Project schedule examples
A project schedule is the list of a project's tasks with their durations, the dependencies between them and the dates those give, so that it shows when the work finishes and which tasks decide that date.
Updated .
The rule
A schedule earns the name when the dates come from the logic rather than being typed in. Every task has a duration, every task but the first and the last has a predecessor and a successor, and the finish date is what the longest chain of linked tasks adds up to. That chain is the critical path; a task off it has float, the days it can slip before the finish moves.
A baseline is a copy of the dates the plan was agreed on. Progress is recorded against a status date, and the gap between the baseline and the current dates is the slip.
finish = start + the longest chain of (duration + lag) through the linksWorked example
Four plans of different kinds, each with phases, linked tasks, milestones, resources, a baseline and progress to a status date. Open one in the viewer to see the whole Gantt: turn on View > Critical path, then open Analyze > Schedule quality to run the same DCMA 14-point checks the Health Check runs.
Each file is Microsoft Project XML, which Microsoft Project, Onplana Schedule and the viewer open. The viewer reads it in your browser, so opening an example uploads nothing. These example schedules are invented plans. They are free to use and need no permission.
Construction: a two-storey office building
Office building construction: Jan 4, 2027 to Jun 3, 2027, 36 tasks including 4 milestones, 49 links.
About five months from notice to proceed to handover, in five phases: preconstruction, substructure, superstructure, services and fit-out, and handover. Each trade is a resource with an hourly rate, and the plan carries a baseline and progress to its status date.
- Critical path
- The critical path runs from the steel frame through the cladding, the windows, the interiors and commissioning to practical completion.
- Float
- The lift manufacture has the most float, about 38 days, because the lift cannot go in until the building is watertight.
- Against the baseline
- The lift manufacture is three days behind its baseline, and its float absorbs it, so the finish has not moved.
What the Health Check finds: Leads and Critical path test
A lead: "Partitions and drylining" starts three days before the electrical first fix finishes. And the critical path test fails: "Windows and curtain walling" has a Must Start On date, so a delay before it does not reach the finish in full.
Software: a product release
Release 4.0: Jan 4, 2027 to Apr 6, 2027, 35 tasks including 5 milestones, 45 links.
Release 4.0, about three months in four phases: discovery, build, quality and launch. The build and the quality work run side by side, linked where testing waits for the features, and the plan carries a baseline and progress to its status date.
- Critical path
- The critical path runs through the UI work, feature complete, testing and bug fixing, user acceptance testing and the go-live steps.
- Float
- The user guide, the API reference and the demo video have about ten days of float; the integrations work has one day left.
- Against the baseline
- The integrations work is three days behind its baseline. It had float, so the release date holds, with one day to spare.
What the Health Check finds: Logic and Resources
Three launch tasks lead nowhere, so a delay in them would warn no one: the API reference, the blog post and the demo video. And "Security penetration test" has nobody assigned to it.
Facilities: a head office move
Head office move: Jan 4, 2027 to Apr 5, 2027, 36 tasks including 4 milestones, 48 links.
About three months in five phases: planning, fit-out, technology, the move, and exiting the old office. The lease and the building set several dates the plan cannot move, and the plan carries a baseline and progress to its status date.
- Critical path
- The critical path runs from the landlord approval through the fit-out, the furniture, the move itself and handing back the old office.
- Float
- The staff communications have the most float, about 19 days; the furniture order has about 16.
- Against the baseline
- The furniture is four days behind its baseline, and its float absorbs it, so the move date holds.
What the Health Check finds: Hard constraints and Invalid dates
Four tasks carry hard constraints from the lease and the building: Start No Later Than and Finish No Later Than dates. And "Staff communications and move packs" shows progress although it is not due to start until after the status date.
Industrial: a plant maintenance shutdown
Plant maintenance shutdown: Jan 4, 2027 to May 3, 2027, 35 tasks including 5 milestones, 49 links.
About four months in four phases: planning, where the long-lead orders are placed, pre-shutdown, the shutdown window, which cannot start before a fixed date, and post-shutdown. The shutdown work overlaps, so many links are start-to-start and finish-to-finish.
- Critical path
- The critical path starts at the fixed shutdown date and runs through isolation, the compressor overhaul, box-up and start-up to the close-out report.
- Float
- The pipe spools have about 22 days of float; the heat exchanger bundle has only two days left.
- Against the baseline
- The heat exchanger bundle is three days behind its baseline. The gap before the fixed shutdown date absorbs it.
What the Health Check finds: Relationship types and High duration
Fewer than 90% of the links are finish-to-start, because the shutdown work overlaps through start-to-start and finish-to-finish links. And three long-lead orders run longer than 44 working days.
What goes wrong in practice
- Dates typed in by hand instead of driven by links, so nothing moves when a task slips.
- Tasks with no successor: a delay in them warns no one, because nothing waits for them.
- Hard constraints (Must Start On, Finish No Later Than) that pin a task and cut the critical path, so a delay before it does not reach the finish in full.
- Leads (negative lag) that let a task start before the work it depends on is done.
- Progress recorded on a task that is not due to start until after the status date.
- Very long tasks, over 44 working days, that hide the work inside them.
See this in your own file
Upload an .mpp, .xml or .xer file and get the DCMA 14-point assessment of your own plan, free.
Run the Health Check on your own scheduleQuestions
What should a project schedule include?
Tasks grouped into phases, a duration on each, the dependencies between them, milestones for the dates that matter, the resources doing the work, and a baseline once the plan is agreed. With those, the schedule can show the finish date, the critical path and the float on every other task.
Are these example schedules free to use?
Yes. They are invented plans, free to use and needing no permission. Download one, change the names and dates, and use it as the start of your own.
Do I need Microsoft Project to open them?
No. Press Open in the viewer to see the plan: each example is a Project XML file, which the viewer reads in your browser, so opening it uploads nothing. Microsoft Project opens the same file, and so does Onplana Schedule, the free desktop app.
Why does the Health Check find problems in the examples?
On purpose. Each example carries two common mistakes, named under its picture, so you can see what the check reports and where to look in the plan.