Business Finance - Management QSO 349 Homework ( week 3)

In response to your peers' posts, comment on the value of having a schedule to guide the procurement process.

To complete this assignment, review the Discussion Rubric PDF document.

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Alyssa Hammers

Hello all,

When building a schedule, a few important inputs are going to be the assumptions surrounding our timeline, the task list, and the calendar (Lindstrom, 2020). Scheduling assumptions are the details of a project we can state for certain, including the start date, dead-drop date, and other known, immovable deadlines. This can serve as a backbone for the task list. In this stage of an operation, you'll have already developed a task list outlining all of the necessary milestones needed to complete the project. Consider this, and a calendar, to properly develop a schedule throughout its nine steps: list tasks, create the WBS, identify milestones, assign responsible people, develop network diagrams, estimate effort, and task duration to assign dates. Essentially, it is the Project Manager's job to make an extensively detailed "to-do list" through the task list/WBS- making sure all vital aspects identified in the procurement are accounted for. Then they must cultivate their team with competent colleagues. To make communication expectations more clear, network diagrams are valuable. Then the PM will utilize all this knowledge to make their schedule.

Task duration and task effort are two peas in one pod. Effort is calculated using PERT. Lidstrom states, "Standard PERT methodology uses an accepted algorithm for coming up with a reasonable estimate of a task’s effort" (2020). It essentially shows how long something would take if everything went perfectlty. However, that is rarely the case, and the tasks duration is how long it will actually take due to varying circumstances.

Milestones are valuable to establish because it provides a big picture, checkpoint view on the project that can help keep team members motivated and on track. It can also help in creating the schedule itself, as it breaks down big tasks into manageable portions that are easier to estimate as whole. Lastly, GANTT charts make a visual representation of your schedule for stakeholders/ the

project team. This allows team members to communicate and be on the same page about scheduling questions or concerns. It keeps everything organized in a clear, managebale way.

References

Lindstrom, D. (2015). Procurement Project Management Success. J. Ross Publishing. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781604277470

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Nicole Barney

There are nine steps in creating a schedule. The first step is the task list followed by creating a

WBS and then identifying milestones. The fourth step is assigning responsible people which

means knowing your team and what skills they are best at. Developing network diagrams is the

fifth step which is putting all the milestones and tasks into boxes where appropriate to better

show how things will get done in what order. The sixth step is to estimate task effort which is

what it sounds like; guessing the amount of time for each task. The seventh step; estimate task

duration and assign dates is a little similar yet different because you are now putting it on a

calendar. The eight and ninth step are reviewing and controlling the schedule. Where the team

reviews it and then you basically get it stay on schedule.

Task effort and task duration use a similar method however task effort is done beforehand and is

used to estimate the amount of time each task might take and to account for optimistic, most

likely and pessimistic estimates. Task duration is putting all this into a calendar yourself and

referencing it to everyone’s schedules to make sure you can get things done on time.

Milestones are used on top of task activities because tasks are broken down to detail but the

milestones are given as a run down to summarize important events.

“A Gantt chart gives you a visual way of understanding the relationships and dependencies of the

tasks by using bars.” (Lindstrom,2014)

Lindstrom, D. L. (2014). Procurement Project Management Success: Achieving a higher level of

effectiveness. J. Ross Publishing.