Here at Eval Academy we are big fans of keeping evaluation simple and that includes how we present our evaluation timelines. While the level of detail you require is likely different whether you are using the timeline for your own planning purposes or are sharing it with others, these four simple ideas use basic software (think Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) to create clean and easy to understand timelines.

1. Calendar

   Plot out what needs to happen visually using calendars. A quick online search of “free calendar [month] and [year]” provides you with a plethora of free calendar templates with dates already slotted in. You can add in evaluation milestones and important dates using text boxes and shapes in PowerPoint (or your preferred image editing software), then copy the image into your evaluation plan document.

   This method of visualizing evaluation timelines becomes visually crowded for long projects or overly complicated schedules requiring a lot of detail. Minimizing clutter is the key to a successful calendar visualization (perhaps all visualizations, really).

2. Line Graph

A few line and circle shapes put together in PowerPoint or creating an actual line graph in excel can work to highlight key project milestones and high-level timelines. This method of visualizing your evaluation timelines works well when exact dates have yet to be nailed down or in a developmental evaluation where key program milestones will dictate evaluation timing. It’s also great for clients who only need a high-level representation of the work you have planned.

3. Gantt Chart

Perhaps the most typical method of visualizing project timelines, we prefer a simpler approach than a typical Gantt chart with lines, dependencies, durations, etc. We build ours in excel, slotting in the appropriate timeframes as column headers and use rows for evaluation tasks. We then shade in the corresponding cells to indicate when each task will occur. This method works well when your evaluation timelines change and you can simply copy and paste your cells over to adjust. If you like to get a little fancier, there are some simple Gantt chart templates that are free download, or you can build your own bar chart using Youtube tutorials or your own ingenuity.

4. Chronological List

Maybe not the most visually appealing, but this method of visualization evaluation timelines checks the box for simple and easy to create. Putting the information into a table, then hiding the borders gives your list some easy structure. If you want to get fancy, you can add in colour coding or icons.  

As you can see, a chronological list is easy to understand and you can customize the columns to provide the level of detail required. At Three Hive, we tend to use this method during the budgeting and initial planning process, dividing the tasks into each of our three phases and attaching a cost to each of the items.

Hopefully these four ways to visualization evaluation timelines have demonstrated how simple it is to communicate what you’ve planned for the evaluation and have inspired your creativity for the next time you need to communicate timelines to your team or client.

Want more tips on how to plan your evaluation timelines? Check out this article.

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Sitting down to figure out how long your evaluation activities will take can be a daunting process. Evaluations are trickier than programs as they often rely on program timelines and external activities. How can you plan and predict your evaluation activities when they are dependent on other activities? How can you ensure you have the information you need when you need it? This article provides 5 tips to answer those questions and help you create a plan that will actually work for your evaluation.

Tip 1: Start at the end

Start by clarifying who needs which information by when. Make sure you clarify expectations about the review process to ensure that you have the correct date. For example, the board may need information for an August 10th meeting, but the information may need to be sent with the board package, which is prepared two weeks in advance, and vetted by the Executive Director who requires at least a week to review the information and suggest changes. This drastically changes your “due date” from August 10th to July 20th or earlier.

Tip 2: Work backwards

Now that you know when the information is required by you can work backwards from this deadline to plot out your data collection and analysis timelines. Estimate how long reporting will take. Block out that time. Plot out any evaluation activities which are directly tied to program activities (e.g. pre surveys need to be sent before program activities, post surveys need to be sent a set amount of time afterwards). Plan to analyze data soon after it is collected whenever possible.

The article could really end here as these are the most important tips, but we do have a few more tricks up our sleeves.

Tip 3: Leave a buffer

Wherever possible, leave your team some wiggle room, especially at the analysis and reporting phases. This gives you extra time when data collection activities inevitably get pushed because program timelines change or when you receive catastrophically bad administrative data which takes an extra week to analyze, or when a team member gets sick. The amount of time you leave for analysis and reporting is one of the few things you can exert the most control over when planning an evaluation and can be the first to disappear if evaluation timelines get compressed.

Tip 4: Be flexible

Change happens. Especially in evaluation. Being clear on your own timelines and constraints (and budget!) means that you can be a bit more flexible when conducting your evaluation. As an evaluator, be prepared to jump on fortuitous opportunities to collect and share data. Program changes can present hidden opportunities to gather more data. Having to move when you analyze your data because the program got extended by another week shouldn’t be the end of the world for your evaluation.

Tip 5: Communicate your timelines clearly and consistently

We cannot stress this one enough. Remind your clients, stakeholders, and teammates of relevant evaluation timelines and do so consistently. Reminding others about your deadlines and communicating when you need information by and why (i.e. there’s a hard deadline for the board report) can help ensure that you get what you need when you need it. For some clients, a weekly or monthly status report can signal what information is needed to keep the evaluation on track and delayed data can be presented as a risk; while for others, simply adding evaluation data provision as an action item in a meeting works just fine.

With these five tips under your belt you should be well on your way to planning a well thought out evaluation.

If you need ideas for how to visualize your evaluation timelines, check out 4 different ways in this article.

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