Post on 19-Jan-2018
description
Project
Planning and Scheduling
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Definition of scheduling and its relationship to the project management process
Scheduling uses and benefits
Schedule types
Characteristics of a good schedule
Schedule preparation, reports and control
Network scheduling including analysis techniques and relationships
Scheduling Topics Covered
Project Planning and Scheduling
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PM Process Summary
Launch Plan Recruit and organize project
team Establish team operating
rules Level project resources Assign work
Monitor & Control Progress
Establish progress reporting system
Set up change control process Define problem escalation
process Monitor progress vs. plan Revise project plan
Close Out Project Obtain client acceptance Install project deliverables Complete project
documentation Complete post-implementation
audit Issue final project report
Develop Detailed Plan Identify project activities Estimate activity duration Determine resource
requirements Construct / analyze project
network Prepare project schedule
Define Project State need, problem or
opportunity Define project objectives Identify success criteria List assumptions, risks and
obstacles Define project scope and work
breakdown structure Feedback
Adapted from Project Management, 1987 Kepner-Tregoe, Inc. and Effective Project Management by R.K. Wysocki, R. Beck Jr. & D.B. Crane (Wiley, 1995)
We are here
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The process of converting a general or outline plan for a project into a time-based graphic presentation using information on available resources and time constraints.
Scheduling
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Project Planning and Scheduling
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Scheduling is a management tool
It can be used to satisfy a number of objectives – Coordination – Analysis and forecasting – Reporting against a baseline
Scheduling enables you to– Integrate the activities of the various project
participants – Show interface responsibilities particularly with
respect to timing – Secure, record and communicate commitment to
tasks by the various contributors to the project effort
Scheduling
Project Planning and Scheduling
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Scheduling also enables you to
– Identify the key activity sequence (critical path) determining the length of the project
– Display departmental work loading and hence facilitate departmental planning
– Provide the basis for more detailed scheduling
Scheduling
Project Planning and Scheduling
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Scheduling enables analysis and forecasting You can
– Show priorities for procuring equipment, material, labor and services
– Analyze complex work areas with many interrelated activities through network analysis
– Facilitate long range planning and future resource allocation
– Measure progress – Measure performance – Maintain control over time and cost of the project – Produce a cash flow forecast
Scheduling
Project Planning and Scheduling
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Use scheduling for reporting
– Provide a visible summary of important or major activities
– Report planned completion dates – Report deviations from plan – Provide an early warning system for delays– Monitor cash flow– Record actual dates– For forecasting – For estimating on future projects
Scheduling
Project Planning and Scheduling
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Three Basic Steps to a Project Schedule
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There are many ways of presenting similar information, each with different objectives
Gantt Chart is another name for Bar Chart
Milestone Chart
Progress Chart
Networks
Earned Value or Trend lines
Line of Balance
And several others
Types of Schedules
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Graphical representation shows horizontal bars against a time scale
At summary or detailed levels
Gantt or Simple Bar Chart
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Graphical representation shows milestone dates
Identifies key points in the project's life span
The bars are not necessarily visible
Milestone Chart
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Graphical representation shows progress relative to plan
In this case, behind
schedule
No indication of final completion
Progress Bar Chart
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Graphical representation shows original baseline schedule (red bars) and actual progress relative to current plan
No indication of final completion
Bar Chart Status Report
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Advantages Good communication tool Easy to prepare (minimal cost) Easy to update Good for small projects
Disadvantages Do not show relationships between
activities without a lot of extra lines Limited help for project control
Bar Charts Pros and Cons
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A good schedule will be– Logical – Simple and easy to work with – Easy to monitor – Flexible, easy to revise – Specific and timely
It will also– Anticipate problems– Promote effective communication
Project Planning and Scheduling
Characteristics of a Good Schedule
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The highest summary level schedule for a project showing the overall phasing and all major interfaces, key milestones and significant work elements
Also known as an Executive Summary Level Schedule
Usually prepared manually as an outline of intent very early in the project's life span
Master Schedule
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Developed as early as possible in the project life span Maintained by the project manager
For the project owner/sponsor
Preferably developed through negotiation with the project sponsor
Should show all major activities at a summary level
Include key milestones or events relating to each major activity at critical points in time
Master Schedule
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Original version is the baseline or target schedule Provides a yardstick for the overall project status
against which overall progress is measured Because of its simplicity, it can be used throughout
the project as the reporting base
Master Schedule
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The Baseline Master Schedule should not be changed unless
– A formal and agreed re-scheduling takes place for
the entire project or a major part of it
– The current actual progress and the target schedule become so far apart that recovery is impossible and target objectives have become meaningless
– Such changes are recognized by senior management and approved by the sponsor/client
Master Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
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Project scheduling can be very sophisticated
Refer to some of the many books on the subject for an in-depth understanding
For our purposes there are ten general steps in preparing a reliable schedule
Preparing a Schedule
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Before you start preparing a serious detailed schedule, you must first have
– A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
– A list of tasks derived from each Work Package
– Staffing and resources required, or available, for each task
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
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Do you really need all of that information? – Yes. And also assemble any other information
that will affect schedule calculations You can of course start developing a schedule long
before you have all of that information, but – Such a schedule will be "High-level" – And correspondingly less reliable
In fact, your detailed schedule should only come after several schedule iterations earlier in the project life span
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
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There are a number of recommended steps, depending on your particular project
But first – Assemble key team members who will be
responsible for conducting the project – Brief them on the purpose of the meeting
Inevitably there will be some preliminary discussion
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
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Establish and agree the scheduling assumptions, especially a clear set of scheduling objectives – For example, product quality grade, time and
cost limitations that will affect activities
Overall strategy for the project
Methodology or technology to be used and how it will be applied
Sources of resources and their competence, or
training needs
Working hours, holidays, other interruptions
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 1
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Identify each logical work area as reflected in the WBS and the activities associated with each
Make sure that all the necessary major
activities and tasks have been included to create the required intermediate and final deliverables
If you have too many activities consider
using "hammocks” to group discrete tasks as one activity
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 2
Hammock - An aggregate or summary activity. All related activities are tied as one summary activity and reported at the summary level.
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Establish the project's natural or "inherent" logic Some projects have very clear logic while others
provide more options depending on resources or the nature of the project or other circumstances
Nevertheless, there is almost always a preferred
way of doing things
It is worth spending time to look for it
Work the activities from the beginning to the end Then work from the end back to the beginning!
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 3
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Develop a flow chart or logic diagram – AKA a network diagram – paint a picture of the schedule
Use the work breakdown structure as a “To do” list
Which of these items must be done first?– Label that item “A”
What must follow next?– Label those B, C, D, etc
Now ask what can be done concurrently with A, B or C?
Assemble a simple logic diagram arranged from left to right
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 3, continued Preparing a Schedule
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Logic Diagram
Use large sheets of paper, cards on the wall or sticky notes More than 30 activities, separate project into two phases
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 3, continued
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Incorporate any "Management Choice" logic, i.e., dates or sequence mandated by management
These may or may not make sense
Make sure that management understands the implications of imposed management decisions
Adjust the logic accordingly
Always double check that the schedule logic is sound Steps 3 and 4 establish the schedule network
configuration
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 4
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Estimate the duration of each activity or task Pay particular attention to this step since the whole
schedule will depend upon it Use all available sources of information Be careful with published information since the
circumstances of your project may be different Some tasks will still be difficult to estimate, seek expert
help, use ranges Document areas of high uncertainty (risk) Always aim for the “most likely" duration – don't build in
contingency at every step, or the project will not fly Always be realistic – you can refine on the second pass
and make appropriate contingency allowances later
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 5
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Calculate the Forward Pass by adding the durations along each path in your network to establish the earliest start (ES) and finish (EF) dates for each activity
Calculate the Backward Pass by repeat this operation
but working backwards from the last date established in the Forward Pass or from a specified Required Completion date to establish the latest start (LS) and finish (LF) dates for each activity
This is much easier using scheduling software
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 6
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If you examine the values of (ES-LS) and (EF-LF) you will note that
– The string of activities where these values are zero is the longest path through the network
– This is known as the Critical Path
– Where the values are positive indicates that there is Float for those activities
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 6, continued
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A negative ES-LS value implies that you must start an activity before you are logically able to do so, that is, you don't have enough time to do all of the work as planned
This usually only happens when you are given a mandated finish date which is inadequate or too tight (senior management's favorite pastime)
If you have negative values the schedule doesn't work, and you need to go to Step 7
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 6, continued
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There are a number of things you can do to fix an unworkable schedule
To meet a predetermined end date – Check whether all activities are really necessary – Move activities off the critical path or eliminate
them altogether – Accelerate critical activities – Using overtime or more resources – Work some activities in parallel (concurrently) or
increase the amount of overlap
Insist that management provides faster feedback on decision-making
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 7
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Make sure the resulting schedule chart makes sense and looks good
A well-presented bar chart will show the grouped activities in a progressive cascade making it clear and easy to read
Use the calendar dates and create an ideal master schedule of milestone dates identifying the completion of major or key activities
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 8
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Finally, when everyone is satisfied, follow up with these last two steps
Chart or print the results and distribute for final team review and acceptance before issuing it to management
Abstract or summarize schedule data for different levels of management
Preparing a Schedule
Project Planning and Scheduling
Step 9
Step 10
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Schedule Reports
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Strictly speaking, you cannot control the schedule What you can do is
– Create a schedule
– Have it distributed for action – Observe what is actually going on – Compare and update the schedule – Report your findings to those in charge
– Conduct review meetings with your team
Schedule Control
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The agenda should include
– Significant variances
– Impact on future milestones
– Impact on activities of others
– Proposed actions to catch up
– Summary of expected future key milestone dates
Planning and Schedule Review Meetings
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If there is a severe problem with the schedule, recovery actions may well depend on the technology that you are dealing with
However, management steps that you might
consider include– Closer control – Crashing – reduce time by increasing resources – Working overtime or double shifts– Fast tracking – overlap serial activities – Trade-offs between scope, quality, time and cost – Change methods, materials or equipment – Negotiate a revised schedule
Changing the Schedule
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If the schedule gets really out of whack you may need to do more than just negotiate a revised schedule
You may need to obtain approval for
– A major revision of the timeline – Major revisions of the methodology or resources – Revision of the project scope with all appropriate
approvals, of course – In other words, a major re-planning effort
A suggested flow chart for a schedule change process
is shown on the next slide
Changing the Schedule
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Schedule Change Process
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A graphical display of the logical order of activities that defines the sequence of work in a project where activities are represented by boxes
Networks are usually drawn from left to right with lines drawn between the boxes to show the precedence relationships between them
Arrow heads are sometimes placed on the lines to indicate the direction of the flow through time
Network Scheduling
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Precedence diagram format is the most common (see next slide)
Shows logical inter-relationships between activities, that is, their interdependence
Enables easy calculation of critical path either manually or with software
Critical Path activities have zero float and constitutes the longest path in the project
Shows how much float other activities have
Network Advantages
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Project Planning and Scheduling
Precedence Network Diagram
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The critical path determines length of project according to the project logic and the critical activities for that particular scenario
Easy to assign leads and lags between activities to solve a deadline problem
Easy to apply resources and determine resource or time trade-offs
Facilitates “what if" scenarios
By running the same network with actuals it is fairly easy to assess project progress and performance
Network Advantages
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If you have more than a few activities you need to use software
The network itself is not a good presentation communication tool
Good software will present the same information as a bar chart
The network itself is really only a means to an end
Network Disadvantages
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Activity – An item of work that consumes time and resources to produce some result
Critical Path – – The series of activities all of which must finish on
time for the whole project to finish on time – Sometimes described as the longest path through a
network, hence the shortest project time – A critical path has zero float – A critical path assumes that the network logic is
sound
Network Terminology
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Event or Milestone – – A point in time when certain conditions have been
fulfilled, such as the start or completion of one or more activities
– Unlike an activity, does not consume time or resources
– Hence, expresses a state of being – Activities take place between events
Float or Slack Time – The additional time available to complete a non-critical activity
Network Terminology
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Leads and Lags – An imposed modification of the logical relationship between activities to accelerate or delay the apparent natural order
Scheduling Network – Graphical representation of activities or nodes and the dependencies between them
Time Estimate – The prediction of the most likely
duration of an activity
Network Terminology
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Essentially there are three different approaches – Activity-oriented systems, – Event-oriented systems – Event-oriented systems plus probability
Activity-oriented systems use either activities as
connectors or Activities as nodes
Event-based approach focuses on start and finish times and may involve PERT
Shown graphically on the next slide
Approaches to Network Analysis
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Network Analysis Techniques
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PERT – Project Evaluation and Review Technique
Calculation produces an "Expected time" Te, where Te = (To+4Tm+Tp)/6, that is to say, the mean value of the three estimates
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Networks depend on relationships
Relationships between activities are central to the concept of network analysis
Several relationships, including lag factors, are shown
graphically on the next several slides Note that with Arrow Diagramming you have to use
dummy activities to correctly display certain relationships – not intuitive, but it works
Network Relationships
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Arrow Diagramming
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Precedence Diagramming
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Lag Factor Notation
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Start is dependent, but not completion
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Completion is dependent, but not start
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B depends on A after a specified lag
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Precedence Network Activity Data Boxes
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Suggested display of key data
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Project Planning and Scheduling
Precedence Network Diagram
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You'll probably want to make your first cut at a complicated network schedule on paper
Start with a large sheet of paper Fill it with blank data boxes (previous slides) all neatly
lined up in rows and columns with space between them all
Use sticky notes for the boxes so you can move them around
Display as many activities as you can think of Now draw in the dependency lines Enter any other data you have – this all makes it
easier to computerize later
Larry’s note – It’s easier said than done
First Cut at a Complex Schedule
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We’ve covered the essentials of project scheduling
– Definition of scheduling
– Uses and benefits
– Types of schedules
– Schedule preparation
– Schedule reports and control
– Network scheduling and analysis techniques
Summary
Project Planning and Scheduling
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