The Project Timeline section below the chart allows you to shape your scenario’s implementation schedule. The name of each scenario project will appear in this section (and clicking on a project name will open its Project Detail page in a new tab). The start date of each project appears to the right of its name. You can change the start dates to explore the implications of different implementation timelines for your scenario. NOTE, however, that timeline changes are specific to the scenario you’re building and do not automatically update each project’s actual timeline on its Project Detail page. You will be able to update all Proposed project timelines according to your scenario’s customization after you mark the scenario as an Implemented Plan. A button will then appear to allow you to lock in each project’s customized timeline.
One way to change a project’s start date is to click on the MM/DD/YYYY value and select a specific date from the calendar. You can also change the start date for Proposed projects by dragging their timeline slider to a different position. In-Progress and Completed projects have a fixed position on the timeline because they should be nearly installed or installed already (i.e. their start dates are not hypothetical like those of Proposed projects). The sliders are color coded to indicate each project’s status (red = Proposed, yellow = In-Progress, and green = Completed). The lengths of the sliders correspond to each project’s lifespan.
The tick mark on the left of each timeline represents the goal’s baseline, and the tick mark on the right side represents the primary target date (i.e. the end of the goal period). Any Proposed projects added to your scenario will be placed on their proposed start date, unless it occurs prior to the baseline. In that case, these projects will be placed on today’s date (since they cannot be placed in the past). If you attempt to shift a Proposed project’s slider into the past, it will automatically snap back to today’s date. As time passes, if today’s date surpasses the original start date you selected for a Proposed project, then that project’s start date will be adjusted to match today’s date. In-Progress and Completed projects will be placed on their actual start date, which means they may appear prior to today’s date on the timeline.
Adjusting any project’s start date will change the projection shown in the chart. The scenario calculations and cash flow table below will also update automatically, though not all metrics will be affected by altering project start dates.