PLAINREADS — WORKBACK SCHEDULE
Guide: https://plainreads.com/blog/workback-schedule

Define completion first, then work backward through dependent steps.

FINISH CONDITIONS
Deliverable / acceptance check / approver:
Deadline, time, and time zone:
Working days, holidays, absences, and approval windows:
Confirmed inputs and unresolved assumptions:

ONE ROW PER STEP
Step / owner / duration / predecessor / output / acceptance check:
Latest start / latest finish / contingency / current forecast:

METHOD
1. Identify the final delivery step and the time it requires.
2. Put the preceding approval or production step before it.
3. Repeat until the first required input is visible.
4. Confirm that each owner can actually work in the assigned window.
5. Add explicit contingency where uncertainty warrants it.
6. Compare the resulting start with today; change scope, sequence, capacity,
   or the finish date if the schedule is infeasible.

FICTIONAL EIGHT-WORKDAY EXAMPLE — NO CONTINGENCY INCLUDED
Input collection: 2 workdays, days 1–2.
Drafting: 3 workdays, days 3–5, after input collection.
Review and revision: 2 workdays, days 6–7, after drafting.
Final preparation and delivery: 1 workday, day 8, after review.
Total sequential duration: 2 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 8 workdays.
If day 8 is Friday, day 1 is the preceding week's Wednesday, assuming a
Monday–Friday calendar with no holidays or absences. These are inclusive
day blocks. A delivery deadline early on Friday may require an earlier finish.

FEASIBILITY CHECK
Are handoffs explicit? Are review and revision included?
Is an approver available when needed? Is parallel work genuinely independent?
Is contingency shown separately rather than hidden inside invented precision?
Does the first start fall in the past? Who can authorize the necessary tradeoff?

CHANGE RECORD
Original agreed schedule:
Current forecast:
Reason for change:
Effect on downstream steps:
Decision owner / agreed action / people informed / date:

This example is original and fictional, not a measured delivery benchmark.