{"id":4497,"date":"2021-08-26T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-26T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sortlist.com\/blog\/?p=4497"},"modified":"2021-08-26T15:06:00","modified_gmt":"2021-08-26T13:06:00","slug":"project-management-timeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sortlist-test.com\/blog\/project-management-timeline\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Project Management Timeline and 7 Steps to Make It for Free"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you have had to lead projects that involve a work team, you can understand how complicated it is to keep track of pending tasks<\/strong>, the people in charge, delivery dates, and progress in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially if you do not have a system designed for this particular purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we want to teach you everything related to the project management timeline<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is an essential tool for organizing work<\/span> and, in a visual way, it allows you to understand what stage you are in<\/span>, what tasks are still pending, and what each of the people involved is working on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a Project Management Timeline?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When we talk about a project management timeline<\/strong>, we are referring to a board where the total duration of the project is established. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It organizes the tasks to be performed<\/span>, with their start and end dates, specifies who is responsible<\/span> for each activity and what resource<\/span>s will be needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to technology, these boards are now digital<\/span><\/strong>. Allowing real-time collaboration of all the people involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They will be able to mark tasks as lists, notify changes or delays that may arise over time, or request the participation of other team members at a specific point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having all this information updated and in a visual way<\/span> serves as motivation for your team to reach the final goal within the established timeframe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Make a Project Management Timeline?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now, in order to make a timeline of activities<\/strong> that fits the real needs of the project you are going to execute, it is necessary to follow the next steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to note that this applies to any type of project<\/em><\/strong>, regardless of the industry you belong to or the objective to be achieved:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 – Define the objectives:<\/em> the first thing you must define is what you want to achieve with this project<\/span>. What is the final result, and then start to determine what are the major milestones to be achieved along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 – Identify who should be involved:<\/em> write a list of all the people who will be working on the project<\/span>. Including those who only have occasional participation. We suggest that each name be accompanied by a short description of their strengths and areas of expertise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3 – Specify the final closing date:<\/em> now, you must define the closing date of the project. This information will serve not only to establish the delivery days of each action to be performed but also as motivation for the entire team. From Sortlist we recommend you set this date leaving a margin of error. That is, taking into account that along the way there may be delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4- Make a list of all the tasks to be completed:<\/em> take some time to write down all the tasks that must occur<\/span> to achieve the final goal of the project, try to include even the simplest ones, and consult with all the people involved to avoid forgetting to put any of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 – Assign those responsible:<\/em> now is the time to define which members of your team will be involved in each of the tasks<\/span>. We recommend that you include them in this process, you don’t want to assign people who don’t have the time or skills to take on these assignments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6 – Establish delivery dates for each task:<\/em> starting from the final closing date of the project, start defining the days <\/span>on which each of the tasks you determined above must be started and delivered. Take into account the necessary execution time and leave a margin for unforeseen events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 – Assemble the schedule in the tool you have selected:<\/em> now that you know what needs to be done, who is responsible and the dates, it is important to assemble this schedule in the project management tool<\/span> you have selected, below we explain how you can do it both in Excel and Word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steps to Make a Timeline in Excel<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are different online tools that allow you to create your project’s schedule. However, at Sortlist we understand that there are situations in which you don’t have access to these types of systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s why we want to teach you how to do it in Excel<\/a>. Basically, what we are going to explain below is how to create a Gantt chart<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1 – Create the Activity Table<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In an Excel sheet you must create a table with the following columns:<\/p>\n\n\n\n