Create Project Templates and Frameworks
Create reusable project templates that pre-configure new projects with custom fields, default roles, work packages structure, and organizational defaults. Templates accelerate project setup and ensure consistency across projects.
This guide is designed for system admin.
Steps
Step 1: Navigate to Project Templates
From Organization Settings, click Project Templates in the left menu. This shows all templates available for creating new projects. Templates are frameworks that pre-configure projects with your organization's standards.
Templates save time when creating new projects by pre-configuring common settings.
Step 2: Understand template components
Project templates can include: custom fields (which fields are used), default roles (which roles are available), work package structure (predefined phases or packages), document templates (reports to generate), team structure (predefined team members/roles), and default settings (naming conventions, etc.).
Not all components are required - templates can include just the parts you need.
Step 3: Create a new template
Click Create Template. Enter the template name (e.g., "Standard Building Project", "Highway Project", "Refurbishment Project") and description. Select the project type this template is for (Building, Infrastructure, etc.). Templates can be for specific industries.
Create templates for your most common project types to save setup time.
Step 4: Select custom fields and assign default roles
In the template editor, select which custom fields should be included for this project type. Unselected fields won't appear but can be added later by project admins. Also select which custom roles are available in projects using this template. Set a default role that's suggested when adding people. Including too many fields clutters the UI; include only relevant ones.
Both can be customized per-project later if needed, but defaults save setup time.
Step 5: Create work package structure
Optionally define a standard work package structure: Design Phase, Tender Phase, Construction Phase, etc. This creates a predefined hierarchy when the project is created. Projects can modify this structure later.
Predefined structures are especially useful for standardized project types.
Step 6: Add document templates
Select which document templates should be available in projects using this template. These are templates for generating reports (organizational charts, stakeholder reports, etc.). Projects can add more templates later.
Include templates for documents commonly generated on this project type.
Step 7: Define team structure and naming conventions
Optionally pre-define the default team for this project type (Project Manager, Site Manager, Safety Officer, etc.) so roles can be auto-filled. Define naming conventions for task codes, document numbering, and folder organization. These defaults appear in new projects and can be modified per-project if needed.
Pre-configuration saves setup time. Consistent naming makes projects easier to navigate.
Step 8: Set organization defaults
Configure other project defaults: Default currency, default language, default timezone, default access levels, default notification settings. These apply to all projects using this template.
Defaults can be overridden per-project if needed.
Step 9: Create project from template
When creating a new project, users select a template. The project is auto-configured with all the template settings: fields, roles, structure, documents, and defaults. Users then only need to add project-specific information.
Using templates reduces project setup time from hours to minutes.
Step 10: Update templates over time
As your organization evolves, update templates to reflect new standards. Changes apply to new projects created from the template; existing projects keep their original configuration but can manually adopt template changes.
Maintain templates regularly to keep them aligned with organization practices.
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Last updated: 2025-12-08