ineffectively
Uncontrolled scope changes
Be honest about which signs of poor tracking you see in your projects today. Address these areas one by one to get your projects back on track.
Project Tracking Templates
Good templates help you start tracking quickly and consistently. Here are common templates every project manager should have ready to use:
Project charter: Documents the business case, objectives, scope, stakeholders, and risks upfront.
Task list: Breaks down project work into specific activities needed to complete the project.
Gantt chart: Visualizes the project timeline with dependencies between tasks.
Risk register: Logs identified risks and mitigation actions to control threats.
Status report: Shares a regular progress update on milestones, metrics, issues and more.
Issue log: Records problems that arise and details the impact and resolution.
Leverage these templates across your projects to implement tracking best practices from the start.
Choosing Project Tracking Software
Project tracking tools empower managers to monitor work efficiently. With so many options available, how do you choose? Here are key criteria to evaluate:
Ease of use: The tool should be intuitive and easy to learn for your team. Complexity hampers adoption.
Customization: Look for systems that allow you to set up customized workflows, fields, reports and dashboards tailored to your needs.
Collaboration: Features like @mentions, comment streams and task assignments help teams collaborate within the tool.
Integration: Seek a tool that easily connects with your other systems like email, calendars, and communication platforms.
Scalability: Pick a solution that can expand as your team and project portfolio grows over time.
Data and analytics: Robust reporting and dashboard features give you data-driven insights into project health.
Budget: Keep costs in mind and look for quality tools offered at reasonable price points.
Choosing the right software lays the technology foundation for successful tracking. Take time to thoroughly evaluate options against your "must-haves" to find the best fit.
Getting Buy-in for Project Tracking
Some team members view tracking as unnecessary "busy work" that slows them down. As a project manager, getting their buy-in is key to adoption.
Explain how diligent tracking directly benefits the team by:
Increasing transparency so everyone understands project status
Helping identify issues early so they can be resolved quickly
Keeping projects on track to meet deadlines and objectives
Preventing avoidable stress from surprises or chaos
Empowering data-driven decisions vs guesswork
Set expectations that tracking is required, but seek feedback on how to implement it effectively. Strike the right balance so tracking is simple yet consistent.
With time, project teams discover firsthand how disciplined tracking helps projects succeed - turning them into believers.
Common Project Tracking Pitfalls
Project managers should be aware of these common tracking mistakes to avoid:
Not breaking projects into tasks small enough to track progress
Failing to set up templates and processes before launching tracking
Leaving tracking responsibilities unclear among the team
Updating project plans infrequently as work progresses
Lacking controls to prevent scope creep
Failing to automate reporting for efficient updates
Skipping regular status reviews and touchpoints
Not tying tracking metrics to project objectives
Avoiding these pitfalls from the start prevents tracking efforts from faltering quickly. Institute tracking practices to circumvent these issues.
Key Takeaways and Next Steps
Tracking is essential for on-time, on-budget delivery of projects. Don't wait until issues arise to track progress.
Choose intuitive PM software with robust tracking capabilities to gain visibility.
Implement scope, resource, schedule, and financial tracking based on best practices.
Leverage centralized dashboards and key metrics to monitor project health.
Keep project plans and other tracking artifacts updated as work happens.
Getting team buy-in ensures tracking processes take hold across projects.
Avoid common pitfalls like poor task breakdowns, lack of templates, and infrequent updates.
Effective project tracking delivers insights needed to proactively manage projects. To start tracking your initiatives successfully:
Document project scope, resources, timelines and budgets in project plans
Set up dashboards to monitor metrics and status in one place
Implement issue logs, status reports and meetings for regular updates
Choose user-friendly PM software that supports robust tracking
Train your team on tracking processes and expectations
With consistent tracking, you can keep projects on track to deliver results on time and budget. Use this guide as a roadmap to implement tracking processes that work. Get started now to boost your project success rates in 2023 and beyond.
The Ultimate Guide to Project Tracking in 2023
Project tracking is one of the most essential elements of successful project management. With robust project tracking, project managers can ensure projects stay on time, within budget, and deliver the expected results. This comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know about project tracking in 2023 - from choosing the right tools to best practices for monitoring project progress. Read on to learn how to track your projects like a pro this year!
Why Project Tracking Matters
Project tracking is the process of monitoring a project's progress to identify potential problems before they derail the project. When done consistently, project tracking provides critical insights that enable project managers to keep projects on track.
Without tracking, it's nearly impossible to determine a project's overall health and likelihood of success. Poor tracking can lead to missed deadlines, cost overruns, and projects that fail to meet stakeholders' expectations. On the other hand, diligent tracking helps ensure the project is progressing smoothly and allows project managers to make data-driven decisions about resources, budgets, timelines and more.
In essence, consistent tracking is essential for successful project delivery in today's fast-paced work environment. It gives project managers the visibility they need to steer projects in the right direction.
Choosing a Project Tracking Method
Many project managers rely on manual methods like spreadsheets or whiteboards for tracking. But in 2023, using dedicated project management software is by far the most efficient way to monitor project progress.
Project management tools provide specialized features for tracking including:
Task lists to break projects into manageable chunks
Interactive dashboards that consolidate project data in one place
Timelines and Gantt charts to visualize schedules
Workload views to track team member availability
Customizable reports and notifications
This level of functionality simply isn't possible in spreadsheets. The right software becomes a project manager's best friend, automating much of the tedious tracking work.
When evaluating tools, look for solutions that match your team's size and needs. Scalable options like monday.com, Asana, Trello, and Teamwork grow along with your projects. Leading tools also integrate with widely used apps like Slack, Dropbox, and Salesforce so your team can work in systems they already know.
Best Practices for Tracking Project Progress
With the right tracking tools in place, you can begin monitoring project work. Follow these tips and techniques for effective tracking:
Set measurable goals
Break large projects down into smaller pieces that have clear, measurable outcomes. Setting quantifiable goals like "Build 10 client portals by August 1st" makes progress easier to track.
Use project plans
Well-defined project plans serve as a blueprint for execution and help align all stakeholders. They also provide an essential benchmark for tracking progress.
Track time daily
Require team members to log their time spent on project tasks on a daily basis. This gives you insight into how work is progressing and helps identify potential bottlenecks early.
Automate reporting
Leverage your PM software to automatically generate reports that highlight project health. Use them to keep stakeholders informed and spot trends.
Hold regular status reviews
Conduct regular standups or meetings for teams to share progress and risks. This helps keep everyone on the same page and surfaces issues quickly.
Update project plans frequently
As work progresses, continually update plans to reflect new timelines, budgets, resources needed, and risks encountered. Revised plans help you track correctly.
Stay on top of issues
Document any problems that arise including their impact on the project. Maintain an issue log and monitor frequently to prevent small issues from becoming major setbacks.
Communicate often
Keep communication open between team members, stakeholders, and clients. Frequent updates on progress help align expectations and prevent surprises.
When you instill these tracking best practices across your projects, you gain the visibility needed to keep work on track and deliver within constraints. Tracking takes commitment but pays off exponentially in successful project results.
Tracking Project Scope and Preventing Creep
A key part of tracking is monitoring the project scope. Scope refers to the defined features, requirements, and work to be delivered on a project.
Scope creep occurs when uncontrolled changes are made to the scope without adjusting other parts of the project plan, like the timeline or budget. This causes projects to take longer, cost more, and fail to meet original goals.
To prevent creep, clearly define scope upfront in a project charter or statement of work. Get formal sign-off from stakeholders on scope to set firm expectations.
Throughout a project, continuously track work being done against the defined scope. Each time a new request comes in, determine if it fits within the existing scope or if it constitutes creep that requires evaluation.
Use change management processes to formally approve and document any scope changes that occur. Update your project plan to reflect approved changes. With proactive scope tracking, you can avoid the pitfalls of scope creep.
Tracking Project Resources
In addition to monitoring scope and timelines, smart project managers also track resource allocation. Your resources include team members, materials, technology needs and budget.
Create a resource plan that maps out the resources assigned to each project task. Track both overall budget and time allocated per resource.
With resource tracking, you can:
Make sure tasks are not under or over-resourced
Spot upcoming bottlenecks where resources are overallocated
Shift resources between tasks or projects as needed
Avoid unbudgeted resource usage that can drive up costs
Resource planning and tracking helps you optimize the use of resources for maximum project efficiency.
Using Dashboards for Centralized Tracking
Project dashboards provide at-a-glance visibility into project status. Rather than digging through multiple spreadsheets or reports, you can view consolidated project data in one dashboard.
Effective dashboards summarize details like:
Task completion status
Milestones achieved
Budget vs actual costs
Hours logged against tasks
Upcoming deadlines
Data visualizations like bar charts, indicators, and tables help spot trends quickly. Drill-down capabilities let you access details behind summary numbers.
Set up personalized dashboards so each project stakeholder can access the data they need most. When used regularly, dashboards become indispensable project tracking hubs.
Key Metrics to Track
When setting up your project tracking process, identifying key metrics to monitor is essential. Useful metrics to track include:
Schedule variance
Shows whether tasks are starting/finishing on time or not. Negative variance indicates delays.
Cost variance
Tracks budgeted costs against actual spend to date. Negative variance reflects cost overruns.
Earned value
Measures the value of completed work against the total project budget. Low values signal issues.
Percent complete
Simple progress indicator showing the % of project work finished so far.
Workload
Tracks capacity vs assigned hours for team members to prevent overallocation.
Risk score
Quantifies overall risk level based on likelihood and impact of identified risks.
Choosing a core set of metrics tailored to your projects ensures you track against factors that matter most. Consistently monitoring metrics enables data-driven decisions.
Tracking Multiple Projects
Juggling multiple projects simultaneously is the reality for most project managers. This complexity magnifies the importance of tracking.
Portfolio management tools give visibility across all projects so you can balance priorities and resources successfully. Features like cross-project reports help you spot issues across portfolios.
Set standards for tracking across projects to maintain consistency. Establish common metrics, status update formats, and risk logs to cascade across initiatives.
Build timelines for each project in one master calendar to spot conflicts and bottlenecks. This helps you schedule projects and meet deadlines realistically.
With robust tracking processes in place, you gain the visibility needed to manage any project portfolio with success.
Signs Your Tracking Process Needs Improvement
If your projects frequently run late or go over budget, it's time to reevaluate your tracking process. Warning signs your tracking needs work include:
No central repository for project data
Metrics that don't provide meaningful insights
Irregular project status updates
Lack of documenting issues and risks
Poor communication to stakeholders
Resources being used ineffectively
Uncontrolled scope changes
Be honest about which signs of poor tracking you see in your projects today. Address these areas one by one to get your projects back on track.
Project Tracking Templates
Good templates help you start tracking quickly and consistently. Here are common templates every project manager should have ready to use:
Project charter: Documents the business case, objectives, scope, stakeholders, and risks upfront.
Task list: Breaks down project work into specific activities needed to complete the project.
Gantt chart: Visualizes the project timeline with dependencies between tasks.
Risk register: Logs identified risks and mitigation actions to control threats.
Status report: Shares a regular progress update on milestones, metrics, issues and more.
Issue log: Records problems that arise and details the impact and resolution.
Leverage these templates across your projects to implement tracking best practices from the start.
Choosing Project Tracking Software
Project tracking tools empower managers to monitor work efficiently. With so many options available, how do you choose? Here are key criteria to evaluate:
Ease of use: The tool should be intuitive and easy to learn for your team. Complexity hampers adoption.
Customization: Look for systems that allow you to set up customized workflows, fields, reports and dashboards tailored to your needs.
Collaboration: Features like @mentions, comment streams and task assignments help teams collaborate within the tool.
Integration: Seek a tool that easily connects with your other systems like email, calendars, and communication platforms.
Scalability: Pick a solution that can expand as your team and project portfolio grows over time.
Data and analytics: Robust reporting and dashboard features give you data-driven insights into project health.
Budget: Keep costs in mind and look for quality tools offered at reasonable price points.
Choosing the right software lays the technology foundation for successful tracking. Take time to thoroughly evaluate options against your "must-haves" to find the best fit.
Getting Buy-in for Project Tracking
Some team members view tracking as unnecessary "busy work" that slows them down. As a project manager, getting their buy-in is key to adoption.
Explain how diligent tracking directly benefits the team by:
Increasing transparency so everyone understands project status
Helping identify issues early so they can be resolved quickly
Keeping projects on track to meet deadlines and objectives
Preventing avoidable stress from surprises or chaos
Empowering data-driven decisions vs guesswork
Set expectations that tracking is required, but seek feedback on how to implement it effectively. Strike the right balance so tracking is simple yet consistent.
With time, project teams discover firsthand how disciplined tracking helps projects succeed - turning them into believers.
Common Project Tracking Pitfalls
Project managers should be aware of these common tracking mistakes to avoid:
Not breaking projects into tasks small enough to track progress
Failing to set up templates and processes before launching tracking
Leaving tracking responsibilities unclear among the team
Updating project plans infrequently as work progresses
Lacking controls to prevent scope creep
Failing to automate reporting for efficient updates
Skipping regular status reviews and touchpoints
Not tying tracking metrics to project objectives
Avoiding these pitfalls from the start prevents tracking efforts from faltering quickly. Institute tracking practices to circumvent these issues.
Key Takeaways and Next Steps
Tracking is essential for on-time, on-budget delivery of projects. Don't wait until issues arise to track progress.
Choose intuitive PM software with robust tracking capabilities to gain visibility.
Implement scope, resource, schedule, and financial tracking based on best practices.
Leverage centralized dashboards and key metrics to monitor project health.
Keep project plans and other tracking artifacts updated as work happens.
Getting team buy-in ensures tracking processes take hold across projects.
Avoid common pitfalls like poor task breakdowns, lack of templates, and infrequent updates.
Effective project tracking delivers insights needed to proactively manage projects. To start tracking your initiatives successfully:
Document project scope, resources, timelines and budgets in project plans
Set up dashboards to monitor metrics and status in one place
Implement issue logs, status reports and meetings for regular updates
Choose user-friendly PM software that supports robust tracking
Train your team on tracking processes and expectations
With consistent tracking, you can keep projects on track to deliver results on time and budget. Use this guide as a roadmap to implement tracking processes that work. Get started now to boost your project success rates in 2023 and beyond.