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How to create a project timeline in Excel (3 methods + an alternative)
Project Management 10 min read

How to create a project timeline in Excel (3 methods + an alternative)

We’ll show you three ways to build a project timeline in Excel. And, because that can be a headache, we’ll also show you an alternative to building your timeline in Excel.

Project timeline software: Which is the best tool for you?
Project Management 10 min read

Project timeline software: Which is the best tool for you?

Project timeline software will make your timeline the central source of truth that it’s supposed to be. Here’s our list of the five best tools to choose from.

How to create a project timeline from scratch (+ an easier way)
Project Management 10 min read

How to create a project timeline from scratch (+ an easier way)

Spreadsheets just don’t cut it anymore. In this guide, we’ll explain why and outline everything you need to include in your project timeline.

The Ultimate Guide to Implementation Plans
Project Management 10 min read

The Ultimate Guide to Implementation Plans

Achieve better outcomes and stronger results by creating implementation plans that help you turn concepts into real world action. Learn more with Wrike.

The Ultimate Guide To Project Management Timelines
Project Management 10 min read

The Ultimate Guide To Project Management Timelines

Effectively manage your project timeline to gain better control of your deliverables and milestones. Meet more deadlines with a flexible project timeline template.

Timeline Snapshot: Share Project Plans and Status with Anyone
News 3 min read

Timeline Snapshot: Share Project Plans and Status with Anyone

Wouldn't it be so much easier if you could simply show clients, partners, and colleagues an up-to-date project timeline instead of manually preparing reports? Well, great news: now you can!  Today we released the Timeline Snapshot. You can take a picture of your project plans on the Timeline and instantly share it with anyone via a public link — even with people who don't have a Wrike account. (Though it might also be a good time to invite them to Wrike.) Timeline Snapshots make your communications more efficient. By sending your colleagues a photo of your workload and project plans, they get an instant look at work progress and you save time explaining and generating reports, with an automatic look into the high visibility project meaning.  It will be especially useful for agencies and B2B freelancers who need to share project estimates with clients and partners, or executives who report on progress to investors. Nonprofits will find it useful for sharing milestones and project roadmaps with their board, or even sending this snapshot out to donors via newsletter. Local governments and municipalities can easily share project plans with constituents. Ditto for managers who need to share Gantt charts with other departments that don't use Wrike. As always, you can share your data in an easy and secure way. Whenever someone creates a new Timeline Snapshot, you'll see a corresponding entry in the Activity Stream. Anytime you can delete any of the snapshots as some of them get outdated. If there's anything we've learned from Instagram, it's that sometimes it's easier to convey a whole lot of information in a single picture — even if it is a Gantt chart selfie.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Create a Timeline Using Microsoft Project
Project Management 3 min read

A Step-by-Step Guide to Create a Timeline Using Microsoft Project

Visual project timelines are a manager’s best friend. Providing an easy way to report big-picture progress to executives and stakeholders can be a lifesaver when managing large projects. At the same time, when you're managing a project and need to drill down into the details of milestones and dependencies, it's easy to see how the project stands and pinpoint any tasks and deadlines in danger of slipping.  Because Gantt chart-style project timelines are such a popular planning and management tool, dozens of project management apps are available to create them, including Excel, Microsoft Project, and Wrike. Here, we’ll show you how to make a timeline in MS Project, along with an easier way to do so with Wrike.  How to create a timeline using Microsoft Project Step 1: To make a Microsoft Project Gantt chart, click "View," then choose "Timeline." Step 2: Right-click any of your tasks, then select "Add to Timeline." Repeat for every task or milestone connected to your project. Step 3: If you’d like to create multiple timelines, click the Timeline view, then "Format." Select "Timeline Bar" from the Format menu. Step 4: Right-click a timeline and choose "Date Range." Set your start and finish dates.  Step 5: Add colors and change text styles by clicking anywhere on your timeline and selecting "Format." Step 6: To share your MS Project timeline, click the Format menu and select "Copy Timeline." Choose a size, depending on your needs: for emails, choose small; for presentation slides, choose medium; and for full size, choose large. You can then paste the timeline into another program as an image. An easier way to create a timeline online Instead of manually adding tasks and milestones to your project timeline, use an online Gantt chart. Wrike’s Gantt charts let you easily plan your projects. Wrike automatically pulls your project tasks and due dates to create a dynamic project timeline for you. Assign due dates, set milestones and dependencies with a simple right-click, and adjust the timeline by dragging and dropping tasks and durations. Overdue tasks are automatically flagged in red, so nothing escapes your attention. Online project timelines are also much easier to share, and you don’t need to bother with selecting the right size for PowerPoint slides or emails. With Wrike, you can quickly share your timeline with colleagues by taking a snapshot and sending the link to clients and stakeholders so they can get progress updates quickly and easily. Get a free trial of Wrike and try it out for yourself, with nothing to download or install. Then check out our in-depth guide to the Wrike's Gantt charts to create your first timeline and get your project up and running in minutes.  How have project timelines helped you meet important deadlines? Share your success story in the comments. Sources: support.office.com, youtube.com, advisicon.com, wikipedia.org, techrepublic.com

How to Create an Excel Timeline Template
Project Management 5 min read

How to Create an Excel Timeline Template

Visual timelines are essential tools for planning, tracking, and managing a project. You can map out dependencies and milestones to get an accurate overview of progress and deadlines, and create a reusable version, such as an event timeline template, to steer your future projects too. But while using these Gantt chart-style timelines for project management is fairly easy, creating one in Excel can be tricky. We'll walk you through the process of how to make a timeline in Excel and share a project schedule template you can reuse for future work. How to Create a Timeline in Excel  Step 1: Start by creating a table List each task in your project from beginning to end, including key decisions and deliverables, and set a start date, end date, and duration for each one. Next, turn your table into a bar chart. Select Insert, then click the Bar Chart icon and choose the 2-D stacked bar chart.  Step 2: Add Start Dates Right click your empty bar chart, then choose Select Data. When the Data Source window appears, click Add under Legend Entries (Series). The Edit Series window will appear. Click in the empty “Series name:“ field, then click on the Start Date cell of the table you created in step 1. Finally, click on the spreadsheet icon to the right of the “Series values:” field to open the Edit Series window. Click on the first Start Date in your table, then drag your mouse down to the last Start Date to highlight all your task start dates. Click on the spreadsheet icon at the end of the Edit Series form. The previous window will appear; select ‘Ok.” Step 3: Add Durations Follow the same process with your Durations column: click Add under Legend Entries (Series). Select the empty “Series: name” field, then click the first Duration cell in your table. Click the spreadsheet icon next to the Series values field to open the Edit Series window. Select the first duration in your table, and drag your mouse down to the last duration to select all your duration entries. Click the spreadsheet icon to the right of the Edit Series form, then select Ok to add durations to your Excel timeline. Step 4: Add Task Names Right click on any bar in your chart and choose Select Data. Click the spreadsheet icon to the right of Category (X) Axis Labels, then click and drag to highlight the names of your tasks in your table. Do not select the name of the column (Task), only the task names themselves. Then click ok, and ok again. Step 5: Format Your Gantt Chart You now have a stacked bar chart indicating the starting dates of your tasks and their durations—but your tasks are in reverse order. Right click your list of tasks and select Format Axis. Select the ‘Categories in reverse order’ checkbox. To hide the blue part of each bar, right click on the blue part of any bar and choose Format Data Series. Click Fill, then select No fill. Then click Border Color and select No line, and finally Shadow and unclick the Shadow box. Then delete the unnecessary bar chart key to create more space. To get rid of the white space at the beginning of your Gantt chart, right click on the first Start Date in your data table and choose Format Cells. Under General, write down the number listed. Hit Cancel. Back in your Gantt chart, right click on the dates above the bars and choose Format Axis. Change the Minimum bound to the number you’ve written down. Select close. If you want to get rid of the white space between the bars, right click on the top red bar and select Format Data Series. Set Separated to 100% and Gap Width to 10%. Congratulations! You’ve created a project timeline in Excel. Download a Free Excel Timeline Template Instead of creating your own project timeline template in Excel, download one that's ready made. Track deadlines and project status for all kinds of projects, from software development to online marketing campaigns, with this free timeline template download from Microsoft Office. An Easier Way to Create Project Timelines As you can see, it’s time consuming and tedious to create project timelines in Excel. Plus, whenever a deadline changes or new tasks need to be added, it’s difficult to manually update your Excel chart.  Instead of messing with spreadsheets and table formatting, use an online Gantt chart. Wrike’s Timeline feature lets you easily plan your projects, set due dates, milestones and dependencies, and adjust to changes by dragging and dropping tasks and durations. You can also share your timeline with colleagues, or take a snapshot and send the link to clients and stakeholders so they can get progress updates quickly and easily. Get a free trial of Wrike and try it out for yourself, with nothing to download or install. 

Rebuilt Timeline: Easy, Fast and Convenient as Never Before
News 3 min read

Rebuilt Timeline: Easy, Fast and Convenient as Never Before

While redesigning Wrike project management software, we paid a special attention to the favorite project management feature for many of you – the interactive timeline. Switch to the Gantt chart view right now, and you won't believe your eyes: regardless of the number of tasks in your projects, the timeline loads in a flash. The ease and speed of navigating the chart is really breathtaking. Scroll down the chart, zoom it in and out, move across the tasks – everything with your mouse. Handy filters allow you to specify the type of tasks you want to see on the chart.  Pay special attention to the farthest right button on the control panel at the top of the chart. It is a brand-new preview feature that will certainly capture your imagination. Just click the button, and a small panel will show you a mini-picture of the whole timeline. The red square marks the part of the chart that you see on the screen at the moment. Drag it to quickly jump to another project or a month ahead. Isn't it just amazing? The second function of the control panel is to give you an easy way to zoom the chart in or out. Just drag the slider and see how the scale changes. You also can easily zoom your chart in and out by holding the SHIFT button and using the scroll bar on your mouse. To create a task right on the Gantt chart, hold the SHIFT key and the left mouse button, then pull your mouse to the right. Take a look at the Gantt chart right now and tell us, isn't it just great?

Build a Timeline from Email
Project Management 3 min read

Build a Timeline from Email

If you have ever dealt with project management software, you know Gantt charts can be helpful. But most likely you are stuck with your e-mail to manage your projects and you want to build charts based on the tasks that your e-mails contain without much hassle. We’ve got something for you. Use a timeline option in Wrike project management solution. You work with your sales leads, customer service requests or Web site development tasks. Wrike helps you keep track of them. At any time you can switch to the Timeline view and get excellent support for your time management. A timeline visualizes a project schedule perfectly. It helps you quickly understand how your projects are going and what requires your particular attention. You can easily build plans and keep track of progress. You can update your plans in accordance with your business goals and time frames. Devote time to prepare a presentation and simultaneously quote potential customers who send you RFPs. Then schedule participation in an exhibition and follow-up with the received leads. Sign contracts and take a long breath on vacation finally. If you update shared plans, change dates or delegate tasks, everyone on the team is informed about it on the same basis as when they work with the Task List view. So add the due date [in square brackets] into the subject of your e-mails and [email protected] into the CC field and Wrike will build a Gantt chart for you:

The Timeline Goes Live
News 3 min read

The Timeline Goes Live

We have developed a Timeline, which is mostly known as a Gantt Chart. Now you can: - have the big picture of parallel projects, - track the work load of your team members, and - create elegantly designed outlines of plans. All these tasks are a huge challenge when using other online project management and collaboration tools, aren’t they? Here is a short demo for you. Some technical details. The red flag marks the due date, and the floating bar chart represents the task duration. So you can easily drag a bar and thus change the start date of a task. To change the task duration, you only need to pull the bar’s borders. The red flag - the due date – keeps you from accidentally overstepping the deadline and doesn’t allow the bar chart to move outside of it.

Why Your Project Timeline Is Inaccurate (and How to Fix It)
Project Management 10 min read

Why Your Project Timeline Is Inaccurate (and How to Fix It)

Sticking to your project timeline is easy if everything goes according to plan. But when’s the last time that happened? Let’s cover some common mistakes that project managers make when scheduling their project plan timelines and how you can fix them.

How to Totally Nail Your Project Delivery Timeline
Project Management 10 min read

How to Totally Nail Your Project Delivery Timeline

While they may not be building houses, project managers are still responsible for delivering finished projects in an effective and efficient way. Learn how to nail your next project with a project delivery timeline.

How to Complete Your Student Projects on Time with Wrike's Timeline
Project Management 5 min read

How to Complete Your Student Projects on Time with Wrike's Timeline

If you're a university undergraduate or graduate student, you should know that we recently announced our Wrike for Students program. We want to give you a Wrike account to keep track of all of your assignments, group projects, and random to-dos completely free — because you're already spending enough on your education. Student projects, especially group projects, have unique requirements. You have to figure out how to collaborate effectively, which is even harder when you can't meet in person every day. Using the Timeline in Wrike is one way to make sure you're getting all your work done on time. Basic Organization for Your Group Project To get started, create a new Project and share it with all the members of your team in Wrike. Inside that project, create individual tasks for every piece of work required to reach your end goal. Assign each of those tasks to the responsible group member(s) in your Wrike account, and set the durations and due date for that piece of work. For example, say your project is to write a group report. If you want to finish basic research six weeks before your final deadline, your task called "Complete basic research" should be due six weeks before the task, "Print & submit the final report." Check the Timeline to Review Your Project Schedule Once your group project is in Wrike, with due dates set and individual assignments doled out, everyone can use the Wrike Timeline to view and track the overall progress. The Timeline will show you what tasks are completed (green), overdue (red), and what deadlines are coming up (blue). Set Key Dates as Milestones Any project-related date that absolutely cannot be shifted should be set up as a task with a milestone date. Examples include final deadlines from your professors and presentation dates. Once you set a milestone, that date cannot be automatically adjusted by the rescheduling of other tasks. Create Dependencies to Automate Task Rescheduling If you have a series of tasks for your project that depend on one another (e.g. You can't start "Write first draft of paper" until "Complete basic research" is done), set them up as dependencies on your timeline. There are four common types of dependencies: Task B can't start until Task A is completed. (Most common scenario.) Task B can't start until Task A has started. Task B can't be completed until Task A is completed. Task B can't be completed until Task A has started. By linking all your tasks together as dependencies, you'll be able to reschedule everything (except milestones) with one drag-and-drop movement on the Timeline. This is helpful if work gets pushed back or moved forward. When you drag one task three days either direction, every dependent task will be shifted accordingly. Add Missing Tasks in the Schedule If you've built your project but missed a key step, you can create a new task right from the Timeline to set the due date and dependencies immediately. Then, click to open your task and you can assign the new task to a group member. More on How to Use Wrike for Student Projects If you want to learn more about how to use Wrike for your student projects, check out these other helpful articles: The In-Depth Guide to Using Wrike’s Online Gantt Chart Maker Achieve fast, easy, efficient project management using Gantt charts 4 Common Mistakes New Wrike Users Make, and Tips to Avoid Doing the Same If you're a student and you'd like to take advantage of Wrike to manage your classwork, sign up for your free student account now.

Office Timeline & Wrike: Quick, Visual Timeline Maker for Project Plans
News 3 min read

Office Timeline & Wrike: Quick, Visual Timeline Maker for Project Plans

In today’s fast-paced work environment it has never been more critical for teams to communicate effectively and visually. In fact, the project schedule is one area that needs visibility not just with your own team, but also with stakeholders and teams working with you on cross-functional projects. While sharing your detailed Gantt charts may be beneficial for your immediate team, what happens when you need to customize your project schedule for the executives who prefer a high-level view instead of a view including every last task in your massive project? This is why you need a timeline maker online. And today, we're announcing Wrike's integration with Office Timeline. Office Timeline's Interactive Timeline Maker Office Timeline is a PowerPoint timeline maker that transforms Wrike projects and tasks into beautiful Gantt charts — giving you clean and compelling visual representations of your project plans in Wrike. Office Timeline is a plug-in that works directly inside of Microsoft PowerPoint. While in PowerPoint, you can use the Wrike import wizard to import all (or portions) of your project plan and instantly create a timeline or Gantt chart slide. The project details are imported in just a few clicks, and our online timeline maker generates an elegant project visual that you can use in your next presentation. Because the timeline is built within PowerPoint, colleagues and teams can easily edit, share, and update the slide. How to Get the Timeline Maker Here's how to make use of the Wrike + Office Timeline integration: Office Timeline runs on Windows. Mac users will have to run a Windows virtual machine. You will need Microsoft Windows Vista or later, running Microsoft Office 2007 or later. Download and install the free version from the Office Timeline download page. Open Microsoft PowerPoint and navigate to the Office Timeline tab. Click New > Import from Wrike to create your first PowerPoint timeline or Gantt chart. * Note: Premium features are available for free for 14 days. Purchase Office Timeline Plus edition after the trial period expires to continue using the timeline maker to showcase your project plans in Wrike! See Office Timeline Support for any questions or help with the download.

Build Even More Accurate Plans with Task Date Constraints on Wrike's Timeline
News 3 min read

Build Even More Accurate Plans with Task Date Constraints on Wrike's Timeline

This week, we released an important update to Wrike’s Dynamic Timeline™ – task date constraints. This feature is familiar to those of you who switched to Wrike project management software from Microsoft Project. In this post, we’ll tell you about this new functionality and how you and your peers can benefit from using it. From time to time, we all have to deal with tasks that are closely connected to each other in the project workflow. In such cases, a project management tool with dynamic timeline allows you to quickly build a precise plan, considering the connection between tasks and the contingency time. Wrike lets you connect tasks with dependencies within one project, as well as set cross-project dependencies. Now, with the release of constraints on the timeline, the dependent tasks can have a time lag between them, so that you can build even more accurate project schedules! Let’s simplify this real business scenario to an exemplary situation, where only two tasks are involved. Say you plan to interview one of your most loyal customers and publish a success story on your website. First, you need to prepare the list of questions. Only after the questions are ready can you proceed to the interview. However, you find out that your customer is going on a 3-day business trip and can’t have the interview on the day you initially planned. You need to reflect this delay in the project schedule. In this case, you can connect these two tasks on the timeline, considering the date constraints. Here’s how: point the cursor over the top right-hand corner of the task bar for “Prepare questions.” A small triangle appears. Click on the triangle and drag the line to the dependent task, called “Interview the customer.” This way, you can create a strict dependency. Then drag the dependent task on the timeline to the proper start date to create a task date constraint, as shown in the screenshot below. Here’s an example of a Gantt chart with dependencies: Task date constraints on Wrike’s timeline will help you build an accurate project plan that’s shared with your peers. If we look at it on a wider scale, this will keep your project workflow perfectly organized in a multitasking environment and help your team avoid any slips in the schedule.