Free Project Timeline Template
A six-month project on one page: a month to discover, two to design and build, one to test, one to launch and one to measure what it achieved. Fewer, longer tasks than a working schedule, and a milestone at the end of each stretch, so it reads at a glance in a steering meeting.
No credit card. Import the spreadsheet as a new project on the Free plan.
The spreadsheet is a 14-task plan with phases, durations and milestones, ready for Excel or Google Sheets. It carries no dates, so set your own start, or paste it into the Gantt chart generator to have the schedule built for you. Want to compare the plans side by side first? Every one of them is on the project plan template page, with the rows shown before you download.
What’s inside
All 14 tasks are below, one phase per month, each with its description, duration and priority. Build is the longest stretch at two months, because it usually is, and testing gets a month of its own so it is not squeezed into the week before launch.
14
Scheduled tasks
5
Phases
5
Milestones
~26
Weeks end to end
A timeline is for the people who are not doing the work
The team running a project needs a detailed schedule. The sponsor, the steering group and the teams waiting on the result need something else: when each stage happens, when the decisions fall, and when it will be done. This template is that view. Each phase is a calendar stretch named for its months, each holds two or three tasks of a week or more, and the milestones mark the moments people outside the team care about.
The milestones carry the timeline. Scope agreed at the end of month one is the last cheap moment to change direction. The first release built at day 85 is when the work becomes visible. Testing complete, launch day and the results presentation follow. If you only show one thing in a meeting, show those five dates and whether each is on track.
Keep the detailed work somewhere it can change without redrawing the picture. In a spreadsheet that means a second sheet; in Onplana the same plan has a Gantt chart for the team and a milestone view for everyone else, from one set of tasks, so the two never disagree.
The plan, phase by phase
Month 1: Discover3 tasks
Confirm the goals and how success is measured
Two or three goals with a number each, agreed with the sponsor, so the review in month six has something to measure.
Gather the requirements and constraints
What the result must do, what it must not break, and the budget, dates and rules it has to fit inside.
Agree the scope and the timeline
What is in, what is out and the dates on this page, signed off before design starts.
Months 2 and 3: Design and Build3 tasks
Design the solution
The approach, reviewed with the people who will use the result before anything is built.
Build the first release
The agreed scope, built and shown to the sponsor in short demos rather than revealed at the end.
Prepare the launch plan
Who needs to know, what changes for them, and what happens on launch day hour by hour.
Month 4: Test2 tasks
Test with real users
The people who will use the result try it on real work, and every problem they hit is logged.
Fix what testing found and retest
Fix in order of harm, retest each fix, and agree with the sponsor what is acceptable to launch with.
Month 5: Launch3 tasks
Train the people who will use it
Short sessions close to launch, with a guide they can come back to afterwards.
Launch
Go live on the planned day, with the team on hand and a way back agreed in advance.
Support the first weeks after launch
Fast answers and fast fixes while habits form, and a list of what people keep asking.
Month 6: Review3 tasks
Measure the results against the goals
The numbers agreed in month one, measured the same way, with an honest note on anything missed.
Present the results to the sponsor
What was delivered, what it achieved, what it cost, and what should happen next.
Close the project
Hand over ownership, archive the records and thank the people who did the work.
Milestones
Five milestones, one closing each stage: scope agreed, first release built, testing complete, launch day and results presented. On a Gantt chart they are the diamonds a sponsor reads first.
Scope agreed
Day 29 of the plan
First release built
Day 85 of the plan
Testing complete
Day 120 of the plan
Launch day
Day 136 of the plan
Results presented
Day 175 of the plan
Frequently asked
What is in the download?
A CSV file with the 14 tasks, each with its phase, duration in days, priority and notes, and the five milestones as zero-day rows. Excel opens it directly and Google Sheets imports it. It has no dates until you choose a start.
How do I make it a visual timeline?
Paste the file into the free Gantt chart generator, set the start date and it draws the phases and milestones as a chart you can screenshot for a slide. In Onplana the same plan has a Gantt chart and a milestone list that stay current as tasks move.
How is this different from the project schedule template?
This is the overview: a month per phase, long tasks and a milestone at each stage, for showing to people outside the team. The project schedule template is the working version for a shorter project, with the planning steps, short owned tasks and a weekly control loop.
My project is not six months. Does it still work?
Yes. Keep the five stages and stretch or shrink them in proportion, then rename the phases for your months or quarters. The order holds for most projects: agree what success means, build, test with real users, launch, then measure.
Start with the plan already built
Import the Project Timeline spreadsheet into a free Onplana project and your phases, tasks, and milestones are scheduled from the start date you pick. No credit card, no time limit.