12 Tips To Get Your Project on Time With Timelines

Projects can be tricky to manage, even if it’s as basic as organizing a birthday party. When the project itself is big like planning and implementing a new website for your company, things can get really complicated. If you’re not careful, this may result in delays that cost you business or even sink your brand.

Here are some of the most effective timeline techniques that will ensure your project gets completed on time while meeting everyone’s expectations.

1. Be clear about your timeline from the beginning.

This is absolutely the most important tip for getting your project finished on time with no hassles or complications. You need to make sure that every single person involved in the project has a clear understanding of what they are supposed to do when it should be done by, and why. From the get-go, you need to be 100% specific about this for everyone involved.

2. Make sure everyone knows their part.

Along these same lines, each person involved needs to understand exactly how their part fits in with the project’s overall goals. If they don’t, then you need to go back and make sure that their role is fully understood, or if necessary, replace them with someone who does understand it and will be able to complete the task(s) in question.

3. Allow more time than you think you need.

It’s always a good idea to build some extra time into the project’s timeline. If you don’t, then things will quickly get out of hand and your project can end up being a big wreck that needs to be overhauled from the ground up.

4. Create a task list for each person involved.

This is a great way for keeping track of all the work that needs to be done in order for your project to run smoothly. You can have everyone at the company create their own task list, or you can keep everything centrally located and update it as needed. Whichever method works best for you is fine.

5. Add in time for planning and forecasting.

Always add a certain amount of time to the timeline for planning and forecasting. This is especially true if it’s a big project, but can also be beneficial on smaller ones too. The best thing to do here is to get together with all the employees who are involved in the project and see how much time each person will need for planning, then add that number into your master timeline.

6. Delegate the work to save time and ensure quality.

The more people you have working on a project, the longer it will take to complete. But if everyone is involved in doing all of the work, then you risk making silly mistakes and imprecise quality workmanship. That’s why it’s important that you delegate some of the work to outside contractors. Having them do part of the project frees up your staff to focus on their assigned tasks, while also ensuring that everything is done precisely and accurately.

7. Deal with issues as they arise.

There are always going to be issues that arise during a project, no matter how big or small it is, so you need to be ready for them. If certain issues require more time than was originally allocated, then you will need to amend your timeline accordingly.

8. Make sure the product or service is something that people want.

It’s essential that the product or service that is being produced meets everyone’s expectations and is something that people actually want – otherwise you will have a lot of problems getting it produced in a timely fashion. It also helps if you have done market research on the item beforehand, which will give you an idea of whether or not people actually want what you are creating.

9. Never underestimate the amount of time something will take to do.

If your project is fairly simple, then you may be able to pull it off rather quickly. However, if your project is an overwhelming task that requires a lot of people and materials, then it’s important to realize how much time is involved with completing it. So always take the time to truly assess what needs to be done in order for the job to get finished.

10. Understand the importance of deadlines and consequences.

No matter what type of timeline you are using, it’s important that there are consequences for missing deadlines. This will motivate everyone to do the best job they can and complete their work on time, if not ahead of schedule. Along these same lines, it’s also beneficial to have consequences for doing shoddy work, which can make your whole project suffer.

11. Keep track of everything and make adjustments as you go along.

Even if you are using a timeline that someone else has created, it’s important to keep track of everything as the project moves along. There needs to be someone who is keeping watch over what needs to be done and when which allows for adjustments to be made as needed. At the end of the day, a timeline is only useful if it’s going to help make the project go well. So make sure that you are using a system that will work within your company culture and help everyone do their jobs well!

12) Create a timeline with Venngage.

Venngage is an online timeline maker that provides various timeline templates to help you get your project done on time. Check out their website and create your free account. After doing so, you can freely browse templates and choose the one you think is best for your project. Edit the timeline you have chosen and download or share it to your social media account. To give you an example, here are some timelines examples from Venngage. 

A timeline is a useful tool for any company, as it allows the business to plan and manage time efficiently. But there are many different types of timelines that you can use in your own marketing strategy; each one has its strengths and weaknesses. Start your project and create your very own project timeline with Venngage today!