project management #9

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Scheduling Overview

Presented by: Professor Allen

Scheduling Defined

The conversion of a project

action plan into an

operating timetable

Some Benefits of Successful

Scheduling

• Illustrates interdependence of all tasks

• Identifies times when resources must be available

• Facilitates communication throughout the project

• Determines critical activities/critical path

• Affects client expectations through establishment of activities, milestones, and completion dates

• Used for monitoring and controlling progress

Scheduling Terminology

Activity – a specific task that uses up

resources and takes time to complete

Milestone – The result of completing

one or more activities – does not use any

resource or time

Duration – how long an activity will take (hours/days/etc)

Scheduling Terminology

Predecessor – an activity that occurs prior to this activity

Successor – an activity that occurs after this activity

Duration – how long an activity will

take (hours/days/etc)

Also known as relationships;

dependencies; links; ties

Scheduling Terminology

Network – The arrangement of all

activities in a logical sequence

Path – a series of connected activities

Critical Path – Activities, if delayed,

that will delay the completion of the

project

Critical Activity – an activity on the critical

path (not critical from the dictionary sense)

Activity Relationships

Finish-to-Start (most common): activity A must finish before activity B (this activity) can start

Finish-to-Finish: activity A must finish before activity B (this activity) can finish

Start-to-Start: activity A must start before activity B (this activity) can start

Start-to-Finish: activity A must start before activity B (this activity) can finish

Note: sometimes used in conjunction with leads and lags

Leads

• Allows an acceleration of the successor task

• For example, in a finish-to-start dependency

with a 5 day lead, the successor activity can

start 5 days before the predecessor has

finished

Lags

• Delays the start of the successor task

• For example, in a finish-to-start dependency

with a 2 day lag, the successor activity will not

start until 2 days after the predecessor has

finished

Importance of Accurate and Timely

Schedule Updates

• Drives Reporting

• Tasks Not Started

• Late Finish Tasks

• Variances

• Drives summary reporting for leadership team

• Drives Cost Performance Index (CPI) – used for forecasting and trending

• Drives Schedule Performance Index (SPI) – used for forecasting and trending

• Feeds corrective action and decision making processes

• Helps everyone understand where we really are at any given point in time

Before You Begin - Review

 Goals

 Objectives

 Scope

 Deliverables

 Resource Availability

 Assumptions

 Constraints

 Critical Success Factors

 Risks

WBS Development Process

High-Level

Deliverable

DeliverableDeliverableDeliverable

Sub-

Delv

Sub-

Delv

Sub-

Delv

Sub-

Delv

Sub-

Delv

Sub-

Delv

SD SD SD SD SD SD SD SD SD SDSD SD SD SD SD

Activity

SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SASA SA SA SA SA

Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity

SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SASA SA SA SA SA

High-Level Deliverable from

Project Charter

Next-Level Deliverable

Next-Level Sub-Deliverable

Final-Level Deliverable

High-Level Activity

Next-Level Sub-Activity

Final-Level Sub-Activity

Assignable Activity

WBS Development Process

High-Level

Deliverable

DeliverableDeliverableDeliverable

Sub-

Delv

Sub-

Delv

Sub-

Delv

Sub-

Delv

Sub-

Delv

Sub-

Delv

SD SD SD SD SD SD SD SD SD SDSD SD SD SD SD

Activity

SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SASA SA SA SA SA

Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity

SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SASA SA SA SA SA

Training Materials and Training

Instructor Material and Student Material

Student Guides and Job Aids

Core Content and Practice Problems

Develop Practice Problems

Develop Ch 1 Practice Problems

Develop Ch 1 Sec 1 Practice Problems

WBS Development Process - Cont

SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SA SASA SA SA SA SA 1. Research Content Area

2. Develop Practice Problems

3. Conduct Peer Review of Practice Problems

4. Revise Practice Problems

5. Obtain Approval for Practice Problems

Activities - How Low Can You Go

WBS Activity Guidelines

• Activities are assignable to a resource

• Activities are between 40 and 80 hours duration and

200 hours or less effort – exceptions can be made

• Activity can be associated with a deliverable

• Breaking down the activity further provides no

significant additional value

Guidelines, Process, Procedures

• Determine productive time for staff by factoring in: • Administrative Time

• Vacation Time

• Company Holidays

• Training Time

• Milestones should be created for significant accomplishments (1 or 2 every 4 to 6 weeks)

• Assign only as many resources to an activity as you need to be successful (limit group assignments)

• Only assign your team resources to your activities – unless you have agreement from other team leaders

A Process for Scheduling

 Develop a plan for the plan

 Involve your Team

 Think through the work – focus on deliverables

 List activities

Arrange activities considering precedence and

relationships

 Develop Gantt charts and PERT/CPM networks

 Determine critical activities/critical path

Crash and adjust as necessary

PERT Estimating

Possible Durations

Probability

Occurrence

LongerShorter

Optimistic

pessimistic

Most likely

TE = a +4m +b

TE (Time Estimate) is PERT Weighted Average

Schedule Development Process

Phase 1 - Schedule Development Process

T im

e li n

e L

e a

d e

rs h

ip T

e a

(D a

v e /P

e te

r/ C

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P M

M a

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a n

S c h

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T e

a m

L e

a d

e r

a n

M e

m b

e rs

OK to Proceed

Review

Scope and

Deliverables

Make

Adjustments to Project

Activities

Yes

Develop

Work

Breakdown

Structure and

List of

Activities/

Milestones

Determine

Activity Effort/

Duration

Review

Project

Activities

Determine

Activity

Depencencies

Assign Team

Resources

Perform

Resource

Leveling for

individual Team

Members

Make

Adjustments to Project

OK to Proceed

Begin

Process

Week 1 - 2

Request

Baseline from

Project

Manager

Yes

Approved

Make

Adjustments to Project

Baseline

Project

Schedule and

Begin Tracking

Progress

Yes

Week 4Week 3

Begin

Process

PERT/CPM Network Charts

• Advantages

– Allows visualization of task relationships

– Facilitates calculation of critical path

– Clarifies impact of decisions on downstream activities

• Disadvantages

– Complex, not easy to comprehend at a glance

– Charts don’t readily depict durations, dates, progress