Use a Visual Timeline Chart to Plan Projects
It’s easier to complete projects with many people if you use a visual timeline to coordinate tasks. Get-It-Done Guy shares his simple, yet effective strategy.
Teamwork! I just love teamwork. At least, when a team is working well. The team at Bernice’s Green Growing Things plant store is having troubles, however. They’re opening their second location, and somehow, everything keeps getting stalled. Pieces are dropping on the floor, deadlines are getting missed. No one is quite sure why, but everyone wants it to stop. Even the Audrey 2s are unhappy. They do not like being repotted.
I spoke with Bernice’s fiancee Melvin and asked why he wasn’t getting his inventory chosen and ordered. “Why should I?” he replied, “The inventory doesn’t matter until the new space is built out. And Europa’s taking care of that.” I dutifully dropped by Europa’s desk. “Hey, Europa, what’s up with the space build out?” “Oh,” she replied, “I’m waiting for Bernice to come up with the blueprints. When she gets them to me, I’ll get started.” So it was off to ask Bernice about the blueprints. “I’m waiting for Melvin to let me know what inventory we’ll need so we can design the space appropriately. We wouldn’t want the entrance to open right into the Audrey 2 feeding pens, would we? That could get awkward.”
Melvin is waiting for Europa. Europa is waiting for Bernice. Bernice is waiting for Melvin. This is just like a typical junior high school love life. A loves B, who loves C, who loves A. Everyone goes home unfulfilled. It’s the story of eighth grade. And high school. And college. And my 20s. And my 30s. And let’s move on.
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Project Plans Bring Order
What’s missing from this picture, aside from anyone actually doing work, is a project plan. A project plan lays out all the work that needs to get done on a project, who’s going to do it, and roughly when it needs to get done. Trying to teach all of project planning in a 5-minute podcast is not feasible. Fortunately, you don’t need all of project planning. Just the basics.
If there isn’t room in the caledar for the tasks to fit, you may not have enough time scheduled.
I’m a visual guy, and I like a visual representation of a project. For me, that means some form of calendar. For project management purists who are listening, this is a simplified GANNT chart.
Plan Using Your Calendar
I get a piece of paper and turn it so the wide edge is in front of me. Along the left edge, I write down the names of all the team members. I draw a vertical line to the right of the names and label it with today’s date. I label the right edge of the paper with the project due date. Voila! The paper is now a timeline. Next enter vertical lines for each major milestone or deadline.
Now fill in the tasks that need to be done by drawing a horizontal line spanning the dates that tasks can or must be done. Draw the horizontal line in the row of each person who will work on that task, and label the line so you know what it means.
If one task must precede another, like creating blueprints before building out an office, make sure the “create blueprints” task line is entirely to the left of the “build-out office” line. If there isn’t room in the calendar for the tasks to fit, you may not have enough time scheduled for your project.
Start by Working Backwards
Start by Working BackwardsNow we work backwards. Europa must do the build-out before the store opens. It will take a month, assuming good blueprints. On Europa’s line, we draw a horizontal line from the “store opens” date back one month.
Blueprints must be done before Europa starts the build-out. On Bernice’s line, we draw a horizontal line from the start of “do build-out” back two months. Blueprints will take two months, because Bernice carefully calligraphs every letter in the blueprint. “It’s not just a blueprint,” she says, “it’s a beauty-print.”
Before the blueprints can be done, Melvin must decide on the inventory. We draw a horizontal line from the start of “create blueprint” back two months. It takes Melvin two months to choose the inventory because otherwise, the text doesn’t fit in the diagram in this episode’s transcript showing what all this will look like.
The last task that needs to go on the project plan is Melvin actually ordering the inventory. That can be done any time after choosing the inventory, but before the store opens. We draw a horizontal line from the end of “choose inventory” all the way to “store opening” to show the inventory can be ordered at any time.
A Little Planning Saves Lots of Time
Here’s what the timeline looks like:
Next time you have a project that involves coordinating several people with different tasks, spend a few minutes with a timeline. Identify which tasks have to happen before others, and map it out visually so you can see what has to get done when so that the whole project comes in on time. A little planning up front can save oodles of time later. And you’ll need the extra time, because you never know when the Audrey 2s will begin to get restless.
If you have questions about how to Work Less and Do More, e-mail your question to getitdone@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email,
Group meeting image courtesy of Shutterstock.
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About the Author
Stever Robbins was the host of the podcast Get-it-Done Guy from 2007 to 2019. He is a graduate of W. Edward Deming’s Total Quality Management training program and a Certified Master Trainer Elite of NLP. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Computer Sciences from MIT.
