Poject Time Management

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Importance of Project Schedules

• Managers often cite delivering projects on time as one oftheir biggest challenges.

• Fifty percent of IT projects were challenged in the 2003

!"#$ st%dy& and their average time overr%n increased to

'2 percent from a low of (3 percent in 2000.)• $ched%le iss%es are the main reason for conflicts on projects&

especially d%ring the second half of projects.

• Time has the least amo%nt of fle*ibility+ it passes no matter

what happens on a project.

)The $tandish ,ro%p& -atest $tandish ,ro%p !"#$ /eport $hows roject $%ccess /ates

!ave Improved by 10& 4www.standishgroup.com5 4March 21& 20035.



Individual Work Styles and Cultural

Differences Cause Schedule Conflicts

• #ne dimension of the Myers67riggs Type Indicator foc%ses

on people8s attit%des toward str%ct%re and deadline.

• $ome people prefer to follow sched%les and meetdeadlines while others do not.

• 9ifferent c%lt%res and even entire co%ntries have different

attit%des abo%t sched%les.



Project Time Management

Processes

• Activity definition: Identifying the specific activities that the projectteam members and sta;eholders m%st perform to prod%ce the projectdeliverables.

• Activity seuencing: Identifying and doc%menting the relationshipsbetween project activities.

• Activity resource estimating: <stimating how many reso%rces aproject team sho%ld %se to perform project activities.

• Activity duration estimating: <stimating the n%mber of wor;periods that are needed to complete individ%al activities.

• Schedule development: "naly=ing activity se>%ences& activityreso%rce estimates& and activity d%ration estimates to create the

project sched%le.• Schedule control: ontrolling and managing changes to the project

sched%le.



Activity Definition

• "n activity or task is an element of wor; normally fo%nd on

the ?7$ that has an e*pected d%ration& a cost& and reso%rce

re>%irements.

• roject sched%les grow o%t of the basic doc%ments that

initiate a project.

@ The project charter incl%des start and end dates and b%dgetinformation.

@ The scope statement and ?7$ help define what will be done.

• "ctivity definition involves developing a more detailed ?7$

and s%pporting e*planations to %nderstand all the wor; to be

done& so yo% can develop realistic cost and d%ration

estimates.



Activity !ists and Attri"utes

• "n activity list is a tab%lation of activities to be incl%ded on a

project sched%le. The list sho%ld incl%de:

@ The activity name

@ "n activity identifier or n%mber

@ " brief description of the activity

• Activity attri"utes provide more information abo%t each

activity& s%ch as predecessors& s%ccessors& logical

relationships& leads and lags& reso%rce re>%irements&

constraints& imposed dates& and ass%mptions related to the

activity.



Milestones

• " milestone is a significant event that normally has nod%ration.

• It often ta;es several activities and a lot of wor; to

complete a milestone.

• Milestones are %sef%l tools for setting sched%le goals and

monitoring progress.

• <*amples incl%de completion and c%stomer sign6off on

;ey doc%ments and completion of specific prod%cts.



Activity Seuencing

• Involves reviewing activities and determiningdependencies.

• " dependency or relationship relates to the se>%encing

of project activities or tas;s.

• Ao% must determine dependencies in order to %se critical

path analysis.



Three Types of Dependencies

• Mandatory dependencies: Inherent in the nat%re of thewor; being performed on a project+ sometimes referred

to as hard logic.

• Discretionary dependencies: 9efined by the project

team+ sometimes referred to as soft logic and sho%ld be%sed with care beca%se they may limit later sched%ling

options.

• #$ternal dependencies: Involve relationships between

project and non6project activities.



%et&ork Diagrams

• Betwor; diagrams are the preferred techni>%e forshowing activity se>%encing.

• " net&ork diagram is a schematic display of the logical

relationships among& or se>%encing of& project activities.

• Two main formats are the arrow and precedence

diagramming methods.



Sample Activity'on'Arro& (A)A* %et&ork

Diagram for Project +



Arro& Diagramming Method (ADM*

• "lso called activity6on6arrow 4"#"5 networ; diagram.

• "ctivities are represented by arrows.

• Bodes or circles are the starting and ending points ofactivities.

• an only show finish6to6start dependencies.



Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM*

• "ctivities are represented by bo*es.

• "rrows show relationships between activities.

• More pop%lar than "9M method and %sed by project

management software.

• 7etter at showing different types of dependencies.



Task Dependency Types



Sample PDM %et&ork Diagram



Activity ,esource #stimating

•7efore estimating activity d%rations& yo% m%st have agood idea of the >%antity and type of reso%rces that will

be assigned to each activity.

• onsider important iss%es in estimating reso%rces:

@ !ow diffic%lt will it be to complete specific activities on thisprojectC

@ ?hat is the organi=ation8s history in doing similar activitiesC

@ "re the re>%ired reso%rces availableC



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/eso%rce "llocation Matri*



Activity Duration #stimating

• Duration incl%des the act%al amo%nt of time wor;ed onan activity plus the elapsed time.

• #ffort is the n%mber of wor;days or wor; ho%rs re>%ired

to complete a tas;.

• eople doing the wor; sho%ld help create estimates& and

an e*pert sho%ld review them.



Three'Point #stimates

• Instead of providing activity estimates as a discrete n%mber& s%ch as

fo%r wee;s& it8s often helpf%l to create a three'point estimate:

@ "n estimate that incl%des an optimistic& most li;ely& and pessimistic

estimate& s%ch as three wee;s for the optimistic& fo%r wee;s for the most

li;ely& and five wee;s for the pessimistic estimate.

•Three6point estimates are needed for </T estimates and Montearlo sim%lations.

• lease refer to </T section for the three6point estimates form%la.



Schedule Development

• Dses res%lts of the other time management processes todetermine the start and end dates of the project.

• Dltimate goal is to create a realistic project sched%le that

provides a basis for monitoring project progress for the

time dimension of the project.

• Important tools and techni>%es incl%de ,antt charts&

critical path analysis& critical chain sched%ling& and

</T analysis.



1antt Charts

• 1antt charts provide a standard format for displayingproject sched%le information by listing project activities

and their corresponding start and finish dates in a

calendar format.

• $ymbols incl%de: @ /lack diamonds: Milestones

@ Thick "lack "ars: $%mmary tas;s

@ !ighter hori?ontal "ars: 9%rations of tas;s

@ Arro&s: 9ependencies between tas;s



1antt Chart for Project +

Note: In Project 2003 darker bars are red to represent critical tasks.



1antt Chart for Soft&are !aunch Project



Adding Milestones to 1antt Charts

• Many people li;e to foc%s on meeting milestones&

especially for large projects.

• Milestones emphasi=e important events or

accomplishments in projects.

• Ao% typically create milestone by entering tas;s that

have a =ero d%ration& or yo% can mar; any tas; as a

milestone.



SMA,T Criteria

• Milestones sho%ld be:

@ Specific

@ Meas%rable

@ Assignable

@ ,ealistic

@ Time6framed



Critical Path Method (CPM*

• CPM is a networ; diagramming techni>%e %sed to predicttotal project d%ration.

• " critical path for a project is the series of activities that

determines the earliest time by which the project can be

completed.

• The critical path is the longest path thro%gh the networ;

diagram and has the least amo%nt of slac; or float.

• Slack or float is the amo%nt of time an activity can be

delayed witho%t delaying a s%cceeding activity or the projectfinish date.



Calculating the Critical Path

• 9evelop a good networ; diagram.

• "dd the d%ration estimates for all activities on each path

thro%gh the networ; diagram.

• The longest path is the critical path.

• If one or more of the activities on the critical path ta;es

longer than planned& the whole project sched%le will slip

unless the project manager ta;es corrective action.



Determining the Critical Path for Project

+



More on the Critical Path

• " project team at "pple comp%ter p%t a st%ffed gorilla on top

of the c%bicle of the person who was c%rrently managing a

critical tas;.

• The critical path does not necessarily contain all the critical

activities+ it only acco%nts for time.

@ /emember the e*ample in which gro&ing grass was on the critical

path for 9isney8s "nimal Eingdom.

• There can be more than one critical path if the lengths of two

or more paths are the same.• The critical path can change as the project progresses.



@sing Critical Path Analysis to Make

Schedule Trade'offs

• 0ree slack or free float is the amo%nt of time an activity

can be delayed witho%t delaying the early start of any

immediately following activities.

• Total slack or total float is the amo%nt of time an activitycan be delayed from its early start witho%t delaying the

planned project finish date.

• " for&ard pass thro%gh the networ; diagram determines

the early start and finish dates.• " "ack&ard pass determines the late start and finish

dates.



Calculating #arly and !ate Start and

0inish Dates



@sing the Critical Path to Shorten a

Project Schedule

• Three main techni>%es for shortening sched%les:

@ Shortening the d%ration of critical activities or tas;s by adding

more reso%rces or changing their scope.

@ Crashing activities by obtaining the greatest amo%nt of sched%le

compression for the least incremental cost.

@ 0ast tracking activities by doing them in parallel or overlapping

them.



SD = #arly Start Date

FD = #arly 0inish Date

SD = #0D of Predecessor FD = #SD Duration (te*

For

an "ctivity

LFD = !ate 0inish Date

LSD = !ate Start Date

LFD = !SD of Successor LSD = !0D ' Duration (te*

Float = !ate 0inish ' #arly 0inish

=

!ate Start ' #arly StartFree = Difference "et&een #0D

Float and %#+T activityBs #SD

"dditional :/%les of ritical ath alc%lation



Forward Pass ...

CHOICE:

Select !argest42ighest #0D as #SD

Backward Pass ...

CHOICE:

Select Smallest4!o&est !SD as !0D

For

the

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"dditional :/%les of ritical ath alc%lation

"ctivity

forBetwor;



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Program #valuation and ,evie&

Techniue (P#,T*

• </T is a networ; analysis techni>%e %sed to estimate

project d%ration when there is a high degree of %ncertainty

abo%t the individ%al activity d%ration estimates.

• </T %ses pro"a"ilistic time estimates:

@ 9%ration estimates based on %sing optimistic& most li;ely& and

pessimistic estimates of activity d%rations& or a three6point

estimate.



P#,T 0ormula and #$ample

• </T weighted average

optimistic time GH most li;ely time pessimistic time

(

• <*ample:

</T weighted average

' wor;days G H J0 wor;days 2G wor;days 9: days(

where:

optimistic time ' days

most li;ely time 96 days

pessimistic time 2G days

Therefore& yo%8d %se 9: days on the networ; diagram instead of J0 when%sing </T for the above e*ample.



Schedule Control

• erform reality chec;s on sched%les.

• "llow for contingencies.

• 9on8t plan for everyone to wor; at J00 percent capacity

all the time.

• !old progress meetings with sta;eholders and be clear

and honest in comm%nicating sched%le iss%es.



Schedule Control

•,oals are to ;now the stat%s of the sched%le& infl%ence factorsthat ca%se sched%le changes& determine that the sched%le has

changed& and manage changes when they occ%r.

• Tools and techni>%es incl%de:

@ rogress reports.

@ " sched%le change control system.

@ roject management software& incl%ding sched%le comparison charts&

s%ch as the trac;ing ,antt chart.

@ Kariance analysis& s%ch as analy=ing float or slac;.

@ erformance management& s%ch as earned val%e 4see hapter L5.



,eality Checks on Scheduling

• /eview the draft sched%le or estimated completion date

in the project charter.

• repare a more detailed sched%le with the project team.

• Ma;e s%re the sched%le is realistic and followed.

• "lert top management well in advance if there are

sched%le problems.



Working &ith People Issues

• $trong leadership helps projects s%cceed more than

good </T charts do.

• roject managers sho%ld %se:

@ <mpowerment

@ Incentives

@ 9iscipline

@ Begotiation



@sing Soft&are to Assist in

Time Management

• $oftware for facilitating comm%nication helps people

e*change sched%le6related information.

• 9ecision s%pport models help analy=e trade6offs that canbe made.

• roject management software can help in vario%s time

management areas.



PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL

Words of Caution on @sing

Project Management Soft&are

• Many people mis%se project management software

beca%se they don8t %nderstand important concepts and

have not had training.

• Ao% m%st enter dependencies to have dates adj%st

a%tomatically and to determine the critical path.

• Ao% m%st enter act%al sched%le information to compareplanned and act%al progress.

Poject Time Management

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