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Lyndsy-Denk
Community Advisor
Lyndsy-DenkCommunity Advisor
Community Advisor
March 20, 2026

Pros and cons: Allow copying projects

  • March 20, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 21 views

Those who regularly attend the CS Scale webinars know this topic occasionally comes up, but I’d like to crowdsource here: What are the pros and cons of allowing users to copy projects? Currently copying projects is prohibited in our instance, but I have project managers begging me to allow copying. I promised I would re-evaluate. I’m asking y’all to get into the weeds so my PMS better understand what they’re getting into:

  • What junk comes with copying projects? Think about both the PM and system admin.
  • If we allow copying, what are the best practices for keeping copied projects clean?
  • What are the alternate approaches?

 

I’ll start:

What junk comes with copying projects?

You can opt out of copying a bunch of things, which seems to solve a lot of this problem, but it comes with other problems:

  • When you clear Assignments, it also removes job roles.
  • When you clear Documents, it also clears folder structures.
  • (Consider these neutral/dependent on your governance) Whether you like it or not, copying:
    • Clears project owner.
    • Resets calculated dates in Project Details (almost certainly a good thing, but worth specifying).
    • Retains the portfolio and program.
    • Retains all custom forms.
    • Retains Description, Sponsor, Resource Manager.

 

What are the best practices for keeping copied projects clean?

If you copy, this is the work that will be required (from what I can see so far):

  • Instead of clearing Assignments, use the Workload Balancer’s Bulk Assignments tool to reassign or unassign.
  • Set the project owner.
  • Set portfolio and program, if different from your source.
  • Either don’t clear custom data or repopulate it all.
  • Rewrite the Description
  • Check your Sponsor and Resource Manager.

Based on some of the above observations, I would recommend copying only in the early stages of project builds to avoid rework. That is, build your base project with only the commonalities.* For sure, avoid copying any project with progress on it, especially completed.

*Gee, this sounds suspiciously like a template.

 

What are the alternate approaches?

Templates

  • Pros: Keeps the shell (however general or specific you build it).
  • Cons: Could get out of hand how many templates you have. (Workaround: Define an expiration date for your template and document it somewhere in the template.)

Kickstarts (I have no experience, but think this might be the way for us to go)

  • Pros: These sound super powerful.
  • Cons: I’ve heard they’re a little persnickety and require attention to detail.

    1 reply

    CynthiaBoon
    Adobe Employee
    CynthiaBoonAdobe Employee
    Adobe Employee
    March 23, 2026

    My first thought when I read this post was, “It’s okay for me to copy projects, but not for anyone else to do it.” 😆 But then I thought a little further.  I think the best practices go along with trying to prevent “the junk.”  I used to hate when my PMs could copy projects but wouldn’t change all the custom form data (or even left the Project Name with “copy.”) I’m not as controlling as I used to be, and sometimes when I have to create a a lot of projects with the same assignments, task status, completed form fields, etc., it feels so much faster to copy projects than to gather the deep patience that I need for kickstarts. 😉

    So the first two main best practices that I thought about were, #1 - a strong understanding of the Project object/fields so that the PMs understand why they should take the time to make sure all the fields are changed. And #2, a dashboard that includes all of the relevant fields that all the PMs can see so that they keep each other accountable.  

    Just my 2 cents!

      Lyndsy-Denk
      Community Advisor
      Lyndsy-DenkCommunity AdvisorAuthor
      Community Advisor
      March 25, 2026

      I appreciate the evolution in thinking, Cynthia. The trust factor is very real in this scenario.

      I did mention to the lead PM that kickstarts could be an option and that I’d heard they require a meticulous hand. I still think it might be an option for us if I can just find time to test them out.

        A
        AmyReilly
        Level 4
        March 25, 2026

        Hi ​@Lyndsy-Denk , we have used Kickstarts quite a few times for migrating information from other systems, and I will warn you - “little persnickety” and “meticulous hand” are understatements, haha.  Part of the difficulty for us is that we use them infrequently (so we forget the ins & outs) and we import a lot of data at one time.   Your use case sounds like you would be importing small amounts of data frequently, so I think you would have a lot less frustration.  Good luck, and I’ll be anxious to hear what you land on.

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