Project Schedule
Visualize activity durations, logical dependencies, and the critical path to establish the baseline for project execution.
In this resource
§1 Purpose of the Schedule
The Project Schedule integrates activities, durations, logic, and resource availability into a dynamic model that calculates the project's critical path.
While an Activity List defines what needs to happen and Duration Estimates define how long tasks take, the Project Schedule (typically visualised as a Gantt chart) defines exactly when work will occur. By feeding all previous planning documents into scheduling software, the Project Manager calculates the sequence of tasks that determines the absolute minimum time required to complete the project—known as the Critical Path.
§2 Blank Template
A standardized tabular framework for summarizing the schedule model outputs prior to graphical representation.
While the visual Gantt chart is the most common presentation format for stakeholders, the underlying tabular data (Start/Finish dates and logic) forms the actual, auditable baseline.
PROJECT SCHEDULE DATA
| ID | Activity | Start | Finish | Duration | Predecessors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [ID] | [Activity Name] | [Date] | [Date] | [Days] | [ID(s)] |
| [ID] | [Activity Name] | [Date] | [Date] | [Days] | [ID(s)] |
§3 Worked Example: Mary's Consulting
A completed example demonstrating the visual Gantt chart output for an 8-month implementation project, featuring dynamic critical path highlighting.
This chart is a visual translation of the schedule network logic. The horizontal axis represents the 8-month timeline (May to December). Activity bars are positioned based on their calculated early start/early finish dates. The red outline identifies the critical path.
PROJECT SCHEDULE - GANTT CHART
The Critical Path
Notice the tasks highlighted with a red outline (e.g., A024 Build Page Templates → A029 Execute Functional Tests). This is the critical path. A one-day delay to any of these tasks pushes the final project end date back by one day.
Schedule Float (Slack)
Observe tasks like A014-A017 (Content Creation). They are scheduled concurrently with the design and early build phases. Because their duration is shorter than the design/build critical path, they have "float" and their exact start dates are flexible.
Hard Logic
The visual cascade is driven entirely by the predecessor logic defined in the Activity Attributes. Task A027 (Configure Search) cannot begin until A024 (Build Page Templates) is 100% complete.