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Chapter 6:Project Time Management, estimate how many resources to carry…
Chapter 6:Project Time Management
Project Time Management Processes
:!: Planning schedule management
:!: Defining activities
:!: Sequencing activities
:!: Estimating activity resources
:!: Estimating activity durations
:!: Developing the schedule
:!: Controlling the schedule
Importance of Project Schedules
:star: Often managers cite projects as a major issue on schedule.
:star: Time is less flexible; it goes by regardless of what happens in a project.
:star: The main reason for project conflicts, especially during the second half of the projects, are planned problems
Planning schedule management
Identification of rules, methods and documentation for the planning, execution and control of the project plan
schedule management plan includes
Project schedule model development
The scheduling methodology
Level of accuracy and units of measure
Control thresholds
Rules of performance measurement
Reporting formats
Process descriptions
Defining activities
identification of special activities to achieve the project deliverables by project team members and stakeholders
Activity list
is a tabulation of activities to be included on a project schedule
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
Sequencing activities
Identification and documentation of project linkages.
Three types of Dependencies
Mandatory dependencies
Discretionary dependencies
External dependencies
Network Diagrams
Network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity sequencing
Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)
:check: Also called activity-on-arrow (AOA) network diagrams
:check: Activities are represented by arrows
:check: Nodes or circles are the starting and ending points of activities
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
:check: Activities are represented by boxes
:check: Arrows show relationships between activities
:check: More popular than ADM method and used by project management software
Estimating activity resources
Consider important issues in estimating resources
Must have a strong understanding of the amount and type of resources allocated to each activity; Human resources, equipment and materials
Resource breakdown structure
is a hierarchical structure that identifies the project’s resources by category and type
Activity Duration Estimating
Duration
includes the actual amount of time worked on an activity plus elapsed time
Effort
is the number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task
Three-Point Estimates
Instead of providing activity estimates as a discrete number, such as four weeks, it’s often helpful to create a
three-point estimate
Developing the Schedule
Use information from other time management systems to determine project beginning and finish date
Important tools and techniques include Gantt charts, critical path analysis, and critical chain scheduling, and PERT analysis
Critical Path Method (CPM)
CPM is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration
A critical path for a project is the series of activities that determines the earliest time by which the project can be completed
Slack or float is the amount of time an activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date
Critical Chain Scheduling
a method of scheduling that considers limited resources when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date
Uses the Theory of Constraints (TOC)
Attempts to minimize multitasking
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
PERT is a network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates
PERT uses
probabilistic time estimates
Controlling the Schedule
The objectives are to establish the timetable status, to discover the variables that generate changes in timetables and to manage the adjustments when these occur
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
Reality Checks on Scheduling
First review the draft schedule or estimated completion date in the project charter
Prepare a more detailed schedule with the project team
Make sure the schedule is realistic and followed
Alert top management well in advance if there are schedule problems
estimate how many resources to carry out project activities a project team should need.