How to make a project timeline

Making accurate an accurate timeline for a project

Whether your project spans years or a few short weeks, there’s something everyone on your team needs to be on the same page about: timing. Each team member needs to complete their tasks on time for the project to stay on schedule and ultimately be successful.

A timeline is a powerful visual tool that can help teams stick to their deadlines. It provides project managers with an overarching view of a project’s status in one consolidated place.

This article will cover the different types of timelines and how they can benefit your project. It’ll also show you how Miro’s easy-to-use timeline maker can help you make an accurate and collaborative timeline.

What is a project timeline?

A project timeline is a visual representation of a project’s planned schedule by mapping out the deliverables and tasks necessary to complete the overarching project. It acts as a mini roadmap for project managers, showing the flow of events necessary to complete the project on time.

These mini roadmaps include deadlines and milestones that ensure that each step’s aim or goal is completed along the way. In addition to the necessary flow of events, timelines define which team members or departments are responsible for each deliverable. By referring to a project timeline, a team can understand how each deliverable will contribute to the project’s ultimate completion.

Plotting the many details of a project on a timeline puts important information into an easily digestible visual format. Instead of having a long list of tasks written down, a project timeline maps deliverables chronologically — most often along a horizontal line. However, there are other types of timelines, including vertical timelines, Gantt charts, and timeline workflows.

Benefits of a timeline

Here are some benefits of using a timeline for your team’s next project.

It acts as a single source of truth to keep your team aligned

A project timeline acts as a manifesto of all events, deliverables, and tasks that a team needs to complete within a specific time frame. At a glance, team members can refer to the timeline document to understand where they are and what they need to do to stay on track. A timeline also removes doubts about what must happen at specific stages in a project’s lifespan.

It helps with strategic planning

Creating a timeline encourages teams to engage in forward-thinking, which plays a crucial role in a project’s success. The entire team needs to understand where they’re going and how they will collectively get there with the resources at their disposal. When creating a project management timeline, managers and team members should think strategically about what needs to be done and in what order. The result will be a realistic, feasible timeline that gives the team direction.

It can identify potential roadblocks

Due to the need for forward thinking, timelines help teams anticipate potential problems and roadblocks before they occur. For example, consider the following scenario: After tasks on a timeline have been assigned, it becomes clear that a niche developer is only available for a certain period. Since this could cause a delay in some stages of the project, the project manager requests additional resources.

The ability to anticipate bumps along your path to success will help you deal with them more efficiently — or even avoid them altogether — should they crop up.

It gives team members a deadline and holds them accountable

A project timeline makes clear the importance of everyone involved remaining focused and dedicated to their deadlines. Some tasks are time-sensitive, and the project will only move forward if those tasks are complete. By implementing a timeline, team members are held accountable if progress slows down due to them not sticking to their deadlines. A timeline also highlights which team members are responsible for reaching specific milestones, ensuring transparency throughout the project.

It prevents project scope creep

Setting hard deadlines and task deliverables means that planned work is clearly defined. Although it’s possible to update a timeline if things change, it prevents the project’s scope from changing too drastically. Timelines can show senior stakeholders the impact on the project deadline if they increase the scope. If there is a limit on time or resources, increasing the scope could push out the overall project deadline.

It’s a tool for transparency with clients

Giving your clients access to your project timeline builds trust and helps to form lasting relationships. Documenting and reporting on progress is a great way to keep clients in the loop and let them know when they can expect your team to complete work.

It helps to identify interdependencies between teams

Teams and team members often need the support and collaboration of others to complete their tasks. Some project timelines, such as Gantt charts, show which teams depend on one other to meet deadlines.

Elements of a timeline

While different types of project timelines may look different, they often have common elements. These elements include the following:

Milestones

Milestones are points in a project that signify a significant event or stage in project development. These checkpoints help measure progress and ensure the project remains on track.

Team members

The project timeline should include the teams and team members that will contribute to the project’s completion. This shows who is responsible for which tasks.

Dates and events

Projects can’t go on forever, so your timeline needs to include a start and end date. Between the project kick-off and project close are other significant events that should occur on specific dates as the project progresses.

Tasks

These are the necessary pieces of work that contribute to the completion of the entire project.

Duration of each task

Each task must have a deadline for delivery to confirm expectations.

Dependencies

These refer to tasks that require the initiation or completion of other tasks before they can begin. They must be set out chronologically along the timeline.

Critical path

The critical path is an important aspect of project management shown on a timeline. It represents the longest sequence of tasks and the amount of time it will take to complete them. These critical activities will determine your project’s duration and which tasks must be completed on time to keep the project on schedule.

Types of project timelines

Here are a few types of project timelines:

Strategic planning timeline

A timeline for strategic planning focuses on the medium- to long-term future. As opposed to a project that runs for a few months, these high-level timelines present a long-term view. With these three-to-five-year timelines, teams can build a shared understanding of what is planned for the future to support the company’s overall mission.

Linear project timeline

When you think of a timeline, you might picture a linear timeline. This timeline has a start date at one end of a horizontal or vertical line, which continues to the end date. All events, tasks, and deadlines are mapped along the timeline.

Gantt chart

Gantt charts are a unique type of project timeline because they don’t follow a linear-styled format. Instead, Gantt charts use a bar graph to represent the progress of specific tasks moving toward completion — tasks that all fall within the project’s start and end dates.

PERT chart

PERT stands for project evaluation review technique. This type of timeline is similar to a Gantt chart in some ways but different enough to present its own benefits. A PERT chart places more focus on estimation than real-time scheduling. PERT charts are often compared to tree diagrams because they use rectangles and circles to represent milestones and events, with arrows indicating the progress between each element.

How to make a timeline in 7 steps

Follow these steps to create your timeline using Miro’s timeline maker:

1) Understand the project scope and requirements

Before you start sketching your timeline, you must clearly define the project’s scope and requirements. You’ll need to understand which events and tasks will contribute to the completion of the ultimate goal during the project’s timeline.

2) Decide on the people who will be involved in the project

It’s important to choose the right people and teams to contribute to the project from beginning to end. This allows for proper resource allocation and a clear definition of interdependencies.

3) Make a list of deliverables and key events and prioritize them

Project managers need to understand what smaller tasks will need to be completed for the entire project to succeed. Managers must also understand who will work on and be responsible for each deliverable. It’s best to prioritize your list of tasks and events before adding this information to the timeline.

4) Add information to the timeline

Once you’ve gathered the essential information, you can start building your timeline. Make sure you sequence your tasks according to which need to be completed first.

5) Customize your timeline

Remember that a project management timeline is a visual tool that’s aesthetically pleasing and easy to digest. Add sticky notes, use colors, and embed media to make your timeline easy to understand and memorable.

6) Share and ask for feedback

Building the timeline should be a collaborative effort. Ask for input from your team members before finalizing the timeline. Everyone should agree that the deadlines and milestones are realistic.

7) Keep your timeline up to date, and adjust it as necessary

For the most part, timelines should remain consistent. But when things change — for instance, if a task is delayed or a team needs restructuring — ensure you keep the timeline updated to make it useful.

Best practices for creating a timeline

Keep the following key points in mind to build an effective timeline:

Avoid setting unrealistic due dates

One of the biggest stumbling blocks for project managers is setting deadlines that are difficult to achieve. Create realistic project estimates with your team’s help, and include some space for "project float." Also known as slack, project float is the amount of time a task can be delayed before it impacts the project’s deadline. This ensures that expectations do not override the deliverables’ feasibility, as this could set a project up for failure before it even begins.

Fully understand each task

Everyone on the team needs to understand the tasks and subtasks clearly for a well-defined, effective timeline. This will allow for efficiency and certainty when they complete the project. A vague project management timeline with tasks that aren’t clearly displayed is a recipe for confusion and a lack of direction.

Identify dependent tasks

Many projects have smaller tasks and deliverables that are interconnected with other tasks. Define the tasks that are dependent on one another, and ensure that the team collaborates and communicates while carrying out those tasks.

Involve the whole team

One person shouldn’t create a timeline to benefit an entire team. Each person should have a say in creating deadlines and tasks. Involving all stakeholders in drafting a timeline means expectations are set from the beginning.

Choose the right software

Creating a project timeline isn’t something you need to do from scratch. With Miro you can use the intuitive Timeline builder to construct a timeline that is clear, concise, and well-structured from the start.

Create your timeline in no time with Miro

You now understand how to make a project management timeline and the value it provides for your project. From creating a sense of certainty to improving collaboration, a timeline provides many benefits to your team.

If you want to create a holistic and all-encompassing timeline, Sign up for free to Miro to get started.