Delivery · Projects
Project timeline and dependencies
See a project's work streams laid out over time, and record which streams are waiting on which.
See a project’s work streams laid out over time, and record which streams are waiting on which.
The Timeline tab shows a project in two ways. Schedule lays the work streams out as bars across a calendar, so you can see what runs when, how far each stream has got and where the milestones fall. Dependencies lists which streams cannot proceed until another clears, so sequencing risks stay visible.
Use the two views together: the schedule shows when things should happen, and the dependencies show what could stop them.
Before you start
Open a project from the Projects page, then select the Timeline tab. Switch between Schedule and Dependencies with the switch at the top left.
Understanding the schedule
| Part | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Row | One work stream: its name, current stage and progress, with its owner on the right and its health as the coloured edge. Select the row to open its board. |
| Bar | Runs from the stream’s start date to its end date, filled as far as it has progressed. Green is on track, amber at risk, red blocked, blue done. |
| Diamond | A project milestone, placed on its planned end date. Select it for its status and its planned and actual dates. |
| Unscheduled | Work streams with no start or end date. Expand the group and open a stream to give it dates. |
Adjust the schedule
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Zoom | Choose how much time each column covers: Day, Week, Month or Quarter. Your choice is remembered on this device. |
| Show | Turn Milestones, Completed tracks and Archived tracks on or off, and Expand sub-work streams where there are any. Archived streams are hidden to start with. |
| Arrows | Step the chart back or forward. |
| Today | Jump back to today. |
Work streams without dates
Work streams get their start and end dates when they are set up in the Intake Queue. See Setting up a work stream. A stream without dates sits under Unscheduled and has no bar. Select it to open the stream and check its details. Once it has dates, it lands on the timeline.
When the schedule is empty
- Nothing on the timeline yet means the project has no work streams. They appear once they are promoted into the project.
- No tracks have dates yet means none of the streams has dates, so they are listed on the left. Open one to set its start and end dates.
Understanding dependencies
A dependency says that one work stream is blocked by another: it can’t start or finish until the other clears.
The Dependencies view shows:
| Part | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Summary | How many dependencies there are, across how many work streams. |
| Blocked work streams | Each work stream that can’t proceed until something else clears, with its health, stage and owner. Select its name to open it. |
| Blocked by | Each blocker for that stream, with its stage, progress and end date, so you can see when the wait should end. |
Add a dependency
- Select Add dependency at the top right.
- Choose the Work Stream that is blocked.
- Choose the stream it is Blocked by.
- Select Add.
The blocked stream appears under Blocked work streams. On the Work streams tab, it shows an amber arrow with the number of streams blocking it.
A dependency that would go round in a circle is refused, with the message That dependency would create a circular dependency between work streams.
Remove a dependency
- Hover over the blocker you want to remove.
- Select the × that appears.
- Select Remove to confirm.
What to expect
If there are no dependencies yet, you see No dependencies. When one work stream can’t start until another finishes, record it here so the sequencing risk stays visible.