The Project Time Line is a Gantt style chart tool used to plan and communicate
the project schedule and drive decision points.It
also provides a useful way to
visualize the key project activities and how they are related.
Without a time line, a project will deviate from the planned goals and decisions go
unmade which result in projects taking longer than initially planned. You will
seldom receive or maintain senior leader support for a project if time lines are not
in place and maintained.
Schedules should be demanding yet achievable and based on moving the
change process rapidly forward. Remember, it is often better to have an 80%
solution and move forward than to get analysis paralysis and never improve the
process.
How to Use
1. From the Project Panel, click on the Project Management Tab and then
the Project Time Line button.
Catena will launch Microsoft Excel and load the Project Time Line into it.
2. Click on the “TIMELINE” tab and update the header block with the Project
title and time line revision number.
3. Determine the start week of the project and enter that Monday's date in
the first week's "Week Of" column. Based on the expected duration of the
project, you may need to add more weeks. To do so, press the "Add
Week" button and enter the desired number of additional weeks.
4. Determine if the project activities listed down the left side of the template
are applicable and modify as necessary.
5. Use the Fill Color option ("paint bucket") to shade cells to the right of each
activity. The duration and time frame of the activities will each be unique
and must be determined with the overall scope and project duration in
mind. The color used for each activity should be determined by the legend
in the lower left corner of the template.
If the Fill Color "paint bucket" tool isn't visible, turn on the
Formatting toolbar by selecting View | Toolbars | Formatting [Excel
2003] or selecting the Home ribbon [Excel 2007].
6. As the project progresses, use the red vertical line marker to indicate the
current date on the line time.
7. To email a copy of the list, click the Email button. (Available if workstation
is configured to send email.)
8. To print a copy of the report, click the Print button.
9. To save your changes, Exit Microsoft Excel and click Yes when prompted
to save changes.
If the Fill Color "paint bucket" 
tool isn't visible, turn on the
Formatting toolbar by selecting View | Toolbars | Formatting [Excel
2003] or selecting the Home ribbon [Excel 2007].
