Progress Tracking: A Project Manager’s Perspective on Proficiency

As an accomplished project manager, I understand the critical importance of seamless project tracking and cost management. In this blog, I’ll walk you through how ProjectContexts, an advanced project management tool, offers an integrated solution that streamlines time and cost tracking, making project management more efficient and insightful.

1. Time Tracking Made Simple

ProjectContexts features a robust timesheet module that benefits all project team members. It goes beyond project-specific activities, offering a stand-alone mode for tracking non-ProjectContexts tasks [figure 1]. With user-defined account numbers, activities ranging from training and vacations to specific projects can be efficiently monitored [figure 2].

Figure 1: Timesheets for non-ProjectContexts activities
Figure 2: Time Tracking for a Task

Effortless time tracking down to the task level in a Gantt chart and action item level in the Change Management Process simplifies the process. The system ensures that time can be logged within various detail screens, providing a prepopulated timesheet for efficient weekly submission.

2. Smart Cost Tracking

ProjectContexts differentiates between two types of costs: supplier contracts and informal supplier costs [figure 3]. Supplier contracts involve formal agreements, while informal costs, such as ad-hoc services, are seamlessly tracked using a similar methodology to time tracking [figure 4].

Figure 3: Supplier and Customer Contracts 
Figure 4: Informal Supplier Costs

Cost tracking includes logged costs, Estimate to Completion (ETC), and Estimate at Completion (EAC). The system allows project managers to allocate overhead hours, ensuring comprehensive tracking and reporting at both the task and project levels.

Figure 5: Costs Tracking

3. Baselines for Progress Interpretation

ProjectContexts incorporates schedule and cost baselines to provide deeper insights into project progress [figure 6].

Figure 6: Schedule Baseline descriptions

Schedule baselines, superimposed onto the actual schedule, help interpret progress, allowing managers to identify potential causes for shifts in timelines [figure 7]. Similarly, cost baselines facilitate a clear understanding of financial progress [figure 8].

Figure 7: Schedule Baselines Superimposed Upon Time Tracking
Figure 8: Descriptions of cost baselines

4. Seamless Integration and Export

ProjectContexts ensures seamless integration of timesheet data and allows easy export to accounting systems via CSV files, enhancing overall project visibility and financial transparency [figure 9].

Figure 9: Output of Cost Baseline Report

Conclusion: Elevate Your Project Management with ProjectContexts

In conclusion, ProjectContexts empowers project managers with an all-encompassing solution for streamlined time and cost tracking. Whether it’s tracking project-specific activities or managing supplier costs, ProjectContexts simplifies the process, enabling managers to focus on strategic decision-making.

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Optimize your projects with ProjectContexts – Where Efficiency Meets Precision.

January 11, 2024 Project management
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