Project management timelines provide an easy visual overview of a project from start to end and cause increased work efficiency among teams. As simple as timelines appear once you see them on paper, breaking down a project into an efficient timeline may feel overwhelming, especially to novice project managers. So, if this is often your first experience creating a project management timeline, or maybe your 563rd, use these eight no-fail steps to perfect your next timeline.
Write a project scope statement.
Determining the scope of your project is another a part of the project management process you would like to finish before you’ll create your project timeline. A project scope statement outlines the deliverables you propose to supply by the top of a project.
As a fast example, let’s say you and your friends want to plant a garden. A scope statement could look something like this: we’ll produce a 100 square foot kitchen garden that produces tomatoes, peppers, kale, potatoes, peas, green beans, and corn.
Create a piece breakdown structure (WBS)
To create a piece breakdown structure (WBS), start from your scope statement and break your deliverable or deliverables into smaller pieces. You aren’t stepping into tasks yet, just smaller deliverables. Another name for this section is that the scope baseline, and every sub-deliverable is named a piece package.
Break each work package into tasks
Now you’ll make a to-do list for every work package. believe the gap between your baseline and your goal. What must happen to urge from the start line to the specified end point? note of tasks that are similar across work packages. This process will assist you determine dependencies within the next step.
Determine project dependencies
Dependencies are tasks that can’t be started until another task has been completed. for instance , you can’t plant your tomatoes until after the bottom has been tilled. during this scenario, determining dependencies for a project management timeline are going to be relatively straightforward, except for more complex processes, mapping dependencies might offer you a couple of gray hairs.
Determine total time needed for every task
Go back to your task list or dependency chart and consider how long it’ll fancy accomplish each task. Assume that the responsible party is functioning diligently on the task without interruptions. If you’re unable to accurately estimate the needed time, work on this section with an expert who can offer you some guidance.
Identify resource availability
Most often, your limiting resource are going to be the supply of your team members or employees. during this step, you would like to think about once they are going to be ready to spend time performing on an allotted task. albeit it’s going to only take each day of dedicated work to finish an assignment, you’ll got to expand the quantity of designated time to a couple of days or maybe weeks if there are many other projects occurring simultaneously.
In the garden example, it’ll only take four hours from start to end , but with everything else happening , your team will need two weekends to urge it done. Therefore, once you create a project timeline, you’ll reserve several days for every task.
Samples of Project Management Timeline Template :
Identify important milestones
Project milestones allow you to trace the progress of your projects from start to end . This way, if you drag , you’ll know far beforehand of your final deadline and be ready to adjust your plans or expectations to remain on track .
Build your project management timeline.
This is the fun part! Its’s time to make your project timeline. Line your tasks end to finish , adjust their lengths to reflect the quantity of your time allotted, then add milestones to shine things off.
Project Management Timeline Template | Excel download
