Excel-native dependency-driven planning engine focused on transparency, simulation, diagnostics, and project controls workflows.
ProjectEngine transforms a standard Excel workbook into a lightweight scheduling and project controls platform powered entirely by VBA. It combines dependency-driven schedule calculation, planning analytics, Gantt visualization, S-Curve reporting, constraints management, simulation tools, and runtime diagnostics in a single portable workbook.
Dependency-driven scheduling with progress tracking, milestones, summary tasks, critical path analysis, and real-time project status visualization.
High-level project overview including progress indicators, forecast finish analysis, critical activities, schedule momentum, S-Curve snapshot, and planning overview.
Dedicated planning analytics highlighting top delays, deadline health, upcoming milestones, and next critical activities requiring attention.
Long-range schedule visualization with monthly scaling, WBS hierarchy, task classifications, constraints, dependencies, milestones, and progress status.
Baseline, Actual, Forecast, and Calculated progress curves combined with daily workload distribution for project controls reporting and performance analysis.
- Dependency-driven scheduling
- FS / SS / FF relationships
- Positive and negative lag support
- Multi-predecessor logic
- Automatic schedule propagation
- Parent / child rollups
- Level of Effort (LOE) support
- Milestone support
- Baseline planning
- Forecast planning
- Actual progress integration
- Calculated schedule generation
- Incremental recalculation
- Forced full recalculation
- Critical Path analysis
- Longest Path analysis
- Total Float calculation
- Free Float calculation
- Multi-project criticality mode
- Delay analysis
- Deadline monitoring
- Schedule momentum tracking
- Hard constraints engine
- Deadline management
- Constraint diagnostics
- Constraint impact analysis
- Dedicated constraints table
- Interactive Gantt chart
- Day / Week / Month timeline scaling
- Dependency link rendering
- Critical path overlays
- Progress overlays
- Constraint overlays
- Executive Dashboard
- S-Curve reporting
- Test mode planning
- Scenario mode planning
- Schedule comparison workflows
- Non-destructive schedule simulation
- Runtime warning console
- INFO / WARNING / STOP severities
- Event History
- Alarm History
- Warning acknowledgement workflow
- Stable event signature tracking
- Input validation framework
- Safe Empty State for Gantt
- Safe Empty State for S-Curve
- Planning Reset workflow
- Full Reset workflow
- Protected calculated columns
- Controlled system writes
ProjectEngine is organized around a calculation core and multiple visualization layers.
| Layer | Purpose |
|---|---|
| WBS | User planning inputs and outputs |
| CALC | Scheduling engine runtime layer |
| CONSTRAINTS | Constraints and deadlines |
| GANTT | Schedule visualization |
| SCURVE | Progress and workload analytics |
| DASHBOARD | Executive reporting |
| EVENT_HISTORY | Runtime traceability |
| CALC_ALARM | Active warnings and stops |
| EVENT_ACK | Warning acknowledgement management |
The scheduling engine is the single source of truth.
Visualization layers consume calculated data but never drive schedule calculations.
- Enter planning data in WBS.
- Run Planning Update.
- Review warnings and diagnostics.
- Analyze schedule health through Dashboard and S-Curve.
- Review Critical Path and Float analytics.
- Simulate alternatives using Test and Scenario modes.
- Generate reporting through Gantt and Dashboard views.
Beta
The engine is actively used and continuously improved through real-world planning use cases.
Major scheduling, analytics, dashboard, diagnostics, and reset frameworks are operational.
Future releases will continue improving usability, visualization, and advanced planning capabilities.
If ProjectEngine helps your work and you would like to support ongoing development:
GPL-3.0