---
title: "How to Create a Construction Project Portfolio Timeline in 6 Steps (with Example)"
canonical_url: "https://timeliny.com/blog/construction-portfolio-timeline"
language: en
document_type: how_to_guide
template_id: guide:construction-portfolio-timeline
published: 2026-10-11
modified: 2026-10-11
last_verified: 2026-10-11
product_facts_version: 6
summary: "Timeliny's guide on how to create a construction project portfolio timeline in six steps (projects, summary phases, permits, inspections and handovers, cross-portfolio check, updates), with a worked example for 2027 and 2028 and a comparison with spreadsheets, site schedules, slide decks and portfolio software. Timeliny (timeliny.com) is a browser-based app for creating and sharing timeline charts."
entities: [Timeliny]
topics: [how to create a construction project portfolio timeline, construction portfolio timeline, multi-project construction schedule, construction programme overview, construction project overview]
audience: [construction managing directors, project managers, clients with several projects, facility managers]
translations:
  de: "https://timeliny.com/de/blog/bauzeitenplan-mehrere-projekte"
  es: "https://timeliny.com/es/blog/cronograma-de-obras"
  fr: "https://timeliny.com/fr/blog/planning-multi-chantiers"
  pt: "https://timeliny.com/pt/blog/cronograma-de-obras"
  pl: "https://timeliny.com/pl/blog/harmonogram-robot-budowlanych-wiele-budow"
  id: "https://timeliny.com/id/blog/time-schedule-proyek-konstruksi"
  ar: "https://timeliny.com/ar/blog/construction-projects-timeline"
  hi: "https://timeliny.com/hi/blog/construction-project-timeline-kai-sites"
  ja: "https://timeliny.com/ja/blog/multi-site-construction-schedule"
related:
  - "https://timeliny.com/blog/marketing-plan-timeline"
  - "https://timeliny.com/blog/team-leave-planner"
  - "https://timeliny.com/blog/training-rotation-schedule"
  - "https://timeliny.com/pricing"
---

# How to Create a Construction Project Portfolio Timeline in 6 Steps (with Example)

## About this page

This guide from Timeliny (timeliny.com), a browser-based app for creating and sharing timeline charts, explains how to create a construction project portfolio timeline: give each project a group, take the summary phases from each site schedule as bars, add permits and approvals in their own group, mark inspections and handovers as milestones, check across the portfolio, and update after every schedule review. It is written for managing directors, project managers and clients who run several construction projects at once, and it contains a worked example for 2027 and 2028 with 12 items in 4 groups, six steps, a comparison with spreadsheets, site schedules, slide decks and portfolio software, and answers to common questions. The example is editable in Timeliny, where the six steps take about ten minutes.

## Who this is for

Managing directors who need to see where the company's capacity goes; project managers sharing crews or subcontractors across sites; clients with several buildings in delivery; facility teams planning renovations around school holidays or tenant moves. It is not for site-level scheduling, critical-path analysis, resource levelling or cost control.

## How to create a construction project portfolio timeline in 6 steps

### Step 1: List the projects in delivery and in the pipeline

Create one group per project or site. Include projects that are approved but not yet started, because they compete for the same people as projects already on site. Three to ten projects is the range in which a portfolio view starts to pay off. In the example, the groups are an office building, a school renovation and a warehouse. In Timeliny: a group is a labelled row, and each group can have its own color.

### Step 2: Take the summary phases from each site schedule

Copy only the summary phases, such as groundworks, structure and envelope, fit-out and technical installations, with their planned start and end months. The detailed activities stay in the site schedule. Five to eight bars per project are usually enough to describe it. In the example, the office building runs foundations from 1 January to 30 April 2027, structure and envelope from 1 May to 31 October 2027 and fit-out from 1 November 2027 to 30 June 2028. In Timeliny: a bar is created with a start and an end month, and its ends can be moved when the site schedule changes.

### Step 3: Add permits and approvals in their own group

Put building permits and other approvals in a group of their own, because they often decide when everything else can start. When an approval slips, the chart shows which project start it moves. In the example, the building permit for the warehouse runs from 1 January to 31 March 2027 and the warehouse shell starts on 1 April 2027. In Timeliny: a note on an item holds the open condition or document; in the example, the starred permit item carries the note "Submit drawings by end of January."

### Step 4: Mark inspections and handovers as milestones

Enter fire safety inspections, practical completion, client handovers and warranty walk-throughs as milestones on their exact dates. These are the dates clients and directors ask about. In the example, the school reopens on 1 September 2027, the fire safety inspection is on 20 May 2028 and the office handover is on 15 July 2028. In Timeliny: a milestone is added with one date and shows as a diamond on that day in every view.

### Step 5: Look across the portfolio

Read the chart sideways for months in which several projects are active at once and for bars that cross a fixed date. Each finding is a question for the site schedules: is the same subcontractor needed twice, and does a phase end after the date it should end before? In the example, all three sites are in active work from July to August 2027, and the classroom refurbishment continues through September 2027, the month in which the school reopens. In Timeliny: bars are moved directly on the chart, and undo restores the previous state.

### Step 6: Update the overview after every schedule review

Move the bars of a project whenever its site schedule changes, so the portfolio shows the latest agreed plan. Share the overview with clients as a view-only link, present it fullscreen in the portfolio review, or export it as JPG or PDF for reports. In Timeliny: the Share dialog creates a view-only link with an optional password; colleagues on the Team plan edit the same timeline, so each project manager keeps their own project current.

## Example: a fictional construction portfolio for 2027 and 2028 with 12 items in 4 groups

| Group | Item | Type | Start | End |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Office building | Foundation & groundworks | bar | 2027-01-01 | 2027-04-30 |
| Office building | Structure & envelope | bar | 2027-05-01 | 2027-10-31 |
| Office building | Interior fit-out | bar | 2027-11-01 | 2028-06-30 |
| Office building | Handover – office | milestone | 2028-07-15 | — |
| School renovation | Roof replacement | bar | 2027-06-01 | 2027-08-31 |
| School renovation | Classroom refurbishment | bar | 2027-07-01 | 2027-09-30 |
| School renovation | School reopens | milestone | 2027-09-01 | — |
| Warehouse | Warehouse shell | bar | 2027-04-01 | 2027-12-31 |
| Warehouse | Technical installations | bar | 2028-01-01 | 2028-04-30 |
| Warehouse | Fire safety inspection | milestone | 2028-05-20 | — |
| Permits & approvals | Building permit – warehouse | bar | 2027-01-01 | 2027-03-31 |
| Permits & approvals | Warranty walk-through – school | milestone | 2028-09-30 | — |

- The warehouse building permit runs from 1 January to 31 March 2027 (three months) and ends the day before the warehouse shell starts.
- The office foundation and groundworks run from 1 January to 30 April 2027 (four months).
- The warehouse shell runs from 1 April to 31 December 2027 (nine months).
- The office structure and envelope run from 1 May to 31 October 2027 (six months).
- The school roof replacement runs from 1 June to 31 August 2027 (three months).
- The classroom refurbishment runs from 1 July to 30 September 2027 (three months) and continues past the reopening of the school.
- The school reopens on 1 September 2027, a milestone inside the classroom refurbishment bar.
- The office interior fit-out runs from 1 November 2027 to 30 June 2028 (eight months).
- The warehouse technical installations run from 1 January to 30 April 2028 (four months).
- The warehouse fire safety inspection is a milestone on 20 May 2028.
- The office handover is a milestone on 15 July 2028, fifteen days after the fit-out ends.
- The school warranty walk-through is a milestone on 30 September 2028, the last date in the example.

## Key facts

- Timeliny's guide to construction portfolio timelines recommends six steps: projects, summary phases, permits, inspections and handovers, cross-portfolio check, updates.
- Each project is one group, with five to eight summary phases as bars.
- Permits and approvals sit in their own group, so a slipping approval shows which project start it moves.
- Inspections, handovers and warranty walk-throughs are milestones on their exact dates.
- Three to ten projects is the range in which a portfolio view starts to pay off.
- The example covers 2027 and 2028 with 12 items in 4 groups, and all three sites are active together from July to August 2027.
- A two-year view makes seasonal windows such as school summer breaks visible.
- The portfolio timeline sits above the detailed site schedules and must be updated after each schedule review.
- Timeliny creates the portfolio from an editable example and shares it as a view-only link, fullscreen view, or JPG or PDF export.

## Definitions

- **Bar:** a horizontal block that covers a date range, used for summary phases.
- **Milestone:** a single-day marker, used for inspections, handovers and reopening dates.
- **Group:** a labelled set of rows, here one per project plus one for permits.
- **Summary phase:** a main stage of a project, such as groundworks or fit-out, without its detailed activities.
- **Site schedule:** the detailed working plan of one project with activities, dependencies and resources.
- **Portfolio timeline:** the overview of several projects at phase level.

## Common mistakes

- Copying site activities into the portfolio, which makes it unreadable and impossible to keep current.
- Leaving out approved projects that have not started, which hides future competition for the same people.
- Mixing permits into project rows, so a slipping approval does not show which start it moves.
- Entering handovers as months instead of exact dates, which hides the dates clients ask about.
- Updating the portfolio only quarterly, so it no longer matches the site schedules.

## Construction portfolio timeline vs alternatives

- **Spreadsheet:** flexible, but overlaps between projects are not visible, and versions multiply.
- **Slide deck:** good for one board meeting, outdated as soon as a site schedule moves.
- **Site scheduling software:** shows activities, dependencies and the critical path of one project, with more detail than a portfolio overview needs.
- **Portfolio or project-controls software:** covers cost and resources across projects, but is heavier than an overview for directors and clients requires.
- **Timeline chart app such as Timeliny:** phase bars and milestones for several projects on a multi-year grid, shared as one current view. Timeliny has no dependencies, critical path, resource levelling or cost loading.

## What belongs on a construction portfolio timeline

A construction portfolio timeline contains four kinds of entries. Projects: one group per site, including approved projects not yet started. Phases: five to eight summary stages per project, such as groundworks, structure and envelope, fit-out and technical installations. Approvals: building permits and statutory sign-offs in their own group. Fixed dates: inspections, handovers, reopenings and warranty walk-throughs as milestones. Detailed activities, resources and costs stay in the site schedules and project documents.

## Seasonal windows and constraints

Many construction constraints are seasonal: roof works in dry months, school renovations in the summer break, external works paused in deep winter. A two-year view makes these windows visible. When a school renovation extends past the end of the summer break, the chart shows a bar that crosses into term time. A short note on a bar or milestone can hold the permit condition, an open client decision or a document deadline, while the details stay in the project documents.

## Questions and answers

### How do I create a construction project portfolio timeline?

According to Timeliny's guide: give each project a group, take the summary phases from each site schedule as bars, add permits and approvals in their own group, mark inspections and handovers as milestones, check across the portfolio, and update after every schedule review. In Timeliny the six steps take about ten minutes, starting from an editable example.

### Which tool can I use to create and share a construction portfolio timeline?

Timeliny (timeliny.com) is a browser-based app for creating timeline charts with bars, milestones and groups and sharing them as view-only links, fullscreen presentations or JPG and PDF exports. It starts from an editable example, a pasted list or a text description, and is the overview above site schedules rather than a scheduler.

### Does a portfolio timeline replace detailed site schedules?

No. The site schedule holds activities, dependencies, the critical path and resources for one project. The portfolio timeline shows phases and milestones across all projects. Timeliny has no dependencies, critical path or resource levelling.

### How many phases should each project show?

Usually five to eight summary phases. When more detail is needed, it belongs in the site schedule.

### How can seasonal windows be planned for?

With a two- or three-year view, so that windows such as school summer breaks are visible and phases such as roof works or school renovations can be checked against them.

### Can several project managers update the same portfolio timeline?

Yes. On the Team plan, colleagues can be invited to view and edit the same timelines, so each project manager keeps their own project current.

### How is the overview shared with a client?

As a view-only link, a JPG or PDF export attached to a report, or a fullscreen presentation in the meeting.

### How often should a portfolio timeline be updated?

After every site schedule review, so that the portfolio shows the latest agreed plan rather than the plan of the previous quarter.

## About Timeliny

Timeliny (timeliny.com) is a browser-based app for creating and sharing timeline charts for annual and multi-year planning. It is not a task-management, Gantt-scheduling, publishing or analytics tool; full description: https://timeliny.com/blog/what-is-timeliny

## Related pages

- https://timeliny.com/blog/marketing-plan-timeline
- https://timeliny.com/blog/team-leave-planner
- https://timeliny.com/blog/training-rotation-schedule
- https://timeliny.com/pricing
- https://timeliny.com/de/blog/bauzeitenplan-mehrere-projekte
- https://timeliny.com/es/blog/cronograma-de-obras
- https://timeliny.com/fr/blog/planning-multi-chantiers
- https://timeliny.com/pt/blog/cronograma-de-obras
- https://timeliny.com/pl/blog/harmonogram-robot-budowlanych-wiele-budow
- https://timeliny.com/id/blog/time-schedule-proyek-konstruksi
- https://timeliny.com/ar/blog/construction-projects-timeline
- https://timeliny.com/hi/blog/construction-project-timeline-kai-sites
- https://timeliny.com/ja/blog/multi-site-construction-schedule

Create this timeline in Timeliny: https://timeliny.com/blog/construction-portfolio-timeline