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CHAPTER 6 - Coggle Diagram
CHAPTER 6
Project Time Management Processes
Sequencing activities
Estimating activity resources
Defining activities
Estimating activity durations
Planning schedule management
Developing the schedule
Controlling the schedule
Gantt Charts
Symbols include
A black diamond: a milestones
Thick black bars: summary tasks
Lighter horizontal bars: durations of tasks
Arrows: dependencies between tasks
Gantt charts provide a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format
Adding Milestones to Gantt Charts
Many people like to focus on meeting milestones, especially for large projects
Milestones emphasize important events or accomplishments on projects
Normally create milestone by entering tasks with a zero duration, or you can mark any task as a milestone
SMART Criteria
Milestones should be
Specific
Measurable
Assignable
Realistic
Time-framed
Importance of Project Schedules
Time has the least amount of flexibility
Schedule issues are the main reason for conflicts on projects
delivering projects on time as one of their biggest challenges
Defining Activities
involves developing a more detailed WBS and supporting explanations to understand all the work to be done
Activity attributes provide more information such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to the activity
activity list is a tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule
the activity name
an activity identifier or number
a brief description of the activity
Milestones
milestone is a significant event that normally has no duration
Sequencing Activities
A dependency or relationship is the sequencing of project activities or tasks
Three types of Dependencies
Discretionary dependencies
: defined by the project team., sometimes referred to as soft logic and should be used with care since they may limit later scheduling options
External dependencies
: involve relationships between project and non-project activities
Mandatory dependencies
: inherent in the nature of the work being performed on a project, sometimes referred to as hard logic
Network Diagrams
Network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity sequencing
A network diagram is a schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities
Two main formats are the arrow and precedence diagramming methods
Controlling the Schedule
Goals are to know the status of the schedule, influence factors
Tools and techniques include
Progress reports
A schedule change control system
Project management software, including schedule comparison charts like the tracking Gantt chart
Variance analysis, such as analyzing float or slack
Performance management, such as earned value
Using Software to Assist in Time Management
Decision support models help analyze trade-offs that can be made
Decision support models help analyze trade-offs that can be made
helps people exchange schedule-related information
Working with People Issues
Project managers should use
empowerment
incentives
discipline
negotiation
Planning Schedule Management
Project schedule model development
The scheduling methodology
Level of accuracy and units of measure
Control thresholds
Rules of performance measurement
Reporting formats
Process descriptions
Estimating Activity Resources
Before estimating activity durations, you must have a good idea of the quantity and type of resources that will be assigned to each activity; resources are people, equipment, and materials
Activity Duration Estimating
Effort is the number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task
People doing the work should help create estimates, and an expert should review them
Duration includes the actual amount of time worked on an activity plus elapsed time
Three-Point Estimates
Three-point estimates are needed for PERT and Monte Carlo simulations
Developing the Schedule
Ultimate goal is to create a realistic project schedule that provides a basis for monitoring project progress for the time dimension of the project
Important tools and techniques include Gantt charts, critical path analysis, and critical chain scheduling, and PERT analysis
Uses results of the other time management processes to determine the start and end date of the project