Projects can be created manually in Resource Management or by using the Control Center Integration.
Types of projects
In the schedule view, it's helpful to understand the project status color codes: Tentative projects are indicated in gray, internal projects are purple, and confirmed projects are blue. When you are using the Smartsheet Control Center integration to create a project from the intake sheet, the project status is a mandatory field, and its initial value must be set to confirmed. While you can subsequently update the status within Resource Management, this change is not reflected back in the original intake sheet. Learn more about types of projects.
Clients
Clients should be defined and associated with their respective projects exclusively within Resource Management. If this information is present in your intake sheet and you are utilizing the Smartsheet Control Center integration, it is advisable to create a dedicated project custom field to manage client associations. Learn more about managing clients in Resource Management.
Project tags vs. project custom fields
While project tags can be used to categorize or qualify a project, they are not standardized and are more susceptible to inconsistencies and errors. It is generally recommended to utilize project custom fields instead. These fields offer better data integrity and can be seamlessly updated through the Smartsheet Control Center integration when projects are provisioned. Learn more about project tags and project custom fields.
Import projects
To create multiple projects efficiently, you can use the CSV template provided by Resource Management. If you are also using Smartsheet Control Center, these imported projects can be linked to an intake sheet at a later stage. Before performing a bulk import, ensure that you have already configured the following settings, if they are applicable to your projects:
- Project owners must exist as people within Resource Management and have the necessary permissions assigned
- Project custom fields should be defined
- Clients should be set up in the system
It's a good practice to first create a single project manually within the Resource Management interface to validate the desired format and settings. Once you are satisfied, export this project as a CSV file. Before proceeding with a large-scale import, import this single project using the generated CSV file to confirm that the data is being added correctly as expected. Learn more about importing project files.
Update projects in bulk
Resource Management offers the capability to update multiple project records simultaneously. This can be done either through the Resource Management user interface or using API. Learn more about bulk updates.
Archive and delete projects
When you archive projects in Resource Management, the system automatically ends any ongoing assignments associated with those projects and removes any future assignments that were scheduled. If you are using the Smartsheet integration, it's important to understand that archiving a project in Resource Management will not update or remove the corresponding data in the connected Smartsheet; only the data within Resource Management will be affected. Learn more about archiving and deleting projects.