Mediamatiker EFZ
Planning → Concept → Implementation → QA → Docs
With target group & customer persona, creativity techniques, test users and docs layout in InDesign.
Free template · Mediamatik · IT · Digital Business
Create an IPA timeline – with planned vs actual comparison
An IPA timeline (the schedule for the Swiss final apprenticeship project) needs a defined time axis, work packages in phases, milestones and a traceable planned vs actual comparison. planomatti's free IPA template sets up the calendar, grid and submission date – you enter your own work packages, and the planned vs actual comparison almost keeps itself up to date during the IPA.
- Freely selectable days, 10 preselected
- Grid from 30 min to 4 h
- Export for InDesign
IPA timeline · Example10 days · 80 h planned
Planning
Target group
Variants
Implementation
Documentation
10 daysconsecutive working days¹
70–90 hrequired scope¹
2 / 4 hgrid for the timeline¹
~40 %of the time for documentation¹
¹ According to the IPA-Handbuch QV 2026 Mediamatik, Canton of Zurich. For IT, Digital Business and other cantons, the rules of your examination board apply – everything can be adjusted in planomatti.
An IPA timeline in 7 steps
Here's how to do it – whether with planomatti, Excel or on paper.
- 01Derive work packages
Take the deliverables and task packages from the detailed assignment and assign them to phases (e.g. planning, concept, implementation, quality assurance, documentation).
- 02Calendar & grid
Set the start day, number of working days and school days. Choose a 2- or 4-hour grid – planomatti can also do 30 minutes and 1 hour.
- 03Plan the target time
Give each package realistic planned blocks. Schedule documentation and the work journal from the start, not just at the end.
- 04Milestones
Decision on variants, interim meeting with the expert, product finished, test upload, submission.
- 05Track actual time
Record the actual time every day – in planomatti with a timer or painted straight into the grid.
- 06Justify deviations
Why did a package take longer or shorter? Pick a reason, add a short note – planomatti writes the sentence.
- 07Add it to the documentation
Export the whole Gantt and each day separately as SVG, PDF or PNG and place them in InDesign.
Example: rough timeline for 80 hours
A possible framework for a Mediamatik IPA with 10 days of 8 hours – as a guide. In planomatti you start empty and enter the packages from your own assignment.
| Phase | Work packages | Planned |
|---|---|---|
| Planning & analysis | Project planning & timeline, target group & customer persona | 9 h |
| Concept | Ideas, creativity techniques, solution variants | 6 h |
| Implementation | Design, execution | 26 h |
| Quality assurance | Tests with test users, evaluation | 6 h |
| Documentation & submission | Writing the docs, layout, indexes, appendix, work journal | 29 h |
| Total (rest = buffer) | 76 h | |
These mistakes cost points
– Planned/actual only as a total instead of per package and visually separated.
– Milestones without a date or without documented completion.
– Documentation only scheduled from day 8.
– Deviations without justification in the journal.
– Overtime not shown in the journal and the timeline.
– Name and date missing on exported pages.
Documenting the planned vs actual comparison correctly
Planned is the planned time per work package, Actual the time actually spent. Both belong in the same timeline, visually separated – in the Gantt as two bars per row. Milestones also have a planned value (planned date) and an actual value (reached on).
Every relevant deviation is justified: in the work journal in the first person, in the timeline/planned-actual chapter in the passive voice.
First person (journal): “For ‘Docs layout’ I needed 2.5 instead of 2 hours (30 min more). The reason was a technical problem: the tables could not be transferred cleanly to InDesign.”
Passive (docs): “‘Docs layout’ required 0.5 hours more than planned. The deviation is due to a technical problem.”
Work journal: what goes in
Daily notes with the date, in the first person (in the Mediamatik example: 3 to max. 10 pages):
- The day's work and daily goals reached
- Problems and how they were solved
- Outside help – including feedback and AI tools with the prompt in the appendix
- Personal conclusion of the day
- Open items
- Planned/actual time and hours overview, incl. overtime
In planomatti, “Take from timeline” pre-fills the day's work packages and hours. You add the text in your own words – AI-generated sections are not allowed in the IPA.
Typical phases per profession
As a guide when setting up – the template itself starts empty so your timeline fits your assignment exactly.
Informatiker EFZ
IPERKA framework
Inform, plan, decide, implement, check, evaluate – including test concept and test log.
Entwickler Digitales Business EFZ
Analysis → Solution design → Implementation
Business process and requirements analysis, prototype or automation, acceptance with stakeholders.
FAQ on IPA planning
What goes into an IPA timeline?
A defined time axis, the work packages in phases, milestones and a traceable planned vs actual comparison. The IPA-Handbuch QV 2026 Mediamatik (Canton of Zurich) requires a 2- or 4-hour grid.
How many hours does the IPA take?
For Mediamatiker apprentices in the Canton of Zurich: 10 consecutive working days with a scope of 70 to 90 hours. For other professions and cantons, the rules of the respective examination board apply.
What goes into the work journal?
Per day: the day's work, problems, how they were solved, outside help, personal conclusion of the day, open items and time (planned/actual). The journal is written in the first person.
Can I use AI tools in the IPA?
According to the IPA-Handbuch QV 2026 Mediamatik, yes, if the source and prompt are included in the appendix. Having whole sections of the documentation written by AI is forbidden.
Can my supervisor follow along?
Yes. Invite them as a guest with the role “Supervisor” – they see the timeline live and can comment. For the expert team there are read-only links without an account.
Is planomatti an official IPA tool?
No. planomatti is an independent, free planning tool. What counts is the handbook and assessment grid of your examination board and the agreements with the expert team.
Start your IPA timeline now.
Free. Choose your profession, set the start day, start planning.