When planning and putting new projects into action, companies need to create specific time that they must complete the projects in. These periods can be planned to create a rough idea about how long a project will take to be created, for example, building a house. Another use for pre-planned timelines can be to keep track records about the projects that are being set into motion with specific milestones, for example, introducing a product in the market and tracking its growth and performance rate during a year or over the years.
The main reason for the creation of timelines is to help plan out the complete process of projects. Gathering material, planning steps, the production process, and the completion need to be carefully pre-planned.
This pre-planning method saves time, is cost-efficient and lowers the risks of having problems with the product. Steps that need to be taken at specific stages can be recorded with detail, creating a list of supplies that will be needed at the different stages of production, supervising the production is made easy. Moreover, if any problems are being faced during the production, the steps can be traced back in detail to figure out the problem and fix it without having to restart the whole project.
Furthermore, the timelines can help track the performance of the project, after it has been introduced to the market. The users can record milestones which help display an achievement reached during the production process or after a project has been set in motion.
The best way to record and save details regarding projects is to use computers and the different kinds of programs created specifically for record keeping. MS Excel is a great application that offers many kinds of services. One of the services Microsoft provides is the ready-made templates for different kinds of work.
There are templates of timelines for small projects as well as big, detail options are also available. The templates can be downloaded offline and be further edited to suit the nature of the user’s requirements. Below are some example templates for timelines:
#1
This template is designed to display a very simple and basic timeline. It can help record the performance of a project over the years, as well as save information regarding events that took place in or between specific times in the attached note boxes.
#2
This template is a more detailed timeline used for small-scale projects. The performance or stages of a project can be recorded over the course of days or months with dates specified neatly to pinpoint the exact start and end date of the project. Milestones show an achieved goal or an important point reached in the project.
#3
This template is also a timeline with information recorded on a monthly basis, on the same date that the project was initiated on. The milestones can be recorded to record an important point met during the project time period.
#4
The template is designed to help record the project information on a timeline, every 10 days since the start of the project. The blue boxes represent the milestones achieved while the project has been in progress.
#5
The template has a very detailed design that helps in planning as well as saving important information in the form of separate notes. The timeline is designed to create records on the basis of both days and weeks. This helps record information accurately according to the date an event took place on or will take place on for example a meeting or a supplies delivery.
#6
The monthly recording timelines are less detailed with a specific start date. The information is then recorded every month on the same date. If any milestones are created and met, they are displayed in between the specific dates depending on how close they were to the information recording dates.
#7
This design of the template can be useful in planning and recording a small scale project with a small number of workforce. The timeline displays the start date of the project, separate dates and weeks for a more detailed record, as well as the names of people that have been assigned tasks and the amount of time they are given to complete the said tasks.
#8
The timeline has been created to display the record of a project over the course of 12 months. This design makes it easy to pinpoint, precisely, an important event that took place in a specific month. Furthermore, the template gives an overview of what has been completed or is to be done in the project over the months. Milestones can be edited into the space provided for text.
