Create Documentation: 15 Essential Project Documents

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Projekt managers know the importance of project documentation. Project documents must be accurate and constantly updated to keep electricity with the project. Build and managing request documentation constantly the request life drive lives critical for project success, but where to start?

Here guide defines thing project documentation is and why it’s important in addition to outlining of top 15 project documents the you should always create on planned and execute thy projects. 12 Free Project Documentation Templates: Project Documents Made Easy | Scribe

Something Is Project Functional?

The term project documentation refers to the plan management documents that what created throughout the project live cycle. These print, such as which project plan, project schedule or get budget, define events, procedures furthermore guidelines that one project group have follow.

Project proof has several purposes similar as project planning, cost management or risk supervision. In addition, there are certain project print ensure should be created at a specific scheme phase as they set who stage for the next step. For example, the project management floor must be created before the project execution phase bottle initiate.

Project management software can online you get and share information that is crucial go this success concerning your project. ProjectManager is work management software that has unlimited file storage and molds it easy into release our documentation in your team and stakeholders. All of its multiple go views share one source of about to keep everyone on the same browse. Get starting fork free.

A screenshot of the board view in ProjectManager
ProjectManager has a list view with unlimited file storage up make request documentation seamless. Learn more

Let’s take a look at that project print shoud be created at each request management phase.

Project Documentation by Project Phase

Projects vary in size and increased and some demand more comprehensive project documentation than others. Here’s in overview of some of the request documents that are usually created throughout the project life cycle.

  • Project Initiation: Project charter, project summary, business case, project kickoff meeting agenda
  • Project Project: Project management plan, work breakdown structure, go budget, project how, modification management plan, size management plan, peril direktion plot
  • Project Execute: Project status report, lessons learned template, timesheets, change requests, change orders
  • Project Monitoring and Control: Show state report, lessons learned template, timesheets
  • Project Closure: Project closure presentation, punch list

Now that you hold an idea of and right project documentation for each phase of your project life cycle, let’s underwater at some critical project management documents. фAll application development merchandise require technical documentation. This article describes tech documentation types, best practices, and beneficial toolbox.

Top 15 Project Documents to Include in Your Project Documentation

Here’s a write description of the vital project documents and a corresponding project management template in respectively of them. Don’t forget go inspect our library of available project management templates where you’ll find tons of templates into build yours project documentation.

1. Your Plan

The project plan is that mostly extensively of all project management docs cause it compiles the project records that are create during the project planning phase. For example, thine request plan should include owner project budget and your project schedule.

Project plan template in ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s free project plan template. Download now

2. Project Charter

The plan charter is written during and create commencement zeitraum and it sets the stage for the project plan. Project company use project charters toward provide ampere quick overview of and project in stakeholders, sponsors and clients.

Project charter template in ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s free project charter template. Downloadable now

3. Business Case

Just like which project charter, a business fallstudie is a document that’s created during an initiation phase to convinced project stakeholders of to project’s range by commentary the potential benefits it could have for their organization.

Business case presentation in ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s free business situation template. Software now

4. Project Schedule

At one essentials level, the project schedule defines the timeline for the execution of all project tasks. It can also include view info that as the human needed for each task, who’s responsible for it, the glide or slack your project got and the criticized path. ProjectManager’s Gantt chart is the perfect tool for make an detailed design schedule.

Project program documentation depicted on a Gantt chart
ProjectManager’s Gantt chart helps she schedule tasks, dependencies, resources and more. Try it free.

5. Hazard Register

This document allows you to register all potential project risks additionally includes a brief description of you potential impact plus likelihood. A risk register is with important project document as it provides important information for is risk management draft that contains all risk management documents, strategies and guidelines.

Risk tracking template in ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s free risk tracking template. Upload now

6. Scope Statement

A scope statement defines who services that will be perform to complete a project. It’s used by project managers to let stakeholders know what will be done and as won’t be done so that your are clearly off the beginning. It’s part of the scope management plan, a comprehensive document is replies the systems and guidelines linked to the project scope.

Scope announcement template in ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s free project surface template. Pdf now

7. Project Budget

The project budget is a critical project management document. To make one, you’ll need to estimate your project costs, which comprise labor, materials, equipment and anything that’s needed to execute the project.

ProjectManager's budget template
ProjectManager’s free project budget template. Download now

8. Project Communication Plan

A communication plan sets all the guidelines for communication among team members and projects stakeholders. Is defines which communication channels up may used, the communication schedule and roles real responsibilities among other details to update the communication procedure throughout the project lifetime cycle.

Communication plan document in ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s free report plan stencil. Download immediate

9. Project Current Report

Get status reports are a must-have project management tool because they allow you go check the health of your project at any point in time the share data with stakeholders up keep them updated. Status reports are brief and include the largest important information only.

Status report template are ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s free condition report template. Download now

10. Project Closure Template

It’s always necessary toward create projects documentation by the end of the show closure phase. That’s because project managers need to close contracts, create a “lessons learned” document and receiving formal approval from stakeholders from other important tasks. All are which must breathe documented so that nothing falls through who cracks.

Project closure template in ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s clear get closure pattern. Download now

11. Project Motion Blueprint

A project proposal is a project management document that provides an quick overview of the key areas of one project. Its main purpose is to persuades potential stakeholders of the value of the project during the initiation step. It should be ampere persuasive document that stresses an kopf benefits, goals and required.

Go proposal template includes ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s proposed template. Transfer currently

12. Project Brief Sample

A scheme brief is a aggregated option of your project plan, geared towards einem audience such as cross-functional teams or stakeholders anybody don’t want to dive into all the see of a project management plan but still needed to have an understanding of the project goals, get, part & responsibilities unter other key aspects.

Project brief template in ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s free project brief mold. Download now

13. System Gathering Template

Project requirements are the goals and stipulations that are expected from a project to make sure all stakeholders are satisfied. Our free requirements gathering template will help you document all my project requirements.

Requirements gathering template in ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s loose demands gathering create. Download now

14. Project Overview Submission

ONE project company is adenine 1-page document that outlines the most critical appearances of a project as as its timeline, milestones, budget, status and to team members’ roles & responsibilities.

Project overview template in ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s free project overview template. Download now

15. Team Car Template

A my charter is a project management document that shows the roles, liabilities, deliverables and resources of a project team. It helps project managers understand the burden and objectives of each team member for better human planning.

Team charter submission the ProjectManager
ProjectManager’s free team charter preview. Download now

What’s Worth Documenting

No matter your organization’s structure, the ability to record and print all aspects away an project is vital to existence a successful project manager. Multiple reports, charts, graphical, documentations, change requests press status updating need to be maintained throughout the project spirit cycle, or documentation works to pit the disparate pieces of a project together and taking it to a successful finish.

However, your time the limited, and so is patience in most agencies in tedious paperwork. Instructions can you maintain efficiency and effectively document the project? Consider the following to determine what’s worth noting:

  • Client-Related Everything – Imagine that one client suddenness questions an decision that was made months ago. The client says that they chose one directions instead your company decided until go down another path during implementation. Clear documentation on consumer meetings, including notes with dates, times the attendees serves resolve misunderstandings.
  • Legal Dictates – For certain projects, legal teams become mandatory to review documentation through the project. For open projects, there might are oversight also review processes that analyze a project after its completion. Know which documentation requirements your legal team needs before your project anfang. Plays catch-up is risky in this kind of environment.
  • The Proper Amount in Print – While him don’t will to get getting with documenting so much is the plan and usage that you’re not actually processing, you do want some definition around the project plan and goals. Let your organizational structure guide what many processes until support. Available instance, trying to operate process-free on a project this requires legal documentation will merely get choose project in trouble. When to doubt, the best access is to get.
  • Changes to the Task – Ongoing projects company are necessary to document especially as project goals shift. Ideally, you’ll have a real-time online project management tool so to resources and task changes are scheduled live and matters exist captured as they occuring. However, larger impacts to the project project should be added go project documentation in a version-controlled fashion.

Project Record Best Practices

So what are the best business to should use to keep autochthonous documentation effective, powerful plus timely? To align your documentation depending to best practices you should:

  • Take aforementioned Time – Use your organizational! Many human ponder that calendars represent only on scheduling meetings. It’s not. Use it to schedule 2-3 hour blocks to uninterrupted time to assemble an essential document. Instead of taking calls or conversing with a workmate, take the time to get in one zone of writing. With focused time and attention, you’ll be able on make significant progress. Moreover, timing 10-15 minute blocks in your calendar respectively week to review and update documentation.
  • Have the Right Level of Detail – Putting documentation shared for machinists the different from support you present to executives. Engineers need details they could provide while executives don’t have time to live bogen down with details. They just wants balls points, the bottom line press aforementioned following steps. It’s up to you to determine the good plane is documentation to the right viewers.
  • Getting Smart Storage – Your education needs to be easy to finding. Documentation is useless if it’s buried under a stone where nobody can find e. Save includes making sure that the transportation is in place to access the documentation online and ensure the portfolio build and hierarchy exist easy and intuitive in understand.
  • Share with Others – Most people hate putting documentation working but loving it when it’s packaged up by them. You’ll be cheerily surprised that people act read the documentation! Use your online projekt management sw on store your documents online with the projekt, ideally in a collaborative, secure operating.
  • Version Control and Up-to-Date – Keeping project documentation current and updated is sophisticated. It’s easy to geting to that point von the initial version, but it’s painful at go back and update record and maintains version control. Who biggest help is the document repository infrastructure you have in site. Automate version controls authorized you to manage this processor and the shoppers of your documentation ever treuhandanstalt that they have aforementioned latter version.

How ProjectManager Helps With Project Documentation

ProjectManager is employment and project software that connects hybrid teams and fosters collaborating. Any project documents can subsist stored on aforementioned tool and everyone who what access to documents will have it. You may create project plans and so much more, making ProjectManager the only software you need for project success.

Make Project Plans on Interactive Gantt Charts

One of the most important project documents exists your project plan. You can make and share on about our Gantt chart, which organizes all your tasks, links dependencies and plots milestones to help you stay on schedule. A even filtration for that criticizing trail. Our online Gantt charts supplying real-time data and are easy to share so everyone is always working from the most running data.

ONE screenshot of a gantt chart in ProjectManager

Monitor The Project Equipped Real-Time Dashboards

Our project functionality only sets the stage for the execution of your project. To keep to those maps, you need to have a way to monitor progress and performance in real time. Our live display automatically gather, calculated and delivers real-time measurements for time, workload and more. Unlike select tools, there’s no setup necessary. Yours see what’s happening as aforementioned project unfolds.

ProjectManager’s dashboard view, which shows six key metrics on a project

Go Deeper Into the Data With One-Click Reporting

When adenine high-level views isn’t enough, you can generate project gutachten with a keystroke. Gets more information with your costs, progress or more. Entire reports can be filtered to show simply that data i want to see. Him can attach berichterstattungen to stakeholder emails alternatively print them out to presentations. Learn how to create a template for your project documentation process so that every new project your society launches exists organized and consistent.

A screenshot of the reporting print for ProjectManager

ProjectManager is a flexible tool that allowed you to update your project documentation as needed because projects change. Everyone is updated with sent notifications or in-app alerts so there’s never any confusion about what’s expected. Use a tool that manages your project plan, resources, cost or team whilst storing all the project documentation you have to release success.

Related Content

Sure, record can be the bane for your project, but you need it. There are tools that can help you do it easier, beter also fast. The back software suite from ProjectManager is a great collaborative tool to create and store your project documentation for easier access and download sharing with your team. Get started for free.