Configuring Bitrix24 for Project Management
A project lives in people's heads. The manager knows design should be ready by Friday, but the executor thinks next Wednesday. Task status is figured out in planning meetings that take half a day. Deadlines slip because task dependencies aren't recorded anywhere—while frontend waits for mockups, backend waits for requirements from analytics, and analytics doesn't know they're on the critical path. Bitrix24 can do project management—but out of the box it's configured as a task tracker, not a project tool.
Project Groups
A project in Bitrix24 = a working group. The group unites tasks, files, discussions, and participants. For each project, create a separate group with settings:
- Participants and Roles — project owner (manager), moderators (team leads), participants (executors). Roles define who can create tasks, change stages, view reports.
- Task Stages — custom Kanban board for the project. Standard stages: "Backlog," "To Do," "In Progress," "On Review," "Done." Stages are set per project.
- Project Template — typical projects (website launch, ad campaign, product implementation) are created from a template with pre-filled tasks, checklists, and deadlines.
Task Templates and Decomposition
Large projects are decomposed using templates with subtasks. A "Landing Launch" template creates:
- Main task "Landing Launch" with deadline
- Subtasks: "Prepare Requirements," "Design," "Development," "Testing," "Deploy"
- Checklists inside subtasks: for "Testing"—mobile check, cross-browser, load speed
Deadlines in templates are relative: "5 days after creation," "10 days." When creating a project, deadlines are calculated from actual start date.
Milestones and Gantt Chart
Milestones — project control points with no duration. Examples: "Requirements Approved," "Prototype Ready," "Release." Milestones appear on Gantt as diamonds and help control progress at a high level.
Gantt chart shows tasks on a timeline with dependencies. Dependency types: "finish-to-start" (task B starts after task A completes). When one task's deadline shifts, dependent tasks auto-shift.
Time Tracking
Each task has a timer. The executor starts the timer when beginning work and stops when switching tasks. Accumulated time shows in the task card.
For the manager—a "Time Spent" report: how many hours spent on the project, per task, per employee. Comparing planned vs. actual hours shows where estimates don't match reality.
Project Reports
Bitrix24 provides:
- Project Summary — percent complete, overdue tasks, team workload
- Efficiency — completed vs. overdue tasks by employee
- Schedule Report — which tasks finished on time, which late, average deviation
For cross-project analytics, project data is exported to a BI system via REST API.
What We Configure
- Project group structure with roles and permissions
- Custom task stages for each project type
- Project templates with task decomposition and relative deadlines
- Milestones and task dependencies on Gantt chart
- Time tracking and time spent reports
- Reports on progress, schedules, and team efficiency