If you are managing a project in SharePoint and still have to message people for task updates, search through folders for the latest file, or check different spreadsheets to understand what is overdue, your project setup is already creating extra work. The problem is not that your team lacks information. The problem is that the information is scattered, ownership is unclear, and there is no single place where you can quickly see what needs attention. SharePoint project management templates help solve this by giving projects a consistent structure for tasks, documents, issues, deadlines, and status updates. From our experience working with SharePoint environments at SPDW, we have seen that project teams usually struggle when their sites contain information but do not organize it around the way people actually manage work. A well-structured template makes responsibilities easier to track, keeps project files in one place, and gives project managers better visibility into progress without adding unnecessary complexity.
In this article, we will discuss how SharePoint project management templates work, what a useful template should contain, how to configure one for day-to-day project management, and when dashboards, automation, or further customization become necessary.
Does SharePoint Have a Project Management Tool?
SharePoint does not work like a traditional standalone project management platform where task scheduling, resource planning, and advanced project reporting all sit inside one dedicated application.
However, SharePoint does provide project management capabilities through team sites, Microsoft Lists, document libraries, pages, web parts, Microsoft 365 integrations, and automation.
Microsoft also provides a modern Project management site template for SharePoint. It creates a team workspace with a project tracker, issue tracker, document library, calendar, project status reporting, and other project-focused content.
That distinction matters. SharePoint works best as the central workspace around the project. It can keep project information organized while Microsoft Planner, Teams, Power Automate, and Power BI extend task management, communication, workflows, and reporting when required.
What a SharePoint Project Management Template Should Include
A useful SharePoint project management template should answer the questions project teams ask every day: What needs to happen next? Who owns it? What is late? What problems are blocking progress? Where is the latest document? What is the current project status?
For that reason, a practical template should normally include:
- A project tracker for tasks, owners, priorities, start dates, due dates, and progress
- An issue or risk tracker for problems that could affect delivery
- A structured document library for project files
- Important milestones, events, and deadlines
- A project status area that gives stakeholders a quick view of progress
Microsoft’s current Project management template follows much of this structure. Its prebuilt content includes a Project tracker list, Issue tracker list, document library, Outlook calendar, home page, and status report template.
The important step is not simply applying the template. You need to adjust these components around the information your team actually needs to manage.
Use the Project Tracker as the Main Source of Project Progress
The project tracker should become the operational center of the site.
Instead of maintaining separate task spreadsheets, configure the tracker with fields such as task name, workstream, owner, status, priority, start date, target date, and notes. Keep the number of fields under control. Every extra field creates another piece of information users need to maintain.
Microsoft Lists already provides a Work tracker template with fields for work items, categories, progress, priority, dates, owners, and stakeholders. It also supports automated rules for notifications.
Views make the same tracker useful to different people. From the SharePoint project environments we have worked with, different roles usually need different views of the same project data. Project managers need broader visibility across active work, while team members benefit from a focused view of their assigned tasks. Separate views for overdue work, blocked tasks, high-priority items, and upcoming deadlines make the tracker easier to use.
Conditional formatting can make important items stand out without creating another report. In practice, status-based highlighting works particularly well for drawing attention to blocked, overdue, or high-priority work directly inside the project tracker.
Keep Project Issues Separate From Normal Tasks
A task and a project issue are not the same thing.
Tasks describe work that should happen. Issues describe something preventing the project from moving as expected. Mixing both into one long list makes it harder to see what requires management attention.
The Issue tracker included with Microsoft’s project template gives you a dedicated location for these problems. A useful issue record can include the issue, severity, owner, current status, affected workstream, target resolution date, and resolution notes.
More importantly, assign ownership immediately. An issue without an owner usually becomes a meeting topic rather than something that gets resolved.
This separation also makes project reporting clearer. Stakeholders can see normal delivery progress without losing sight of the few problems that could change the deadline, cost, or scope.
Manage Project Documents Through the Template
A project management site should also become the main location for project documentation.
Instead of storing specifications, meeting notes, proposals, reports, and final deliverables across email attachments and personal folders, keep them in the project’s SharePoint document library.
Use folders only when they genuinely help navigation. For larger projects, metadata such as Document Type, Workstream, Project Phase, Status, or Owner can make documents easier to filter and locate.
You should also decide how permissions will work before the library becomes busy. General project content often follows the site’s standard permissions, while sensitive commercial, HR, or executive documents usually require tighter access controls.
The aim is simple: when someone needs the current project file, the SharePoint site should be the first place they look.
Build a SharePoint Project Management Dashboard Template
Once the underlying project data is reliable, you can turn the project home page into a useful dashboard.
A SharePoint project management dashboard template does not need to begin with complex charts. Start by surfacing the information that requires action.
In the project sites we have worked with, the most effective dashboards keep the focus on a small set of project information that people need to review regularly. Project status, upcoming milestones, blocked issues, priority tasks, important documents, recent updates, and key contacts usually provide the clearest view. Microsoft’s Project management template already uses web parts such as Hero, Events, News, Document Library, Quick Links, and People to bring this information onto the project page.
If the team uses Microsoft Planner, you can also add the Planner web part to a SharePoint page. It can display a plan as either a board or charts, allowing users to review task progress without leaving the project site.
For management-level reporting, Power BI provides another option. SharePoint Online supports embedding interactive Power BI reports and individual visuals through the Power BI web part, although the appropriate Power BI permissions and licensing still apply.
The dashboard should therefore grow with the project. Start with SharePoint lists and web parts, then introduce Planner or Power BI only when they solve a clear reporting requirement.
Automate the Repetitive Parts of Project Management
Templates create consistency, but automation keeps that structure from depending completely on manual follow-up.
Power Automate is commonly used in SharePoint project workflows for task notifications, deadline reminders, issue escalations, and document approvals. These workflows reduce manual follow-up while keeping important actions connected to the project process.
Microsoft Lists integrates with Power Automate, and some list templates already include rules or workflow capabilities for common notifications and reminders.
However, automation should support the project process rather than make it harder to understand. Start with repetitive actions that users regularly forget. Once those flows work reliably, you can expand into approvals, escalations, status updates, or cross-system processes.
Can You Use a SharePoint Project Management Template for Free?
If your organization already uses a Microsoft 365 environment that includes SharePoint, the built-in Project management site template is usually the most sensible place to start before purchasing a third-party template.
For teams looking for a SharePoint project management template free of additional template costs, this built-in option can provide a practical starting point for task tracking, issue management, shared documents, deadlines, and status communication.
However, cost should not be the only consideration. The more important question is whether the template’s structure matches the way your team manages projects.
From our experience with SharePoint project environments, the built-in template works best when the team’s requirements remain relatively straightforward. Once the way projects are managed starts outgrowing that structure, it becomes worth assessing whether the standard template still provides enough flexibility.
When a Standard Template Is Not Enough
As project management becomes more structured, the limitations of a basic template become easier to see.
In more mature SharePoint project environments, requirements often expand to reusable project sites, automatic creation of standard folders and lists, consistent status values, approval workflows, portfolio-level dashboards, and reporting across multiple projects.
That is where custom SharePoint project management solutions become more useful than repeatedly modifying individual sites.
At this stage, the goal is to turn the basic template into a repeatable project workspace that supports consistent processes across teams and projects. This may involve standardized lists, automated workflows, shared dashboards, controlled permissions, and Microsoft 365 integrations based on how the organization manages projects.
How SPDW Can Help with SharePoint Project Management
Moving beyond a standard template is not simply about adding more SharePoint features. The more important step is deciding which parts of the existing project process need to become easier to manage, more consistent, or less dependent on manual work.
This starts with reviewing how teams currently track work, manage documents, handle approvals, and report progress. From there, SharePoint can be configured around the areas where a clearer structure or automation would make a practical difference.
SPDW works with organizations to improve these areas based on how their teams actually manage projects. The focus stays on reducing manual updates, keeping project information easier to find, and giving project managers a clearer view of what needs attention.
If your current setup is becoming difficult to manage, explore our SharePoint project management services to build a project structure that works better for your team.
Conclusion
SharePoint project management templates work best when they give teams one clear place to track tasks, issues, documents, deadlines, and project status. A template provides the structure, but its real value depends on how well that structure supports the way your team manages work every day.
Start with the essentials, keep project information easy to update, and create views that help people focus on what needs attention. As project requirements grow, you can extend the setup with Planner for task management, Power Automate for routine workflows, and Power BI for more detailed reporting.
The goal is not to add more tools or complexity. It is to make project information easier to find, responsibilities easier to track, and progress easier to understand across the team.
Ready to bring more control and clarity to your SharePoint projects? Get in touch to discuss a project management setup that reduces manual work, keeps teams aligned, and gives you a clearer view of project progress.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does SharePoint have a project management tool?
Yes. SharePoint includes a Project management site template with project and issue tracking, document management, status reporting, and other project-focused features. It works best as a configurable project workspace rather than a standalone project management application.
How to use SharePoint for project management?
Use SharePoint as a central project workspace where the team can track tasks and issues, store project documents, manage deadlines, publish status updates, and keep important project information accessible from one site. Microsoft Lists can handle structured tracking, while tools such as Planner, Power Automate, and Power BI can extend the setup when you need visual task management, workflow automation, or more detailed reporting.
Is SharePoint a project management system?
SharePoint is not a complete standalone project management system out of the box. Instead, it provides the building blocks for creating a project management workspace, including team sites, Lists, document libraries, pages, permissions, and web parts. Its Project management template brings several of these components together, and organizations can extend the setup with other Microsoft 365 tools when their project requirements become more advanced.
How do I create a project site in SharePoint?
In SharePoint, select Create site, choose a Team site, and select the template you want to use. For project work, the Project management site template provides a ready-made structure that includes project and issue tracking, documents, status reporting, and other project-focused content. You can then add members, configure permissions, and customize the lists, pages, navigation, and web parts around your project.
How to use a SharePoint template?
To apply a template to an existing SharePoint site, open Settings > Apply a site template, review the available templates, and select Use template for the one you want. Site owner permissions or higher are required. After applying it, you can customize its pages, lists, web parts, navigation, and other content. Existing site content does not automatically merge with the new template and remains available through Site contents.
How can I easily manage a project using SharePoint Lists?
Use SharePoint Lists to keep project work in structured trackers rather than separate spreadsheets. A project list can track work items, owners, priorities, progress, start dates, due dates, and other details, while a separate issue list can keep blockers visible. Microsoft also provides a Work tracker template with fields for progress, priority, dates, assignments, and stakeholders, along with rules for notifications. Custom views can then help teams focus on active, overdue, blocked, or assigned work.
