PlannerBuildStep 1: identify the significant stages
Read the agreed scope and name the stages that deserve a whole-project review. Pre-construction, procurement, setup, structure, enclosure, services, finishes and handover may be useful for residential building work. Smaller jobs may need fewer stages.
The stage structure is an organisational aid, not a compulsory method. Review the sequence against the actual design, site conditions and project-specific requirements with the relevant competent people.
Step 2: make milestones meaningful
A milestone should represent an identifiable event. “Specification approved” is clearer than “approval” because the completion criterion can be discussed. Include a decision, inspection or handover when later work depends on it.
Example: from decision to installation
- Confirm the specification and relevant dimensions.
- Place the order through the purchasing process.
- Confirm the supplier commitment and delivery arrangements.
- Complete and check the preparatory work.
- Review readiness before confirming installation.
- Complete testing and handover as required.
These are different commitments. Putting them in one long activity makes it harder to identify the reason for delay.
Step 3: describe dependencies
Ask what must be completed or confirmed before each activity starts. Some relationships concern site work; others concern information or material availability. Record the preceding activity and explain any non-obvious relationship in notes.
Do not put every activity in a single chain simply because that is easy to draw. Some packages may overlap, while others require exclusive access. Check the practical and safe arrangements through the project team’s normal process.
Step 4: add dates with stated assumptions
Discuss durations and proposed attendance with the relevant trades. Confirm delivery and decision commitments. Where information remains provisional, record the assumption so the review can distinguish it from a confirmed date.
The Gantt view makes the intended sequence visible. It does not prove that the resources or access are available. PlannerBuild records dates and dependencies; it is not presented as an automatic critical-path calculation or resource-levelling system.
Step 5: establish the review cycle
- Update actual progress before revising future dates.
- Check blocked activities and their stated reasons.
- Review the readiness of the next work period.
- Confirm changed commitments with the relevant people.
- Inspect affected successor activities after a date change.
- Retain a dated editable backup at agreed review points.
A whole-job programme and a short-term look-ahead answer different questions. Use the first to understand the main sequence and the second to check whether upcoming work is genuinely ready.
Step 6: keep contractual records separate
Where a contract requires a baseline programme, notices, particular reporting or delay analysis, follow those requirements and obtain appropriate advice. Saving a project backup or moving an activity does not by itself establish contractual acceptance.
For a starting structure, use the schedule template and example. Read about construction programme planning and contractor package coordination, then test your own sequence in the shared workspace.
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