Migrate from Resource Management by Smartsheet to Microsoft Project

Each Smartsheet Sheet used as a project container maps to one Microsoft Project file (.mpp) or one Project for the Web project. We extract the sheet name as the project name, sheet-level metadata (created date, last modified) as project properties, and the sheet's column definitions as task fields. If the source account has multiple Sheets representing phases of a single program, we recommend consolidating into one Project with summary tasks per phase during scoping to avoid orphaned dependency chains.

Smartsheet rows map directly to Microsoft Project tasks. Row name becomes Task Name; Start Date and End Date columns map to Start and Finish in Project; Duration column maps to Duration. Row hierarchy (parent rows with indented sub-rows) becomes outline level in Project with summary tasks for parent rows and subtasks nested below. We preserve indent depth during transformation.

Resource Management by Smartsheet Phases are a subclass of Project, which is a subclass of Assignable in the API hierarchy. We map Phase to a Project summary task with the phase name and no duration, containing all tasks assigned to that phase as subtasks. If the phase has a milestone marker in Smartsheet, we create a milestone task (zero duration) at the phase boundary. Phase ordering is preserved by sorting the resulting summary tasks in Project outline sequence.

People objects from the Resource Management API (name, role, email, availability percentages) map to Microsoft Project Resources. We create a Resource Sheet entry per person with the name and Max Units from the availability field. Role information migrates to the Resource Initials or Resource Group field. If the source account uses placeholder resources (non-person entities), we create Material Resources in Project with the resource name and a zero-hour max units value.

Resource Management assignments link a person (resource) to a task (row) with allocation hours. We map these to Project task assignments with Assignment Work calculated from the allocation hours and the task duration. Assignment Owner and Assignment Phase from the API become task notes or custom fields. Resource peak allocation percentage in Smartsheet maps to Assignment Peak Units in Project.

Smartsheet custom column types (Text, Date, Contact List, Dropdown, Checkbox, Number, Duration) map to Project task custom fields. We use the custom field dialog in Project Professional or the Project for the Web API to pre-create custom fields matching the source column type before data import. Contact List columns create Text custom fields with the contact name as value since Project does not have a native person-link field at the task level.

Smartsheet row-level predecessor-successor relationships (exported via the dependency column) map to Project task predecessors with dependency type (Finish-to-Start by default). We validate that every predecessor task has been assigned an index before writing the predecessor link to prevent orphan references. Circular dependency detection runs post-transformation and flags any circular chains for the customer to resolve before production import.

Resource Management time entries contain hours logged against a specific task and user. We map these as Assignment Work values on the corresponding task-resource assignment in Project. Entries are only available for extraction if the migration is scoped before the seven-day timer lock window closes; we flag this prominently in the discovery checklist. If time entries are unavailable due to window expiry, we preserve entry metadata (total hours per task) as a task note for manual log.

Resource Management Portfolios aggregate multiple projects with capacity and timeline summaries. Microsoft Project Desktop does not have a native portfolio object; multiple projects remain as separate .mpp files or separate Project for the Web projects. If the customer has Project Online with PWA (Project Plan 5 or Project Online Premium), we can submit projects to the Project Queue as a lightweight portfolio consolidation step. We do not replicate portfolio-level dashboards as these require a separate visualization layer outside Project.

Smartsheet Reports aggregate data from one or more Sheets and export as CSV. We export report data as-is into a flat reference file delivered alongside the Project migration. Report structure (groupings, filters, formulas) does not migrate because Microsoft Project has no equivalent report aggregation object. We document each report's source sheets, filters, and computed columns as a written reference for the customer to rebuild in Power BI or Microsoft Project Web App reporting if needed.