Project schedule 101: Why you need them and how to make your own

A new project at work often signals the beginning of another adventure filled with stakeholders, deadlines, deliverables, and tools. But whether your project is a new product launch, a vendor event, the annual editorial calendar, or even employee onboarding, you’ll need a project schedule to get you there.

Empowering yourself to create a project schedule with clear plans, processes, and responsibilities is essential to keeping your team on track, knowing who’s doing what and when, and seeing how all the pieces connect. While it may take some time up front, a well-done project schedule will increase efficiency, accountability, and clarity. And those three words are music to everyone’s ears (especially your boss, who entrusted this project to you). Additionally, you'll be able to reduce the use of tools that, while intended to aid in project management, actually complicate the process.

You may not have the title "project manager" on your business card, but guess what? For this project and many others you’ll encounter in the future, that’s your de facto role. Embrace it! When you learn to think like a project manager, you’ll be on your way to making work work again.

What is a project schedule?

A project schedule provides a general overview of your project, including the timeline, project tasks, dependencies, and assigned team members. Essentially, a project schedule should provide all the necessary information about your project in a single glance. By outlining all the high-level details and components of your project, you can track project progress in real-time and ensure that you’re on track for success. 

Connecting the dots of your project schedule

Often, project managers use a work breakdown structure (WBS) to bring the project schedule to life. Work breakdown structures help you coordinate work and assign it to team members. The WBS is a visual hierarchy of your task list, broken down into task dependencies, so you can see how each one relates. Beginning with the parent task, subsequent levels will have dependent tasks.

How to create a project schedule

When you begin planning and drafting your project schedule, you want to include all project activities. At first, the project management scheduling process may feel a bit foreign to you—that’s normal! By following these steps, you can get more comfortable creating your own process for project schedule development and using it every time you plan a project.

1. Define your project goals 

Write down key milestones or deliverables that will make this project successful in the end. Consider the broader impact of these goals on the project's success. Think about how each milestone contributes to the overall project and aligns with your strategic objectives.

Example: Imagine you're overseeing the launch of a new software product. Your goals might include developing the core software by Q3, beta testing with select clients in Q4, and a full market release by Q1 of the following year.

2. Identify all stakeholders

Make a list of every person that needs to interact with the project team, even if their role is a simple sign-off. Remember to include both internal and external stakeholders, considering their interests, influence, and the level of communication they require.

Example: In a website redesign project, stakeholders might include the marketing team, the web development team, a group of key customers for feedback, and the finance department for budget approvals.

3. Determine your final deadline 

Decide when you need to be completely finished with the project. Be sure to give yourself enough time to account for conflicts or changes that might come up later during schedule management. Factor in potential risks and delays when setting this deadline to ensure it's realistic.

Example: For a charity event, you could set your final deadline two weeks before the event date to allow for last-minute changes such as guest speaker changes or venue setup requirements.

4. List each step or individual task

Break down the milestones and deliverables you defined in the first step into smaller tasks and subtasks to be sure all bases are covered. This breakdown will ensure that each aspect of the project is manageable and clearly defined.

Example: If your project is to publish a book, tasks might include writing chapters, editing, cover design, final proofreading, and arranging for publication and distribution.

5. Assign a team member responsible for each task

Decide who will take on each task and subtask, and be transparent with deadlines. Remember that your colleagues likely have other projects going on at the same time. Be mindful of their workload so they don’t feel overloaded. Assign individual tasks based on each team member's strengths and availability.

Example: In an office relocation project, you might assign the task of liaising with the moving company to one team member, while another is responsible for updating the company address with clients and suppliers.

6. Establish task duration

Work backward to set due dates for each task and figure out how long each task will take to complete (its start and end dates), knowing that delays are inevitable. Consider sequencing as well, as you must complete certain tasks before beginning others.

Example: In developing a new mobile application, you might estimate coding the user interface to take three weeks, backend development four weeks, and user testing two weeks.

7. Organize and monitor

Organize your project schedule in one tool and share it with your team. You’ve successfully built your project plan, and now it’s important to organize it in a way that everyone involved can see and work from it. Finding a tool that does both will be critical to your success. Regularly update and monitor the schedule to reflect the project's progress and make adjustments as needed.

Example: To track the progress of a marketing campaign, you might use a project management tool like Asana, which lists, assigns, and updates each task as the team moves forward. 

Unlike everyday tools such as Microsoft Excel or Word, consider a project management tool that offers a more dynamic and interactive platform that enables real-time updates, seamless collaboration among team members, and the integration of various project elements in one centralized dashboard. This makes tracking complex workflows more efficient and visually engaging compared to static spreadsheets or documents.

Once you have a detailed project schedule in place, your hands-on project management time will decrease, and you (and your team) will have more hours in the day to spend on quality work. By ensuring all team members are in sync, an effective project schedule paves the way for project success.

Project scheduling techniques

Project scheduling is an important step in breaking down a large project into smaller, more manageable tasks and subtasks. Among the various techniques available, several formats stand out for their effectiveness.

Task lists 

Ideal for simpler projects with few interdependencies, task lists are the most straightforward scheduling method. They outline all tasks and subtasks, assigning them to respective team members. 

For larger projects, though, the simplicity of task lists might make tracking progress difficult. Online project management software can improve the effectiveness of task lists.

Example: Imagine organizing a small office move, where the primary tasks involve packing, hiring movers, and setting up in the new location. A task list is perfect for such a project because it involves straightforward steps without complex dependencies. You can assign specific team members to each task, such as "pack office equipment" or "hire moving company," to ensure clear responsibilities and straightforward tracking.

Calendars 

Calendars offer a clear view of all project tasks over time, making it easier to spot overlapping activities. While calendars help visualize project timelines, they fall short of assigning tasks directly and showing task dependencies.

Example: Using calendars can be helpful when planning a webinar series over the course of a quarter. This format allows you to plot each webinar date, visually identify any weeks with overlapping events, and make sure there's adequate preparation time between sessions. Calendars help maintain a clear timeline but wouldn't directly assign tasks like "prepare presentation" or indicate dependencies between choosing a topic and marketing the event.

Gantt charts 

Gantt charts, which are popular among project managers, offer a visual representation of project timelines that includes task durations, start and end dates, dependencies, and overlaps. These charts make it simple to see the whole project schedule at a glance and enable accurate task completion time estimation.

Example: Consider the development of a new software feature, which involves stages like design, coding, testing, and deployment. For this project, a Gantt chart serves as an ideal tool as it provides a visual representation of each stage's duration, identifies the tasks that require completion before others can begin (dependencies), and flags any overlapping activities, such as designing the next feature while the current one is coding.

PERT 

Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) is a sophisticated method that focuses on the tasks required to complete a project. PERT estimates the shortest (optimistic), longest (pessimistic), and most probable durations for each step or task. For projects with a lot of uncertainty, this format identifies the critical path and any potential bottlenecks, which helps with more precise risk management and scheduling.

Example: PERT excels when organizing a large, complex event, such as a technology conference, with multiple uncertain factors (such as speaker availability or venue confirmation times). By estimating optimistic, pessimistic, and most likely times for each major task—securing sponsors, booking speakers, and marketing to attendees—PERT helps project managers identify the critical path for the event's success and adjust plans based on potential delays or accelerations.

Each of these project scheduling techniques offers unique benefits and may suit different project needs. Selecting the right format can significantly impact project success.

Critical path method

The critical path methodology (CPM) helps you create a roadmap of the specific tasks that get you from point A (the beginning of the project) to project completion. Using the CPM, you identify the most important (critical) tasks, their dependencies, and a timeline for when they need to be completed for the project to succeed.

Project schedule examples

Once you’ve followed all of the above steps, you will have a clear schedule that outlines your project’s schedule and steps. Below are a few example project schedules to help illustrate what yours might look like:

Event planning schedule example

Planning a virtual event? Your schedule will map out everything that needs to get done and when before your big day.

Product launch schedule example

For your next new product, create a work breakdown structure by mapping out all of your steps and dependencies, then view them in one easy-to-share project to keep your team on track.

Marketing campaign schedule example

Know exactly what’s going on at any given date in your marketing campaign with a project plan that schedules out every piece.

How is a project schedule used in project management?

Your project schedule impacts project execution. During project management, you can use your project schedule to ensure that you’re hitting key deadlines and staying on track. Project schedules also help inform project management processes and planning, including:

• Project scope: By defining your project scope, you can ensure that you have the proper resource allocation for a certain project—such as time, budget, and staffing. You can then apply your scope to your project schedule to help you determine the timeline.

• Resource management: Part of project management is ensuring that you have the resource availability to get from the start date to the finish date. Your project schedule will help you stay on deadline, preventing scope creep that can lead to potential overspending and overworking the team.

• Tracking and adjustments: The project schedule in project management serves as a tool for monitoring progress and making necessary adjustments along the way. For example, you might refer to a project management schedule example, like a Gantt chart, to visualize key milestones and task durations. This demonstrates the importance of scheduling in project management, as a clear, visual schedule allows you to stay organized, identify any delays, and ensure the project moves forward on time.

How to implement a project schedule

The importance of a project schedule lies in its ability to get more work done more efficiently. When you develop a schedule in project management, you gain a comprehensive view of the project that reduces stress and improves focus.

Once you’ve completed your plan, you’ll have three more steps to successfully implement the project scheduling process.

1. Share it with your team

By sharing your project schedule, team members will clearly understand their responsibilities for the project and have an avenue to give insights on their pieces of the plan. Start by sending the project schedule to everyone involved and asking for specific feedback (questions, concerns, or ideas).

Stay organized by offering a central location to deliver all responses and giving a firm deadline to promote timely action from team members. Once you’ve collected all the feedback, create an updated version of the project schedule and re-share it with all stakeholders. Additionally, make sure that key project planning documents, such as your project brief and executive summary, incorporate your project schedule.

2. Adapt project work as you go

The only constant is change. That goes for your project plan as well. Once you’ve kicked off the project, make sure you’re checking your schedule consistently. Build out a change management plan, so you can adapt your schedule when unforeseen circumstances arise.

By centrally managing your project schedule and all project assets, you can provide everyone with a single source of truth and guarantee the use of the most recent version of the project schedule.

3. Turn your project’s schedule into a template

To save even more time planning projects, use a proven template and stop reinventing the wheel every time you press “Go” on a new project.

If your current project is an annual event—say, a vendor expo—then it’s a no-brainer to get a solid project schedule in place now, so you can build off it for the next one. Do you work on other projects that repeat these steps? For example, your vendor expo might share comparable tasks with the virtual client luncheon you are hosting later this year. Having a project schedule template means you’ll be able to launch future projects faster and more efficiently.

Project scheduling best practices

Knowing how to make a schedule that truly supports your project goals is essential to successful project management. Here are a few best practices to help you schedule a project effectively:

• Define clear milestones: Set specific milestones to keep the team motivated and measure progress at each phase.

• Set realistic timelines: Build in extra time for unexpected delays, ensuring deadlines are achievable and manageable.

• Prioritize task dependencies: Identify tasks that rely on each other to avoid bottlenecks and ensure a smooth workflow.

• Allocate resources wisely: Match team skills and availability to tasks, so each phase has the right support and expertise.

• Monitor and adjust regularly: Review the schedule frequently to track progress and make any necessary adjustments.

Following these project scheduling best practices will help you keep your project organized, adaptable, and on time.

Bringing your project schedule to life

It's one thing to map out your project timeline—but it's another to visualize that work in real-time. Finally, use a tool to share your project schedule with your team after all your hard work. 

With project scheduling tools, you can map out your entire project schedule in a visual Gantt-chart like timelines, Kanban boards, or project calendars. Developing and managing your project schedule in a centralized system allows you to create each step and determine its duration with a project calendar, build tasks and subtasks, and assign them to the appropriate person.

Your project management software allows you to quickly make adjustments to your project plan, promptly notifying all stakeholders. This gives your team clear visibility at all stages of the project workflow on what’s happening and when. Ultimately, this helps you connect project deliverables with associated initiatives and reduce potential bottlenecks by keeping your whole project life cycle in view.

Work smarter with project schedules

Project schedules keep you organized and on track—something every project manager (and their teams) can get behind.

You can do all of the above (and more) with a work management solution like Asana. It’s your all-in-one project scheduling software, with built-in task management that allows you to do so much more with every project.

Project schedule FAQs

What is project scheduling?

Project scheduling defines, organizes, and assigns timelines to the tasks required to complete a project. It sets a baseline for activities by providing a roadmap that guides teams from start to finish with clear milestones, deadlines, and task dependencies.

What is the purpose of a project schedule?

The purpose of a project schedule is to structure a project management timeline that outlines tasks, deadlines, and resources needed for successful project completion. It keeps the team aligned, tracks progress, and reduces risks by preparing for potential delays.

Why is scheduling important in project management?

The importance of project scheduling in project management lies in how it turns project goals into an organized timeframe that keeps the project on track. Effective scheduling promotes team accountability, optimizes time, and helps the project scheduling process reach a successful conclusion.

What are the types of scheduling in project management?

In project management, the main types of scheduling include Gantt charts, the Critical Path Method (CPM), PERT, resource-oriented scheduling, and Agile scheduling. Each type supports different project timetables and complexities and helps teams manage planning phases effectively.

What is project schedule management?

Project schedule management establishes, monitors, and controls a project’s time management to ensure timely completion. It defines activities, sets timelines, and makes adjustments as needed to maintain the project time schedule.

What should you consider when forming the tentative project schedule?

When you form a tentative project schedule, consider task dependencies, resources, potential risks, and how to allocate resources effectively. Aligning these factors with project timing and deliverables creates an achievable and efficient project schedule plan.