Another way to think of project milestones is as chapters within the project. These tasks are typically determined through the work breakdown structure during project planning. Everything that needs to be completed during a project to successfully complete the project. These dates are typically determined during project planning. The calendar dates that work on your project begins and when the final deliverable is due.

More advanced elements include milestones and dependencies. In its most basic form, a project timeline should include a start date, a series of tasks, and an end date. In other words, the project timeline is a piece of the project schedule and the project schedule is a piece of the project plan.Īn example of a PERT chart in Lucidchart diagram software What should a project timeline include? While the project schedule is a more comprehensive document that includes more detailed information, the timeline is the specific, focused piece of the schedule that meticulously outlines important dates and deadlines and plots them on a timeline chart. You can think of the timeline as the meat of your project schedule. The project timeline also shows all of the important due dates and milestones from the beginning to the end of a project.Ī project timeline is similar to the project schedule, but they’re not the same thing. What is a project timeline?Ī project timeline helps teams determine when a project can start and when it needs to be finished. In this guide we’ll explain what project timelines are, show you some examples, and help you learn how to create a project timeline. The good news is that you can answer these questions and more with one simple document: the project timeline.Īnd if your project has multiple stakeholders, interdependent tasks, and a defined budget you can derive big benefits from using project management software instead of manual methods.

If you don’t have this information it can cause major problems, from miscommunication to scope creep, as well as blown deadlines and budgets. If you’re still gaining experience as a new project manager, one of the first questions stakeholders will ask you is, “When can we get started and when will we finish?” Project management is all about the details, from making sure that every task is assigned to staying on time and on budget. Looking for a single document that you can use to keep track of project progress? Look no further.

Ms project change timeline start date