Samantha Burns

With Microsoft Project set to retire in 2026, contractors are weighing new scheduling platforms and collaborative project management tools.

The Scheduler's Playbook is a practical guide to common forces that slow modern construction projects down, and what it actually looks like to solve them.

For decades, the construction industry has fought a losing battle against project delays. Nine out of ten large projects are delivered late, resulting in adversarial relationships, budget overruns, and endless disputes over who is at fault. Despite thirty years of using complex legacy scheduling software like Oracle Primavera P6, the industry’s track record hasn’t fundamentally improved.

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The root cause isn't a lack of data or computing power; it is a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between planning and scheduling. To fix execution in the field, we must revise how we think about pre-construction. Best-in-class contractors are recognizing that project success relies less on rigid, isolated administrative exercises and more on fostering a collaborative planning culture—driven by human communication, real-world expertise, and accelerated by artificial intelligence.

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Every construction project needs a schedule, but not everyone needs the same level of detail. Executives need a high-level view of project progress, while field teams need detailed plans for the work happening today. Construction schedule levels solve this by organizing schedules into different levels, giving each stakeholder the information they need.