Hey PMO+ Crew!
We just had our first session on structuring Airtable for project management, where
What we covered
The session centered on one core idea: most teams build tables, not systems. Jen walked through the four-level hierarchy that makes Airtable work for project management: Portfolio (strategic initiatives), Programs (grouped efforts), Projects (time-bound execution units), and Tasks (action-level work). Getting records connected across those layers, and putting each type of information at the right altitude, is what makes reporting and visibility possible.
From there, Jen covered how to think about people and roles: building a People table, a Roles table, and an Assignments junction table so you can staff projects by role and surface the right data to the right person without duplicating records.
She also shared some common setup patterns worth knowing before you build: starting at the task level instead of the structure level, over-normalizing too early, skipping ownership definitions, and building for one team instead of the whole org.
A few other highlights from the discussion:
- Interfaces should surface data from your base, not recreate it. Don't add collaborators directly to a base when an interface will do.
- Syncing works well as a strategy for shared data like a master contacts or programs list across bases, keeping a single source of truth more locked down.
- Iterative builds beat trying to build the complete answer at once. Start with the most important piece and evolve from there.
- Airtable Academy is free and highly recommended (multiple attendees vouched for it).
Resources from this session
Join the PMO+ Builder Crew to stay connected and get updates on future sessions. Jen's base from today's session is available to reference as well.
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Up next
Our next session is coming in late August -- stay tuned! And if there's something specific you want to see covered, let us know in the comments below.
See you at the next one!