All business projects, whether big or small, follow a timeline. A project timeline is a detailed schedule or list of events laid out in chronological order, often using a project timeline template. It is a simple overview of all the steps in an assignment that lets the stakeholders know what should be completed before moving on to a new task. A well-structured timeline requires a reliable template, strong strategy, and organizational skills, among other things.

Start with a brief

You should prepare a brief before you start working on the timeline or setting things up on a project timeline template. A brief is a short description of the main elements of the project. It can be a quick summary or an overview for the team members, managers, investors, or clients. The brief should clearly communicate the requirements without overwhelming the reader with excessive or redundant information. An efficient brief should have the following elements related to the project: description and relevant background information; objectives; goals or desired outcomes along with target audience; key milestones; and the timeframe for the project. However, you need not limit yourself to these elements as the brief can also include the total number of people involved, their roles, and the resources required to complete the tasks.

List the tasks

To create a sound timeline, you need to make a list of everything that needs to be accomplished. The list must be comprehensive, covering all tasks, reports, and events, right from the planning process to the deliverables. Make sure you include both major and minor tasks—essentially anything and everything that will help the team complete the project on time and within budget. For example, if you are making a marketing video for your product, your list may include: establishing project leads from different departments, determining the budget, finding a video production company, choosing key features for the video, writing a script, shooting video content, adding sound and background music, editing, adding animations, and graphics, and so on.

Assign deadlines for tasks

This is one of the most important and challenging steps in creating a successful timeline. Once your task list is ready, the next step is to break down major tasks into smaller steps. This will help you estimate the time required to complete each task. It is important to give all teams working on the project enough time to finish their work and avoid missing the final deadline. You can also consult a senior or co-worker to help you set deadlines. You should also account for delays and set aside a buffer as projects may not go as planned.

Link dependencies

Dependencies are relationships between tasks that cannot be initiated before completing another task. For instance, the video team cannot start shooting or filming if the script is unfinished. So it is important to identify all potential dependencies throughout the project period. This will help set the order and figure out who is responsible for each step. It is also essential to give some members a heads-up if other members or teams will have to wait for them to be done with their assigned jobs. This will allow the first team to plan their schedule accordingly to adhere to the deadlines strictly, and it can help avoid a backlog.

Set milestones

Milestones are important dates, events, or specific deliverables that mark the end of one phase and the beginning of the next. The main purpose of establishing milestones is to help managers and leaders monitor the progress. Think of milestones as small victories that signal progress and reassure team members that they are moving forward. Also, if the team is falling behind, milestones can help serve as reminders to speed things up and modify the schedule to finish the project on time. Further, some online project timeline templates come with in-built milestone tabs to make it easier to define important events.

Use a project timeline template

Once you have the necessary information and a list of tasks, you can use a template to create the timeline. Online platforms offer a project timeline template—a tool that shows the schedule, individual tasks, milestones, due dates or deadlines, and more—an alternative to a manually designed plan. Using a clean, professional project timeline template can save you a lot of time, especially if you are looking at an urgent undertaking. Many websites provide samples in the form of paid or free project plan timeline templates. These are customizable and editable outlines that make it easier for you to build an entire timeline in significantly less time than taking the manual route. Depending on your requirements, you can also download a project timeline template PPT (if the plan requires PowerPoint format), Google sheets samples, and Excel outlines, among others. If you are looking for a simple, easy-to-understand outline, you can download a project plan timeline template on the Microsoft website. Other free files available are Project planning timeline (Word file), Simple Gantt Chart (Excel file), and Gantt project planner (Excel file). Further, you can choose the paid version titled Milestone and task project timeline (Excel file).