The planning of a project supports the achievement of a goal

In the first step the goal is defined and provided with a target date

Then, tasks, milestones and summary tasks (hereafter referred to as tasks) are created to achieve the goal

Dependencies and sequences between the tasks are added

Then the tasks are assigned with durations and dates that are needed to achieve the project goal

Finally, you can check the timing of the project plan. If everything is correct, the execution of the project can be started

After you created a project open the list or netplan view

Set the project due date if not done earlier

Now you can list and structure as many tasks as needed to reach your project goal

Use the netplan view to plan your tasks

To arrange the tasks simply drag and drop them (1) or use the three-dot menu and select move task/milestone (2)

To create dependencies click on the three-dot menu of a task and select Link task/milestone and click on the task you want to link to

OR click and drag on the connector icon of the task and drop it on the target task

Click on the task to open the task card

Select fixed or flexible dates (1)

Define the duration of the task by working days (2)

For flexible tasks, you can add buffer days (3). Planning your project with buffers offers real effort estimation, accurate assessment of risks in your project plan and a transparent overview of the status of your project

When you close the task card you see all your tasks and the buffer in the netplan (1)

The buffer days of each task are automatically added up and are displayed in front of a fixed task (2) or the project due date

Now you can view your project in the timeline. Check the dates and dependencies of the tasks

Voila! You have created your project plan

The start and end dates of your tasks are calculated automatically in relation to the projects due date and the tasks duration

If you want to use automatic calculation for your project plan link the last task/milestone of your project plan to the due date marker (dark blue bar)

The automatic calculation uses backward planning, so the dates of your tasks are calculated backward of the project's due date

As soon as you set the status of a task to In progress or change a task to Fixed dates, the dates of the following tasks will be automatically adjusted to this change. With this, the task dates are going to forward calculated instead of backward

If you don't link your tasks to the project due date you need to set the start and end date for each task, so that dates are calculated

Tasks such as post-delivery service, hyper care, external assembly, etc. can be planned much later than the project due date

You can drag and drop these tasks to the right side of the project due date bar (dark blue) to create a visual separation

To schedule them from the project due date simply link the tasks directly to the due date bare (dark blue)

You can assign the entire task or single checklist items to a project member

Now you can enrich your tasks with a description and checklist items (see: How do I create a new task?)

With the task description, you can define the process and overall goal of the task

Upload relevant files to the task

Now you can continue by assigning tasks, giving access permissions, allocate your resources etc.