Note: See the text itself for full citations. Text website is www.intropm.com.

 Project Schedule Management

 Assignment
 For Next Class

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

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  Describe the project schedule management planning
processes and understand contents of a schedule
management plan, activity list, activity attributes,
milestone list, project schedule network diagram,
duration estimates, basis of estimates, schedule
baseline, project schedule, schedule data, and project
calendars
 Understand how to find the critical path and its
implications on timely project completion
 Explain the concept of critical chain scheduling and
how it can be used in organizations

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

Source: Project Management

Institute, Inc., A Guide to the
Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) –
Sixth Edition (2017).

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 Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 Involves the processes required to ensure timely

completion of a project.

 Provides a detailed plan that represents how and

when the project will deliver the results (products or
services) as per the project scope.

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 Knowledge
Planning Process Outputs
Area
Plan schedule Schedule management plan
management
Define activities Activity list
Activity attributes
Milestone list
Change requests

Project schedule management

Project management plan
updates

Sequence activities Project schedule network

diagrams
Project documents updates

Estimate activity Activity duration estimates

durations Basis of estimates
Project documents updates

Develop schedule Schedule baseline

Project schedule
Schedule data
Project calendars
Project management plan
updates
Project documents updates
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 The process of establishing the policies, procedures,

and documentation for planning, developing,
managing, executing, and controlling the project
schedule.
 Key benefit: provide guidance and direction on how
the project schedule will be managed throughout the
project.

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◦ Scheduling methodology and tools used to create a schedule
model, if required
◦ Level of accuracy required for activity duration estimates
◦ Units of measure, such as staff hours, days, or weeks
◦ Organizational procedure links
◦ Project schedule model maintenance
◦ Control thresholds for monitoring schedule performance, such
as a percentage deviation from the baseline plan
◦ Rules of performance measurement, especially if earned value
management is used
◦ Formats and frequency for schedule reports

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

Knowledge
Planning Process Outputs
Area
Plan schedule Schedule management plan
management
Define activities Activity list
Activity attributes
Milestone list
Change requests
Project schedule management

Project management plan

updates

Sequence activities Project schedule network

diagrams
Project documents updates

Estimate activity Activity duration estimates

durations Basis of estimates
Project documents updates

Develop schedule Schedule baseline

Project schedule
Schedule data
Project calendars
Project management plan
updates
Project documents updates
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 The process of identifying specific actions to be
performed to produce the project deliverables.

Key benefit: decomposes work (project scope) into

schedule activities that provide a basis for estimating,
scheduling, executing, monitoring, and controlling the
project work.

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 Activity - a distinct, scheduled portion of work

performed during the course of a project.
 The goal of the defining activities process is to ensure
that project team members have a complete
understanding of all the work they must do as part of the
project scope so that they can start scheduling the work.
 For example, how can you estimate how long it will take or
what resources you need to prepare a report if you don’t
have detailed information on the report?

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 Decomposition is a technique used for dividing and
subdividing the project scope and project deliverables
into smaller, more manageable parts.
 Activities represent the effort needed to complete a
work package.
 The process of “Define Activities” define the final
output as activities rather than deliverables (similar to
the “Create WBS” process).

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

Activity List
 A tabulation of activities to be included on a project
schedule.
 Includes the activity name, an activity identifier or number
(WBS ID), and a scope of work description of the activity in
sufficient detail to ensure that project team understands
what work needs to be completed.

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Activity Attributes
 Extend the description of the activity by identifying multiple
components associated with each activity.
 Provide schedule-related information about each activity,
such as predecessors, successors, logical relationships, leads
and lags, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates,
and assumptions related to the activity

Both, activity list and activity attributes, should be in

agreement with the WBS and WBS dictionary and be reviewed
by key project stakeholders

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 Your company is expanding and it is necessary to move to a

new office space to accommodate the new and existing
personnel.
 Funding has been approved for this initiative and you are
responsible to manage the project.

Identify the key deliverables.

List some activities of the project.

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Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

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Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

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 Activity List and Attributes
August 1

Project Name: Just-In-Time Training Project

WBS Item Number: 3.1.1.1.2
WBS Item Name: Survey administration
Predecessors: 3.1.1.1.1 Survey development
Successors: 3.1.1.1.3 Survey results analysis
Logical Relationships: finish-to-start
Leads and Lags: None
Resource Requirements: IT personnel, corporate survey software, corporate Intranet
Constraints: None
Imposed dates: None
Assumptions: The survey for the supplier management training will be administered online
using the standard corporate survey software. It should include questions measured on a
Likert scale. For example, a question might be as follows: I learned a lot from this course.
Respondents would enter 1 for Strongly Agree, 2 for Agree, 3 for Undecided, 4 for
Disagree, or 5 for Strongly Disagree. There also should be several open-ended questions,
such as “What did you like most about the pilot course? What did you like least about the
pilot course?” After the project steering committee approves the survey, the IT department
will send it to all employees of grade level 52 or higher in the purchasing, accounting,
engineering, information technology, sales, marketing, manufacturing, and human resource
departments. The project champion, Mike Sundby, VP of Human Resources, will write an
introductory paragraph for the survey. Department heads will mention the importance of
responding to this survey in their department meetings and will send an e-mail to all
affected employees to encourage their inputs. If the response rate is less than 30% one
week after the survey is sent out, additional work may be required, such as a reminder e-
mail to follow-up with people who have not responded to the survey.

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

Milestone List
 A milestone is a significant point or event in a project.
 It often takes several activities and a lot of work to complete a
milestone, but the milestone itself is like a marker to help
identify necessary activities.
 There is no cost or duration for a milestone because it
represents a significant point or event.
Sample milestones for many projects include:
◦ Sign-off of key documents
◦ Completion of specific products
◦ Completion of important process-related work, such as awarding a
contract to a supplier

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Milestone Initial Estimated Completion Date*
Draft survey completed 8/3
Survey comments submitted 8/8
Survey sent out by IT 8/10
Percentage of survey respondents reviewed 8/17
Survey report completed 8/22
Survey results reported to steering committee 8/24
*Note: Dates are in U.S. format. 8/3 means August 3.

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

Knowledge
Planning Process Outputs
Area
Plan schedule Schedule management plan
management
Define activities Activity list
Activity attributes
Milestone list
Change requests
Project schedule management

Project management plan

updates

Sequence activities Project schedule network

diagrams
Project documents updates

Estimate activity Activity duration estimates

durations Basis of estimates
Project documents updates

Develop schedule Schedule baseline

Project schedule
Schedule data
Project calendars
Project management plan
updates
Project documents updates
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The process of identifying and documenting
relationships among the project activities.

Key benefit: defines the logical sequence of work to

obtain the greatest efficiency given all project
constraints.

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 Sequencing activities involves reviewing the activity list and

attributes, project scope statement, and milestone list to
determine the relationships or dependencies between
activities

 A dependency or relationship relates to the sequencing of

project activities or tasks
◦ For example, does a certain activity have to be finished before
another one can start?
◦ Can the project team do several activities in parallel?
◦ Can some overlap?

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 Mandatory dependencies are inherent in the nature of the
work being performed on a project
◦ You cannot hold training classes until the training materials are
ready

 Discretionary dependencies are defined by the project team

◦ A project team might follow good practice and not start
detailed design work until key stakeholders sign off on all of the
analysis work

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 External dependencies involve relationships between

project and non-project activities
◦ The installation of new software might depend on delivery of
new hardware from an external supplier. Even though the
delivery of the new hardware might not be in the scope of the
project, it should have an external dependency added to it
because late delivery will affect the project schedule

 Internal dependencies are within the project team’s

control, such as testing a machine that must be first
assembled, where all the work is done inside the team.

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 A schematic display of the logical relationships among, or
sequencing of, project activities.
 The preferred technique for showing activity sequencing.

Types of Network Diagrams

 Precedence diagramming method (PDM) or Activity on
Node (AON) is a technique used for constructing a
schedule model in which activities are represented by
NODES (boxes) and are graphically linked by one or more
logical relationships to show the sequence in which the
activities are to be performed.

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

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Types of Network Diagrams (cont.)

Activity-on-arrow (AOA) approach or the arrow diagramming

method (ADM)
 Activities are represented by arrows and connected at points
called nodes (starting and ending point of an activity) to
illustrate the sequence of activities.
 Only show finish-to-start dependencies (most common type
of dependency).

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Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

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 Keep in mind that the network diagram represents
activities that must be done to complete the project;
it is not a race to get from the first node to the last
 Every activity on the network diagram must be
completed for the project to finish
 Not every item on the WBS needs to be on the
network diagram; only activities with dependencies
need to be shown on the network diagram

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 A predecessor activity is an activity that logically comes

before a dependent activity in a schedule.

 A successor activity is a dependent activity that logically

comes after another activity in a schedule.

 Includes four types of dependencies or logical relationships:

◦ Finish to Start (FS)
◦ Finish to Finish (FF)
◦ Start to Start (SS)
◦ Start to Finish (SF)

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 Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

Distinguishing Factor Activity on Arrow Activity on Node

Line information Represents activities & Represents precedence
precedence

Node shape Circle shape Box shape

Activity information Only duration typically Often includes duration, start date,
shown end date, and assigned resource

Line shape Straight Uses right angles

Line direction Always moves Can move backwards, depending
rightward upon relationship (FF, FS, SF, SS)

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 Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 A lead is the amount of time a successor activity can

be advanced with respect to a predecessor activity.
 A lag is the amount of time a successor activity will be
delayed with respect to a predecessor activity.

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 You might want to wait a certain period of time,
perhaps 30 days, after holding the first training class
before holding the second one (a lag of 30 days).
 You might want to get started on writing a long
research report 5 days before all of your reference
materials are gathered (a lead of -5 days).

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 Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC 41

Knowledge
Planning Process Outputs
Area
Plan schedule Schedule management plan
management
Define activities Activity list
Activity attributes
Milestone list
Change requests
Project schedule management

Project management plan

updates

Sequence activities Project schedule network

diagrams
Project documents updates

Estimate activity Activity duration estimates

durations Basis of estimates
Project documents updates

Develop schedule Schedule baseline

Project schedule
Schedule data
Project calendars
Project management plan
updates
Project documents updates
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 The process of estimating the number of work periods
needed to complete individual activities with estimated
resources.
◦ The work periods are defined in the Time Management Plan (e.g. hours
of work, days, months)

 Key benefit: provides the amount of time each activity will

take to complete.

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 Duration includes the actual amount of time spent working on

an activity plus elapsed time
◦ For example, even though it might take one workweek or five
workdays to do the actual work, the duration estimate might be
two weeks to allow extra time needed to obtain outside
information or to allow for resource availability

 Effort is the number of workdays or work hours required to

complete a task

Duration is used to determine the schedule.

Effort is used to determine labor costs.

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 Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 Duration estimates are often provided as discrete

estimates, such as four weeks
 A range estimate might be between three and five
weeks
 A three-point estimate is an estimate that includes
an optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimate,
such as three, four, and five weeks

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 Program Evaluation and Review Technique (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 weighted average =

optimistic time + 4×most likely time + pessimistic time

6

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 Example: PERT weighted average =

(1 workday+4×2 workdays+9 workdays)/6 = 3 workdays

 Instead of using the most likely time of 2 workdays for this

task, you’d use 3 workdays with a PERT estimate

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 Some people prefer using a Monte Carlo simulation over
PERT because it accounts for various probabilities
 To perform a Monte Carlo simulation, in addition to the
three-point estimate, you also collect probabilistic
information for each activity duration estimate
◦ For example, estimators must provide a probability of each
activity being completed between the optimistic and most likely
times
◦ You then run a computer simulation to find probability
distributions for the entire schedule being completed by certain
times

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 Kristin and her team decided to enter realistic

discrete estimates for each activity instead of using
PERT or a Monte Carlo simulation
 She stressed that people who would do the work
should provide the estimate, and they should have 50
percent confidence in meeting each estimate
 If some tasks took longer, some took less time, and
some were exactly on target, they should still meet
their overall schedule

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 Knowledge
Planning Process Outputs
Area
Plan schedule Schedule management plan
management
Define activities Activity list
Activity attributes
Milestone list
Change requests

Project schedule management

Project management plan
updates

Sequence activities Project schedule network

diagrams
Project documents updates

Estimate activity Activity duration estimates

durations Basis of estimates
Project documents updates

Develop schedule Schedule baseline

Project schedule
Schedule data
Project calendars
Project management plan
updates
Project documents updates
Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC 51

 The process of analyzing activity sequences, durations,

resource requirements, and schedule constraints to create a
schedule model for project execution and monitoring and
controlling.

 Key benefit: generates a schedule with planned dates for

completing project activities.

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 Schedule development uses the results of all the preceding
project time management processes to determine the start
and end dates of project activities and of the entire project
 The resulting project schedule is often shown on a Gantt
chart, a standard format for displaying project schedule
information by listing project activities and their corresponding
start and finish dates in a calendar format
 The ultimate goal of schedule development is to create a
realistic project schedule that provides a basis for monitoring
project progress for the time dimension of the project

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

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Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

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 Critical path method (CPM)—also called critical path
analysis—is a network diagramming technique used to
predict total project duration
 A critical path for a project is the series of activities that
determine the earliest time by which the project can be
completed. It is the longest path through the network
diagram and has the least amount of slack or float
◦ Slack or float is the amount of time an activity may be delayed
without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date
 The longest path or the path containing the critical tasks is
what is driving the completion date for the project

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

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 The critical path shows the shortest time in which a
project can be completed
 If one or more of the activities on the critical path
takes longer than planned, the whole project schedule
will slip unless the project manager takes corrective
action
 For example: Apple Computer team members put a
stuffed gorilla on top of the cubicle of whoever was in
charge of a critical task, so they would not distract him or
her

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 The fact that its name includes the word “critical” does not
mean that the critical path includes all critical activities
 Frank Addeman, executive project director at Walt Disney
Imagineering, explained in a keynote address at the May
2000 PMI-ISSIG Professional Development Seminar that
growing grass was on the critical path for building Disney’s
Animal Kingdom theme park
 This 500-acre park required special grass for its animal
inhabitants, and some of the grass took years to grow
 So, growing grass was driving the completion date of the
theme park; not what most people would think of as a
critical activity!

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 Crashing is a technique for making cost and schedule trade-
offs to obtain the greatest amount of schedule compression
for the least incremental cost.
◦ If two critical tasks each take two weeks, and it will take $100 to
shorten Task 1 by a week and $1,000 to shorten Task 2 by a
week, shorten Task 1

 Fast tracking involves doing activities in parallel that you

would normally do in sequence.
◦ Instead of waiting for Task 1 to be totally finished before starting
Task 2, start Task 2 when Task 1 is halfway done

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

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Schedule Baseline
 The approved version of a schedule that can be changed
only through formal change control procedures.
 Used as a basis for comparison to actual results.
 Presents approved and accepted baseline start dates
and baseline finish dates by the appropriate stakeholders.

Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

Project Schedule
 Presents linked activities with planned dates, durations,
milestones, and resources.
 Includes a planned start date and a planned finish date
for each activity at a minimum.
 May be presented in summary or detailed forms:
◦ Bar charts or Gantt charts.
◦ Milestone charts.
◦ Project schedule network diagrams.

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 Copyright 2017 Kathy Schwalbe LLC

 Planning processes for schedule management include planning

schedule management, defining activities, sequencing
activities, estimating activity durations, and developing a
project schedule.
 It is also important to understand critical path analysis to
make schedule trade-off decisions.
 See the text for examples of planning documents.

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