Publishing Plans

Publishing transforms a draft plan into a finalized version that can be shared with stakeholders and used as an official baseline.

Understanding Publishing

Publishing a plan:

• Finalizes the version - Marks plan as official
• Limits editing - Reduces accidental changes
• Creates baseline - Reference point for tracking
• Enables sharing - Official version for stakeholders

Draft vs. Published Status

When to Publish

Publish a plan when:

• Planning is complete - All tasks defined and scheduled
• Stakeholder approval - Client or management sign-off
• Baseline needed - Starting execution phase
• Sharing required - External distribution needed

How to Publish

Step 1: Review the Plan

Before publishing, verify:

• All tasks are defined
• Dependencies are correct
• Dates are finalized
• Resources are assigned

Step 2: Access Publishing

1. Open the plan
2. Navigate to Versions tab or plan settings
3. Find the Publish action

Step 3: Confirm Publishing

1. Click Publish
2. Review the confirmation dialog
3. Understand editing limitations
4. Click Confirm

Publishing Effects

Immediate Changes

Editing Limitations

After publishing:

• Major structure changes restricted
• Task additions may be limited
• Timeline modifications tracked
• Create new version for significant changes

What Remains Editable

Published plans typically allow:

• Progress updates
• Actual dates recording
• Status changes
• Notes and comments

Baseline and Publishing

Relationship

Publishing often coincides with baseline:

• Publish = finalize the plan version
• Baseline = freeze effort/schedule for comparison

Setting Baseline

When publishing:

1. Consider setting baseline simultaneously
2. Baseline captures planned values
3. Compare actual vs. baseline later

See Baseline Comparison for details.

Unpublishing

Can You Unpublish?

In most cases:

• Published status is permanent for that version
• Create new version for major changes
• New version starts as draft

Working with Published Plans

If changes needed:

1. Create a new version
2. Make modifications
3. Publish new version when ready

Sharing Published Plans

Export Options

Published plans can be:

• Viewed by stakeholders
• Exported to PDF (Professional tier)
• Shared via project access

Access Control

Published status doesn't change access:

• Team permissions still apply
• Project assignments control visibility
• Publishing is about finalization, not sharing

Best Practices

Before Publishing

1. Complete review - All tasks verified
2. Dependencies checked - Correct relationships
3. Dates finalized - Schedule locked in
4. Stakeholder review - Approval obtained
5. Documentation - Version notes added

Publishing Checklist

• All tasks are complete and verified
• Dependencies are correctly defined
• Timeline is realistic and approved
• Resources are properly assigned
• Budget is set (if applicable)
• Stakeholder approval received
• Version name is descriptive

After Publishing

• Create baseline if tracking variance
• Communicate to team
• Begin tracking actual progress
• Use new versions for changes

Multiple Published Versions

Handling Multiple

Over time, you may have multiple published versions:

• Original baseline
• Rev A after scope change
• Rev B after re-baseline

Best Practices

• Mark which is "current" or default
• Archive superseded versions
• Document reason for new versions

Troubleshooting

Cannot Publish

"You don't have permission"

• Verify you have plan editing rights
• Check team role

"Plan not ready for publishing"

• Check for validation errors
• Ensure required fields complete

Publishing Failed

• Check for conflicts
• Verify no active edits by others
• Try refreshing and retry

Need to Edit Published Plan

• Create new version for changes
• Minor updates may still be possible
• Contact admin for special cases

Professional Tier Features

Publishing benefits from Professional tier:

Related Topics

• Plan Versions - Version management
• Creating Plans - Plan setup
• Baseline Comparison - Tracking variance