I was asked to write a project plan from memory, against the clock. So I built a tool anyone can use.

A large, well-known organisation recently invited me to interview for a Project Manager role. The first step was a technical test: write out the steps to create a project plan, without MS Project or any other planning tool, within a time limit.

Then came the twist. Add leave, because some resources would be away during the project, and the QA tester wouldn’t be available during testing.

I’m not saying the test was wrong. Testing fundamentals matters. But it made me think. Nobody remembers every field and setting in a planning tool unless they use it every day. That’s what tools are for. And the same organisation tells its customers it is the right AI partner and is excelling in AI.

In the AI era, I think the better question is: how fast can you turn what you know into a working plan?

So I built one

Project Plan Builder is a free, open-source planner that runs in your browser. There’s nothing to install and no account to create. You enter:

• Project name, start date and target end date
• Resources, with standard and overtime rates and your currency
• Tasks with start and end dates
• Predecessors typed straight in (3, 3SS, 4FS+2). Successors fill in automatically.
• Leave for each resource. It’s marked on the timeline, flagged on affected tasks, and carried into MS Project as non-working time, so tasks stretch around it.
• Planned cost per task, per resource and for the whole project

One click downloads a file that MS Project opens as a fully linked schedule. You can import it back later to keep editing.

Who is it for?

• People who need a proper plan but have never used MS Project
• Teams without an MS Project licence. You can build, check and cost the whole plan in the browser. When someone with MS Project needs it, the file is ready.
• Experienced PMs who want a first draft in minutes, not hours

The leave scenario from my interview, a tester away during QA, is now a date and a number of days. The plan shows the impact straight away.

Help me grow it

This is open source, and I’d love your help to grow it. Try it, break it, raise issues, and send pull requests. Ideas welcome: several resources per task, public holiday calendars, Excel import, printable Gantt charts, translations.

What would you add? Tell me on my contact page or open an issue on GitHub.