Excel is such a powerful tool and people use it for so many different reasons, but how can I use Excel to track projects?
I recently spoke with a Project Manager that said she uses Excel to track projects and details around each project. But, she said, "There are so many details and so many data points that it is hard to actually find the detail when looking at all of my spreadsheets."
So, the question may not be "How Can I use Excel to Track Projects?" but maybe the question is "How Should I use Excel to track projects?"
There so many more questions I would have around this topic, so let's just start with one.
If you have a spreadsheet that lists projects by row and has details of each project as columns, how can you set it up to see an overall view? or how can you set it up for a leader to be able to determine resources utilized across projects?
In this instance, I might think of setting up a Pivot Table to pull together the data within the spreadsheet.
Pivot Tables allow you to analyze data and show the data in a summarized fashion.
This tutorial Excel Pivot Tables mini-course on my YouTube channel will walk you thru each step of Pivot Tables and Pivot Charts to easily start to understand how the data from your data source us used to create a table or chart.
But, are Pivot Tables going to help you track projects effectively?
I don't know that they would. It's possible, so let's look at some examples.
Let's say you have multiple projects with different types of data collected. If there are different data points, then Pivot Tables may not be the best solution.
However, if the projects contain the same types of data, such as: Resources, Start Dates, Due Dates, Budgeted Revenue, and the like, then a Pivot Table could be your answer.
No matter how you look at it, it really depends on how you need to track projects, how you need to search on data for projects, and who needs to view the data and in what format that will really give you the answer on whether or not Pivot Tables are the solution for you.
I'd love to hear examples of how you've used Excel to track projects in your world.
If you've determined that a Pivot Table would work with your data, but you don't know how to use Pivot Tables, then either watch the video shown above, or CLICK HERE to read a step-by-step guide on setting up Pivot Tables.
Feel free to email me at: contact@goaskdebbie.com and let me know.
If you're interested in an entire course on Excel Pivot Tables, Analyzing Data, Macros, and more, CLICK HERE for a 50% discount.
