Google Project on Drive: A Comprehensive Guide to Project Management

Google Project on Drive is a powerful tool for managing projects and tasks. It's a part of Google Workspace, previously known as G Suite.

With Google Project on Drive, you can create a project plan, set deadlines, and assign tasks to team members. You can also track progress and collaborate in real-time.

One of the key features of Google Project on Drive is its ability to integrate with other Google apps, such as Google Sheets and Google Docs. This allows you to create a project plan and track progress in a single place.

Google Project on Drive also offers a range of templates to help you get started with your project. These templates can be customized to fit your specific needs.

Sharing and collaboration are key components of Google Project on Drive. You can create a shared drive and add members with at least Contributor access so they can collaborate on files.

To create a shared drive, navigate to Drive and click Shared drives. You can then create folders and add files to the shared drive. To move folders into a shared drive that are already stored in My Drive or another shared drive, contact your administrator.

You can move files into a shared drive by dragging them from My Drive into the shared drive. To do this, you must be a member of the shared drive with at least Contributor access. If you're not the owner of a file in My Drive, but you have at least Edit access to the file, you might be able to move that file into a shared drive.

Permissions and ownership are important to consider when moving files. To move files between shared drives, you need Manager access to the original shared drive and at least Contributor access to the destination shared drive. To move files or folders out of a shared drive, you need Manager access to the shared drive.

You can also share a folder or file from a team chat space. To do this, open Chat or Gmail, navigate to the team chat space, and click Share a file. Choose the folder or file you want to share and click Send. You can then choose a permission level for the shared file.

Sharing a folder in My Drive with your team is also an option. Give team members Editor access so they can collaborate on files. This way, all members get the same level of access.

To create a project plan in Google Sheets, start by clicking "New" in Google Drive and selecting "Google Sheets" to create a blank spreadsheet.

Click on the "Untitled spreadsheet" and give it a title that reflects your project plan.

You can then add columns to your spreadsheet to organize your project tasks, such as columns for tasks, task owners, due dates, status, and comments.

For example, you might add a column for tasks, a column for task owners, and a column for due dates.

To track the tasks in your project, simply add content to the relevant columns.

Here's a breakdown of the columns you might use:

A well-structured project plan is the backbone of any successful project. To create one in Google Sheets, start by clicking on the "New" button in Google Drive and selecting "Google Sheets" or "Blank spreadsheet".

You'll then be prompted to give your spreadsheet a title, which should accurately reflect the project at hand. I like to keep my titles concise and descriptive, like "Marketing Campaign Plan" or "Product Launch Project".

To get started, you'll need to add some columns to your spreadsheet. Some common columns include tasks, task owners, due dates, status, and comments. You can add these columns by simply typing in the column headers.

As you start adding content to your spreadsheet, you'll want to track the tasks and their corresponding due dates. This will help you stay on top of deadlines and ensure that everything is completed on time.

The versioning system is a lifesaver in project management. You can access it by going to File | Version History within a file.

This feature allows you to view different snapshots of documents, which can be crucial when a stakeholder makes a mistake. It's also useful when something unexpected happens in the process.

By using the versioning system, you can always roll a document back to its previous state. This has saved my skin on several occasions, so I highly recommend making regular use of it.

Communication is key in any project, and Google Drive makes it easy to stay in touch with your team. Click a shared drive on the left to access the email feature.

You can email members of the shared drive by clicking the Down arrow Email members at the top, next to the shared drive name. This allows you to send a message to all members with the subject and message of your choice.

To customize the email, you can check boxes to only email members with specific access levels or to send yourself a copy of the email. This ensures you're reaching the right people and keeping track of your correspondence.

By emailing members of the shared drive, you can keep everyone informed and up-to-date on project progress. This helps prevent misunderstandings and ensures a smooth collaboration.

Making status updates is a crucial part of effective communication in a project. It helps team members stay on the same page and ensures that everyone is aware of the current progress.

To make a status update in the project plan, you can follow these simple steps.

First, open your project plan in Sheets. Next to a task that you own, change the status. This will update the task's status in the project plan, keeping everyone informed of the current progress.

Emailing members of a shared drive is a straightforward process. Simply click the Down arrow next to the shared drive name and select "Email members".

To compose the email, click on the subject line and enter your message. You can also add a brief description or update about the project.

If you want to customize the email further, you can check the boxes to only email members with specific access levels or to send yourself a copy of the email.

To send the email, click the "Send" button.