10 Free Program Management Templates for Excel and Word

Effective program management requires structure, clarity and consistency across all phases—from planning and execution to monitoring and evaluation. Program management templates are essential tools that help teams organize complex workflows, align stakeholders and ensure projects stay on track and within scope.

Whether you’re managing a single initiative or overseeing multiple interrelated projects, the right templates can streamline communication, improve efficiency and reduce the risk of errors. Download these free templates for program management and provide a practical foundation for building successful, scalable programs across industries.

1. Program Roadmap Template

Download this free program roadmap template for Excel as a strategic planning tool. It visually maps out the key initiatives, goals and milestones of a program over a set timeframe, providing a high-level overview of how different projects within a program interconnect and contribute to broader organizational objectives. The program management template helps stakeholders understand the overall direction of the program, anticipate major phases or deliverables and coordinate efforts across teams.

A program roadmap template includes elements such as timelines (by month, quarter or year), key deliverables, project phases and responsible teams. Unlike detailed project plans, a roadmap focuses on “what” and “when” rather than the “how,” making it ideal for executive communication, strategic planning sessions or cross-functional alignment. Using a program management template ensures consistency, saves time and makes complex program information easier to digest.

2. Project Dashboard Template

This free project dashboard template for Excel is a visual reporting tool used to track and display key information about a project’s status, performance and progress in a clear and concise format. The program management template consolidates data from various project areas—such as budgets, tasks and resource allocation—into one centralized view, making it easy for project managers and stakeholders to monitor the health of a project at a glance. The template is especially useful for quick updates and decision-making, as it highlights both achievements and potential issues.

A well-designed dashboard improves transparency, promotes accountability and allows teams to proactively address problems before they escalate. However, a program management template isn’t designed for real-time updates, which means the data being displayed is always going to be behind the actual effort of the project or program being monitored. To resolve this issue, upgrade to project management software.

ProjectManager is award-winning project and portfolio management software with powerful dashboards that track one or multiple projects. There’s no setup required, though dashboards can be tailored to show the data users want to see. Either way, it’s automatically collecting live data and displaying it on easy-to-read graphs and charts that show time, cost, workload and more. This keeps project managers and their teams updated and can inform stakeholders, who can also use guest licenses for a view-only look at the project’s progress. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

3. Program KPI Dashboard Template

Use this free KPI dashboard template for Excel to track, display and analyze key performance indicators (KPIs) in a centralized, easy-to-understand format. It helps teams and decision-makers monitor the success of business activities, projects or strategic goals by presenting real-time or regularly updated data in charts, graphs and summary metrics. This program management template is valuable for identifying trends, measuring progress and making informed decisions based on performance against defined objectives.

A KPI dashboard template includes sections for goal tracking, performance metrics, targets vs. actuals, trend indicators and visualizations like bar charts, line graphs and color-coded status indicators. Program management templates like these can be tailored for different functions, such as sales, marketing, operations or finance. By consolidating key metrics into one accessible view, a KPI dashboard makes it easier to communicate results, align teams and drive continuous improvement.

4. Project Status Report Template

Download this free project status report template for Excel to communicate the current state of a project to stakeholders. It includes key information such as progress against milestones, completed and upcoming tasks, budget and timeline status, risks or issues and overall project health. This can be used as a program management template to ensure that updates are consistent, easy to digest and aligned with stakeholder expectations, regardless of the project’s size or complexity.

In program management, a project status report template is especially useful because it allows program managers to monitor multiple projects simultaneously and maintain visibility across the program. By collecting standardized reports from individual project leads, program managers can quickly assess performance, identify risks or delays and make data-driven decisions to keep the overall program on track. This program management template also improves communication across teams, supports accountability and provides a clear audit trail of progress over time.

5. Multiple Project Tracking Template

Use this free multiple project tracking template for Excel to help manage and monitor several projects at once within a single, unified view. This program management template provides a high-level snapshot of each project’s key data—such as status, deadlines, budget and assigned team members—so that project managers and stakeholders can quickly compare progress, allocate resources efficiently and identify potential risks or delays across the portfolio.

By centralizing information, the program management template improves visibility, streamlines reporting and enables better decision-making across complex project ecosystems. This is especially valuable in program or portfolio management environments where coordination across projects is critical to overall success.

6. RACI Matrix Template

This free RACI matrix template for Excel clarifies and documents roles and responsibilities within a project or program. RACI stands for responsible, accountable, consulted and informed—four key roles that define who is involved in specific tasks or deliverables. This program management template is structured as a grid, with tasks or decisions listed on one axis and team members or stakeholders on the other. Each cell in the matrix identifies the role a person or group plays in that particular activity.

In program management, a RACI matrix helps establish clear lines of ownership and communication across multiple projects and teams. This program management template minimizes confusion, reduces duplication of effort and ensures that all tasks have appropriate oversight. Especially in complex programs with cross-functional collaboration, the RACI matrix promotes accountability, avoids role overlap and enhances efficiency by clearly outlining who does what, who makes decisions, who provides input and who needs to stay informed. It serves as a planning and reference tool, supporting alignment and smoother execution throughout the program lifecycle.

7. RAID Log Template

Download this free RAID log template for Excel to track and manage four critical elements of project and program management: risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies. Each category is listed in a separate section of the program management template, where relevant entries are documented along with descriptions, owners, status updates and mitigation or resolution plans. The RAID log helps teams proactively manage uncertainties and obstacles that could affect project or program success.

A RAID log is particularly valuable in program management because it provides a centralized, real-time view of key factors that impact multiple projects within the program. This program management template enables program managers to identify and address systemic risks, coordinate dependencies across workstreams and keep leadership informed of critical issues. By using a RAID log template consistently, teams improve communication, enhance accountability and reduce the chance of delays or surprises that can derail timelines or outcomes.

8. PESTLE Analysis Template

This free PESTLE analysis template for Word is a strategic planning tool used to identify and evaluate external factors that could impact a program, project or organization. The acronym PESTLE stands for political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors. Each category provides a lens through which to assess potential opportunities or threats in the broader operating environment. The program management template typically includes columns or sections for each factor, alongside descriptions, potential impacts and suggested actions or responses.

While PESTLE analysis is more commonly used in strategic planning and market research, it can also play a useful role as a program management template, particularly during the planning or risk assessment phases. By identifying external influences early, program managers can design more resilient strategies, anticipate disruptions and align their initiatives with the external landscape. For large, long-term, or public-sector programs, it can be especially helpful in ensuring that broader contextual risks are not overlooked.

9. Lessons Learned Template

Use this free lessons learned template for Excel to capture insights, experiences, successes and challenges encountered during the execution of a project or program. It includes sections such as what went well, what didn’t go as planned, key takeaways and recommendations for future improvements. The goal of this program management template is to promote continuous learning by documenting practical knowledge that can be applied to future projects or programs.

In program management, a lessons learned template is extremely valuable. Because programs often involve multiple projects with diverse teams and objectives, capturing lessons across all components helps identify recurring issues, best practices and systemic improvements. This program management template enables program managers to refine processes, reduce future risks and ensure knowledge is retained and shared across the organization. Ultimately, it supports more efficient, effective program delivery over time.

10. Project Review Template

Download this free project review template for Word to assess and evaluate a project’s performance after key phases or at its completion. It covers aspects such as objectives vs. outcomes, budget and timeline adherence, quality of deliverables, team performance, stakeholder satisfaction and risk management. The template helps document what worked, what didn’t and why—providing a factual basis for decision-making, accountability and improvement.

A project review template plays a vital role in program management by offering consistent, data-driven insights across multiple projects within a program. By aggregating findings from individual project reviews, program managers can identify patterns, systemic challenges and opportunities for improvement across the broader initiative. This helps refine resource allocation, improve planning accuracy, strengthen risk controls and align future projects with strategic goals. This program management template contributes to a more cohesive, efficient and successful program delivery.

ProjectManager Is Better Than Program Management Templates

Managing a program with program management templates is not ideal. They’re static documents and projects are dynamic. Not only that, these templates require manual updates and are poor collaboration tools. To plan, manage and track programs, upgrade to project management software. Better yet, ProjectManager, award-winning project and portfolio management software, has the tools project managers and their teams need to manage multiple projects.

Manage Resources Across Projects

Ensuring there are enough resources to share with all the projects in the portfolio is one of the challenges of program management. Our software ensures program managers have the right resources at the right time for the right project by allowing them to set availability, skills and pay rates when onboarding their teams.

They can also view resource allocation across all projects with the color-coded workload page. It’s easy to see who is overallocated or underutilized and balance their workload from the chart to keep them productive. A team page can provide a daily or weekly snapshot of their activity, filtered by progress or priority, which can update tasks when necessary without leaving the page.

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Monitor Progress, Costs and More With Customizable Reports

We’ve already shown how our portfolio dashboard allows program managers to get a high-level overview of all their projects in one place. When they want to get deeper into the data, they can use our customizable reports. There are portfolio status, variance, workload, timesheets and other reports.

All can be filtered to focus on key data points or give stakeholders a snapshot of the project’s progress compared to where it is planned to be at that time. Even secure timesheets, which streamline payroll, help keep projects on budget by monitoring labor costs.

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Related Program Management Content

There’s more to program management than program management templates. For those curious to learn more, below are some articles we’ve posted to our blog on making a program management plan, the difference between project and program management and much more.

• Program Management: The Ultimate Guide
• How to Make a Program Management Plan (Free Templates Included)
• What Is a Program Manager (Job Description Included)
• Project vs. Program Management: Key Differences and Similarities

ProjectManager is online project and portfolio management software that connects teams whether they’re in the office or out in the field. They can share files, comment at the task level and stay updated with email and in-app notifications. Join teams from Avis, Nestle and Siemens who use our software to deliver successful projects. Get started with ProjectManager today for free.

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