How Do I Create a Project Management Dashboard in Google Sheets?

Creating a project management dashboard in Google Sheets can help you effectively track, analyze, and summarize your project tasks, milestones, timelines, and progress.

This is because Google Sheets offers so much flexibility and functionality, allowing you to make your project management dashboard as straightforward or as complex as you like.

So, how can you create a project management dashboard in Google Sheets?

There are three main methods for making a Google Sheets project management dashboard:

1. Create your own dashboard using Google Sheets charts and automations.
2. Copy and edit a pre-made Google Sheets project management dashboard template.
3. Use Sheetify Projects.

Each of the three methods mentioned above offers different levels of functionality and requires varying degrees of technical knowledge to set up and use.

A Google Sheets dashboard is a powerful tool that allows you to consolidate and display your critical data into one visual Google Sheet.

It’s essentially a dedicated tab showcasing your inputted metrics and insights, making it easier to track progress and make informed decisions!

For project management, a Google Sheets dashboard can show your project progress, team performance, budgets, and other KPI’s at a glance to help you always stay on track.

By leveraging Google Sheets' features such as charts, graphs, and other visualizations, you can basically transform your raw data into easy-to-understand visuals.

It is possible to build a basic project management dashboard yourself within Google Sheets using the built-in Google Sheets features and tools.

Here’s how you can create a project management dashboard manually:

Create a new Google Sheet and name your file at the top.

Collect all the project data you want to track by manually adding column headers like ‘Project Name,’ ‘Assigned To,’ ‘Status, ’ ‘Completion Rate, ’ and other relevant data.

If you already have this data in another file, you can easily import it into the spreadsheet.

Once you’ve entered your data in the rows below the column headers, highlight the range of cells with the data you want to visualize.

In the top menu, select Insert and then choose Chart (Google Sheets will automatically generate a chart based on the selected data).

Within the chart editor, you can choose the chart type that best suits your data (bar, line, pie, etc.).

Customize the chart by adjusting colors, axis labels, and other details.

Create a clean space for your dashboard by selecting the ‘+’ symbol (to add a new tab).

Right-click the new tab and select Rename, then type Project Dashboard (or any other name you prefer).

Go back to the chart you created, click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner of the chart, and copy and paste your chart within the new tab.

Delete the original chat (within the original tab) if you wish.

As you update the data, your chart will automatically update as well!

To make your dashboard more informative, you can add additional charts for other key data points (e.g., task completion, sales trends, or project milestones).

Organize your charts by category or importance.

Adjust the chart sizes and positions for better visual balance and clarity.

Change the color schemes to make your charts more cohesive (e.g., green for completed tasks, red for overdue ones).

Ensure every chart has a clear title that describes what the data represents to make it easier for your team to understand your dashboard at a glance.

Note: While this is an excellent way to visually showcase your key metrics in a single, organized sheet, it only allows you to build a basic project management dashboard.

This is because there aren’t many automation tools within Google Sheets (unless you know how to use Google Apps Script).

Therefore, you must often manually edit your data, which can be time-consuming for those with a lot of project data!

Do you have a lot of complex data? You may want to use a Google Sheets project dashboard template to track, analyze, and visualize your projects.

Luckily, many paid and free Google Sheets project management dashboard templates are readily available to download and use.

These templates already have pre-configured headers, charts, formulas, and conditional formatting options, so you don’t need to manually set up anything yourself.

I highly recommend using one of SmartSheet’s project management dashboard templates as they’re all completely free, easy to use, and customizable.

SmartSheet offers a wide range of templates, covering everything from basic to complex project management needs.

To use one of SmartSheet’s dashboard templates, all you need to do is:

Select the template that best suits your team and your project.

Click ‘File > Make a copy’ from the top menu.

Delete the dummy data and enter your own project and task information.

Sit back, relax, and watch your data come to life!

This option is the best choice for those looking for an easy way to quickly visualize their project milestones and progress.

The third and final way to create a project management dashboard in Google Sheets is by using Sheetify Projects, my all-in-one project management template! 

This is by far the best way to effectively track, analyze, and oversee your projects inside Google Sheets.

Why? Well, Sheetify Projects is so much more than a simple project management dashboard template. 

With a built-in Apps Script, pre-made headers and charts, and integrated automations and formulas, Sheetify Projects lets you analyze, track, and break down your projects with ease!

While Sheetify Projects offers a dedicated project management dashboard tab, it also comes with a total of 8 dynamic, interconnected interfaces.

This means you can manage multiple projects simultaneously, tasks, internal email notifications, interactions, reports, and more within one Google Sheets spreadsheet.

But let’s talk about the project management dashboard, which is essentially a snapshot of individual project performance.

Here’s how you can navigate through the Sheetify Projects project management dashboard: 

Within Sheetify Projects, head to the ‘Dashboard’ tab at the bottom of your spreadsheet.

Simply choose the project from the drop-down menu that you want to analyze.

On the same sheet, you can easily view the breakdown of that project’s key statistics, like the start date, launch date, project completion percentage, and overdue tasks.

Below this, you can see the project’s planned vs actual costs, as well as planned effort vs actual effort.

On the right-hand side, you’ll notice two pie charts displaying an overview of your current projects, broken down into statuses and teams.

Underneath this, you can quickly view your active task data through the lens of three pie charts, each displaying different data (tasks by status, tasks based on assignee, tasks based on team).

Below this, you’ll see the task status breakdown that helps identify how task-heavy your projects are!

At the bottom of the sheet, you have the ‘Team performance’ table, analyzing how many tasks each member has completed and how many hours they’ve spent on each task.

And did you know that in addition to the ‘Dashboard’ sheet, Sheetify Projects also offers multiple view types to help you effectively manage your projects? These are:

The dedicated ‘Timeline’ Gantt Chart view (for a visual overview of your project timeline).

The ‘Kanban board’ view (for a visual ‘card’ type status overview of tasks and projects).

The ‘Calendar’ view (for a monthly overview of upcoming projects).

If you’re looking for a functional, comprehensive yet easy-to-use project management analytics dashboard, you can’t look past Sheetify Projects. 

With Sheetify Projects by your side, you can effortlessly manage your small business projects and tasks with minimal effort, all for just a one-time payment of $67! 

Make sure you check out everything Sheetify Projects can do here!