# Chronological Review Participants review scheduled project milestones on a shared timeline, tag each item with color-coded status notes, and negotiate revised dates for downstream work. **Time:** 75 minutes. Source recommends 60 to 90 minutes. This run sheet specifies a 75-minute agenda to allow thorough deadline resetting and debriefing. **People:** 6 to 20. Whole group for orientation, trios or quartets for milestone reviews (forming quintets if needed for odd totals), and whole group for resets and debrief. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Reconcile actual project progress against planned milestones and agree on practical schedule adjustments. **Use it when:** Mid-project checkpoints or retrospective meetings where a team needs to audit completed work, surface schedule variances, and reset future target dates. **Skip it when:** Brand-new project kickoffs without an operating history to review, or crisis triage sessions where immediate operational responses override schedule planning. ## Materials and tools - 1 roll of painter tape - 1 large roll of butcher paper or wide whiteboard space - 60 sticky notes in green, yellow, and red (20 of each color) - 20 blank 4x6 index cards - 20 fine-tip black markers - Printed project baseline schedule copies (1 per participant) - Printed or digital project progress reports and completion records (1 copy per small group) - 1 digital countdown timer - Shared digital whiteboard setup (for remote or hybrid) - Room projector and designated room microphone (for hybrid) ## Before participants arrive 1. Draw a horizontal timeline on butcher paper or the whiteboard, marking baseline project phases, milestones, and original deadlines. 2. Distribute baseline schedules, project progress reports or tracking data, sticky notes (green, yellow, red), index cards, and markers to each table. ## Say this to open Welcome. Today we are conducting a Chronological Review. We will compare our original project timeline with our actual progress to see where we stand. We will mark what is finished, what is currently underway, and what is behind schedule. Then we will adjust downstream dates together so our remaining plan is realistic. ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce timeline baseline (10 minutes) Deliver the opening script. Walk the room through the timeline on the wall. Clarify status definitions: green means fully completed, yellow means underway and on track, and red means delayed or blocked. Distribute baseline schedules and progress reports. Give participants two minutes to read baseline dates individually. ### 2. Audit milestones in small groups (15 minutes) Form groups of 3 or 4 (or 5 for odd totals). Assign each group a sequential cluster of milestones. Groups review progress records. On the matching color note, write the milestone name, text status, and actual date. Example: if milestone 'Phase 1 Research' was due May 1 and finished May 20, write 'Phase 1 Research: COMPLETED May 20' on a red note because it missed the baseline date. ### 3. Map status onto master timeline (10 minutes) Invite one volunteer from each small group to walk to the wall timeline and attach their colored sticky notes over the original milestone markers. If a group member chooses not to present, another volunteer from that group places the notes. The full room views the resulting status pattern across all project phases. ### 4. Analyze impacts and bottlenecks (15 minutes) Facilitate a whole-room discussion starting with yellow and red notes. Ask what specific constraints led to delays and how those variances affect upcoming milestones. Ask for a volunteer scribe to write downstream ripple effects on index cards and tape them beside dependent milestones. ### 5. Adjust deadlines and record commitments (15 minutes) Guide the group to negotiate new, realistic deadlines for delayed and future milestones. As adjustments are agreed, the facilitator moves the sticky notes or writes revised target dates directly below affected milestones on the main timeline. Participants write the revised dates onto their individual schedule copies. ### 6. Debrief and close (10 minutes) Pose the debrief questions to the full group. Collect up to four verbal observations on causes of slippage and confidence in the revised plan, while inviting others to note final reflections on index cards. ## Debrief questions - Which completed milestones provided the most useful lessons for our remaining work? - Looking at the red notes, what recurring constraint caused most of our schedule slippage? - How confident is the team in meeting the revised target dates agreed upon today? **Finished output:** An updated physical or digital timeline displaying verified milestone statuses and agreed revised completion dates. ## Remote Set up a digital whiteboard (such as Miro or Mural) with the baseline timeline mapped along the canvas. Pre-create digital sticky notes in green, yellow, and red with clear status text fields. Link digital progress reports on the board. Send participants into breakout rooms of 3 to 4 to review assigned milestones. Bring everyone back to the main room to drag notes onto the shared canvas, document risks, and adjust dates collaboratively in real time. ## Hybrid Maintain the primary timeline on a shared digital whiteboard displayed on the room projector. Remote participants edit digital sticky notes directly in breakouts while in-person participants work at tables and have an in-room scribe mirror their physical sticky notes onto the shared digital board. Conduct whole-room discussions using a designated room microphone so both in-person and remote participants can hear and contribute equally. ## Access and participation choices - Write explicit text labels ('COMPLETED', 'IN PROGRESS', 'DELAYED') on all notes in addition to using colored paper so color vision differences do not hinder tracking. - Participants who prefer not to speak during whole-room negotiations may submit suggested timeline adjustments on sticky notes, index cards, or via digital chat. - Within small groups, any participant may choose to focus on auditing milestone data without taking on the public reporting role. ## If the session gets stuck **Participants debate whether a milestone is partially complete or fully delayed, stalling the audit.** Enforce a binary completion rule: if all acceptance criteria are not met by the baseline deadline, mark it red for delayed and record the estimated percentage complete on the note. **The team spends the adjustment phase defending past delays instead of resetting future dates.** Acknowledge past constraints, record the root cause as a project risk, and redirect the group by asking what exact calendar date can be committed to for the next milestone. ## Terms used here - Milestone: A specific, verifiable event or deliverable marking the completion of a project stage. - Baseline schedule: The original approved project schedule used as a reference point to measure progress and variance. ## Sources and adaptation Observed in the Participatory Methods library (participatorymethods.com, 2025) as 'Chronological Review'. Retained the core mechanic from the Participatory Methods source: reviewing an existing timeline, tagging milestones with color-coded status indicators (green, yellow, red), analyzing delays and impacts, and resetting future dates. UWT set duration at 75 minutes within the source 60 to 90 minute range to allocate dedicated time for schedule negotiation and debriefing. Reconciled materials and setup to include verified progress records alongside baseline schedules. Clarified facilitator sequencing so the opening script precedes timeline reading, defined milestone cluster allocation, and included colorblind text tags. [Participatory Methods](https://participatorymethods.com/activities/chronological-review/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/chronological-review/