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Project management tools: a Practical Guide

Google tools

A look at some tools and principles for managing a successful project.
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Some people may prefer Microsoft tools such as Word or Excel, but Google's USP has always been that their tools are far better for collaboration: instead of emailing a document back and forth, with people losing track of which version is the final one, a single document can quickly gather all the contributions you need, even in real time. So, regardless of your personal preference it is a good idea to think of the collaboration lifecycle of your documents and data. In this scenario, using Google immediately lets people work more efficiently together, even if your final output is still a Word document.

Using Google tools has the advantage that everyone involved with a project can have easy access to them, and they aren't necessarily "another thing to learn" when people are already very busy.

Google is also constantly introducing new features which are well worth exploring. Staff can get the latest new releases and tips about Google tools features coming to York in the #google-updates Slack channel — you can join to keep an eye on features being rolled out soon.

Google Sheets

Many project management tasks can be achieved using just Google Sheets features and Google Forms.

Did you know?

  • You can assign tasks to people using Comments (in Docs and Sheets) by typing the @ character, and they will receive an email.
  • Under the hood, tick boxes in Sheets are just TRUE/FALSE values but are a much more intuitive way to check items off yours or someone else's list.

Must-know features

  • Use data validation to create dropdown lists, ensuring that people don't enter (and don't even have to enter) mis-spelt items.
  • The QUERY function is very powerful, letting you use a database-like SQL query to filter, sort and select data from your data.
  • Lookup functions like XLOOKUP, as well as the incredibly useful IMPORTRANGE function, all enable you to connect different sheets of data together.

Tables feature

The Tables feature in Google Sheets (Insert > Tables) has a number of built-in project management templates for a variety of project tasks. It lets you create validated and pre-formatted data structures with very little effort:

The Tables side-menu in Google Sheets lets you select different table options such as a suited for event planning and another for monitoring project resources.

Timeline view

Among the various options for creating charts and dynamic views in Google Sheets is a timeline view:

It's also possible to build Gantt-style charts with the SPARKLINE function.

Google Sheets and Apps Script

For more advanced projects it might be useful to automate some processes or make use of scriptable interoperability between Google Sheets and other applications in the Google Workspace...

If you have a Slack account at York, the #apps-script-chat Slack channel is a place where fellow coders ask questions and provide answers.

If you have a Slack account at York, the #apps-script-chat Slack channel is a place where fellow coders ask questions and provide answers.

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Google Docs

Google Docs also has some potentially useful features when it comes to project management...

Smart chips and building blocks

When working in Google Docs, smart chips and building blocks may well be helpful...

Smart chips exist across Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. They can be tools like a stopwatch or a voting toggle, controlled data types like dates or dropdown selectors, or even links to files, events or contacts. They tend to look something like this.

You could create your own tables and use smart chips within them to integrate information from other sources or control the options displayed. Tasks can be assigned to people, and due dates added. You could even save what you create as a building block for future use...

You can right-click select part of your document (for example a table) and save as a custom building block. Typing @ in Google Docs opens up the building blocks menu with any custom building blocks you've saved plus template options.

Building blocks are pre-formatted sections of a document (a bit like Tables in Google Sheets). Some even let you use Docs to create emails or calendar events. There's some template building blocks built into Docs, including one for a product roadmap and one for project assets. You can also create your own.

Smart chips and building blocks can both be found on the Insert menu.

For more inspiration, take a look at our example Doc of some smart chips in action:

Other Google tools

Gmail

Delegated Gmail accounts are often used to coordinate project emails. The coordinated use of Gmail Labels and Filters means collaborators can organise and manage the delegated emails.

Google Groups

Google Groups are a good way to ensure that all project members have access to the relevant information. Imagine a new member joins your project — adding them to a Google Group will ensure they have access to Calendars, Documents and even previous emails to the Google Group.

Google Groups Collaborative Inbox

A Google Group Collaborative Inbox can be used via the web interface, and adds the ability to Assign, and Complete emails, so that it behaves more like an Issue Tracker tool. Members can also reply "from the Group".

Google Drive

Google Drive is designed for collaborative working, making it ideal for projects.

Google Keep

A floating dialogue box with A list of things that need doing: 'Let's do this thing' with 'finally, let's do this' nested below; 'And another thing that needs doing' as a separate item. Each with a checkbox.

You can use Google Keep as a way of sharing simple task lists with colleagues. Hierarchical to-do lists can be grouped by tags, such as "XYZ project", and can be shared with collaborators. This might be considered the most rudimentary way of tracking what jobs need and have been done.