Timeline diagram: definition and example
A timeline diagram is a diagram that places events, phases or milestones along a line in the order they happen, with details attached to each point.
What it means
The line stands for time. Whatever sits along it comes before or after its neighbours, and the notes at each point say what happens there.
When to use one
Use it for a project schedule, a history, a story’s plot or a study plan: any case where order is the main fact about the content.
How it differs from nearby terms
A mind map shows what belongs to what, not the order. A logic chart can show steps in sequence, but it has no scale or line to follow. A timeline can still hold branches at each point, so the two ideas combine well.
In MindmapPal
The MindmapPal app for iPhone and iPad has the timeline as one of its structures, in horizontal, vertical and other versions. In the web editor, the product launch, product roadmap and novel plot templates open as timelines.
Example
A product launch timeline runs from left to right with Research, Build, Beta, Launch and Review. Under each phase hang the tasks, owners and dates for it.
Related terms
- Logic chart: A logic chart is a mind map structure in which the central topic sits at one side and every branch extends in a single direction, so the map reads from left to right or right to left.
- Fishbone diagram: A fishbone diagram is a cause-and-effect diagram that puts a problem at the head of a fish skeleton and groups its possible causes on bones branching from a central spine.
- Matrix diagram: A matrix diagram is a table-like diagram that arranges topics in rows and columns, so each cell holds the item that sits where a row and a column meet.
- Mind map: A mind map is a diagram that puts one idea in the centre and arranges related ideas around it as branches, with the details of each branch nested under it.
See it in a template
Product launch plan mind map template