Types of project planning templates

Before diving into the list of useful project plans, consider these three reasons to start with a great template:

• Improved efficiency. Once you perfect your project plan, you can use the same template every time. You won’t need to waste work time reinventing the wheel. Standardized procedures also support successful scaling when it’s time for your business to expand, whether you’re eyeing a new product line or geographic region.
• Reduced errors. Even simple projects require the coordination of multiple details. A consistent project plan template helps prevent missed information and disorganized data. Think of it as a safety net to keep minor but critical components from falling through the cracks.
• Better long-term vision. Having the granular details of your project captured in a central document frees your mind to consider the big picture.

You can even take advantage of these benefits right away since you’ll find so many well-written project plan documents online. Start your search with these top 12 template types.

Deliverable-based project template

For a project that has multiple phases with distinct deliverables, consider using a template that puts the project outcomes front and center. This project planner template uses columns or sections for each phase, then lists the deliverables with deadlines. You can also add notes and additional fields, such as the name of the person or team who owns each deliverable.

Gantt template

You can use a Gantt chart to manage the components of just about any project, but this format lends itself especially well to complex initiatives with an array of moving parts. With a Gantt chart, each bar represents a task or subtask within the project. You can use this template to visualize progress by task, task owner or deadline. It can also illustrate how tasks relate to and depend on one another.

Marketing project template

When launching a new product or service line, a planning project template like this can keep all your marketing essentials on target. A typical marketing project plan includes sections for planning and reference documents, core messages, brand positioning, print and digital assets, media channels, competitor analysis, workflows, audience personas, market research and key performance indicators.

Process mapping templates

If your industry or company relies on stepwise processes to achieve your goals, you need to document these steps so they can be replicated across teams and initiatives, thus saving time and money. IT and healthcare commonly use project process maps, but they can apply to any sector where you need to explain a clear sequence of events. A visual format facilitates understanding, whether you decide to use an infographic, flowchart, timeline or another structure that fits your needs.

Project charter template

This project plan template kicks off your initiative by documenting all critical components of the project. An effective charter should include:

• Basic project information, such as name, date, leader and target time frame for completion
• Internal and external stakeholders who will take part in the project and the intended role of each of these individuals
• Objectives you hope to achieve and how these goals align with your overall vision for the business
• The process to meet these objectives, including a list of action steps and project milestones on a realistic schedule
• A detailed list of deliverables, including outlined expectations for these outcomes (acceptance criteria, for example)
• Information about available background resources, such as plans and metrics for previous phases of the project
• Risks associated with the project, such as ineffective use of resources or missed deadlines, and plans to mitigate these negative outcomes
• Detailed project budget, including all expenses and the estimated return on this investment
• Signed agreement from all stakeholders, who should have the opportunity to review and request amendments before providing their signatures

Project checklist template

Your project could potentially benefit from a checklist if you need to track actions that happen again and again. For example, you might use this template if you’re establishing a new process for onboarding employees or making requests to the IT department.

Project status report template

Depending on the project, you may need to provide monthly, weekly or even more frequent updates to stakeholders. You can rely on a template to encompass the necessary detail while getting straight to the point. This template should indicate progress on all tasks since the last report, provide status and notes about major issues affecting task completion and report completed milestones as well as upcoming deadlines.

Strategic plan template

You can also use a template for long-range planning. A good strategic plan template collects answers to these questions:

• What are the organization’s overarching mission and vision?
• What are the broad action steps to achieve these strategic goals?
• What smaller objectives will you need to fulfill over the next one to two years?
• What challenges will your organization face, both internally and externally, as you work toward these goals?

Task-based project plan template

Try this type of template when you need an action plan for a smaller project. It lists each task along with the responsible person, deadline and other relevant information. You can even set up subtasks to show how different parts of the project depend on one another for completion.

Timeline project plan template

With a timeline, you can immediately visualize schedule milestones and progress toward the ultimate project goal. You can capture tasks and actions along the span from the planning phases to the final deliverables with this simple chart template. It’s best to use this type of project plan when you want to emphasize the sequence of program activities.

Vendor management template

When a project requires collaboration with one or more external agencies, this template can help you organize these relationships and deliverables. You can keep track of meetings, task status and other components, including budget, deliverables and creative details. It even works well when you only have one external vendor, especially if you’re new to managing this type of relationship.

Work request template

If your project plan involves the intake of work from internal or external stakeholders, you can save time and boost productivity with a standardized request form. Using a template ensures you capture all the relevant details to fulfill each request successfully, streamlining your workflow and keeping teams in alignment. You can customize a basic work request template for countless types of intake, from construction to creative.

Take templates to the next level

Even the best project planning document requires some fine-tuning to get the most from this tool. Keep these considerations in mind as your team tackles the learning curve.

Establish data control policies

You’ll likely have multiple people across departments and even in different organizations collaborating on your project planning documents, so it’s important to track the files carefully to avoid version control and data integrity issues. Have a clear policy about who can access and update these documents. For example, you may want to have one key person, such as the project leader or manager, who must sign off on all the plan updates.

Code categories by color

Assigning specific shades to different types of data makes it easy to see the information you need at a glance. You could match each task owner with a color, divide deadlines from actions and otherwise emphasize important information on your project plan. This also creates an opportunity to highlight the color palette you plan to use for branding, especially if you’ll be sharing the document with external stakeholders.

Define important terms

You can enhance understanding among your stakeholders and teams by defining key words and phrases. Create a definitions section in your project plan, and use those terms consistently throughout project planning and execution.

Illustrate with simple icons

Small images help guide the reader through this type of document. Clear, consistent formatting and clean lines prevent cluttering that affects the readability of your project plan. By the same token, always triple-check charts and graphs for clarity, precision and accuracy.

By customizing a project plan template for each of your organization’s key initiatives, you can prevent productivity leaks and unexpected expenses that compromise your mission.