At: Plans >>Backward Planning

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Backward Planning	why login?

Title: Create a free timeline using backward planning Description: Create a free timeline using backward planning with Help-U-Plan's easy-to-use Workspace Tags: free,  online,  backward planning,  Gantt Chart,  wedding planning,  template,  strategic planning,  timeline,  event planning                   (in the Workspace)                  About the Workspace     Tutorials and Videos     Notes on Usability     About the Gantt Chart     Gantt Chart Terms     Grant Application Template     (select backward planning mode) see full size                 optional chart features    Help     How do I Start?     Steps to a New Chart     About Templates     Creating a New Chart     Printing a Chart     Saving a Chart    Questions     FAQ's     Login Questions     Browser Support     Cookies     Backward Planning     Definitions    Information     About Help-U-Plan     About the Gantt Chart     About Timescales     Gantt Chart Data     About Strategy     About Planning     About Scheduling     What Help-U-Plan is     What Help-U-Plan isn't     Privacy     Pricing   Backward Planning Backward planning implies that we have to accomplish something by a certain known point in time.  This point in time is often called the  'drop-dead'  date.  We start from this point,  and going backward in time,  add the important Tasks and Milestones which need to be completed by the 'drop-dead' date. This means that with  'backward planning',  tasks are connected from the bottom right of the Chart to the top left.  Begin with the  'drop-dead'  date  as the final milestone  (such as when a grant application is due),  and work backward  (add tasks and additional milestones)  from that point.  With this mode of planning,  changing the Start date for the final milestone in the chart  (the drop-dead date)  shifts all of the previous tasks and milestones as well. Backward planning is helpful in situations like wedding planning,  where the date of the wedding is known,  and tasks leading up to the fateful event need to be completed in a timely,  organized manner.  Event planning is a similar situation. We offer  templates  for each of these situations to assist in your organizational planning,  where a clear end point is known at the beginning of the project. Strategic planning is a good example of very important high-level planning that is not typically done in a backward planning fashion,  and does not typically even end up in a Gantt Chart representation.  With strategic planning,  the emphasis is more on development of the process  (the tasks),  and the end point tends to be variable (or unknown). The Help-U-Plan Idea The Help-U-Plan service produces a clear, concise Gantt Chart.  Our emphasis is on the appearance and legibility of the Chart,  rather than the data used to produce the Chart.  We also try to make the process of creating this Chart as simple and as intuitive as possible.  We want people to quickly be able to communicate their plans and schedules and proposals graphically. Because the Timescale labels are based on text rather than specific dates/times,  the Help-U-Plan Gantt Chart is more versatile.  You have the freedom to create a graphic that shows just what you want it to show. The idea for the development of this simple Gantt Chart tool came from Ron's experience in the scheduling department at Rancho Seco,  Sacramento's nuclear power facility.  In crisis and other ad hoc situations,  senior plant management used a similar graphic in meetings to communicate the proposed schedule with department heads and engineers.  By providing a copy of the schedule (the Gantt Chart) to each person present,  management was able to convey just what was expected to happen;  when;  and in what order.  This elicited feedback from persons who could see weak or impossible spots in the plan.  Hopefully, the result of such a presentation is a schedule that is as realistic as possible. We feel that many if not most project management software packages produce a poor Gantt Chart.  The emphasis of most of this software is the data,  not the graphic.  This may be appropriate to complex project management and managers, where all parties are familiar with the presentation graphic,  and are mostly concerned with the underlying data.  In these graphical presentations, Tasks are typically represented simply by a rectangle.  Links representing relationships between Tasks and Milestones are often omitted, or are shown as squarish little arrows.  These Charts are not a clear, intuitive translation of data to a graphical format. In contrast, Help-U-Plan's graphic uses a form of representation known as 'sticks and balls'.  This form of representation provides an emphasis on the beginning and ending points for a Task,  and clearly shows links (relationships) between Tasks and Milestones.  These relationships are a very important part of the Chart's communication of information about what is planned.  Links inform the viewer what is expected to be completed before something else can start. The Workspace page is the heart of Help-U-Plan's web site.  We have developed a system within this space which is similar in approach to Outlook, Quickbooks, and Windows Explorer.  We believe you will find the Workspace easy to learn.  Please be willing to experiment.  Most often,  that is the quickest way to learn software.

		Email:  ronc@helpuplan.com              bob@helpuplan.com
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