Project Status Dashboard

Project status dashboards provide a snapshot of the status of an organization's projects. Some project status dashboards break down which projects have been completed, which are still in progress, and which have yet to start, while others visualize the percentage breakdown of on track, behind schedule, or slightly lagging projects. The best project status dashboards, like the example from ClearPoint above, make it simple to drill down to a project detail page to learn more about each initiative’s status. These detail pages often include qualitative analysis from project owners explaining current progress and relevant context and outlining the milestones to come.

Pie charts are ideal for project status dashboards as they allow for easy visualization of the relative number of projects doing well versus lagging. Pie charts in ClearPoint can help monitor a variety of initiatives in correspondence to the overall strategic plan.

Grid-Style Report

By including a grid-style report that offers more information on the status of each project, including the project’s owner, budget, end date, and milestones, a project dashboard can represent project performance at a high-level while also offering enough information for a fuller understanding of each project on its own.

Gantt Charts

They may also include Gantt charts like the one shown below to visualize the project timeline and show the status and progress of each milestone. In ClearPoint, Gantt charts can serve as visual guides to the beginning and end dates of different activities along with the status of said activities. It is also important to keep in mind that these activities do not necessarily have to be completed for it to become relevant to the Gantt chart.

Learn more about improving your project management processes in this article.

Key Elements for Project Status Dashboards

• A visualization of the relative number of projects in various stages--e.g. on track vs. delayed vs. completed

Visualizations make it easy to get a snapshot of how well your projects are progressing. With a visualization of the relative number of projects in various stages, you can quickly identify if you have too many projects behind or ahead of schedule. This allows leaders to quickly understand if they have bandwidth for more projects, or if they need more bandwidth for their projects.

• The ability to drill down for more information on any particular project

The ability to drill down is a critical part of the project management process. If any major projects, that may be blocking the start of many other projects, are behind, managers should be able to easily drill down into the projects to review why. This drill down ability allows managers not only to easily gain more information and missing context, it also allows them to better plan and manage their projects in the future.

• Gantt charts to show the project's timeline and its milestones

Gantt charts allow project managers to see where projects are on their timeline – and see if they’re falling behind schedule. Knowing which projects are lagging allow you to remap due dates as necessary for projects that may be linked together. It also gives project managers a quick snapshot of which milestones project teams are struggling to complete, and thus, where they might need the most support.

Intended Audience

This dashboard is intended for project managers and leaders within an organization. Leaders can utilize this dashboard to not only understand how their projects are progressing, but also how this is impacting their goals and objectives for the year.