Miomir ProsenicaCPX Holding L.L.C.Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
I have been trying for a while now to create a comprehensive Excel file where I will capture each step/communication of the project activities/events. As majority of communication is conducted over the e-mails, I have been importing Outlook e-mails as objects with short description of the communication/event. This requires saving the e-mails beforehand, adjusting size of the object in the cell, setting the object to move with the cells…
Has anyone tried something like this before, and is there any template/solution which can support easier e-mail attachment (simple copy/paste), as Excel doesn’t support this, nor MS Access?
Of course, without having to purchase a robust solution/ PMIS. Saving Changes...
If you are looking to essentially create a journal for the project, Microsoft OneNote might be a better option given the richness of annotation capabilities and the tighter integration with Outlook...
Kiron
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1 reply by Miomir Prosenica
Mar 07, 2023 8:38 AM
Miomir Prosenica
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Dear Kiron,
You are right, it is more of a journal which can help me group emails/communication for easier refference and tracking of the events. MS One Note seems as an excellent suggestion. Will test it for my use case.
Big thanks,
Miomir
Saving Changes...
Miomir ProsenicaCPX Holding L.L.C.Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Mar 07, 2023 7:33 AM
Replying to Kiron Bondale
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Miomir -
If you are looking to essentially create a journal for the project, Microsoft OneNote might be a better option given the richness of annotation capabilities and the tighter integration with Outlook...
Kiron
Dear Kiron,
You are right, it is more of a journal which can help me group emails/communication for easier refference and tracking of the events. MS One Note seems as an excellent suggestion. Will test it for my use case.
Big thanks,
Miomir
...
1 reply by Rami Kaibni
Mar 07, 2023 12:02 PM
Rami Kaibni
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Miomir, I do agree with Kiron. I know many who use OneNote for such purposes and it is working great for them.
You can use OneNote, but fundamentally I would challenge the value of creating such a journal.
You can drop emails in as attached files, or the content of the emails themselves. You're likely to spend a lot of time organizing and annotating emails, and collect so much data that digging through it is impossible. That is especially true when you get long chains of emails since each one contains every other reply or fwd.
I know people who manage that kind of information in specialized tools for legal matters like mergers and acquisitions where there are many parties involved. It is extremely time consuming and they only save more formal inputs needed for the legal paperwork, not all the routine back and forth communication.
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1 reply by Miomir Prosenica
Mar 07, 2023 2:35 PM
Miomir Prosenica
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Hi Keith, I agree it seems like a waste of time. But I believe it depends on the business environment.
E.g.: when being a PM+Admin+Coordinator+Secretary for a pool of shared projects' resources who are constantly changing, and while covering for the missing procurement personnel, it is highly important to keep track of everything.
Especially in the environment where nobody by PMs has any accountability and sense of ownership.
This approach helps me being more responsive when management asks for justifications of why something is delayed and "not escalated": I can quickly show list of every date and e-mail/status reports shared where issues (mostly internal) were escalated. I even capture dates and topics of the phone calls, formal (MoM) and informal verbal discussions.
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Mar 07, 2023 8:38 AM
Replying to Miomir Prosenica
...
Dear Kiron,
You are right, it is more of a journal which can help me group emails/communication for easier refference and tracking of the events. MS One Note seems as an excellent suggestion. Will test it for my use case.
Big thanks,
Miomir
Miomir, I do agree with Kiron. I know many who use OneNote for such purposes and it is working great for them. Saving Changes...
Miomir ProsenicaCPX Holding L.L.C.Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Mar 07, 2023 11:45 AM
Replying to Keith Novak
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You can use OneNote, but fundamentally I would challenge the value of creating such a journal.
You can drop emails in as attached files, or the content of the emails themselves. You're likely to spend a lot of time organizing and annotating emails, and collect so much data that digging through it is impossible. That is especially true when you get long chains of emails since each one contains every other reply or fwd.
I know people who manage that kind of information in specialized tools for legal matters like mergers and acquisitions where there are many parties involved. It is extremely time consuming and they only save more formal inputs needed for the legal paperwork, not all the routine back and forth communication.
Hi Keith, I agree it seems like a waste of time. But I believe it depends on the business environment.
E.g.: when being a PM+Admin+Coordinator+Secretary for a pool of shared projects' resources who are constantly changing, and while covering for the missing procurement personnel, it is highly important to keep track of everything.
Especially in the environment where nobody by PMs has any accountability and sense of ownership.
This approach helps me being more responsive when management asks for justifications of why something is delayed and "not escalated": I can quickly show list of every date and e-mail/status reports shared where issues (mostly internal) were escalated. I even capture dates and topics of the phone calls, formal (MoM) and informal verbal discussions.
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1 reply by Keith Novak
Mar 07, 2023 6:23 PM
Keith Novak
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I agree that the business environment can sometimes require that. In my personal experience, the level of documentation you describe is reserved for conflicts, gaslighting, breaches of ethics, documenting workplace hostility, and other special cases where demonstrating a pattern of behavior is crucial before serious action is taken. If you're having issues with accountability, then that can certainly merit a more complete paper trail.
I myself keep trying to lean out my paper trail. Trying to save everything, I find it very difficult to find the right email among the thousands so too much becomes a liability. I have inherited projects where the previous PM saved everything and it was impossible to piece it all together without a heavily abridged version to highlight the main points and major developments so a roadmap to go along with it might be valuable if knowledge transfer is required at some point.
To reach an integrated Project Management and E-mail administration, you can use Notion software and e.mail service like Gmail, Outlook, etc.
Adding a Notion add-on to Gmail or Outlook lets you save email messages from these e-mail servers to Notion database.
After installing this add-on, you must click the Notion icon tool on your Gmail or Outlook, select your workspace and it will be sent to Notion instantly.
If your e-mail service can work with Notion through an add-on, you can work with Zapier software. An online platform that helps you automate workflows by connecting the apps and services you use. Saving Changes...
Hi Keith, I agree it seems like a waste of time. But I believe it depends on the business environment.
E.g.: when being a PM+Admin+Coordinator+Secretary for a pool of shared projects' resources who are constantly changing, and while covering for the missing procurement personnel, it is highly important to keep track of everything.
Especially in the environment where nobody by PMs has any accountability and sense of ownership.
This approach helps me being more responsive when management asks for justifications of why something is delayed and "not escalated": I can quickly show list of every date and e-mail/status reports shared where issues (mostly internal) were escalated. I even capture dates and topics of the phone calls, formal (MoM) and informal verbal discussions.
I agree that the business environment can sometimes require that. In my personal experience, the level of documentation you describe is reserved for conflicts, gaslighting, breaches of ethics, documenting workplace hostility, and other special cases where demonstrating a pattern of behavior is crucial before serious action is taken. If you're having issues with accountability, then that can certainly merit a more complete paper trail.
I myself keep trying to lean out my paper trail. Trying to save everything, I find it very difficult to find the right email among the thousands so too much becomes a liability. I have inherited projects where the previous PM saved everything and it was impossible to piece it all together without a heavily abridged version to highlight the main points and major developments so a roadmap to go along with it might be valuable if knowledge transfer is required at some point.
Good luck with your endeavor. Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
Don't try to turn Excel into something it's not: a repository. Instead, save your Outlook messages on a real repository like OpenText, or SharePoint. Then save the link to the message as a hyperlink of the description. If you need more details, send me a message. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
My recommendation is taking a look to Microsoft Power Apps tools where you can create what you are looking for for free, including it reading emails directly. I did that in my last job. Saving Changes...
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