Benefits of Using Project Management Templates

Multi-million dollar projects have one thing in common, and that is they have to use project management templates in order to report properly. When a project is implemented, it takes more than implementation and results to make it a success; it takes consistent reporting back to the investors which is made easier by using these templates. Some projects can range from very broad sweeps of what a project is about, the process being done to implement it, and the current status in returns. Other templates are more detailed and need more specific information for the purpose of monitoring and evaluation.

These PM templates can help you to manage your work in a timely and efficient manner. Being able to deal with a few different projects at a time can be a very demanding and hectic project. And if you are not careful, you may end up with projects remaining uncompleted. Hence management templates relieve the PM of the pressure and provide success in the project.

These templates can help give you clarity and structure. Management is completely based on these two aspects. Project management becomes a problem when there are too many things to handle. Some find it hard to complete the projects on time. Templates come to the rescue here. The templates are designed to be very easy to use and are kept simple. They will help make the job of a PM easier.

When people make investments on specific businesses and projects, they want to be informed of how exactly their money is invested. PM templates are a perfect method of keeping tabs on project development and its impact.

One way of ensuring that best practices are embedded in project documentation is to base these documents on PM templates. The templates some kind of guideline that ensures a logical flow of information and at the same time makes sure that the critical data is captured.

To ensure a better decision making, it is imperative to have completed pm templates. These completed templates give a clear picture of the work done and thereby help in decision making process.

The templates can help speed up your work and hence bring about a sense of balance and calmness to the project manager and his team. This will result in better focus and hence better work.

The templates give you the liberty of stopping wherever you want and then restart the work from where you stopped, thus keeping you on track. Thus the templates help in better project management by saving you time and unnecessary effort.

Templates are a boon to PMs as they help save time, energy and money. They also ease the burden on the project manager when he has to make reports to higher officials and investors. They help the project managers in approaching the project in a far more effective manner.

The templates can also structure your communication and engagements ensuring that the final product is of high quality. Also it allows for continuity in the case when several people are assigned the same project. Hence templates are very important tool in project management.

Introduction to Project Management Templates

Project management implies planning and organizing efforts and resources to achieve a defined objective. It involves preparing a plan, which explains how different phases of a project will be completed, the manpower and finances needed for the purpose, and estimating a budget for the execution. The plan follows all main stages of the project execution and the changes with the planning, execution and assessment. It also includes procedures that need to be followed in order to arrange and organize resources for the successful completion of the specified goals. The use of suitably designed templates will not only help you save time and effort, but it will also reduce the expenditure and the risks associated with the project. Project management templates also allow the better management of vendors and staff through an efficient monitoring.

Project templates are designed to enhance your efficiency by saving your time. After you have defined your project and finalized your team, the phase of project planning starts. This includes the preparation of the planning documents, which are required to guide your team during the execution of the project. You need to make execution templates, which would be used while presenting the completed work to your clients. You can use the following management templates to help you successfully execute the planned details of the project:

a) Time Management process 

b) Expense Register 

c) Cost Management Process 

d) Purchase Order Form 

e) Timesheet form.

The layout of the templates is professional. They even contain useful tips, give you practical examples, and provide step by step, easy to follow instructions.

Such project management templates are used by a large number of professionals across various organizations, in order to prepare professional documents for the timely execution of their projects. Professional documents can be created very easily with the help of templates and they are appropriate for almost any type of project. Usually, you can get these in Word, Microsoft, Excel, Power Point or Project Visio. Using templates is quite simple and will save you a lot of time and effort.

The closure of the project includes handing over of deliverables to the clients and passing on the project documents to them. This part of the project also requires the termination of contracts with the suppliers, discharging the project assets and announcing the closure of the project to shareholders of the company. Project management templates help you keep track of all the points that need to be followed under each phase.

There are project management templates available for small, as well as big businesses, and they can be used in various industries, such as finance and accounting, education, childcare, healthcare, real estate, retail, marketing and information technology.

Project Management Templates - How They Help A Project Manager Cheat

When you adopt a new project it's possible you could enter that project at any stage. Be it startup, initiate, closure or anything in between you'll want to prove that you're a capable Project Manager as fast as possible.

When you get down to business and start working on project documentation and related material, one of the most common things you'll eventually ask will be "So, what template do you guys use for project stage xyz".

Unfortunately, you'll often be surprised at the answer. "Here are some templates we have used in the past".

What happens next is horrifying.

It's a terrible half finished template that's missing critical components of the project stage.

After the panic has subsided it's usually our resourcefulness that ends up saving the day. Be it project initiation or risk management, usually all PM's have a suite of project management templates in their kit bag. Some even carry them from job to job!

This template kit bag usually consists of a full set of proven project templates from budgeting through to closure. Personally having a kit bag like this has saved my bacon on several occasions.

But hold on I hear you say, I'm a new PM and I haven't yet built up a repository of proven collateral yet?

That's where you can cheat by getting a decent set of project management templates from the Internet! There are lots of resources on the Internet check out a few and start building your kit bag!

If the company you work for has rubbish templates, think of the value you'll provide if you start introducing relevant, targeted professional templates and get the work done in half the time.

You will be the PM Hero.

Other than cheating time, a collection of templates can be branded to all look the same, whether it's a highlight report or a closure gate template a consistent look and feel is a professional touch that sets you apart.

12 Things Your Project Management Resume Needs

There is no denying that in 2016 the competition for a project manager's job is intense. If you've decided that this is the year your going to get into project management or upgrade your current job here are 12 suggestions that will help your resume leap of the desk ensuring you get the recruiter's attention.

1. Scannable first page

The first page of your resume needs be easy to read and scannable in 10 seconds or less. Use a slightly larger font size like 14 to draw the reader's attention to your achievements section.

2. Create an achievements section

Make sure your resume has a section on the front page that highlights the best bits from your career.

3. Boast a little

It's OK to boast about your work. You don't want to make up numbers of course but if your project made or saved your company money you need to mention the amount.

4. Be clear

Each sentence should be powerful and clear. Instead of "Worked on the ABC project", Say "I successfully ran the ABC project, saving CompanyX $2M annually".

5. Industry words

Project management has its own lexicon. Share your experience and knowledge about project management by dropping in some industry terminology.

6. Skip the obvious buzz words

Some people say you shouldn't use management buzz words at all. I think a few are ok, just don't over do it.

7. Certifications

Make sure you put any certifications on the first page. If you don't have any, start one! This way you can legitimately put one on your resume, don't lie just make a note mentioning the certification is "in progress".

8. Resume extensions

Employers often look at your LinkedIn site. Don't have a LinkedIn yet? you better get one! LinkedIn is an excellent way to build up professional connections. Recruiters also use LinkedIn to verify the jobs listed in your resume.

9. Keep references to social media out of your resume

Don't link your resume to sites like Blogger, Facebook or YouTube. You run the risk of a recruiter seeing you out partying with your mates.

10. Check the details

Make sure you check all the details of names, people and places. Nothing is more unprofessional than a poorly researched resume.

11. Keep it small

Keep your resume to four pages or less. No one wants to read a 100 page tomb of your life. Use only four pages to get your experience and skills short and concise.

12. Use a specially designed project manager's resume

Standard templates look tacky and get ignored! Be different dress your resume up with a splash of color, specific formatting, sections and easy to read fonts.

Information on Project Management Templates

Management of a business organization can be very hectic because there are different projects to manage, different departments to be taken care of, keeping an account of all the incomes and expenses, etc. Because of this the entrepreneur can't keep a track of everything on paper. With the increase and the changes in technology many entrepreneurs are making use of all the various devices and equipments that can help them make their job easier. As there are different departments in an organization or a company there are several projects that have to be managed on a daily basis. Doing this on paper or manually can be time consuming and there are chances of loss of data. This is why you have to make arrangements to make management effortless by using computers.

There are software's that have project management templates to assist you in managing your projects smoothly and easily. You can use these to get your job done yourself or you can hire someone to manage all your projects without your supervision. You can even do this yourself instead of buying software. All you have to do is, study the working of you company and create templates accordingly. But if you want time you can buy software and install it on your computer system or you can ask a consultant to do it for you. These software's have all the templates that can be used by every organization. The size of the enterprise doesn't matter. It has the appropriate categories and sub-categories to help you create, manage and save your projects easily.

With the help of these you can view your projects and keep updating them as and when required. Your work will be done within minutes and everything will be displayed in a professional format. They can also be used for presentations and you can add and delete projects whenever you think it is necessary. All your projects will be displayed on your computer screen and you can view one that you require at that point of time. This eliminated the work that has to be done manually and you will be able to view and make changes within minutes.

You can buy this software from the traditional or virtual market. There are some websites on the internet from where you can download these for free. All you have to do is learn how to operate these and management is made faster and easier. You won't have to put in much efforts, and once the right information has been put up you can view and update as and when you want.

Understanding the Usage of Project Management Templates

When any project is under progress, every team member has certain tasks to be completed and roles which need to be performed by him or her. This is very important so that the project can be completed on time and without any defects. Further, the manager has to ensure that each team member performs his or her tasks on time. Thus, the project manager has to make a management plan which would help to manage various tasks related to the project.

To draft a project management plan, various templates can be used. Such project management templates contain all the necessary sections which would make the work of the project manager much easier. The project costs, issues and periodic updates can be easily tracked with the help of such templates. Some templates even provide you the facility of taking reports about the progress of the project. Such templates can be helpful in segregating responsibilities of all team members and in case any team member is absent, his or her responsibilities can be distributed quickly.

Timely completion of the project is very necessary. This might be of much higher importance for the business processes of the client than we can realize. Thus, it is very important that the project manager keeps track of the progress of the project. The project management templates can be of great help in solving this purpose. There are appropriate sections in these templates which can be of a great use in checking out whether the project is on time or not.

These templates are available on the Internet on a number of websites. The project manager can search on the Internet for an appropriate template which can be used by him or her in order to track the various aspects of the project. In fact, by using such templates smartly, the project manager can be able to ensure timely completion of the project without any cost overruns.

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