Running the weekly project sync from the Projects board

Projects is one board with every project you can see: its client, stage, health (RAG), lead, the period it runs for, its man-days, and the update written for the week. It replaces the tracking spreadsheet that used to be rewritten before every Wednesday sync, and every change on it is kept in the project’s history with who made it and when.

The board

The strip at the top counts the projects that are Active, Red, Yellow and Missing this week (no update written yet). Click a number to filter the board to it, and click it again to clear it.

The tabs split the board into Client, Internal and Volunteer projects, with a count on each. Internal projects are the ones that belong to the company’s own organisation; a volunteer project is one marked Volunteer on its tracker.

Under the tabs you can search by client or project, pick a stage, pick one or more RAG colours, pick a lead (or No lead), and switch on Missing update to see only the projects still waiting for this week’s update.

Each row shows the week’s summary and anything under Help needed. Man-days read as used over quota, and turn amber near the quota and red past it. A manual tag means the used figure was typed in by hand instead of coming from logged time.

The weekly rhythm

The sync is on Wednesday afternoon. Write each project’s update before it:

1. Click a project’s row (or Write where it says No update yet). A panel opens on the right.
2. Under This week, pick the RAG: Green is on track, Yellow is minor issues, Red is off track or at risk.
3. Write a one-line Summary, then fill in what applies: What’s done, In progress, Delayed / stuck, Next steps, Help needed and Next milestone.
4. Click Save update. Open it again later in the week to correct it; saving changes it in place.

The RAG you give the week becomes the project’s RAG. Project leads get a push on Tuesday afternoon and on Wednesday morning when one of their projects still has no update for the week. The link in the push opens the board on that week with Missing update switched on.

Use the arrows beside the week to look at earlier weeks, or to write next week’s update early. This week brings you back.

The project’s standing facts

Open Project in the same panel to change the stage, the RAG, whether the project is contract or volunteer work, the lead, the start and end of its period, the man-day quota, and the remarks that stay from week to week. Leave Used blank to count logged time, or type a figure to use your own. Previous weeks lists the earlier updates; click one to read it in full.

The same forms are on the project’s own page, under the Tracker tab, and the project overview shows its stage, RAG and lead. History lists every change to the tracker and its updates; an edited update opens to show what changed, field by field.

Presenting in the sync

Click Presenter to hide the filters and the numbers and open every project’s update on the board, in the order the sync reads them. Click it again to go back.

Exporting

Click Export and pick Excel (.xlsx) for a workbook laid out like the old tracking sheet: one sheet each for client, internal and volunteer projects, a man-days sheet with a total per client, and a legend of the stage, RAG and status words. CSV is the same project rows in one file, with the kind of project in the first column. Both export the week shown on the board.

Who can do what

Project managers, team leads and the leadership team can do everything here. Software engineers can write and correct updates and change the tracker on the projects they belong to, but cannot delete an update. You only see projects you are a member of, unless your role can see every project. Clients do not see the board.