Timeline (Gantt)

Reading the Timeline

The Timeline reads like a project plan in Microsoft Project. On the left is the task table: outline number, name, duration in days, start, finish, percent done and assignee. On the right is the chart, with months and weeks (or days) across the top, weekend bands, and a line for today. Pointing at a row highlights it in both halves.

Bars span each task's start and finish and fill to show percent done. A task with sub-tasks draws a dark summary bar from its earliest sub-task to its latest; it follows the sub-tasks and cannot be dragged. Milestones are diamonds. A task with only a due date shows a marker on that day, so nothing is invisible. A colored edge on a row shows which Board lane the task is in.

• Days, Weeks and Months zoom; Today jumps back to the current date.
• Click a task's name, or a bar without dragging, to open it. Click the percent to type a new value.
• Click the caret beside a parent to fold its sub-tasks when a plan gets long.

Moving and resizing

Drag the middle of a bar to move the task while keeping its length. Drag either end to change its start or finish. Dates snap to whole days and save when you let go; Escape mid-drag cancels. Works with a mouse, a pen or touch.

Undated tasks show Set dates in their row: one click schedules them from today for four days, ready to adjust. Milestones move through their details, since they have no length. Drag a row by its grip in the table to reorder tasks at the same level.

Dependencies

Dependencies link tasks so the chart reflects real sequencing, drawn as arrows between bars. Kyndium supports four kinds, each with an optional lag in days:

• Finish-to-Start — the usual one: this task starts after that one finishes.
• Start-to-Start — both start together.
• Finish-to-Finish — both finish together.
• Start-to-Finish — this task finishes when that one starts.

Critical path

Turn on Critical path in the toolbar and the chain of tasks with no slack turns red, along with the arrows between them. Any delay to one of those tasks delays the project's finish, so it is where to look first when a date is at risk.

Baselines

A baseline is a named snapshot of the schedule. Save one before a planning meeting or a sprint from the Baselines menu, and the chart draws the baseline bars as a dashed strip under the live bars, so slippage is visible at a glance. You can keep several and choose which one shows.

The task form

Add task, and the pencil on a row, open a form with scheduling first: kind (task or milestone), name, dates and length, progress, lane, assignee and parent. More details holds repeat, points and notes. Dependencies are edited here in plain language.