SharePoint has evolved far beyond its inception as a simple document management tool. Today, it serves as a comprehensive file management platform, integrating SharePoint team sites, lists, conversations, documents, notebooks, and pages into a single ecosystem.
One of its most significant advantages for project management is its ability to centralize disparate tools into one cohesive hub. By unifying teams, groups, and calendars within a single dashboard, SharePoint eliminates the inefficiencies of juggling multiple applications.
If managing projects requires you to coordinate across departments, track multiple calendars, and communicate with various teams, SharePoint offers a structured, streamlined solution. Let’s explore how it can transform your project management approach.
An Introduction to SharePoint for Project Management
SharePoint project management is a flexible approach that brings together a suite of web-based tools to help teams collaborate more effectively. The way you manage projects in SharePoint depends on your needs, but to get the most out of it, you first need a solid grasp of its core functionality.
The Project Tracker and Issues Tracker templates provide multiple views and detailed metadata for each work item, and can be easily added to a SharePoint site.
At its core, SharePoint’s key functionalities include:
- Conversations: Keep discussions and communication in one place.
- Documents: Store, share, and manage files efficiently.
- Lists: Customizable lists that can track various elements such as tasks, events, and contacts.
- Notebook: Collaborate with a shared digital notebook to capture project notes.
- Pages: Create and manage site pages for easy information sharing.
- Search: Easily find documents, conversations, and project updates quickly, saving time and reducing frustration.
- Workflows: Automate routine tasks such as approvals, notifications, and status updates.
- Permissions: Control who can view and edit your content, ensuring that sensitive information is secure.
- Site Contents: Access and organize all site assets in one view.
- Recycle Bin: Restore deleted files without hassle.
Integrating SharePoint with Other Tools
SharePoint integrates with Microsoft tools like Planner, Teams, Power Automate, Power BI, and Outlook, creating a unified platform to manage projects more efficiently. Throughout this article, we’ll refer to these integrations, so it’s helpful to understand how they work.
- Microsoft Planner Integration: Manage tasks and link to documents directly within SharePoint for a smooth planning experience.
- Microsoft Teams Integration: Share files, hold meetings, and keep all project communication organized within Teams.
- Power Automate Integration: Automate workflows and notifications directly within SharePoint.
- Power BI Integration: Create visually engaging dashboards to easily monitor project progress.
- Shared Mailbox Integration: Centralize project-related emails in a shared mailbox, ensuring easy access for all team members.
Getting Started with Project Management in SharePoint
The first step in any successful project is securing approval, sponsorship, and resources. At CrucialLogics, we streamline this process with a custom-built application designed to simplify project creation and ensure compliance with company policies.
Our dedicated application automates project setup by:
- Guiding users through key details, such as project name and team members.
- Automatically creating a dedicated Teams space, SharePoint site, shared calendar, and shared mailbox.
- Enforcing company standards, including naming conventions and governance rules.
- Routing approval requests to the appropriate stakeholders before provisioning the workspace.
- Configuring initial permissions to ensure the right people have the right level of access.
Another option for setting up your project is to use SharePoint’s built-in project template within a SharePoint site. This ready-made structure provides an organized homepage with key project details at a glance, eliminating the need to build everything from scratch.
Working with Project Documents and Information
SharePoint keeps all project files in one place, making it easy for team members to collaborate on documents. It tracks who made changes and when, ensuring version control. You can also add extra details like project phase or status to each file. 
The Project Tracker List is your go-to tool for managing project tasks within SharePoint. It comes with built-in metadata that lets you track work items, assign responsibilities, and set due dates with status updates. You can view tasks in multiple ways:
- Simple list: A straightforward view of all tasks
- Calendar: A visual representation of tasks based on their due dates
- Board: Organize tasks into columns such as "To Do," "In Progress," and "Done"
- Charts: View task progress through various progress indicators
This flexibility ensures you can stay on top of tasks in the way that works best for your team.
Team Communication and Collaboration
Teams and SharePoint integrate seamlessly, providing a unified space for communication and collaboration. You can chat about project topics on different channels, hold and record meetings, and keep all conversations and files organized by topic. It lets you access SharePoint files directly from Teams (within Microsoft Teams), share screens and work together on documents in real-time.
SharePoint also offers built-in whiteboards for brainstorming and planning. You can draw diagrams and create plans together, using available templates for different project needs. Sessions can be saved and shared with the team, and everyone can contribute ideas and make adjustments.
Keeping Track of Project Details
You can add important details to tasks and documents in SharePoint by using metadata. By selecting the "Add Column" tab, you can include extra information such as project phase, priority level, due dates, responsible team members, and status updates. This helps make it easier to find specific items, filter/sort/group data, generate reports, and track progress.
Workflow Automation
SharePoint offers robust workflow automation through Power Automate, which integrates triggers based on both documents, and list items such as tasks. Common document-based triggers include:
- New document uploaded
- Document modified
- Review needed
- Approval required
For tasks, triggers include:
- Task assigned
- Due date approaching
- Status changed
- Priority updated
You can automate key project management tasks to streamline your workflow, such as sending reminders for approaching deadlines, automatically updating task statuses, routing items for approval, and notifying team members of changes. Additionally, you can set up custom notifications, with alerts sent via email, Teams messages, or project channels.
Closing a project
The project closure process begins with a pre-closure checklist, which includes documenting completion status, reviewing outstanding tasks, gathering final approvals, verifying deliverables, and notifying the team.
Next, site closure actions are taken, such as archiving the Team and setting the SharePoint site to read-only, exporting key metrics, and saving a project summary. Finally, documentation is completed, including lessons learned, a project closure report and a final status update.
Conclusion
SharePoint is a powerful platform that integrates project management, communication, and collaboration into one cohesive ecosystem. What makes it even more valuable is its flexibility; it adapts to various project management methodologies, allowing you to customize how you manage projects, track progress, and view status.
At CrucialLogics, we specialize in developing and implementing scalable, secure collaboration solutions like SharePoint. If you're looking to migrate, set up, or refine SharePoint within your organization, speak with us today for a detailed consultation.
