Project Summary Template: Simplify Project Planning Efforts | Scribe
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Project Summary Template: Simplify Project Planning Efforts

Operations
Discover how a project summary template can help you outline objectives, timelines and key details to simplify your planning and boost team efficiency.
Last updated:
February 24, 2025
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Project Summary Template: Simplify Project Planning Efforts

Operations
Discover how a project summary template can help you outline objectives, timelines and key details to simplify your planning and boost team efficiency.
Last updated:
February 24, 2025

Use this project summary template to create a project plan overview that employees and external stakeholders can reference at a glance. It helps build a basic outline for describing your project management strategies, objectives and timeline. 

Reusing this template and adapting it to your team’s needs is easy whenever you start a new project. With some modification, it also works as an executive summary template for projects or a report template for status updates.

What’s a Project Summary Template?

A project summary provides an overview of a project’s objectives and timeline. This summary sets expectations for all stakeholders, guiding team members toward milestones and informing executives of the deliverables they’ll need to approve. And a template provides a detailed structure you can follow for every initiative. 

This template for your project summary includes all the essential headings in a format that works for most project managers. It’s an excellent starting point, and you can tailor it over time as you discover what your team needs.

When Should You Use a Project Summary Template?

Any project can benefit from the high-level overview a project summary provides. Even routine processes like software updates or writing documentation start off stronger with a clear outline. And a template reduces confusion and ensures nothing falls through the cracks. 

A project summary is a versatile document that you can use in at least three stages of your project management process:

  • In your proposal, where it recommends an actionable plan for the project you’re proposing.
  • During project planning to create an executive summary decision-makers can reference while considering whether to approve your plan.
  • After project planning to summarize the plans you’ve laid out. It can also reflect any status updates to remind leadership of the overall objectives.

To use our one-page project summary template for any of these cases, you'll include the same information but will write for a different audience. For example, when addressing execs, focus more on key performance indicators (KPIs) and necessary approvals for every milestone. When speaking to project team members, state how they’re specific responsibilities contribute to the project’s overall success.

What Makes a Good Project Summary?

Your project summary should be short and precise to maximize its value. Any project template you use should include headings for the following information:

  • A simple overview section explaining the primary goals and how the reader’s work fits into the greater objectives.
  • Available resources stakeholders can access throughout the project.
  • Project KPIs and methods for tracking them regularly to provide project status updates.
  • Workflow breakdowns teams will use to complete tasks with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
  • Potential risks the team may face, along with strategies to mitigate them.
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Back to Gallery

Project Summary Template: Simplify Project Planning Efforts

Operations
Discover how a project summary template can help you outline objectives, timelines and key details to simplify your planning and boost team efficiency.
Last updated:
February 24, 2025

Use this project summary template to create a project plan overview that employees and external stakeholders can reference at a glance. It helps build a basic outline for describing your project management strategies, objectives and timeline. 

Reusing this template and adapting it to your team’s needs is easy whenever you start a new project. With some modification, it also works as an executive summary template for projects or a report template for status updates.

What’s a Project Summary Template?

A project summary provides an overview of a project’s objectives and timeline. This summary sets expectations for all stakeholders, guiding team members toward milestones and informing executives of the deliverables they’ll need to approve. And a template provides a detailed structure you can follow for every initiative. 

This template for your project summary includes all the essential headings in a format that works for most project managers. It’s an excellent starting point, and you can tailor it over time as you discover what your team needs.

When Should You Use a Project Summary Template?

Any project can benefit from the high-level overview a project summary provides. Even routine processes like software updates or writing documentation start off stronger with a clear outline. And a template reduces confusion and ensures nothing falls through the cracks. 

A project summary is a versatile document that you can use in at least three stages of your project management process:

  • In your proposal, where it recommends an actionable plan for the project you’re proposing.
  • During project planning to create an executive summary decision-makers can reference while considering whether to approve your plan.
  • After project planning to summarize the plans you’ve laid out. It can also reflect any status updates to remind leadership of the overall objectives.

To use our one-page project summary template for any of these cases, you'll include the same information but will write for a different audience. For example, when addressing execs, focus more on key performance indicators (KPIs) and necessary approvals for every milestone. When speaking to project team members, state how they’re specific responsibilities contribute to the project’s overall success.

What Makes a Good Project Summary?

Your project summary should be short and precise to maximize its value. Any project template you use should include headings for the following information:

  • A simple overview section explaining the primary goals and how the reader’s work fits into the greater objectives.
  • Available resources stakeholders can access throughout the project.
  • Project KPIs and methods for tracking them regularly to provide project status updates.
  • Workflow breakdowns teams will use to complete tasks with clearly defined roles and responsibilities.
  • Potential risks the team may face, along with strategies to mitigate them.

FAQs

How Do I Use This Template?
How do I use this template?

Click Use This Template at the top of this page to open the project summary template in Scribe. Then, click the Duplicate Page icon in the top right. Select which team you want the template saved to and whether to keep the linked Scribes. Click Duplicate, and the template will appear in your Scribe Dashboard within your chosen team. You can then open and edit it as needed.

Easily duplicate this template by selecting "Save This Page" in the top right corner. Once you go through a quick sign-up process, you'll find the template waiting for you in your Dashboard or under Favorites.

What’s the Difference Between a Project Proposal and a Project Summary?
What is Scribe?

A project summary resembles a project proposal but with the details solidified. You might include one alongside a project proposal, but the two serve different purposes. A proposal offers ideas and explains their potential, but a project summary gives an overview of an actionable plan. It summarizes that plan at a high level and serves as a shared reference regarding objectives, workflows and KPIs.

Scribe is a tool that creates step-by-step guides - instantly! Download our free Chrome extension to start creating guides for any process.

How Do I Start a Project Summary?
What is Pages by Scribe?

Before you start your summary, assemble your other project documentation, such as the proposal, requirements documents and project plan. That way, you have everything you need to reference in one place. Then, refer to our project summary report template and fill in each heading with the required information.

After you’ve sorted content into the headings your summary needs, your next task is reducing it to one or two pages. To condense complex information, use formats like bulleted lists and tables and provide links to other documents where more detail is needed.

Create beautiful process documents with Pages - complete with Scribes, videos, texts, lists and more. Easily create your next training guide, onboarding plan or SOP with Pages. Or, better yet, use one of these templates to get started!