Programme Versions: draft it, compare it, then publish

The Construction Program in the Deep Space web app now hosts multiple versions of the same programme: one Live programme everyone works to, as many private drafts as you need, and a read-only baseline saved automatically every time you publish. Rework the plan in private, weigh up options side by side, then publish the winner in one step. In this release Version switcher on Program > Construction Program: Live programme, drafts, published drafts and baselines. Drafts: private, editable copies of the full Gantt. Rename, share, archive, delete. Several can exist side by side. Publish draft: a field-by-field change list, conflict warnings if Live moved on, and a one-step apply. Baselines: a read-only snapshot of Live, saved automatically at every publish. Compare against: ghost bars from Live, a baseline or another draft, plus a Changes panel. Quiet drafts: subcontractor changes in a draft notify nobody. On publish, each newly assigned subcontractor is notified once. User stories Planner or PM. As the person who owns the programme, every tweak I made went straight to Live, so site saw half-finished plans. Now I rework a sequence in a private draft and publish only when it is right. Contracts administrator. As the person who manages subbies, I was fielding calls every time a booking moved while we were still deciding. Now reassignments in a draft stay silent, and each subbie gets one notification when the plan is published. Construction manager. As the person choosing between options, I had no way to hold "crane early" and "crane late" side by side. Now each option is its own draft, compared with ghost bars, and only the winner goes live. Project director. As the person accountable for delay claims and client reporting, I could not prove what the programme said last month. Now every publish leaves a dated, read-only baseline, and rolling back is a draft away. Before and after Before. There was one programme and it was always Live. Push a stage back a week to test an idea and the team, the dashboard, the portals and DS Site saw it the moment you saved. Reassigned subcontractors were notified on every nudge. After. A version switcher sits on the Gantt toolbar. Create a draft, edit it exactly like Live (successors move, sections roll up), share it with named colleagues and compare it. When it is ready, Publish draft lists every change and applies it in one step. The old Live is kept as a baseline. Impact. Planners think before they broadcast. Subcontractors hear about a new assignment once, not every time the plan shifts. And "what did the programme say last Tuesday?" finally has an answer. How it fits together There is always exactly one Live programme. Drafts branch off it, publishing brings a draft's plan back onto Live, and the outgoing Live is kept as a dated baseline. Live programme: what bookings, reminders, the dashboard, Lookahead Planning, Weekly Work Plan, the portals and DS Site read. Draft: a private, editable copy, visible only to its creator, the people it is shared with, and project and workspace managers. Published draft: a draft that went to Live, kept read-only as a record of what was published and when. Baseline: a read-only snapshot of Live taken automatically at each publish, named by date. What builders asked for Programme Versions came straight out of customer sessions with ANZ head contractors between July and September 2026. Here is what they asked, and what ships today. "Can I edit the programme privately so subbies aren't notified on every change?" Yes. Nothing in a draft sends an email, in-app notice or booking reminder. On publish, each newly assigned subcontractor gets one notification. "We run two or three programmes side by side, with different people seeing each one." Unlimited drafts per project, each with its own share list. "Can we keep the published version as a baseline?" Every publish saves the outgoing Live as a dated, read-only baseline. No manual step. "Can we compare programmes?" Compare against overlays Live, a baseline or another draft as grey ghost bars, with a Changes panel counting what moved. "Edit in draft mode, then publish, like our scheduling software." Publish draft shows every change, old value next to new, before anything lands on Live. "What if someone updates Live while I'm in a draft?" Overlapping changes are listed as conflicts with both values, and publishing stays locked until you choose which wins. "If I publish the wrong thing, can I go back?" Yes. Start a draft from the baseline taken at that publish and publish it. Walkthrough: one resequence, end to end Captured live on a restaurant refurbishment programme in our demo workspace. The scenario: push Site Clean / Base Prep back a week in a private draft, check the ripple, compare it with Live, and review the publish. Open the version switcher Go to Program > Construction Program. The switcher on the left of the Gantt toolbar shows which version you are looking at and lists every draft. Create a draft Choose New draft, name it after the scenario you are testing, pick what to start from (Live, another draft or a baseline), add an optional note and click Create draft. Every task, section and link is copied. Know you are in a draft The switcher turns amber, a banner confirms the draft is not visible to the team or subcontractors, and Publish becomes Publish draft. Actions that write to Live or reach people outside the team are greyed out. Change a date and watch the chain move On Live, Site Clean / Base Prep starts 28/04/2026 and the Structure section ends 07/09/2026. In the draft, change the start to 05/05/2026 and press Enter. Ground Slabs, Retaining Wall, both Structural Steel stages and both Roofing stages move a week with it, and Structure now ends 14/09/2026. Live still shows the original dates. Reassign a subcontractor quietly Open any task. Task Details carries a draft tag, and you can change dates, subcontractor and cost code. Nobody is notified until you publish. Procurement packages stay on the Live programme. Share with a colleague Under This draft in the switcher, choose Share, add people and save. They can open and edit the draft. Everyone else on the project, and every subcontractor, still sees nothing. Compare against Live Click Compare against and pick Live programme. A grey ghost bar under each task shows its Live dates, and the Changes panel counts what moved: here, 7 changed, 0 added, 0 removed. It is view only. Publish to Live Click Publish draft. The dialog lists every change with the Live value next to the draft value that will replace it, and confirms the current Live will be saved as a baseline first. Click Publish to Live, or Cancel to keep working. Conflicts, baselines and roll back Conflicts. If someone changed a task on Live after your draft was started, and your draft plans it differently, it is listed with both values. Publish stays disabled until you tick Overwrite the live changes, or you cancel and bring the draft in line. Baselines. After publishing you land back on Live with a confirmation naming the new baseline, for example Baseline 30/09/2026. Open it from the switcher: it is read-only, with who published it and when. Roll back. Open the baseline, choose New draft with that baseline as the starting point, and publish it. The programme you replace is kept as a baseline too. Tidy up. Archive a draft you might want later, or delete one you don't. Deleting a draft never touches Live, bookings or reminders. Good to know Publishing only ever changes the plan. Progress, status, actual dates, on-track marks, bookings and change requests on Live are never overwritten. Works in a draft: editing names, dates, durations and predecessors in the grid; adding and deleting tasks; Task Details for dates, subcontractor, cost code and description; search, zoom and time scale; Compare against, Share, Rename, Archive, Delete and Publish draft. Live programme only: Publish (shareable link), Push programme and Remind pending; Import MS Project; Add Task and Add WBS buttons, Mark on Track and Bulk Edit; working days and calendar settings; Calendar and Network Diagram views and exports; bookings, reminders, change requests and procurement links. Who can see a draft: its creator, the people it is shared with, and project and workspace managers. Subcontractors and clients never see drafts, and drafts never appear on the dashboard, Lookahead Planning, the Weekly Work Plan, the portals or DS Site. Known limitations A draft does not pick up Live changes made after it was created. Overlaps surface as conflicts at publish. Progress and actuals entered in a draft are not carried to Live. Keep recording progress on Live. Import MS Project is Live only for now. Baselines and published drafts are permanent history and cannot be edited or deleted. FAQ How many programmes can I host per project? One Live programme plus as many drafts as you need. Baselines and published drafts build up as permanent history. Does a draft email my subcontractors? No. On publish, each subcontractor newly assigned to a task is notified once, the same as a single assignment on Live. Can two people edit the same draft? Yes, and each change saves as it is made. To try a different idea without disturbing a colleague, create your own draft starting from theirs. Can I start a draft from an older version? Yes. Start from accepts Live, any draft, any published draft or any baseline. What does my site team see in DS Site while I work in a draft? Live, unchanged. DS Site, the portals, Lookahead Planning and the Weekly Work Plan only ever read Live. Can I undo a publish? Yes, by rolling back: start a draft from the baseline taken at that publish and publish it. Nothing is lost either way. Why can't I edit a baseline? It is the record of what Live looked like at that publish. To work from it, open it and choose New draft. Full step-by-step guide: Programme versions user guide