Project Management
Chapter 7. Scheduling
,7.0 Learning Objectives & Overview
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the process to create a project schedule.
2. Define activities based on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
3. Describe how activities can be sequenced.
4. Elaborate on the techniques to estimate activity duration.
5. Create a network diagram by identifying the early start and early finish times, late
start and late finish times, floats (slacks), and the critical path.
6. Practice on Microsoft Project to create a Gantt Chart and an Activity Network
Diagram.
Overview
The project schedule is one of the triple project constraints besides scope and cost (budget). A project
manager is responsible for planning, developing, managing, monitoring, and controlling the project
schedule to ensure that project objectives can be achieved, and project outcomes can be delivered to
the client and customers on time. Effective schedule management is integral to overall project success.
The objective is to create a schedule that effectively and efficiently uses allocated resources to complete
the project in the shortest amount of time possible. In order to develop a schedule, we first need to
create a plan that will guide us during the project. Afterward, we should define the activities based on
the WBS, sequence them in the right order, estimate the time it will take to complete these activities,
and develop a schedule by creating a network diagram and Gantt chart.
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, Project Management
7.1 Project Schedule Management Plan
As described in Chapter 4, project planning is at the heart of the project life cycle and tells everyone
involved where we are going and how we are going to get there. It involves creating a set of plans to
help guide our team through the implementation and closure phases of the project. The project
schedule management plan is one of the sub-plans of our overall project plan. It provides the guidelines
to project managers on how to develop a project schedule by defining and sequencing project activities
and milestones, and by estimating activity durations. It is the process of establishing the policies,
procedures, and documentation for planning, developing, managing, executing, and controlling the
project schedule.
A project schedule management plan can consist of the following:
Unit of measurement
Work hours, days, weeks, months
Daily working hours and shifts
Weekends and/or off-days
Local, national, and federal holidays
Creation of the activity list and attributes
Describe how activities and their attributes will be defined, and who will be involved in
this process.
Level of accuracy
Acceptable range to ensure realistic activity duration estimates
Evaluation of the impact of risks on the overall project duration and each individual
activity durations based on the project risk management plan
Methods describing how the schedule contingencies will be assessed.
Activity duration estimates
Estimation methods (e.g., analogous, parametric, three-point, bottom-up)
Methods, tools, and software utilized to develop, manage, and monitor project
schedule
Specify the organization’s procedures, policies, and resource calendars if they should
be utilized.
Methods and tools such as Gantt Chart, WBS, project baseline, master and milestone
schedule, Earned Value Management, and critical path method
Software such as Microsoft Project Professional, Excel, Visio, and Jira (for Kanban and
Scrum), and online collaboration tools such as Monday, Trello, and Basecamp.
Rules and concepts to sequence activities and create an activity network diagram
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, Project Management
Critical path method (Forward pass, backward pass, slacks)
Critical chain method
Predecessor dependencies (e.g., finish-to-start, start-to-start)
Rules for monitoring schedule performance
Earned Value Management (EVM)
Control thresholds for deviations from the parameters in the schedule baseline
Using software such as Microsoft Project
Reporting formats
Reporting formats and frequency should be in alignment with other project plans.
Approval of the schedule baseline
Who will be responsible for preparation and control?
Who will approve the schedule baseline?
Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK
guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.
184
Chapter 7. Scheduling
,7.0 Learning Objectives & Overview
Learning Objectives
1. Describe the process to create a project schedule.
2. Define activities based on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).
3. Describe how activities can be sequenced.
4. Elaborate on the techniques to estimate activity duration.
5. Create a network diagram by identifying the early start and early finish times, late
start and late finish times, floats (slacks), and the critical path.
6. Practice on Microsoft Project to create a Gantt Chart and an Activity Network
Diagram.
Overview
The project schedule is one of the triple project constraints besides scope and cost (budget). A project
manager is responsible for planning, developing, managing, monitoring, and controlling the project
schedule to ensure that project objectives can be achieved, and project outcomes can be delivered to
the client and customers on time. Effective schedule management is integral to overall project success.
The objective is to create a schedule that effectively and efficiently uses allocated resources to complete
the project in the shortest amount of time possible. In order to develop a schedule, we first need to
create a plan that will guide us during the project. Afterward, we should define the activities based on
the WBS, sequence them in the right order, estimate the time it will take to complete these activities,
and develop a schedule by creating a network diagram and Gantt chart.
182
, Project Management
7.1 Project Schedule Management Plan
As described in Chapter 4, project planning is at the heart of the project life cycle and tells everyone
involved where we are going and how we are going to get there. It involves creating a set of plans to
help guide our team through the implementation and closure phases of the project. The project
schedule management plan is one of the sub-plans of our overall project plan. It provides the guidelines
to project managers on how to develop a project schedule by defining and sequencing project activities
and milestones, and by estimating activity durations. It is the process of establishing the policies,
procedures, and documentation for planning, developing, managing, executing, and controlling the
project schedule.
A project schedule management plan can consist of the following:
Unit of measurement
Work hours, days, weeks, months
Daily working hours and shifts
Weekends and/or off-days
Local, national, and federal holidays
Creation of the activity list and attributes
Describe how activities and their attributes will be defined, and who will be involved in
this process.
Level of accuracy
Acceptable range to ensure realistic activity duration estimates
Evaluation of the impact of risks on the overall project duration and each individual
activity durations based on the project risk management plan
Methods describing how the schedule contingencies will be assessed.
Activity duration estimates
Estimation methods (e.g., analogous, parametric, three-point, bottom-up)
Methods, tools, and software utilized to develop, manage, and monitor project
schedule
Specify the organization’s procedures, policies, and resource calendars if they should
be utilized.
Methods and tools such as Gantt Chart, WBS, project baseline, master and milestone
schedule, Earned Value Management, and critical path method
Software such as Microsoft Project Professional, Excel, Visio, and Jira (for Kanban and
Scrum), and online collaboration tools such as Monday, Trello, and Basecamp.
Rules and concepts to sequence activities and create an activity network diagram
183
, Project Management
Critical path method (Forward pass, backward pass, slacks)
Critical chain method
Predecessor dependencies (e.g., finish-to-start, start-to-start)
Rules for monitoring schedule performance
Earned Value Management (EVM)
Control thresholds for deviations from the parameters in the schedule baseline
Using software such as Microsoft Project
Reporting formats
Reporting formats and frequency should be in alignment with other project plans.
Approval of the schedule baseline
Who will be responsible for preparation and control?
Who will approve the schedule baseline?
Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK
guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.
184
