How to Create the Perfect Project Timeline [Template + Examples]

Making a venture timeline the place everybody concerned is aware of what they‘re engaged on (and when it’s due) will help thrust back venture creep and nail these vital deadlines.

It is important for protecting initiatives — and the folks finishing them — on monitor.

As a caretaker, I’ve venture timelines operating invisibly in my thoughts always, and most households can be a scorching mess with out somebody within the managerial function.

The smoothest approach for everybody to succeed regardless of the chaos is to have a hand on the wheel and an eye fixed on the timeline. All of it sounds very TVA, and admittedly, that’s how steel it’s to folks.

That will help you ensure that your subsequent skilled venture stays on schedule, I will cowl the project management basics of find out how to arrange a venture timeline, one of the best templates to make use of, and a handful of examples to encourage your future scheduling.

And sure — you possibly can completely apply these abilities and sources to life admin, too.

Desk of Contents

Whereas 59% of formally managed projects are completed on time — which is a superb statistic that expert and intentional venture managers could be pleased with — this nonetheless implies that 41% don’t.

Time management is among the prime abilities employers search for in candidates up and down the org chart. Missed deadlines and rushed initiatives can set complete groups — and typically complete corporations — delayed.

I don’t wish to be that individual, and I do know you don’t, both. However there’ll at all times be folks on groups that want assist to stay the touchdown on expectations that have an effect on the bigger venture.

A well-built venture timeline is rather more than a pleasant visible to reassure the stakeholders, and listed here are only a few explanation why you must create one. It’s a dwelling, altering, and purposeful course of overview that may:

• Convey management and construction to a venture.
• Define what’s being delivered and by when.
• Share who’s liable for every job and set expectations for the scope, high quality, and supply of labor.
• Present how the venture final result contributes to firm targets.
• Lower danger by accounting for any modifications to the venture scope, price range, deliverables, or deadlines.

In the end, a venture timeline makes it each simpler and extra environment friendly to handle a venture — significantly whenever you select a timeline construction that’s well-fit to the venture’s scope.

That is the place a venture timeline template will help you progress ahead.

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I prefer to create a project timeline for any course of that depends on a schedule (nearly the whole lot nowadays), like onboarding staff, dealing with a disaster, or planning social media campaigns.

All it’s essential know is find out how to define the steps of a venture and the duties required to finish every part. Let’s do it!

Asana outlined the steps to create a easy, but efficient, venture temporary. You should use this free project plan template to stipulate the venture’s targets, roles, and duties. You’ll be able to then plan your schedules, deliverables, price range, and extra.

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Professional tip: Whereas this useful resource is a good start line for any planning course of, when you want a extra complete overview that features key messaging and distribution processes, a creative brief often is the proper match on your venture.

2. Record all duties and motion gadgets.

Each job concerned in attaining a venture’s goals wants to enter the venture timeline. After creating the temporary, make a listing of those duties. You can begin with giant duties and break them down into smaller to-dos.

Let‘s say you’re liable for making a advertising and marketing video to launch your organization’s latest product. Your listing could embrace the next:

• Set up venture leads from every division.
• Set venture price range.
• Discover a video manufacturing firm.
• Format the video storyboard.
• Select primary options for video.
• Write video script.
• Seize video content material.
• Add in sound and background music.
• Add animations and graphics.
• Edit video.
• Write announcement copy.
• Craft advertising and marketing marketing campaign.
• Create clips for social sharing.
• Get video and advertising and marketing property accredited.

As soon as I’ve the main milestones down, I then like to interrupt down every job into smaller items. For instance, selecting a video manufacturing firm can contain:

• Analysis video manufacturing corporations.
• Curate a listing of manufacturing corporations.
• Get quotes from every manufacturing firm.
• Examine quotes and slim down choices.
• Meet with the chosen corporations.
• Select a manufacturing firm.
• Finalize the contract.

3. Join dependencies.

In a venture, sure duties can‘t be began till one other is full. These duties are referred to as dependencies. For instance, a video can’t be filmed till the storyboard is finalized. And the storyboard cannot be finalized till the video theme is chosen.

Mapping out dependencies helps you solidify the order of every job and determine who’s liable for what. Everybody will know what a part of the venture they’re engaged on, which duties should be accomplished earlier than their very own, and who to contact for the deliverables they want.

This is a have a look at how dependencies can play out in a venture timeline.

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Within the instance, you possibly can see that hiring a caterer has to occur earlier than finalizing the lunch menu. However different duties, like discovering a DJ and deciding on an occasion theme, can occur on the similar time. So, as you map out every job, you will must see which steps can overlap and which want to attend for others.

4. Estimate the time it can take to finish every job.

As soon as you determine the sequence of duties, it’s essential determine how a lot time every will take. With out direct expertise and/or understanding your workforce members, this may be the trickiest half, however strive to not break your brains on it. Simply estimate as intently as you possibly can so that you’re not shedding an excessive amount of time making an attempt to inform the long run.

A part of this psychological math contains contemplating the opposite initiatives and priorities your workforce has happening. A designer might be able to give you a tough draft of video animations in a single week, but when they’re wrapping up one other venture, they might not be capable to begin on yours for one other two weeks.

Being aware of your workforce‘s time will make it simpler to place collectively an inexpensive, dependable timeline. It’ll be simpler to create the venture roadmap and perceive the venture’s total timeframe as soon as you set collectively all of those estimations.

5. Create the venture timeline.

Construct your timeline by organizing your duties from the primary to the ultimate step.

Make any crucial changes to the duty occasions, add milestones, and solidify the deadline. In case your workforce works with a timeline maker or project management software, manage the timeline and duties so it is able to share after the venture kickoff assembly.

Professional tip: It can save you time throughout this step through the use of one of many venture timeline templates beneath. It is easy to customise every and keep away from the additional work of making your individual from scratch.

6. Share the timeline with the venture workforce.

Whew! Your timeline is full. Subsequent, you get to share it with stakeholders. This contains everybody who’s concerned within the venture.

You‘ve already listed these folks in your temporary (throughout the first step), so it’s time to share your venture’s path ahead with them.

It is a good suggestion to carry a project kickoff meeting for each stakeholders and particular person contributors so everybody begins on the identical web page.

You’ll be able to talk the venture targets, deliverables, roles, and deadlines — with out going into an awesome quantity of element.

From there, you‘ll wish to schedule time with the venture’s fast contributors to speak specifics and reply any questions earlier than the work begins.

Need assistance visualizing the complete venture? I like to recommend together with a timeline graphic just like the one beneath to present everybody a way of the general timeframe. You’ll be able to add or take away steps, relying on the complexity of your venture.

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7. Adapt as you go.

Keep in mind how simply over half of initiatives are completed on time? Roadblocks and setbacks are inevitable in each venture. So, in case your workforce runs right into a delay, you will have to grasp the impression and alter the timeline if crucial.

Whereas it‘s attainable to make up for delays with out altering the ultimate deadline, it’s your job because the venture proprietor to replace stakeholders on the venture‘s progress.

Reporting a minor subject like a coworker being out sick for a couple of days isn’t at all times crucial for higher-ups.

But when it is a main roadblock that requires an excessive adjustment to the timeline — like a core contributor leaving the workforce — you must talk a brand new timeline to stakeholders.

Change is a part of each course of, so don‘t panic if you must alter your timeline.

It’s higher to be clear in regards to the scope of labor and timeline than to maintain folks at nighttime, hoping it’ll work out. The sooner you alter to vary, the extra time you must pivot — and the better will probably be to get again on monitor.

Whether or not you want a template for a product launch or marketing campaign assembly, these well-designed project timeline templates I’ve gathered as much as present you’re good on your subsequent planning session.

Worker Onboarding Timeline

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This vertical timeline affords a option to plan and monitor your new rent’s journey as they ramp up. As you get to know them and discover the place they want assist, you can also make changes to the timeline to extra precisely chart their progress, put together the sources they’ll want, and so forth.

Professional tip: Onboarding is vital and deserves deep planning. Many professionals get their first actual introduction to an organization by way of the onboarding course of, so that you need it to go easily with all attainable helps able to throw within the ring.

You’ll maintain your workforce entire and happier for longer in the event that they know they’re being led with competency from the very begin.

Product Launch Timeline

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This horizontal product launch timeline will help you see the overlap of processes as time strikes ahead like a river. This offers workforce members an concept of when their cohort might want to lean in because the venture strikes alongside.

Finest for: This is a superb communication automobile for oversight functions. This isn’t getting slowed down with particulars — it’s a roadmap for stakeholders to grasp the general move, their locations in it, and the way they’ll contribute.

Disaster Response Mission Timeline

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It’s okay to hope for one of the best in any administration function, but it surely’s usually your job to plan for the worst. The easiest way to deal with an issue is to anticipate it and talk prematurely of it, which this disaster response timeline does fantastically.

What I like: The essential Regrouping step on the finish. The very best venture managers I’ve ever labored with ensure that the final steps embrace studying from the disaster outcomes to enhance the plan for when — not if — it occurs once more.

Historic Timeline

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Historic timelines like these are acquainted from faculty initiatives, however as professionals, they’re glorious to have available on your firm for a wide range of causes. You will have firm representatives to teach, guests to impress, or potential traders who wish to see proof of progress and improvement over time.

Finest for: Instructional functions.

Activity Mission Timeline

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Activity timelines are nice for getting folks shifting with out having to personally direct them.

Sending these as an e-mail attachment can prevent heaps of communication time, get folks the place they should be on the proper time, and direct people to what they should be doing when it must be accomplished.

Professional tip: Constructing a picture of a timeline is nice for a psychological understanding of the entire time frame, and it units expectations. To truly get folks the place they should be for every step, I’ve personally discovered that it helps to create and share a calendar with alerts inbuilt.

Assembly Mission Timeline

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I really like a very good assembly timeline. These talk the who, what, and when your workforce members must know as a way to navigate the day and perceive the general objective of the assembly block.

They are often made much more helpful by offering hyperlinks to the bios of the presenters, offering the speaking factors for every assembly prematurely, and dispersing the hyperlinks and passwords for any digital assembly areas.

What I like: As a neurospicy introvert that should handle my social vitality, my expertise has taught me that assembly timelines are significantly precious. I wish to know who I’ll be listening to, what sort of vitality to count on/could also be anticipated from me, and when to roust myself from gremlin work mode to public social mode.

Gantt Chart Instance

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A Gantt chart takes the timeline venture examples above and hoists them to the subsequent degree. It takes all of the wild threads of exercise and creates a tapestry of time and duties.

You’ll be able to seize quite a lot of granularity in a Gantt chart and talk a ton of knowledge directly.

You might must work along with your workforce members on find out how to learn it and benefit from the data with out being overwhelmed by it.

Finest for: Mission Managers who need professional-grade instruments to deal with large-scale initiatives.