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Small Project Tracking File
Quick Summary
An example of how to track a small, short, straightforward project without going overboard on detail.
What this is
A consolidated tracking file showing an example of a light approach to tracking a small project. Appropriate for small teams who would like to use some typical project management tools without going beyond what is needed for a small project.
The example project was chartered to create a new unified product development/project management lifecycle (PLC) process across 3 divisions. Each division had its own slightly different PLC; the project's goal was to combine the best of each site's approach to define a common process that all 3 sites would use. This "common process creation" was the project.
The team consisted of 5 core members from the 3 divisions, plus another 10 extended members who were needed for reviews and communication to functional groups who would be affected by the project.
This format was chosen as an easy way to keep track of the project's status, using versions of several project management documents the company's major development projects used, but using scaled down versions all in one file.
Why it's useful
The team needed to track the project to completion, keeping each team member on target with their work on the project, in the face of many distractions. Each team member's full-time job was to work on the various development projects underway; this PLC update project was important, but a side project for most of them.
Another goal of the tracking file was to not go overboard with detail or micro-management-but instead to simply keep the team's eyes on the milestones, action items, and critical reviews, and to document the results of reviews for history and for communication.
The temptation may be to run without any tracking at all-just "get it done." However, any project no matter how small can benefit from some project tracking fundamentals, such as pushing to well-defined milestones, recording specific action items, and holding key reviews as the project's deliverables develop.
How to use it
- Identify the project(s) you believe could benefit from a light approach to tracking.
- Review the items this team included in their project tracking file.
- Ask yourself whether the items in this file, at this level of detail, will accomplish everything you need in terms of keeping progress on track and communicating the results of reviews.
- If you see areas where your project will need more detail, add that detail to the template.
- Use the template to track the project with your team members.
- Refer to both your original plan file, and this tracking file, as the project progresses. (See our related Planning Document for a Small Project for ideas on how to create a light project plan for a small project.)
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