{"id":32342,"date":"2018-03-12t04:25:29","date_gmt":"2018-03-12t08:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.deco-dalles.com\/?p=32342"},"modified":"2024-08-01t16:03:37","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01t20:03:37","slug":"8-project-management-timeline-tools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.deco-dalles.com\/8-project-management-timeline-tools\/","title":{"rendered":"boring project reports? 11 project timeline tools to help you create visual reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

let’s face it, our attention spans are short. and they are getting shorter. all the content we digest from the internet is developed to capture our attention and hold it for as long a possible, but we all know that something shinier or sexier will show up any second now.<\/p>\n

when it comes to conveying important project information to stakeholders, clients or colleagues, we have to take the same approach. communicating information effectively has become a must-have skill that every project professional needs to know. and it’s all in the visuals.<\/p>\n

nancy duarte, in her excellent book slideology<\/a> conveys just how vital communicating visually has become;<\/p>\n

“your employers and colleagues assess you by how well you communicate – skill that is reflected in annual reviews, pay increases, promotions and even your popularity. effective communication is a a job requirement now[.] and like it or not, your profession likely requires you to communicate using a visual tool, regardless of your proficiency or training in this medium.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

think back to the last project status report you’ve interacted with. what visuals elements did it have? could you glance at the first page and get a clear indication of how the project was progressing? was there color used? just black text? was it easy to understand?<\/p>\n

when it comes conveying project information, every stakeholder is going ask schedule question #1 – “are we on-track to meet our deadline?”<\/em><\/strong> dates are paramount and conveying them visually with an at-a-glance picture is going to go far with any stakeholder. sure, you can cut and paste your gantt chart into the report. that’s a great first step if your reports are missing visuals already. but nowadays, as the trend toward conveying information visually<\/a> continues, there are some great tools to help you visually report your project progress and dates on a custom timeline.<\/p>\n

\"project<\/p>\n

timelines are like a summarized gantt chart, with on the most important dates, events and milestones shown. the power in creating a timeline for your report is that you have more control over the data and can display only what you deem most important. it’s not so easy to filter your gantt chart in the same way.<\/p>\n

imagine a project report with a great timeline that highlights progress, events, completed and upcoming milestones in full color! if it was well done, you might just skip reading the rest of the report!<\/p>\n

so without further ado, check out these 11 project management timeline tools<\/strong> that can help your project reports become more visual, and more effective.<\/p>\n

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    smart draw<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"smartdraw\"smart draw is exactly that ‘smart’ – it allows its users to create professional diagrams, timelines, and charts and it does the drawing for you. this software has 70 template designs and examples to help you get started. not to mention that it also has this smart office integration feature where it can easily be integrate with microsoft office. you can send your timelines to word, excel, or powerpoint to make reporting and presentation easy in just one click.<\/p>\n

    with smartdraw the timeline category let you visualize events in a chronological order. one thing about this is that it doesn’t give you a detailed view of your milestones or deadlines but you do have the option to link images or further information to an event.<\/p>\n

    where can i get it?<\/strong> check out the free download<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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      office timeline<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \"officeif you don’t have time to dabble with new software, office timeline uses powerpoint to quickly create timelines. office timeline is a plugin for\u00a0microsoft powerpoint and can produce beautiful gantt charts and timelines effectively. timeline makes it simple to export your data into any office document for quality reports.<\/p>\n

      office timeline offers users the option to either create new timeline templates that is customized to the project or has a variety of pre-made templates for fast creation.<\/p>\n

      the interface makes is easy to manage milestone which\u00a0can be easily updated if you have a project that’s constantly being restructured.\u00a0if you want to know how to make a timeline in excel, check out step-by-step instructions from office timeline here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

      where can i get it?<\/strong> check out the free download<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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        timeglider<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        \"timeif you’re looking for an interactive application, with timeglider, you can grab the timeline and shift it from left to right or zoom in and out to get either a detailed view or just a basic overview of the timeline.<\/p>\n

        “zoom in to 10 minutes or zoom out to see billions of years”. with a simple collaborative interface you can customize each event with a special icon, webpage, title and description for those who will be reviewing it. although timeglider is web-based and it will be difficult to get some output\u00a0to embed into a file, this is still a pretty cool tool.<\/p>\n

        where can i get it?<\/strong> there is a free account\u00a0for\u00a0students<\/a>, a basic plan is $5\/month and it varies for enterprises.<\/p>\n

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          rwt timeline<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          \"rwtrwt is a windows application that let you create some great timelines that can then be converted to pdfs for your reports. rwt timeline is also an android<\/a> and ios<\/a> application that you can simple use to develop timelines on the go. with this app you can create events that are organized by time of day, or date – you can also create descriptions, add images, make it visually appealing to the eye.<\/p>\n

          once the events are created you can simply email it off. your timeline events are not set in stone, you can always move around the events due to any changes in the project.<\/p>\n

          where can i get it?<\/strong> check out the free account<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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            tiki-toki<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            \"tiki-tokitiki-toki is unlike the rest. it’s a web-based timeline creator that lets you develop 3d timelines with images and videos. you can colour code your events, easily share your timeline and collaborate with others. although it’s easy to collaborate, embed and share your timeline online,\u00a0you could probably take a screenshot to get some output for your report.<\/p>\n

            where can i get it?<\/strong> check out the free account<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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              myhistro<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              \"myhistromyhistro is a location focused timeline that allows you to create stories and manage events that occur in a specific location. once the timeline is developed you can export it to a google earth format or pdf file for reporting.
              \nwhere can i get it?<\/strong> you can sign up for a free account on the               website<\/a> or get the app from apple itunes.<\/p>\n

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