Project Management

Overview

Plan & Deliver → Project Management is the project's schedule and work tracker. It combines:

• a Calendar of every dated Task, milestone and board column,
• Upcoming Dates, Board Progress and a Countdown Clock,
• links to every Kanban Board and Gantt Chart in the project, and + New ▾ to create one.

Boards, Gantt charts and calendars are charts: each one is a root entity in the database with a chart label (Kanban Board, Gantt Chart, Calendar). They also appear on Plan & Deliver → Charts, alongside XY plots, risk burn-downs and saved matrices. Because tasks are ordinary model entities, the same Task can sit on a board, appear on a Gantt chart, mitigate a risk and be traced to the requirement it serves.

Other pages in the group (Baselines & Versions, Review Packages, Presentations) are described in their own Help topics: Baselines & Versions, Review Packages, Presentations.

Concepts

Tasks and schedule data

A Task is an Action used for project work. Its schedule attributes:

Any Action with Start and Duration can be a Gantt row; Kanban cards are Tasks.

How a Kanban board is built

• The board is a Task (the root), labeled Kanban Board.
• Each column is a Time entity the board tracks, labeled Kanban Column. Columns are ordered by their number.
• Each card is a Task the board is decomposed by (directly, or down to the chosen number of levels) that is scheduled by a column. Moving a card changes its scheduled by relationship.
• Tasks on the board that are not scheduled by any column appear in an Unscheduled column.

How a Gantt chart is built

• The root is a Task, labeled Gantt Chart. The chart shows the root's decomposition: its children, and their children down to the chosen number of levels.
• Each row is an Action with both Start and Duration, sorted by Start within each level and indented by level. Children without them are listed below the chart as not shown.
• Dependencies come in two forms:
  • depends on: a direct relationship from the dependent task to its predecessor, drawn finish-to-start.
  • a Dependency entity, created with + Dependency or Add ▾ → New Dependency, which links two tasks through has dependent and stores which end (Start or Finish) of each task the arrow connects. This allows start-to-start, finish-to-finish and start-to-finish links.
• An arrow turns red when the dependent end comes before the predecessor's end allows (Violated: the dependent task starts before its predecessor allows.).

Milestones and the calendar

A milestone is a Time entity labeled Milestone with a Start date. Relate it to the task it ends with occurs. A Calendar chart shows every date attribute of the entities that match its search query; by default class:Task OR label:"Kanban Column" OR label:Milestone.

How to use it

When and why

Use Project Management once the work is known well enough to plan: typically after the requirements baseline, when the architecture names the subsystems and the verification plan names the tests. It answers: what is being worked on and by whom (Kanban), when will each phase finish and what drives the end date (Gantt), and what is due next (calendar, Upcoming Dates, countdown). Keep risk mitigations, test campaigns and review actions as Tasks here so their dates feed risk burn-downs and reviews.

Create a Kanban board and run it

1. Open Plan & Deliver → Project Management and choose + New ▾ → Kanban Board….
2. In Create Chart, keep Kanban Board, choose a Board Template (Project Workflow Board (To Do, In Progress, In Review, Done) or Blank Board) and click Next.
3. Choose Specify New Root Task, enter a name such as Engineering Board, and click Create. The board opens with its columns.
4. Choose New ▾ → New Task. Pick the Column, enter a Number and Name, optionally a Description, Start and Duration, and click Create. The card appears in that column.
5. Select the card to edit Assignee, Due Date, Percent Complete and Status in the inspector.
6. Drag cards between columns as work progresses. To have the card's Status follow the column, open Edit Column Colors and tick Set Task Status from the column name when a card moves (To Do → Open, Done → Closed).
7. Use Sort Tasks ▾, Show Attributes ▾ and the level selector to tune the view, or Grid View for a sortable table.

To use existing work items, choose New ▾ → Relate Existing Task (the task joins the first column) or Relate Existing Column (any Time entity; the Kanban Column label is added).

Build a Gantt chart with dependencies

1. Choose + New ▾ → Gantt Chart… on Project Management (or Create Gantt Chart on the Charts page). Choose Specify New Root Task and name the schedule, or Specify an Existing Task to chart an existing work breakdown. Click Create.
2. Choose Add ▾ → New Task. Enter a name, Start (required) and Duration (default 1 Days), then Create. Repeat for each phase.
3. To chart existing tasks, choose Add ▾ → Relate Existing Task. If the task lacks Start or Duration, Holarch asks for them (A Gantt Chart needs a start time for each task.).
4. Link the phases: click + Dependency, click the first task (the button reads Click the first task… (Cancel)), then the second (Click the second task… (Cancel)). In New Dependency, choose Start or Finish for the Top task and the Bottom task, check the Dependency Arrows Preview and click Create.
5. Drag a bar sideways to move its Start (it snaps to hours, or to days when zoomed out). Double-click a bar, or select it and click Set % Complete… in the inspector, to enter Percent Complete.
6. Use Columns ▾ to show Start Date, Due Date, Estimated Completion and % Complete, and the level selector to show sub-tasks.
7. Watch for red arrows: a red arrow means a task starts before its predecessor allows. Move the task or change the dependency.

Keep the calendar and dates current

1. On Project Management, click a calendar day to list its events under Events on …; click Show upcoming to return to Upcoming Dates.
2. Drag an event chip to another day to move that date (the time of day is kept).
3. Click + New Event to create any entity that has a date attribute: choose the Class, enter a Number or Name, and fill at least one date.
4. In Countdown Clock, click Set…, pick the entity (for example the launch milestone), choose the Date attribute, a Title and a Text color, and click Save.
5. For a calendar with its own query and colors, create a Calendar chart (Charts → Create Calendar, root Time).

Worked example: the CubeSat EO-1 demo

Create the demo project (Manage Projects → Project Files ▾ → Create Demo Project) and open Plan & Deliver → Project Management. The top bar reads Kanban Boards (1) and Gantt Charts (1); the countdown card is titled Launch and counts down to the Launch milestone on 20 October 2027.

Kanban. Click Kanban Boards (1) and open KB EO-1 Engineering Board. It has four columns:

1. Drag KB.2 Characterize Battery Cell Fade to Done. KB.2 mitigates risk RK-2, and its planned completion on 16 October 2026 is the first step down on RK-2's burn-down plan (see Risk & Decisions). Moving the card does not change its Status unless the board's status option is on.
2. Choose Sort Tasks ▾ → Due Date to bring KB.2 (due 16 October 2026) and KB.10 Diagnose Wheel Friction (21 October) to the top of their columns.
3. Click Grid View to see all eleven tasks with assignees and due dates in one sortable table.

Gantt. Click Gantt Charts (1) to open SCH EO-1 Development Schedule. It shows nine phases, SCH.1 Mission Concept and Requirements (started 5 January 2026, 100%) to SCH.9 Launch and Early Operations (20 October 2027), linked by eight depends on relationships. SCH.4 Flight Software Development runs in parallel from 1 June 2026 and feeds SCH.6 Assembly, Integration and Test.

1. Choose Columns ▾ and tick Due Date and Estimated Completion.
2. Double-click the SCH.3 Detailed Design bar and set Percent Complete from 15 to 25.
3. Drag SCH.5 Flight Hardware Fabrication a week earlier, so it starts before Detailed Design finishes. The arrow from SCH.3 turns red. Press ⌘Z to undo.

Calendar. The Project Management calendar shows the board due dates, the phase start dates, and the milestones System Requirements Review (12 March 2026), Preliminary Design Review (15 September 2026), Critical Design Review (16 February 2027), Pre-Ship Review (24 August 2027) and Launch. The demo also has a separate EO-1 Program Calendar chart.

Tips and good practice

• Put every task under one board root and one schedule root. A Task can be on both: the board decomposes it for status, the Gantt root decomposes it for dates.
• Number tasks (KB.1, SCH.3). Numbers sort cards and identify tasks in exports.
• Use depends on for plain finish-to-start links; use + Dependency only when you need another end type, because it creates a Dependency entity.
• Set Due Date on tasks with a commitment. The Gantt due marker turns red when the bar ends after it, and overdue cards show their due line in red.
• Tie milestones to tasks with occurs, so reviews appear on the calendar and in Upcoming Dates.
• Relate mitigation tasks to their risks with mitigated by; their Start and Duration then drive the planned burn-down.

Common mistakes

• A task is missing from the Gantt chart. It lacks Start or Duration, it is below the chosen number of levels, or it is not in the root's decomposition. The note under the chart lists tasks without Start or Duration; click one to select it.
• A task is missing from the board. It is not decomposed from the board within the chosen levels. Use New ▾ → Relate Existing Task.
• A card shows in Unscheduled. It is on the board but no column schedules it. Drag it to a column.
• A new calendar event does not appear. Event created, but it does not match this calendar’s query, so it is not shown. Change the query on the calendar's Root tab, or give the entity a matching class or label.
• The countdown shows a + sign. The target date has passed; the clock counts up since it.

How it connects

• Risk & Decisions: risks are mitigated by tasks; Risk Burn-Down plans use each mitigation's Start + Duration. See Risk & Decisions.
• Verification: test campaigns and fixes (KB.6 Fix Safe Mode Entry Timing, then rerun TC-09) are tasks; issues raised from failed tests can be related to them. See Verification.
• Behavior: the Timeline diagram shows the same Start and Duration data for any Action; see Timeline Diagram.
• Frameworks: DoDAF PV-2 and UAF Roadmap views open timelines and Gantt charts. See Frameworks.
• Reviews: export charts to Word or images for a review package.

Project Management page

Top bar

Calendar card

A month view of the project's dated Tasks, Kanban columns and milestones (query class:Task OR label:"Kanban Column" OR label:Milestone), colored by group (Board, Task, Time, plus Default and Holiday), with U.S. holidays.

• ‹ / › change month; Today returns to the current month.
• Each day shows up to three chips and +n more; the number in the corner counts its events.
• Click a chip to open the entity; click a day to list its events in the Upcoming Dates card; drag a chip to another day to move the date.
• Click a legend entry to show or hide that group.
• + New Event opens New Event (see New Event).

Upcoming Dates card

The next 50 future dates: each Task's Due Date (with Completed: n%) and the Start of each Kanban column and milestone, with the date and when the entity was last modified. When a day is selected, the card shows Events on <date> and Show upcoming. Empty: No upcoming tasks found.

Board Progress card

A bar chart of the number of tasks in each column of one board. Choose the board in the selector; Open opens it; Hierarchy opens the board's Hierarchy Diagram. Empty states: Create a Kanban Board to see its progress. and Add a Time column to the board to see the bar chart here.

Countdown Clock card

Counts days, hours, minutes and seconds to a date attribute of any entity (12d 04h 31m 09s; after the date, prefixed with +). Set… picks the entity (Countdown to…), then Countdown Clock: Title, Date attribute, Text color, Save. The card title is your title. Empty: Pick an entity and one of its date attributes to count down to.

Creating a chart

Create Chart is a two-step dialog used for Kanban boards, Gantt charts and calendars (and the other chart types on the Charts page).

1. Choose Which Chart to Create: Chart Type (XY Plot, Risk Burn-Down, Calendar, Gantt Chart, Kanban Board, Matrix) with a description. For a Kanban Board, choose the Board Template: Blank Board or Project Workflow Board (To Do, In Progress, In Review, Done) (default).
2. Specify Root Task (or Time for a calendar): Specify New Root Task with Number, Name and Description (Enter a name or a number.), or Specify an Existing Task with Choose….

Buttons: Cancel, Back, Next / Create. Choosing an existing entity adds the chart label to it. Create from Existing Entity on the Charts page starts at step 2 with an existing root.

Chart editor

Kanban boards, Gantt charts and calendars open in the chart editor (charts/<type>/<id>). Common controls:

The inspector shows the chart's tabs: Root (the root entity's attributes), Comments, Selected (when an item is selected) and, on a calendar, Day.

Kanban Board

Toolbar

Columns

Each column header shows its name and card count. ⋯ opens Rename…, Move Left, Move Right, New Task in this Column and Remove from Board. Click a header to select the column (its Time entity) in the inspector.

Cards

A card shows the task name and, unless hidden: number, status chip, assignee (No User Assigned when empty), the first 140 characters of the description, Due: <date> (red when overdue and below 100%), a percent-complete bar, labels, and the number of sub-tasks and comments. Click a card to select it; click again to deselect. Drag it onto a column (or Unscheduled) to move it.

Grid view

Columns Column, Number / Name, Description, Assignee, Due Date, Labels. Click a header to sort; click a row to select the task.

Data export

Export ▾ → Data (CSV) writes Column, Number, Name, Due Date and Percent Complete for every card, including unscheduled ones.

Gantt Chart

Toolbar

Chart

• The left part is a table of the chosen columns; the right part is a time axis whose ticks adapt to the zoom (hours, days, weeks, months, quarters, years).
• Each bar shows the full duration in a light shade and Percent Complete in a solid fill. Point at a bar for its start, duration and percent.
• A diamond marks the Due Date; it is red when the bar ends after it.
• A dashed red line marks today.
• Click a row to select the task; click again to deselect. Double-click a bar for Completion Percentage. Drag a bar to move its Start.
• Click a direct depends on arrow for a menu with Remove dependency. Click a Dependency entity arrow to select it; Edit Dependency… then appears in the inspector and under Remove ▾.

New Dependency and Edit Dependency

The dialog names the Top task and Bottom task and lets you choose Start or Finish for each, with a Dependency Arrows Preview. Create (or Save) stores a Dependency entity named <first> → <second>.

Data export

Export ▾ → Data (CSV) writes Number, Name, Start, Duration, Finish and Percent Complete for each row.

Calendar chart

A Calendar chart (root: a Time entity) is a month calendar with its own query, groups and colors.

The Root tab in the inspector has Change calendar query: (Database search syntax, for example class:Task OR label:Milestone) and Generate Calendar, which asks Changing the query changes which events this calendar shows. Continue?. Click a day to open the Day tab: Events on <day>, each with ⋯ (Remove from Chart (Default) clears that date; Delete from Database), and + New Event on this day. Export ▾ → Data (CSV) writes Number, Name, Class, Attribute, Date and Group.

New Event

Fields: Class (any class with a date attribute; Task by default), Number, Name, Description, and one field per date attribute of the class. The first date is preset to the selected day at 09:00. Create makes the entity.

Keyboard shortcuts and gestures

Messages

Limits

• Kanban levels: 1–5 or all; Gantt levels: 1–5 or 10.
• Gantt zoom: eight steps; bar drags snap to one hour, or one day when zoomed out.
• Calendar: up to 10,000 matching entities; three chips per day in the month grid.
• Upcoming Dates: the next 50 dates.
• Percent Complete: 0–100.

Related pages

• Risk & Decisions — mitigations and burn-downs.
• Verification — test campaigns as tasks.
• Frameworks — PV-2 and UAF roadmap views.
• Help: Project Management, Charts, Timeline Diagram, Search Query Syntax.