Developing a Project Timeline is vital in any and every project management strategy, outlining the goals and performance of goals and project steps in chronological order. Thereby providing a steady path on which the managing team can work and bring the project to fruition. Creating a project timeline that incorporates all the departments and their inter-linkages and workings; and then adhering to the timeline can be a difficult process especially when the project management team can face any number of issues ranging from technical difficulties and delays to human resource problems, unexpected developments can arise at any given time and throw the project off track. However, that is when the timeline comes in handy and brings the project manager’s attention to the necessary tasks at hand.
Project Timeline in Time Management Planning
A Project Timeline Excel Sheet is a necessary component of effective time management planning as it keeps the overall project on target. By having ready-made tasks outlined with their estimated times of beginning and completion, project managers can better plan for the future. Problems can be identified before they become detrimental or critical in nature to the project and hence can be dealt with swiftly beforehand. This helps reduce delays and keep them to a minimum in the project and ensure smooth running. Also since the manager can identify the problem earlier, he can relay the information to the client sooner and a notice of changing the time estimate or any potential issue can be given before the actual time of task, which makes it easier to resolve an issue or come up with a countermeasure and keep the client involved.
Having a well-planned project management timeline templates keeps the business always aware of where it stands regarding its projects and their completion. Detailed reports can be made and status updates are easier which show whether the progress is lagging behind or moving ahead or in sync with the timeline chart . This further applies and is useful when the business determines whether the project is sustainable as it is carried out or if certain tasks or events make it difficult to finance or continue. Similarly, as the project goals and milestones are met as per the project management timeline, the client can be billed and the business can show tangible progress for its earnings.
Lastly, working with a timeline project management provides valuable experience to the project managers as they can then better apply their knowledge and experience to future projects and plans and by analyzing the actual versus estimated time spent on prior projects, they can come up with more accurate estimates and timelines for the future.