At PMHub, we've successfully migrated multiple teams and project managers to Notion over the past three years—from startups with 8 developers to enterprise IT departments with 180+ employees. The results are consistent: reporting time drops from 4 hours to 20 minutes per week, risk prediction accuracy increases by 47%, and stakeholders finally stop asking "where are we at?" during daily calls.
This article is our complete guide to building a project management system in Notion. We'll show you how to create five interconnected databases in just three working days that replace Jira, Trello, Confluence, and Google Sheets combined. No complex formulas, no paid integrations—just native Notion features + our battle-tested templates.
What you'll get:
- Unified project board with automatic metrics
- Task tracker with sprints and velocity tracking
- Risk matrix with color-coded indicators
- Team capacity dashboard with alerts
- Automated executive reports
✅ 20+ teams migrated to Notion
✅ Average implementation: 3 working days
✅ Reporting savings: 4h → 20min/week
✅ Risk accuracy: 53% → 80%
✅ Stakeholder satisfaction: +67%
Why We Love Notion (and recommend it to you)
The Problem of Fragmented Tools
Picture a typical 2025 IT team: Jira for tasks, Trello for backlogs, Confluence for docs, Google Sheets for risks and capacity, Telegram/Slack for communication. Result? PMs spend 60% of their time synchronizing data instead of managing projects.
Real client case—fintech company with 17 projects:
- PMs updated status across 4 systems simultaneously
- Stakeholders requested reports in different formats
- Risk matrix lived in Excel, updated monthly
- Team capacity calculated manually every Monday
Outcome: 18 hours/week on "tool administration" instead of team leadership.
Notion as a Unified System
We built their 5-database system in 3 days. What changed:
Why Notion excels:
- Single source of truth. One database = all project info. No more "Where's the spec?", "What are active risks?", "Who's owning this feature?"
- Automatic metrics. Rollup properties calculate velocity, capacity, and risk counts without manual work.
- Flexible dashboards. Stakeholders see live data—no more status calls.
- Cost-effective. Scales to 100+ person teams. Enterprise features available for advanced needs.
- Mobile-first. PMs check status from anywhere—taxi, airport, client site.
How We Conduct Migration (3-Day Scenario)
Day 1: Data Collection
PM interviews, Jira backlog export, Excel risk list import.
Day 2: Database Setup
Create 5 databases, configure Relations & Rollups, test on 2-3 projects.
Day 3: Migration + Training
Migrate remaining projects, 1-hour team training session.
Database #1. Unified Projects Board
Creating "Projects" Database
Notion → New Page → Database → Board view. Name it "Projects".
Required columns (properties):
| Property | Type | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Project Name | Title | Main project identifier |
| Status | Select (Board) | Discovery | Active | On Hold | Done |
| PM Responsible | Person | Project lead |
| Deadline | Date | Key milestones |
| Budget | Number | Actual/plan in $K |
| Velocity | Rollup | Auto-calculated from tasks |
| Critical Risks | Rollup | Count of red risks |
| Stakeholder Comments | Text | Latest feedback |
Velocity Rollup Setup
Click "+" → Property → Rollup:
- Relation: Tasks (we'll create in Database #2)
- Property: Story Points
- Calculate: Sum
- Filter: Status = Done
Relation: Tasks
Property: Story Points ✓
Calculate: Sum
Filter: Status = "Done" ✓
Result: 28 (Sprint 1) → 34 (Sprint 2) → velocity growth!
Filters and Board Views
Create three board views:
- My Projects — Filter: PM = [your name]
- Red Zone — Filter: Risks > 2 OR Deadline < 7 days
- Stakeholder View — Filter: Status ≠ Done, hide Velocity/Risks
Real Project Example
| Project | Status | PM | Deadline | Budget | Velocity | Risks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile App | Active | Anna K. | Apr 15, 2026 | 450k $ | 28 | 3 |
| ERP Migration | On Hold | Michael P. | Jun 30, 2026 | 2.1M $ | 0 | 5 |
| AI Chatbot | Discovery | Elena S. | - | 180k $ | - | 1 |
Database #2. Tasks & Sprints Tracker
Creating "Tasks" Database
New Page → Database → Board view → "Tasks". Group by Status: To Do | In Progress | Review | Done.
Complete properties list:
| Property | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Task | Title | Brief description |
| Project | Relation | Link to Projects database |
| Sprint | Select | Sprint-1, Sprint-2... Sprint-N |
| Status | Select (Board) | To Do → Done |
| Assignee | Person | Who's working on it |
| Story Points | Select | 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 |
| Task Deadline | Date | Exact due date |
| Priority | Select | P0 Critical | P1 High | P2 Medium |
Project Relation Setup
- In Projects DB: "+" → Relation → Select "Tasks" database
- In Tasks DB: "Projects" property auto-appears
- Test: Add task → select project → verify link works
Daily Standup in Notion
Create Linked Database:
- /linked → Tasks database
- Filter: Assignee = [team member]
- Status: To Do + In Progress
- Sort: Deadline (soonest first)
Result: Developers access personal task boards in 5 seconds.
Database #3. Risk Matrix & Blockers
Creating "Risks" Database
New Page → Table view → "Risks". Use Gallery view for matrix visualization.
Key properties:
| Property | Type | Options |
|---|---|---|
| Risk | Title | - |
| Project | Relation | Projects database |
| Probability | Select | Low | Medium | High |
| Impact | Select | Low | Medium | High |
| Risk Status | Select | Open | In Progress | Closed |
| Owner | Person | - |
| Closed Date | Date | - |
Risk Color Formula
Create "Risk Level" Formula property:
if(prop("Probability") == "High" or prop("Impact") == "High", "🟠 High",
if(prop("Probability") == "Medium" and prop("Impact") == "Medium", "🟡 Medium",
"🟢 Low")))
Visual Risk Matrix
Board view grouped by "Risk Level":
| Probability\Impact | Low | Medium | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 🟢 Low | 🟢 Low | 🟡 Medium |
| Medium | 🟢 Low | 🟡 Medium | 🟠 High |
| High | 🟡 Medium | 🟠 High | 🔴 Critical |
Database #4. Team & Capacity
"Team" Database
Table view → "Team". Properties:
| Property | Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Person | John Smith |
| Role | Select | Dev | QA | PM | Analyst |
| Current Load | Rollup | 5 tasks |
| Max Capacity | Number | 6 tasks/sprint |
| Load % | Formula | 83% |
| Seniority | Select | Junior | Middle | Senior |
Capacity Visualization
Gallery view grouped by Load %:
- 🟢 0-70% — optimal capacity
- 🟡 71-90% — borderline
- 🔴 91-100% — overloaded!
Database #5. Executive Reporting
Main Dashboard
New Page → "Stakeholder Dashboard". Add 6 widgets:
- Projects by Status — Projects Linked DB, Board view
- Critical Risks — Risks Linked DB, "🔴 Critical" filter
- Velocity Trend — Tasks Linked DB, Table with chart
- Team Capacity — Team Linked DB, Gallery by %
- Top Blockers — Tasks Linked DB, "In Progress > 7 days" filter
- Upcoming Deadlines — Projects Calendar view
15-Minute Quick Start Guide
1. Open template
2. Team DB → Replace all People
3. Roles + Max capacity by seniority:
Junior: 4 tasks
Middle: 6 tasks
Senior: 8 tasks
STEP 2: Projects (4 min)
4. Projects DB → Add your projects
5. Assign PMs
6. Set deadlines
STEP 3: Task Migration (5 min)
7. Tasks DB → CSV import from Jira
8. Or manually migrate TOP-20 tasks
STEP 4: Test (3 min)
9. Verify: velocity calculating?
10. Risks displaying?
11. Dashboard updated?
Implementation Results
17 client projects (3 months usage):
- Reporting time: 4h → 20min/week (-95%)
- Deadline forecast accuracy: 53% → 80% (+47%)
- Stakeholder calls: 12 → 3/month (-75%)
- PM focus on leadership: 40% → 85% time (+112%)
Support & Next Steps
Write us a message: We'll customize for your needs — gaming, fintech, enterprise, or startup.
Next step: Copy template, test parallel with current tools for 1 week. 95% of teams stay on Notion permanently.
Ready to migrate? Email us your case for a free template + migration roadmap.
Get Consultation