launching a rocket procedure
Project Schedule Example
Washing a Car
Project Schedule – Washing a Car
• Create a list of tasks to wash a car (remember: tasks start with a verb).
• Place them in the order they should be completed – • What tasks depend on the completion of other task (are predecessors) • Does the predecessor task have to be completed:
• Before the next task can start OR • Start at the same time OR • End at the same time
• How long should each task take (make sure you use the same time scale for all tasks - i.e. minutes)
• What resources are needed to complete a task (people, equipment, supplies) • Ensures a person or equipment isn’t double-booked or • Tracks the consumption of a resource
• Can the tasks be grouped together with a Milestone when the related tasks are completed (i.e.: Prepare; Wash; Clean Interior; Wax; Cleanup).
Project Schedule – Washing a Car
WBS Task # Task Action Duration Predecessor Resource
1.0 Prepare to wash
2.0 Wash car Prepare
3.0 Clean interior Prepare
4.0 Wax car Wash, Clean
5.0 Cleanup mess Wax
From our example, we might have 5 major groupings of tasks and assign each a high-level WBS value.
We are begin thinking about predecessors: Can’t start Washing or can’t start Cleaning Interior until we are Prepared It doesn’t matter whether we Wash first or Clean Interior first, so they are not dependent on each other We can Wax until we finish Washing and probably don’t want to start until we Clean Interior We don’t want to Cleanup Mess until everything else is done – since Wax is last, it is the predecessor
Project Schedule – Washing a Car
WBS Task # Task
Action Duration Minutes Predecessor Resource
1.0 xxx
1.1 1 Do task 1 resource-a, person-1
1.1.1 2 Do sub-task 1.1 nn resource-a, person-1
1.1.2 3 Do sub-task 1.2 nn 2 etc.
1.1.3 4 Do sub-task 1.3 nn 3 etc.
1.2 5 Do task nn 2 etc.
1.3 6 Do task nn etc. etc.
1.4 7 Do task nn etc. etc.
as many tasks as needed etc. etc.
1.xx xxx completed nn
We start with the template provided for this assignment. The template isn’t perfect but helps work through the problem.
Prepare to Wash
Project Schedule – Washing a Car
WBS Task # Task Action Duration Minutes Predecessor Resource
1.0 Prepare to wash
Park the car in the wash area
Stage equipment and supplies
Fill bucket with cleaning solution
Fill bucket with clean water
Preparation completed
Starting with Prepare to Wash, what tasks are involved and in what order. The first two things we need to do are moving the car to the cleaning area and getting the equipment and supplies.
Notice I started by moving the car but what happens if the equipment and supplies aren’t available? Maybe we should swap them.
Next, I need to fill the cleaning bucket with the cleaning solution and with water. Don’t be tempted to make it a single task. It takes 2 actions – adding cleaning solution – adding water. You may also need to add a task to Turn on water AND Turn off water – I left them off to make this simpler
For this example, let’s say this is everything that needs to be done – I am sure you can find more Let’s end the list of tasks with a Milestone called Preparation completed.
Project Schedule – Washing a Car
WBS Task # Task Action Duration Minutes Predecessor Resource
1.0 Prepare to wash
1 Stage equipment and supplies 5 Person, bucket, cleaning solution, water
2 Park the car in the wash area 2 1 Person
3 Fill bucket with cleaning solution 2 2 Person, bucket, cleaning solution
4 Fill bucket with clean water 5 2 Person, bucket, water hose, water
5 Preparation completed 0 3, 4
Now that we have an ordered list, let’s add task #’s. Also let’s add Durations, Resources and Predecessors: For this assignment, Durations should be a best-guess. Other Resources may exist, but these should be enough.
Predecessors: We must have the equipment/supplies before we Park the car, so Task #2 has a predecessor of Task #1 We may think that we must Park the car before we prepare the bucket but is this really true?
For our example, let’s Park first and then Fill bucket. Notice Fill bucket is only dependent on Park car – isn’t it dependent on Staging?
Well yes, but since Parking car is dependent on Staging, it automatically forces a dependency to Staging We can add Water before the Cleaning solution or after – so let’s say they are not dependent on each other.
Finally, we add Task #5 predecessors by seeing which tasks must be completed and ignoring those that are already covered Task #2 is already dependent on #1 so we can ignore #1; Task #3 & #4 are dependent on #2 so we can ignore #2; so, Task #5 is dependent on #3 & #4 which are dependent on the others.
Project Schedule – Washing a Car
WBS Task # Task Action Duration Minutes Predecessor Resource
1.0 Prepare to wash
1.1 1 Stage equipment and supplies 5 Person, bucket, cleaning solution, water
1.2 2 Park the car in the wash area 2 1 Person
1.3 3 Fill bucket with cleaning solution 2 2 Person, bucket, cleaning solution
1.4 4 Fill bucket with clean water 5 3 Person, bucket, water hose, water
1.5 5 Preparation completed 0 1, 4
Now that we have everything locked down, we can add WBS numbers.
Notice that since Preparation completed is a milestone, it does not have a duration.
Wash Car
Project Schedule – Washing a Car
WBS Task # Task Action Duration Minutes Predecessor Resource
2.0 Wash Car
2.1 6 Rinse car to knock off dirt 5 5 Person, Water Hose
2.2 7 Scrub tough dirt with brush 3 6 Person, Brush
2.3 8 Wash car with cleaning solution 8 7 Person, Cleaning Solution, Sponge
2.4 9 Rinse car 4 8 Person, Sponge, Water Hose
2.5 10 Clean wheels with cleaning solution 4 5 Person, Cleaning Solution, Brush
2.6 11 Rinse wheels 4 10 Person, Sponge, Water Hose
2.7 12 Apply tire dressing 15 11 Person, Dry Cloth, Tire Dressing
2.8 13 Clean exterior trim 5 9 Person, Damp Cloth, Polish
2.9 14 Treat exterior trim 4 13 Person, Dry Cloth
2.10 15 Dry car with towels 6 9, 11 Person, Towels
2.11 16 Wash completed 0 12
We ended the last milestone at Task #5 (Preparation complete) so Task #6 is dependent on #5. Notice Task #10 is NOT dependent on washing the car body, so it is also dependent on #5.
Clean Interior
Project Schedule – Washing a Car
WBS Task # Task Action Duration Minutes Predecessor Resource
3.0 Clean interior
3.1 17 Pickup trash in interior of car 5 5 Person, Trash Bag
3.2 18 Vacuum interior of car 8 17 Person, Vacuum Cleaner
3.3 19 Clean interior vinyl trim 10 5 Person, Cleaning Cloth
3.4 20 Clean interior metal trim 5 5 Person, Cleaning Cloth
3.5 21 Interior completed 0 18, 19, 20
Notice there are a number of tasks that are not dependent on each other. Task #18 is dependent on #17 but the rest are dependent on the last milestone (Wash completed), Task #16
Wax Car
Project Schedule – Washing a Car
WBS Task # Task Action Duration Minutes Predecessor Resource
4.0 Wax car
4.1 22 Apply coat of wax to exterior 8 16 Person, Wax, Polish Mitt
4.2 23 Buff car exterior 10 22 Person, Buffing Rag
4.3 24 Apply additional coat of wax to exterior 8 23 Person, Wax, Polish Mitt
4.4 25 Buff car exterior 10 24 Person, Buffing Rag
4.5 26 Waxing completed 0 25
We continue with Task #22 and each task in this group are dependent on the previous task. Task #26 is then dependent on #25 which is dependent on each previous task
Cleanup Mess
Project Schedule – Washing a Car
WBS Task # Task
Action Duration Minutes Predecessor Resource
5.0 Cleanup mess
5.1 27 Return equipment and supplies 10 26
Person, Buckets. Cleaning Solution, Hoses, Sponge, Polish Mitt, Brush, Vacuum, Towels, Tire Dressing, Cleaning Cloth, Wax, Buffing Rag
5.2 28 Cleanup completed 0 27