5 Secrets of Project Scheduling

8/8/2019 5 Secrets of Project Scheduling

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The Five Secrets of ProjectThe Five Secrets of ProjectSchedulingScheduling

Michelle Colodzin, PMP, MCTS, MS Project Black Belt

MetaVista Consulting Group


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Introduction

What is a good project schedule? A good project schedule is one that accurately models the work

of the project and which maintains a consistent and appropriatelevel of detail

Common pitfalls of project scheduling Creating activities-based schedules Creating schedules without sufficient logic Creating schedules which are difficult to maintain Inconsistent schedule update cycles Abandoning a schedule during project execution

Most schedules are abandoned at some point during a projectAbandoning a project schedule results in an increased likelihood of project failure

Applying these secrets consistently will increase thelikelihood of project success


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The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling

1. Create deliverables-based project schedules

2. Determine the appropriate level of detail

3. Implement a regular status update and reportingprocess

4. Review and adjust the schedule regularly

5. Create and follow project scheduling standards


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Secret # 1: Create Deliverables-basedProject SchedulesDeliverables vs. Activities

Deliverables are products produced by a project allprojects have deliverables

Deliverables are tangible: documentation, physical computer

hardware, application accessible by users, etc.

Activities are performed by team members in order tocreate a deliverable

Activities consist of one or more tasks: gather systemrequirements, install hardware, install software, test systemaccess and features


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H ow to Create A Deliverables-BasedWBS

WBS = Work Breakdown Structure See PMBOK for further definition and purpose of WBS

There are two steps to creating a deliverables-basedproject schedule:

1. Identify all deliverables and their owners- Necessary to determine what is in and out of scope- Owner can be individual or role (e.g., Infrastructure

Manager)- Must have single primary owner even when many people will

be working together to complete a deliverable

2. Build a deliverables-based work breakdown structure (WBS)- Scheduler facilitates session w/leads to build a network

diagram listing all deliverables, their inputs and outputs- Scheduler uses network diagram to create WBS


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Deliverables-based Network Diagram Example

Simple example of system implementation project deliverables,owners and dependencies


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Creating a Deliverables-based WBS

Group the deliverables listed in the network diagram intological areas

Often grouped by functional area Frequently determined by project organizational structure Optimally it will determine project organizational structure

Groups from example network diagram1. Infrastructure2. Application3. Business Processes

List each group with its associated deliverables

Tasks and activities necessary to create each deliverableare listed under each deliverable


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Sample H igh-Level ScheduleBuilt from Sample WBSID WBS Task Name Duration Work Predecessors Resource Names

1 1 Infrastructure 14 days 112 hrs

2 1.1 Install Hardware 6 days 48 hrs

3 1.1.1 Task A 2 days 16 hrs John Doe

4 1.1.2 Task B 4 days 32 hrs 3 John Doe

5 1.2 Install OS / System SW 2 days 16 hrs 2 H ardware Mgr

6 1.3 Establish Network Connectivity 1 day 8 hrs 5 Mary Smith

7 1.4 Establish Infrs. Monitoring 5 days 40 hrs 6,2,5 Infras. Manager

8 1.5 Infrastructure Established 0 days 0 hrs 7

9 2 Applications 24 days 192 hrs

10 2.1 Install Apps 4 days 32 hrs

11 2.1.1 Task C 2 days 16 hrs 8 Joe Jones

12 2.1.2 Task D 2 days 16 hrs 11 Joe Jones

13 2.2 Perform Config/Code Chgs 10 days 80 hrs 12 Joe Jones

14 2.3 Conduct Training 10 days 80 hrs 13,20,21 Terri Trainer 15 2.4 Applications Ready 0 days 0 hrs 14

16 3 Business Process 4 days 48 hrs

17 3.1 Document Bus Process Chgs 2 days 16 hrs

18 3.1.1 Task E 1 day 8 hrs 8 Terri Trainer

19 3.1.2 Task F 1 day 8 hrs 18 Terri Trainer

20 3.2 Document Process Update Plan 2 days 16 hrs 19 PMO Manager

21 3.3 Document Appl. Maintenance Plan 2 days 16 hrs 19 Applications Mgr

22 3.4 Business Process Documentation Complete 0 days 0 hrs 17,20,21


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Secret # 2: Determine the AppropriateLevel of Detail

The best project schedules are those which contain all of the required information and nothing more

There must be sufficient detail to accurately track and manage theprojects activities

There must not be so much detail that the schedule becomes

unmanageable

Since each project is unique there is no single level of detail that is appropriate for all projects or projectschedules

The level of detail required for a particular project must bedefined prior to the start of scheduling and followedconsistently throughout the life of the project


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What Type of Details Should beIncluded?

The type of acceptable tasks must also be defined up front Will you include administrative activities such as meetings, status

reporting, people management, etc.?If yes, how will they be represented?

A single task representing all administrative activities?

Tasks for each type of admin activity; meetings, status reporting, resourceleveling, etc.?

If no, how will the time be accounted for? Reduce available work hours by x% Assume resources are fully loaded at x%

Will you include activities performed by those outside of the projectteam?

If yes who will be the task owner?If no how will out-of-project dependencies be managed?


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H ow Much Detail is Too Much?

The level of detail required may be defined as arange of acceptable task durations and/or workeffort A good rule of thumb is the a 1% - 10% Rule* which

states that the duration of any detail task should bebetween 1% and 10% of the total project duration

For example, if the project duration is expected to be 100days, then all detail tasks should have a duration between 1and 10 days

This rule can also be applied to the total work hoursinstead of total duration

* 1% -10% Rule developed by Eric Uyttewaal, PMP in his book Dyn amic Scheduli ng with

Microsoft Office Project 2003. R eferenced with permission of the author .


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H ow Do I Know Whether to Include aTask?

To determine whether a task should be included in aproject schedule, the scheduler should ask thefollowing four questions:

1. Does this task directly contribute to the completion of one or morespecific deliverables?

2. Is the task at an appropriate level of detail?

3. Does this task have at least one named or generic resourceassigned?

4. Does this task have at least one predecessor and/or onesuccessor?

If the answer to any of these questions is No it shouldnot be included in the schedule


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Secret # 3: Implement a Regular ScheduleStatus Update and Reporting Process

A project schedule must be updated regularly to ensureongoing integrity and to enable monitoring of projectprogress

The project scheduler is responsible for determining howto gather task status information, how often the informationwill be collected and the method for collecting andvalidating the information

The first step in developing a regular update and reportingprocess is to work with the project manager and keystakeholders to determine the reporting requirements andexpectations


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General Reporting Guidelines

For most projects, the following is a list of minimal reporting requirements:Executive Overview overview of project status at a high level. This reportfrequently shows the actual status of key deliverables compared against thebaseline scheduleDuration and/or Work Variance specific tasks, activities and/or deliverablesthat are taking significantly more (or less) time than expected and/or arerequiring significantly more (or less) work than anticipated. The level of detailof this report will often be dictated by the audience receiving it.Look-ahead a listing of deliverables and associated tasks either currentlyactive or becoming active in a specific look-ahead window (number of days,weeks, months, etc.)Resource Utilization the number of hours each resource is scheduled towork during the next period (week, month, quarter, etc.) This is often used inconjunction with the Look-ahead report to ensure assigned resources areavailable to complete the work assigned in a given time period whilemaintaining a realistic workloadSchedule Issues/Risks a listing/description and status of issues or risksrelated to the project schedule. These should be linked to the specific task(s)associated with the issue/risk.


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Schedule Change Control

There are two types of schedule changes: Major and Minor Minor schedule change control should consist of a clearly defined set of,usually minor, changes that may be made without going through thechange control process (e.g., adding or modifying resource assignments)

Major changes (those which do not meet the criteria defined for minor changes) must follow a formal change control process

A good schedule change control process consists of: A formal schedule change request process which includes:

a summary of the change request (including the business reason)an analysis of the impact of the change on the schedule and/or budgetthe implications of rejecting the change

A finite set of people who are authorized to approve changes to the projectschedule All approved major changes must well documented as to the reason(s) and

the expected outcome of the change A lessons-learned capture process and/or repository An archive of earlier versions of the project schedule to show the evolution

of the schedule and to retain historical information


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Secret # 5: Create and Follow SchedulingStandards

The use of scheduling standards can significantlyreduce the time required and eliminate some of the complexity involved in developing a realisticand maintainable project schedule.

Scheduling standards help ensure consistencywhen schedules are created by multipleschedulers and/or project managers.

Scheduling standards are particularly important ina PMO environment


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Scheduling Standards

Scheduling standards are specific guidelines for creating and maintaining project schedules within asingle or multiple related organizations

Scheduling standards are created or adopted by an

organization which then champions, supports andmonitors their use within the project schedulesdeveloped for projects under their sphere of influence or control.It is a good practice to base specific schedulingstandards on an industry-accepted document suchas the PM ICOS standard and/or industry-acceptedbest practices.


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Why Follow Scheduling Standards?

They contribute to the development of realisticand manageable project schedules

They help ensure consistency in the structure

and level of detail across project schedulesThey help ensure information reported fromschedules built using consistent standards canbe more easily compared and leveraged

They help ensure consistency in schedule-related processes (such as reporting andchange control)


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H ow Scheduling Standards Improve theProject Success Rate

They can reduce the time required to create andmaintain project schedules by defining up front theschedules structure and level of detailStandard processes help facilitate the ongoing captureand application of lessons learned

The processes defined to ensure adherence tostandards contribute greatly to an environment whereproject managers, project schedulers and other stakeholders receive consistent, trusted informationwhich can be used to continually improve the processof project scheduling and overall project managementacross the organizationThey help ensure project success by making it easier toidentify potential problems in advance


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Using the Five Secrets for the First Time

When implementing these secrets for the firsttime: start small and focus on the strengths of the

organization

Develop a small set of scheduling standards and simpleprocesses, tools and templates

Capture lessons learned and build a repository whereschedulers and project managers can:

document and share their experiences and knowledgeStore and retrieve schedules which worked well in similar situationsbuild and share new processes tools and templates


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Using the Five Secrets in a Mature PMOEnvironment

Create a Centralized Scheduling Practice Train project managers how to build and use a good project

schedule Take on responsibility for scheduling all projects or providing

project schedulers to other parts of the organization

Benefits of Centralizing Scheduling in the PMO Centralizing schedulers and scheduling helps ensure that

standards and processes are followed consistently It offers better visibility into what is working well and where

improvements are needed Increased overall project success rates due to better schedules that

are followed and managed consistently throughout the organization


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Conclusion

These secrets are not new concepts however,many organizations overlook or downplay their importanceUsing the five secrets requires discipline and

consistencyFollowing the five secrets results in: Schedules which are easier to manage and update Reporting consistency and faster identification of

potential schedule and/or budget slippage Schedules which are more likely to be used throughoutthe life of a project

Increased likelihood of project successIncreased likelihood of project success


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Contact Information

Direct: 530-798-1656Main Office: 916-932-7186

Email: [email protected]

Michelle Colodzin, PMPMetaVista Consulting Group

5 Secrets of Project Scheduling

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