A PMO, or project management office, can be an internal department or an external group or agency that defines and maintains the standards for a company’s project management. There are three types; supportive, controlling and directive and each has varying degrees of involvement. However, all three can use PMO templates to support project programs and portfolios.
ProjectManager is project management software that’s more dynamic than static PMO templates, but if you’re not ready to upgrade, our site is rich with free project management templates for Excel and Word. We’ve collected 15 free templates that are suitable for a PMO. These templates cover everything from Gantt charts, project planning, resource allocation, status reports on project data and so much more.
1. PMO Gantt Chart Template
The Gantt chart is one of the essential tools for project managers. It provides a view of the entire project on a timeline and includes tasks, milestones, schedules and more. The project management office can use our free Gantt chart template for Excel to get an overview of a project or use it as a roadmap to track multiple projects in one place to allocate resources when and where they’re needed.
The Gantt chart template is broken up into two sections. On the left is a regular spreadsheet where you can add the tasks or projects that you’re overseeing. Next to that are columns to capture the start and end dates. Finally, there’s a column for the duration of the task or project. Once you’ve filled out this information, the color-coded timeline on the right automatically populates and allows you to see the tasks, phases and projects all in one place.
2. PMO Project Dashboard Template
PMOs need a high-level view of the projects they’re overseeing. They need metrics to help them chart the course of those projects and know when changes are required to keep everything on track. Our free PMO project dashboard template for Excel is made up of easy-to-read graphs and charts that give them that data at a glance.
You need real-time data to make better decisions or you might act on inaccurate data. ProjectManager is online project management software with portfolio dashboards that capture real-time data that requires no time-consuming configuration or manual input as with PMO templates. Instead, you get fast and reliable data on the health of your projects, tasks, progress, time, cost and workload whenever you need it. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.
3. PMO Cost-Benefit Analysis Template
There are certain projects that are worth pursuing, while others are going to end up in a money pit. A PMO helps guide companies to choose projects that will give them value for their investment. To do this, they can use our free PMO cost-benefit analysis template for Excel.
A cost-benefit analysis is used to compare what you expect to pay for a project against what you hope it’ll provide in terms of opportunity. This is done by adding a dollar amount to all your quantitative costs and quantitative benefits. From there, it’s easy to see if you’ll be getting a return on your investment.
4. PMO Strategic Plan Template
Often times when a company needs help executing a major strategy, they turn to a PMO. A strategic plan will help define how an organization can reach long-term objectives, so the team can use it as a reference document through the months and years. This free strategic plan template for Word will help you get started with such a long-term plan.
This strategic plan template will help a PMO nail down the essentials for any strategy. There are fields for the vision statement, mission statement and a SWOT analysis to help everyone come to terms with their competitive environment. It’s an ideal place to start when trying to solve the big questions.
5. PMO Strategic Roadmap Template
PMOs, by definition, oversee multiple projects. When an organization creates a strategic plan it usually involves many projects working together to achieve a common goal. Using our free PMO strategic roadmap template for Excel visualizes the steps that lead to reaching the organization’s long-term goals.
Our free PMO template is customizable so you can adjust it to fit your long-term goals. When you open ours you’ll find a timeline, tasks and activities with deliverables and timelines to track your progress. There’s even a column to list your team and the departments they’re working in.
6. PMO Strategic Map Template
Another job for PMOs is to provide guidelines and communicate the strategic plan throughout the organization to ensure that everyone is working together on that common cause. A PMO template that helps do this is our free PMO strategy map template for Excel is a visual tool that disseminates the strategic plan across the organization.
The PMO strategy map template shows the cause-and-effect of an organization’s strategic objectives and breaks up those objectives into four perspectives: financial, customer, business process and learning and growth. The strategic objectives are represented by ovals on the map and arrows show the relationship between them.
7. PMO Balanced Scorecard Template
PMOs use tools to manage strategy and get metrics to measure its performance. One of these tools is our free PMO balanced scorecard template for Excel. This free PMO template can help with the improvement of internal operations and external outcomes.
This PMO template helps to communicate targets and goals for an organization and informs its day-to-day operations. This is both a planning tool and a way to communicate the plan, but also can be used to track and assess the effectiveness of that plan.
8. PMO Project Prioritization Matrix Template
One thing a PMO does is provide guidance. This guidance and insight can help with how you manage projects, but also whether those projects are worth taking on in the first place. One tool to help make those types of decisions is our free project prioritization matrix template for Excel.
The process is deceptively simple but it’s an effective way to prioritize your projects. The matrix is divided into four sections. On top, there are two columns, one for doing now and the other for doing later. The lefthand side has two rows, one for crucial and the other for not crucial. Depending on where you place the project, it can be a must-do immediately, scheduled for the near future, delegated, delete or move. You can also use this for tasks or anything you need to prioritize.
9. Resource Plan Template for PMOs
Allocating limited resources across multiple projects so everyone has what they need when they need it is a large part of what a PMO does. Being able to plan those resources smartly will help deliver successful projects. Our free Excel resource plan template for PMOs helps PMOs make sure teams are properly allocated.
Using this PMO template lets you list all your team members by department and their individual tasks. Then you can show each team member’s total effort, rate and the cost for that work. There’s even a calendar to map out when each team member will be working.
10. PMO Resource Capacity Planning Template
Another PMO template is our free PMO resource capacity planning template for Excel. This helps PMOs to figure out how much production capacity is needed to meet demand. This is especially useful as demand is constantly fluctuating.
This PMO template allows you to list your tasks, their estimated duration, including the start and end dates. There is another chart for resources to be listed, including hourly rate and a project timeline. Other info includes resource utilization, availability and more.
11. Project Estimate Template for PMOs
Having accurate forecasts for the cost of your projects is part of delivering them successfully. Our free Excel project estimate template for PMOs helps PMOs figure out how much each project will cost to the best of their ability.
The phases of the project are broken up in this PMO template. In each of these sections the vendor or contractor is listed as well as the labor and materials for the specific line item task. Adding all this up will give you an accurate estimate for the project.
12. PMO Flow Chart Template
As a PMO, it’s critical to understand all the steps for a project or a process. A flow chart will allow you to map out those steps and provide a visual reference point for others in the organization. Our free flow chart template for Word will provide you with springboard to make your own flow chart.
Making a flow chart is often a rock solid place to start understanding a key process or project. Once you’ve identified key tasks and their relationships, you can start assigning responisbility and developing a full-blown schedule for execution.
13. PMO Project Budget Template
Money is always going to rule decisions when overseeing projects. Companies have finite costs and don’t want to find themselves continuously updating a budget because it demands more funds. Using our free PMO project budget template for Excel can help you accurately forecast budgets and avoid overspending on projects.
There are so many costs related to a project that our free template helps you capture them all. The template itself is customizable, so if there’s anything you don’t need or want to add it’s easy to do. Our template has fields for labor costs, consulting fees, raw materials, software licenses, travel, utilities, office space and equipment and so much more. Get accurate estimates of project costs before executing the project.
14. Stakeholder Analysis Template for PMOs
If you look at PMOs as service providers, it’s clear that they have stakeholders. For a project management office, those stakeholders can include executives, project managers, functional managers and even team members. All will have their specific expectations. With our free stakeholder analysis template for Excel, you can identify and manage them all.
This PMO template begins with basic stakeholder information. That is, you list all the stakeholders and their projects. Then you can add their relationship to those projects, whether they have any subject matter expertise or are decision-makers. You also get to define how to communicate with them. Finally, there’s a dropdown menu to define their commitment, from C for the level of commitment and R for the required level of commitment.
15. PMO Project Review Template
A PMO is responsible for evaluating past projects as well as planning new ones. If you don’t have a consistent method for evaluation, your review process could be spotty and deliver unreliable results. Try this free project review template for Word and bring some consistenty to your project evaluation.
Of course, project review doesn’t have to be limited to the conclusion of a project. Reviewing an ongoing project can also be beneficial in terms of staying on track and meeting stakeholder requirements. When you consider all the ways you can leverage this PMO template, it’s self-evident how impactful it can be.
16. PMO Timesheet Template
Being able to track time over a specific period helps ensure the project is progressing on schedule. This is an essential resource management tool as well as part of payroll. Therefore, the PMO is going to want to have access to timesheets to track progress. They can use our free timesheet template for Excel.
The first thing you do with our free template defines a timeframe for the timesheet. Next, you can add the start time, lunch start and end and the end time for each person’s day. There is a column to add regular hours, overtime hours and then the total work hours. Now you have a high-level view of your costs.
17. Communication Plan Template for PMOs
All activities that are part of a company’s project management go through the PMO. Communication is a vital part of this process. If things aren’t clearly stated and distributed properly, issues will arise that can impact the bottom line. That’s why our free communication plan template for Word is so important.
This PMO template helps you define the vision and objectives for the project, program or portfolio as well as their goals and timeframes. There are also places to add the communication staff and what tools they’ll be using. Then you can show how you’ll measure the effectiveness of your communication plan to make sure it’s doing what you want it to do.
18. Project Plan Template for PMOs
PMOs improve project management by standardizing processes and boosting efficiency. That means they create and maintain documentation, tracking and training. But they also plan. That’s where our free project plan template for PMOs comes in handy.
This PMO template has everything you’ll need for a PMO. There’s a place to define the scope of the project, program or portfolio, including milestones, phases and tasks. You can also add your effort and resource requirements. Then schedule the plan, including task dependencies, project assumptions and constraints, budget, risk log, change management process and much more.
19. PMO Project Tracking Template
PMOs monitor the projects they oversee. They need to track their progress in order to make sure that they’re running as per schedule. If they’re not, resources might need reallocation to get everything back on track. Our free PMO project tracking template for Excel is designed to work as a task management system to track tasks and make sure the work is being done on time.
Using the project tracking template allows you to track individual projects or programs and portfolios. First, you list the task name or project name and a brief description. If there are any task dependencies, you add them to the next column. There’s space to add who the task is assigned to or the project manager. Now note the priority, start date, planned end date and actual end date. Finally, there’s a pulldown menu to capture the status.
20. Multiple Project Tracking Template for PMOs
PMOs are monitoring multiple projects at once in order to ensure that all are working towards the common strategic goal of the organization. To achieve that goal means these projects must be delivered on time and stay within budget. Our free Excel multiple project tracking template for PMOs is a great PMO template for this.
When you open the template there are several charts, each a separate project. You can name the project, list the tasks and dependencies, who those tasks are assigned to and their priority. There’s also a place to list the planned start and end dates, the actual start and end dates and the same with the costs. This allows you to see if your actual progress is aligned with the planned progress. If not, you can make adjustments to get back on track.
21. Requirements Gathering Template for PMOs
The purpose of requirements gathering is that it guides the PMO through the whole project, from initiation to delivery. Requirements are a condition or capacities that stakeholders need to solve a problem or achieve an objective. Using our free requirements gathering template for PMOs, you can collect everything in one place.
Everything you’d need to understand the project is within the pages of this Word document, including the project plan, a description of the project’s purpose, scope and a timeline that has milestones, dependencies and so forth. The goals and objects are also defined as well as the constraints and restrictions and how to resolve them.
22. Risk Log Template for PMOs
Risk is always something that PMOs are tracking. Whether it’s a good risk or a bad risk, the sooner it’s identified and dealt with, the better. Our free risk log template for PMOs gives you a tool to prepare for risk and have a plan in place to resolve it if it shows up as an issue.
Begin by describing the risk and its impact. Then add how you’ll respond to the risk if it in fact becomes an issue. To help in your response, add the risk level, such as high, medium or low. Now you know how to prioritize the risk if it becomes an issue. There’s also a place to add the project manager or team member who owns that risk and is responsible for identifying and leading the response to it.
23. PMO Change Log Template
Change is going to happen, and the PMO is there to help ensure that it doesn’t negatively impact the project. One way to do that is by using our free PMO change log template for Excel. It’s part of any larger, effective change management plan that helps control the change by tracking it from the moment it’s identified until it’s been resolved.
This spreadsheet gives you a place to put everything you need to know about the change in your project to manage it. Note when the change is first observed, who on the project team owns it, which means they will lead the effort to resolve it, and you can also add the priority and status of that change.
24. PMO Change Request Template
Before you resolve or respond to any change, you need to decide whether it’s worth doing. There are changes, such as inclement weather or equipment failure, which must be dealt with. But more often than not, changes come from owners and other stakeholders. Our free PMO change request form for Word provides you with a place for everyone to agree on what to do.
You can customize the change request form to have as much or as little detail as you want. We’ve included space for a brief description and the impact it’ll have on the project. There’s enough information on the form for project managers to work with the PMO on deciding if the change is worth doing, and if so how, or to take no action.
25. Project Status Report Template for PMOs
Reporting is key to PMO work. For example, a status report delivers key project data that will inform how a PMO will guide the project management of that project. With our free project status report template for PMOs, you can chart the project’s health and progress, among other things, within a specific period of time.
The status report has a summary of key accomplishments, the work that has been completed over that period, planned work still to come in the project scope, milestones achieved and deliverables. There’s also a place to list action items for what needs to come next. Other things under review include the budget, schedule, quality, risks, issues and roadblocks.
26. Progress Report Template
PMOs need to track the progress of the projects they’re overseeing. Reporting is a valuable tool that captures data from the project over a specific period of time, including if it’s moving forward as planned. Our free progress report template for Word gives PMOs that snapshot in one document.
This PMO template gives PMOs everything from a summary to data on tasks, any issues that have come up over the time period covered and how the project is performing in terms of its budget. There’s also space for accomplishments and what is expected to be accomplished moving forward.
27. Program Roadmap Template
This free program roadmap template for Excel allow PMOs to visualize the timelines of the multiple projects that make up a program and identify their tasks, milestones and deliverables. It can be used to track projects on a weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly basis.
This PMO template gives PMOs everything from a summary to data on tasks, any issues that have come up over the time period covered and how the project is performing in terms of its budget. There’s also space for accomplishments and what is expected to be accomplished moving forward.
How ProjectManager Helps PMOs
That’s a lot of templates. And although free is free, there’s always a price. PMO templates are static and you have to do all the work. ProjectManager is award-winning project management software that delivers task management, risk management and resource management features to help PMOs guide their projects, programs and portfolios in real time. It has automation and updates so you’re always looking at the most current information.
Manage Resources With Roadmaps
PMOs oversee many projects at once. They have to provide direction on which needs what resources and when. To do that, they need more than PMO templates can provide. Our project management software gives you an overview of all your projects on one screen. See them from start to finish on a visual timeline, including metrics such as the planned effort, actual effort and more. You can open any project, print the roadmap and easily edit and adjust the column to view what you want.
Keep Teams Balanced With Workload Charts
Teams are your most valuable resource. You can track their time on tasks with our secure timesheets, but our workload view goes even further in providing resource management. Use it to efficiently track progress and workload across projects. You can see total hours and reassign tasks to balance the workload and keep everyone productive.
PMOs can also benefit from customized reports, including status and portfolio reports, and many more. All can be filtered to focus on what you want to see and then easily shared. There’s also a portfolio view where you can group projects and view progress, project manager, team members, status and much more.
Related PMO Content
If you’re looking for more resources on project management offices and the tools and techniques they use, we have blog posts, ultimate guides and much more.
- Project Management Tools and Techniques Every PMO Should Use
- Project Management Excel Templates
- Project Management Templates for Google Sheets
- Project Management Office (PMO) – The Ultimate Guide
- Project Portfolio Management (PPM): The Ultimate Guide
- Project Prioritization: How to Prioritize Projects & Strategy
ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that does what templates can do. Open our collaborative software and connect with teams across departments or time zones. Share files, comment and more. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.
