Flow, process and networks
Event timeline
Positions events on a time axis to show order and timing.
- Diagram
- Sequence
- Event context
What it answers
What happened when?
- Shape
- Dated markers on a line
- What it shows
- Event order and elapsed gaps.
Example
The question
What were the key moments in our company’s history?
Company milestones, 2018 to 2026 (timeline)
Illustrative data. It belongs to no company.
When to use it
Use it when
Discrete milestones and historical events.
Avoid it when
When undated ordering is stretched into a numeric time scale.
How to read it
Read dated markers in chronological order.
Note
Do not imply durations from dates alone.
The data you need
- Layout
- Long table
- Fields
- EventID: text; Date: date/datetime; Label: text
- One row is
- One dated event. What is the grain?
- Rules
- Use real dates and a stated time zone when timestamps matter.
- Optional
- Category,Description. Add EndDate only for genuine durations.
- Preparation
- Validate the input grain and missing values. Use real dates and a stated time zone when timestamps matter.
- Units
- Dated events imply elapsed time betweenmarkers, not measured duration ofeach event.
Worked example
Design approvedJan 15; LaunchMar 1,2026. The elapsed gap is 45 calendar days; neither marker alone describes a task duration.
| EventID | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| E1 | 2026-01-15 | Design approved |
| E2 | 2026-03-01 | Launch |