When managing a project, use the Project Tracker available in the Smartsheet PMO shared workspace to track project related Risks, Issues, Decisions, and Action Items.
Step-by-Step Guide
- In Smartsheet, navigate to the PMO workspace.
- Locate the Project Tracker — Template sheet and select Save as New... from the actions menu for this sheet.
- Save the file, naming it "Project Tracker — project_name", where project_name is replaced with your project's name.
- Edit the column properties for the following columns to configure this for your project:
- Row ID (required): Update the Prefix (currently ProjName) with a short version of your project's name.
- Component (optional): Update the Drop Down List so that it contains the components used by your project.
- Share this sheet with the appropriate UIT PMO lead so (s)he can run cross project reports.
| Column Name | Intended Use |
|---|---|
| Row ID | A system-generated number of the format ProjectName-XXX, where XXX is the system-generated number that will be incremented when a new row is added. |
| Date Created | System-generated based on the date the new row is created. |
| Row Type | A dropdown list to allow you to designate a row as one of the following: Risks, Issues, Decisions, or Action Items. |
| Row Impact | A dropdown list to allow you to note the area of the project that this row impacts. Template values are Scope, Design, Resourcing, Deadline, and Priority. |
| Priority | Uses Smartsheet icons to mark the priority of a row as high, medium, or low. |
| Item Description | The description for this row, e.g., the Risk, Issue, Decision, or Action Item to be tracked. |
| Component | A dropdown list of user-defined values to provide another way of categorizing a row. An example might be to have values of Back-end, DB, GUI, and Documentation to help identify the team that might need to work on it, or the area that this row impacts. |
| Assigned To | The person that owns the decision or resolution of this row. |
| Stakeholders | A row to capture the people or groups impacted by this row. |
| Due Date | A calendar section GUI to select the due date for this row. Using the GUI allows for improved reporting. |
| Status | A dropdown list with the following choices: New, In Progress, and Closed. |
| % Done | Uses the Smartsheet "Harvey Ball" images to show 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 percent. |
| Next Steps | A text column to capture what needs to happen next to get this row completed. |
| Resolution/Decision | A text column to capture what was done to complete this row. |
| Closed Date | A calendar selection GUI to select the close or completion date for this row. Using the GUI allows for improved reporting. |
| Comments | A text column to capture any additional data about this row that didn't fit in any other column. |
