Successful projects depend on following the timeline or work plan, so project managers and teams do their best to keep the project schedule on track. Project management software that allows you to create timelines is highly useful. Here are our top selections for timeline project management software. Project timelines provide many benefits to project teams, making it a vital project management tool. It helps organize tasks, show when work should start, and display deadlines and dependencies.
A Gantt chart is a popular project timeline in the form of a horizontal bar chart, where the bars describe the duration, start date, and end dates of each task. The project timeline can also highlight the different phases of a project, milestones for each phase, and responsible person for each task or task owner.
Gantt charts are not the only types of project timelines. A work plan project timeline template divides the project into the different phases. For each phase, the work plan lists the itemized planned activities and expected outcomes. A milestone-focused project timeline is a high-level project view focused only on important periods, project stages, and milestones during the course of the project.
The timeline can mention only general description of tasks or activities with limited details. Another high-level type is a stage-focused project timeline.
This type of project schedule template shows the major stages or phases of the project in longer time periods such as weeks or months with little to no other details. Project timelines are valuable documents in project plans.
At a glance, all stakeholders can see a clear breakdown of the work schedule as well as the critical path without getting lost into the individual task details. By creating a project timeline, project managers help ensure to keep the team on track, promote transparency and accountability, and provide the big picture when all the pieces connect. Project timelines are applicable in a variety of industries and objectives. Here are some real-world examples where companies use project timelines to plan and schedule their tasks to achieve milestones and business goals.
Create a timeline for the event you planned for your customers. For a template that allows you to track your project on its way to completion, Michele McDonough has written an article on How to Create a Gantt chart in Excel , and has a sample you can download for your own use. Fill in your tasks or steps, the time frames for each, and batch your progress blossom in color, suitable for. Your stakeholders will expect progress reports from you, and you will also want records for yourself.
Michele McDonough has created a. It can be extremely useful to use when evaluating your project at the end as well, as more detailed record of accomplishments along the way. Natasha P. Smith has provided a template for project team self evaluations , and one for peer analysis, to assist in determining what can be learned from work on the project once it is finished.
This is also useful to use while looking back though your status reports. You may want to take a look at the Bright Hub Guide to the Project Charter , a collection of the best articles on the site covering this topic. For more on risk management, see this Guide to Risk Management Plans. As well as the templates and examples listed in this article, the Project Management Media Gallery has numerous other forms and templates. Page content. List the tasks on a plotted timeline to visualize which tasks precede others and which tasks you need to complete before your construction project can move forward.
This template helps keep all tasks moving, so you land on time. Identify, list, and explain all key details of your project or program with this program management plan template. With full pages to document everything from project responsibilities and stakeholder analyses to risk logs and progress reports, you can fully capture all the essential details in this comprehensive template.
Download Milestone Chart Template — Word. Ensure that you document and reach all milestones so that your project goes off without a hitch. Identify the critical milestones of your project, list the owners of each milestone, and include the time in days, weeks, or months that you expect each milestone to take.
Download Project Checklist Template — Word. This template includes space to list tasks, their respective due dates, and the status of each — this will keep you in the loop on how each task is progressing. List tasks and prioritize them based on importance , track status, and mark deadlines with this comprehensive project task list template.
Detail each task, note the assignee, and write a brief description of each to ensure you capture and list all key tasks included in your project. You can also document specific deliverables and the estimated and fixed costs of each. Download Project Tracking Template — Word.
Track and manage your project from start to finish with this project tracking template. The template allows you to list project tasks and their respective assignees, deadlines, deliverables, descriptions, and more. Keep all project details in one place to maintain visibility into each task as it progresses and ensure that you complete everything within your predetermined timeline. Document project milestones, identify any potential roadblocks to the plan, and track the current position and timing of your project with this project status report template.
With space to expand on each milestone and provide in-depth details, you can keep everyone on the same page and alert them about significant achievements as your project progresses. A project plan is a formal, written document that lists all key project details like milestones, deadlines, sprints or tasks, and owners, in an effort to manage, track, and control a project throughout its lifecycle.
A project plan helps direct efforts and budget, but will usually experience some if not many changes as the project moves forward. Ideally, a project plan is flexible enough to change with the actual project — without causing delays — and acts as more of a guide to the project than a strict plan.
You should update the details of a project plan as a project changes so that the plan remains a relevant frame of reference for all team members and internal and external stakeholders. Get the free e-book to improve remote work effectiveness. As you begin to plan your project, you should familiarize yourself with the steps involved in thoroughly mapping out a project from start to finish.
To do so, follow these steps:. Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed.
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