How to create a Workback schedule in Smartsheet

How to Create a Workback Schedule in Smartsheet

You can use the Project with Hard Deadline and Gantt template to create a workback schedule. Before you start working with the template, follow these steps:

1. Identify the deadline: Determine your project’s due date.
2. List your milestones: Break down your project into critical deliverables, identifying significant milestones that must be achieved.
3. Estimate task durations: For each task, estimate how long it will take.
4. Create a task sequence: Arrange your tasks in reverse order, starting from the final deliverable and working backward.
5. Set task start dates: Allocate resources and set start dates for each task, considering the dependencies between tasks.
6. Review and adjust your schedule: Once your initial schedule is set, review it to ensure all tasks align correctly with the deadline. Adjust durations, dependencies, or start dates as necessary.

Implementing in Smartsheet

1. Enter task names and subtasks: Populate your sheet with the names of tasks and subtasks.
2. Set the end date: Define your project's final deadline in the end date field.
3. Configure dependencies: Set up predecessors for each task with a Start-to-Finish (SF) relationship. This means a task will only begin once the previous one is finished.
4. Define task durations: Add the duration for each subtask, setting the task type as Start-to-Finish (SF). Continue this process for each task until you reach the first one.
5. Auto-populate start dates: Once all tasks and durations are entered, Smartsheet will auto-populate the start dates, considering working hours, weekends, and holidays.
6. Adjust for final deadlines: When entering tasks this way, Smartsheet might automatically adjust the finish date to the final hour of the previous day. You may need to change the end date to the next day to account for this.
7. Final adjustments: Use the start date of the final task to ensure that your schedule aligns with your project plan.

Limitations and Considerations

Backward Auto-Population: Smartsheet cannot automatically populate dates and dependencies working backward. You’ll need to manually set up each task in reverse order, ensuring that all dependencies and durations are correctly configured.