Deadlines are the guiding stars of project management. Having a set date in mind pushes you to get work done on time. Whether you’re developing a new product, or undertaking a complex construction venture – you need a clear and viable project timeline to meet your targets on time.
A project timeline is a formal schedule of your entire project from inception to completion, where all tasks are mapped out in chronological order with a deadline assigned to each. For project leads and stakeholders, it can offer a quick, high-level view of the entire project in one location.
With those goals in mind, our team at WordLayout created a Project Timeline template to help you plan and organize tasks in a more visual and systematic way. Our Excel-based timeline allows you to assign the right resources to the right tasks, set deadlines for key deliverables, and compare planned and actual progress to help you identify and correct any deviation from the project’s overall goals.
Now, let’s explore our template in more detail:
Project Details
Right at the top of our template, we identify and describe the project as a whole, including its name, location (where it is being implemented), and version (in case of projects that are periodically extended).
We also identify the project lead (usually, the Project Manager) who is responsible for overseeing the planning, procurement, and execution of a project.
We follow this by delineating the scope of the project using a single, comprehensive, and clear statement that captures the project’s objectives, deliverables, timeline, and budget.
Lastly, we add a separate space for you to identify the key project deliverables. These are the tangible or intangible outcomes of all the tasks part of the project. For instance, for a software design project, deliverables can include things like a product prototype, a strategic report, and a usability report.
Stakeholder Details
In this section, we identify the individual stakeholders who have a vested interest in the success of the project. These may be within or outside the organization funding or executing the project.
From project managers, HoDs, and external suppliers to investors & donors, these individuals particularly benefit from gaining a high-level view of how things are going at any given point of the project simply by looking at the project timeline.
Once we identify names and roles, we also add space for their contact details (phone number & email address) to make sure they remain accessible for all project team members in case of any updates or changes.
The Timeline
Task description
Task lists are the foundation of any project, and should therefore be developed during the planning phase and finalized at the start of the project in the timeline.
In this column, you create a list of all tasks or subtasks part of the project, all the way from planning to the final deliverable.
If you used our Project Prioritization template, you will already have a list of action items sorted by priority, as determined on the basis of two variables: Impact and Effort. You can replicate that list here, before fleshing out the remaining details.
Assignee
In this column, we sort tasks by assignee. In other words, it’s time to identify who is doing what.
The most important thing here is to make sure each task is assigned to the right member of the team. This requires the project leads to assess the talents and abilities of individual team members to ensure they are a good fit. Resources available with the HR department or officer may help. In particular, their professional resumes as well as past work performance reports can help you decide if a particular assignee is a good choice for a specific task.
Start & end date
These two columns are probably the heart of any project timeline as they place every task inside a preset time frame, ensuring that the overall project delivers on time.
First up, we identify a start date which is when you expect an assignee to begin working on a particular task. This may be decided based on the level of priority you assign to each task or the logical sequence that connects each phase of a project to the next. For example, if you are launching a new product in the market; the start date for Market Research must precede the Product Development phase which in turn, should come well in advance of Product Marketing and Promotion. It’s common sense.
In the case of end dates, make sure you don’t get carried away or be overly ambitious as you want to choose time frames that are bold enough to create a sense of urgency for your team while still being realistic.
Based on the start & end dates you manually enter in our template, we calculate the total duration of each task.
Budget
In this column, you only need to specify a particular amount (or percentage) from your overall project budget that you have assigned to each task. You do also have the option to remove or replace this column with any other relevant information, given that budget planning and allocation is a very complex and in-depth process itself, so you might need to use a separate document to align your budget against specific project actions.
For developing a formal and comprehensive Project Budget, feel free to download our free Project Budget Template here!
Status
In this section, we simply want to get a sense of which tasks have been completed, which are currently in progress, and which ones need to be finished before the project’s final deadline.
Use this list to indicate the current status of individual tasks by selecting one of three options: ‘In Progress’, ‘Complete’, and ‘Pending’. You can change the status codes from configuration sheet of the template.
Who is This Template For?
- Project managers
- Team leaders
- Team members
- Stakeholders (customers, clients, beneficiaries)
- Stakeholders (investors, donors)
- Business analysts and operations managers
7 Tips For Creating a Viable Project Timeline
- Always define a project scope statement and project goals clearly before you start on your project timeline
- Be realistic when setting deadlines by using a combination of historical data and team input to estimate timeframes accurately
- Always engage your client, end-user, or project beneficiaries to know the bigger picture as this part of the planning process will simplify and inform the rest of the project
- For better feasibility, get feedback from your project team to find out how long each task will take, and always include a buffer in case of unexpected delays to save yourself from any last-minute stress
- Use digital tools that create open lines of communication among team members to make sure everyone is on the same page at all times
- Go for focused meetings in case of specific issues or hold-ups, engaging only relevant team members. This ensures that the work of the rest of the team is not interrupted
- Always keep an eye on how resources are being used to make sure no member of the team is underburdened or overburdened with work
Winding Up
Our template is an incredibly versatile tool suitable for a wide range of industries. It serves as a roadmap for project leads, guiding the project team through each phase of the project from initiation to completion by defining key deliverables, deadlines, and milestones. It is particularly useful for stakeholders who want to make sure all tasks are performed in a systematic and efficient way.
Use our designer-developed template to optimize your project timelines and improve overall efficiency.
Our fillable template is available for download in Excel and Google Sheets formats!
