The Project Plan tab gives you an organised, detailed view of your project. Use it to track progress, identify at-risk tasks, and manage your team's work across phases and timelines.

Project plan views

The project plan has two views:

• Board view - a bird's-eye view of the project flow with a focus on phases, tasks, and assignees.
  
  
• Timeline view - track dates and project timelines using a Gantt chart format.
  
  

Project plan menu bar

Tasks filter

Use the View menu to show All tasks, Incomplete tasks, or Completed tasks.

Responsible filter

The Responsible filter shows tasks owned by a specific company. Choose All, your company, the customer company, or any partner company on the project.

Present

The Present icon enters full-screen presentation mode and displays a clean overview of the project plan.

Board view: Presents each project phase sequentially. Use the arrow icons in the top-right corner to navigate between phases.

Timeline view: Presents project timelines without displaying private phases and tasks.

Export

Export converts the project plan into a PDF or Excel file. Clicking Export opens a dialog box with the following options:

Click Export after adjusting the file properties to download the file.

The board view

The board view presents all project phases in a column-wise format, with tasks listed under each phase.

Project phases

Rocketlane projects are divided into phases for easier planning and execution.

Editing project phases

Each project phase can be edited from the board view in the Project Plan tab.

1. In Board view, hover over the phase name and select the Edit (pencil) icon. If manual phase ordering is turned on, select the More actions icon, then Edit.
   
   
2. In the Edit project phase dialog, update any of the following:
   • Project phase name
   • Date (start and due dates)
   • Type: select the button to switch between Shared and Private
   • Project phase description
   • Budget (shown when budgets are enabled for your account and you have access)
   
   
3. Select Save. To remove the phase, select Delete phase.

Changing the project phase status

Change the phase status from the board view. Click the status indicator next to the phase name and choose from:

• To do
• In progress
• Completed
• Blocked

Adding project phases

Scroll right to the last phase and click the Create project phase icon to add a new phase.

You can add a new phase in two ways:

1. Import phases using project templates: Add phases by importing a project template from the project plan view. Go to Create project phase > Import templates. Learn more about importing phases.
2. Create a new project phase: Choose Create project phase, then add the phase name, start date, due date, and privacy type. Click Save to create the phase.
   
   

Reordering project phases

You can manually reorder phases to control how the project plan is structured. When manual phase ordering is enabled, phases do not automatically reorder based on their start dates in the Timeline or Board view - you can drag and drop phases instead.

To allow manual phase ordering:

1. Go to Settings.
2. Under Automations, select Workflow management.
3. In the Phase automation section, select the checkbox Allow phases within a project to be manually reordered, overriding the default start date–based order.

To reorder phases in a project:

1. Open the project and go to Project plan in Board view.
2. Hover over a phase name and select the More actions icon.
3. Select Rearrange phases.
4. Drag the phases into the order you want, then select Done.
   
   

When importing phases from a template, newly added phases are placed at the end and can be reordered after.

Project tasks

Each project phase consists of tasks, which make it easier to delegate resources and manage the project in detail.

Task properties

Click on any task to edit its properties from the detail pane. Learn more about task properties.

Adding a task to a phase

1. In Board view, select Add task at the bottom of the phase. To add a task at the top of the phase instead, hover over the phase name and select the + icon.
   
   
2. Type the task name.
   
   
3. Optionally, select the calendar icon to set the start and due dates, and select the assignee icon to choose an assignee.
4. Press Enter to create the task. Press Esc to discard it.

To add something other than a blank task, select the arrow next to Add task and choose one of the following:

To add a description, open the task after creating it and edit it in the task detail pane.

The timeline view

The Timeline view lets you track dates and project timelines using a Gantt chart format.

Change the start and end date of a task by sliding its timeline bar. Drag the ends of the bar to change the task duration. Phase dates are automatically synchronised based on the earliest task start date and the latest task end date.

The grid on the left shows the plan structure along with Start date, Due date, Duration, and Assignees columns, followed by the Gantt chart. When additional dependencies are enabled for your account, an S.No column and a Predecessors column also appear. Use the column chooser on the toolbar to show or hide columns from the Available columns list.

Baseline

The Baseline feature saves a reference point for your project timelines, giving you a record of how far you have deviated from the original plan.

To create a baseline:

1. In Timeline view, select Baseline on the toolbar.
2. Select New.
   
   
3. Enter a name and optional notes, then select Save.
   
   

To compare, select up to three baselines from the Baseline menu. Grey bars on the timeline show each selected baseline. Baseline names must be unique within a project.

Shift dates

Shift dates lets you adjust phase and task dates in bulk when there is a delay or acceleration in project timelines - without visiting each task individually.

Click Shift dates from the top navigation bar.

The Shift dates dialog opens. Configure the parameters and optionally save a baseline before making changes.

Select Confirm to apply the changes.

Timeline view controls

Critical path

When a project slips, teams need to know which tasks actually move the end date. Turn on Show critical path on the Timeline toolbar to highlight the tasks that affect the project due date. Two extra columns, Late start date and Total slack, appear while the toggle is on.

Creating task dependencies

Create task dependencies directly from the timeline by linking the end of one task bar to the start of another.

Quicker task actions in timeline view

Under More actions in the timeline view, you can perform the following without opening the task details:

• Convert a task to a milestone
• Move it to a different phase
• Make it private
• Delete it

Range picker

The range picker lets you select both the start and end dates for a task at once, directly from the start or due date column - without needing to adjust duration settings separately.

FAQ

What happens if I press Enter without typing a task name?

Nothing is created. Type a name first, or press Esc to close the card.

Why is my new task private?

Tasks added to a private phase are private.

Can I compare more than one baseline?

Yes. You can select up to three baselines at a time.