The Project Plan tab allows you to have an organised and detailed view of your Projects.
You can have a quick look at the Project plan tab to track the project's progress and identify inconsistencies.
It also helps to bring your attention to the tasks that are at risk and need to be addressed on priority.
Read through to know more about the features and functionalities of Rocketlane's Project Plan tab.
Project Plan Views
Project plan tab has two views that help you to plan your project better.
- The Board View allows you to have a birds eye view of the project flow with a focus on phases, tasks and assignees.
- The Timeline View allows you to track dates and keep up with the project timelines using a Gantt- Chart format.
Project Plan Menu Bar
Let's go through the Project plan's Menu Bar and its essential functions:
Tasks Filter
Choose from the following options to filter tasks based on their completion status.
- All tasks
- Incomplete tasks
- Completed tasks
Responsible Filter
The Responsible filter helps you to view tasks based on the Organisation that is accountable. It lets you filter the tasks assigned based on the Vendor and Customer's Organisation.
Present
The Present icon helps you to enter full-screen presentation mode and present a clean overview of the Project Plan.
Pro Tip: The Presentation mode is useful during kick-off calls with customers as it skips displaying private phases and tasks.The Present feature for the Board view allows you to introduce each project phase in a sequential manner.
You can click on the arrow icons from the top-right corner of the screen to navigate between phases while presenting.
The Present feature for the Timeline view allows you to present project timelines whilst not displaying the private phases and tasks.
Export
Export allows you to convert the project plan into a PDF/ Excel file-format and export it.
The Export project plan dialog-box opens after you click Export.
- Status: Choose the tasks status that you specifically want to export to the file.
- Responsible: Filter tasks based on which team is accountable.
- File format: You can export the project plan in a PDF and Excel format for Board view and Timeline view respectively.
- Orientation (Only for Board view): Select the orientation of the PDF file. You can choose between Portrait and Landscape.
- Include Private tasks: Allows you to choose if the exported file should include private tasks or not.
Click Export after adjusting file properties to export the file.
The Project Plan Board View
The Board View has all the project phases presented in a column-wise format encompassing tasks under each phase respectively.
Pro Tip: You can add a task from the Board view by clicking on the Add task icon located at the end of each phase.Project Phases
Rocketlane's Projects are divided into phases for the ease of planning and execution.
Editing Project Phases
Each Project Phase can be edited from the Board view in the Project Plan tab.
- Click on the Edit Project Phase icon next to each phase name.
- The Edit project phase dialog box opens.
- You can perform the following functions from this dialog box:
- Edit the Phase name.
- Edit the Start date and End date of the project.
- Edit the Privacy type for the project. Choose between Private and Shared.
- To delete the project phase, click Delete phase.
- Click Save to proceed with the edits.
Pro Tip: You can hover over the progress bar below each phase and get a tool-tip summary of all the tasks in the phase. Get updates about completed, in progress and to be done tasks.
The Current date is also reflected in the progress bar with a pointer to help you track where you should have been in the project based on the Project Plan.Changing the Project Phase Status
You can change the project phase status from the Board view in the Project plan tab.
Choose from the following options:
- To do
- In progress
- Completed
- Blocked
Adding Project Phases to a Project from the Project Plan Tab
You can add a new Project Phase from the Project Plan tab by scrolling right to the last phase and click on the Create Project phase icon.
You can add a new project phase using the following two ways:
- Import phases using Project Templates
You can add phases to your project by importing a Project Template from the Project Plan view.
Go to Create Project Phase > Import Templates.
To know more about importing Phases from the Project Plan tab click here. - Creating a Project phase
You can create a new project phase to add to your current phase by choosing the Create project phase option.
In the Create project phase dialog box, add the project phase name, Start Date, Due Date and Privacy Type. Click Save to create a new Project Phase.
Project Tasks
Each project phase consists of tasks which further make it easier for delegating resources and micro managing the entire project.
Pro Tip: You can drag and drop tasks to rearrange the order inside a phase.
Task Properties
Click on any task and edit the properties from the dialog box. To know more about each task properties in detail click here.
Adding a Task to a Phase
- Click on the Add task button at the end of each phase.
- The add task dialog box pops up.
- You can edit the following task properties:
- Name the task.
- Assign a team member to the task.
- Assign a Due date.
- Give a Description to the task.
- Click Create to save the new task.
The Project Plan Timeline View
The Timeline View allows you to track dates and keep up with the project timelines using a Gantt- Chart format.
You can change the start date and end date of the task by sliding the timeline bar associated for each task.
You can also drag the ends of the bar to change the duration of the task.
Based on the start date of the earliest task start date and the end date of the latest task, the start date and finish date for each phase are synchronised.
The view has four columns followed by the gantt-chart spread horizontally across with an infinite scroll option.
Pro Tip: You can adjust the size of the viewing window for the Gantt-chart. Slide the vertical bar on the left of the Gantt-chart to expand/contract the viewing window.
The four columns are as follows:
- Project Plan: Consists of all the phases with an option to expand/ collapse the list of tasks which are a part of the phase.
- Start date: The assigned start date of each phase/ task.
- Due date: The assigned due date of each phase/ task.
- Duration: The duration of each phase/ task calculated based on the assigned start and due date.
Timeline View: Features and Functions
Baseline
The Baseline feature allows you have a saved reference point for your project timelines.
The idea of saving baselines is to have an idea of how far you have deviated from the original plan.
Creating a New Baseline
- To create a new Baseline, go to Baselines > New.
- In the New baseline dialog box, give a name to the baseline and add notes in case you want a description.
- Click Save to save your new Baseline.
To view your baseline, select it from the options available under Baseline.
Notice the grey bars on the timeline are the baselines.
Shift Dates
The 'Shift dates' option can be utilised when there is a delay in your project timelines and you need to adjust the dates for phases and tasks in bulk. The entire project timetable can be delayed or advanced by a certain number of dates, saving you the trouble of visiting each task and updating information.
Click on the 'Shift dates' button from the top Navigation bar. 
The Shift dates configuration dialogue box opens, allowing you to specify the parameters for shifting the project plan timelines. As a reference point, you can also store the project plan's baseline before the date alterations.
- Shift entire project plan
The dates for the entire project plan might be changed by a specific amount of time. Choose the timeframe and whether you want to advance or defer it. - Shift all tasks starting from
Instead of changing the project's entire timeline, you can decide to selectively move a few specific tasks. To achieve this, choose a task, and the project plan's subsequent tasks will all be shifted by the number of days you choose.
Choose the duration and whether you want to advance or delay the timeline. - Setting duration and if you want it to shift by earlier or later
Choose the time span and whether you want to advance or delay the project timelines by that duration. - Add a new baseline to track changes
The baseline created will show project plan prior to shifting project dates. Add a name and optional notes to the baseline.
Zoom Filter
You can define the zoom level for your timelines starting from Quarter, Month, Week upto a Day's level.
Expand All Tasks
This allows you to expand all the tasks for each phase.
Collapse all tasks
This filter allows you to collapse all the tasks for each phase and brings the focus back to phases.
Zoom to Fit
Allows you to have a wholesome view of the entire Project Plan. The Gantt-chart for the entire project plan is fit in the viewing window.
Pro Tip: The viewing window for the gantt-chart timeline is adjustable and you can slide the left end to expand and collapse the timeline view.Zoom in and Zoom out
This filter lets you maximise/ minimise the view on a macro/ micro level.
Previous/ Next timespan
Allows you to move to the previous/next timespan based on the level of zoom that you are currently on and your current viewing window size.
Creating Task Dependencies from Timeline View
You can create task dependencies by linking the end of one task bar to the start of another.
Hey! Here's hoping that this support document was useful. You can write to us at care@rocketlane.com in case of any queries.