PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENT

Antonio, Mir Joshua C. III-BMA

1. Planning Schedule Management

The procedure of building policies, methodology, and project documentation gives direction and
guidance on how the task timetable will be overseen all through the project. The intention of a
project schedule is organized and focused based on the advancement of the Schedule
Management Plan.

The project plans should consider the following aspects,

The planning of the project schedule is an essential activity that incorporates identifying of the
project activities, sequencing them and defining objectives for those activities alongside the
project schedule management plan. As relevant as the project management scheduling ability is
by all accounts, competency ought to obtain with significant experience.

The Purpose and the Significance of the Schedule Management Plan:

In every organization, projects are the essential method to build value. In the present business
condition, every organization should have the capacity to deal and schedule with close-fitting
budgets, resource scarcity, and the latest technology trends.

An appropriately planned schedule is a guide for all projects. It is fundamental that the motive
for the schedule that equals the execution procedure. Thus, it incorporates a need to ensure time-
related costs, budget control, claims avoidance & documentation and more. The motive for a
project schedule is structured and focused by the progress of the Schedule Management Plan.
Therefore, a Schedule Management Plan guarantees an organization by enhancing the project by
guiding the thoroughly deliberated procedure. Thus, it ensures an ample of planning and also
capable of monitoring projects according to the Schedule Management Plan.

Practical schedule management in projects helps organizations to:

2. Defining Activities

Define Activities. Identifying and documenting the specific actions to be performed to produce
the project deliverables.

The terms activity and task can be used interchangeably in practice, literature, and the exam.

Define Activities: Inputs

The schedule management plan provides guidance on the level of detail you will use to record
the project activities. To define activities, start with the scope baseline: in particular, the WBS.
The WBS contains the work packages that you will decompose to determine activities. The
scope statement — which gives a detailed narrative description of the project — contains
assumptions and constraints that need to be considered.

You can use organizational process assets (OPAs), such as information from previous projects or
templates, to help you. The organization‘s information system, including the preferred software
for schedule development, is an EEF that guides your approach to recording the activities.

Define Activities: Tools and Techniques

When you create your WBS, you decompose the work to create work packages. For creating the
schedule, though, you decompose work packages to create schedule activities. For smaller
projects, this may occur simultaneously. If you were redoing your backyard, you might identify
the deck as a deliverable but then go right into the activities needed, such as set posts, cement
posts, build frame, set planks, and build railing.

It is such a small project that breaking it into two steps (identifying deliverables and the
activities) doesn‘t make sense. You can do them at the same time. Generally, though, on larger
projects, the WBS is agreed to first, and then the decomposition into activities occurs.

Activities are the actions needed to create work packages. In other words, activities are verbs.
Your WBS should be noun-centric, but your activity list should be verb-centric. Look at this
from the perspective of defining the activities.

Using rolling wave planning is common when identifying all the activities and developing the
schedule. For long projects, though, identifying all the activities that will need to take place two
years in the future isn‘t feasible.

Therefore, identify only those detailed activities that you need to accomplish in a 90- to 120-day
range and keep the information ―in the future‖ at a higher level. With this approach, you can see
how the process of planning and developing the schedule occurs throughout a project.

Usually, your team members identify the activities needed to complete the work packages. They
have the subject matter expertise necessary to identify the steps and work needed. In some
organizations, you will be able to use a schedule from a similar project to get a head start, but
you will still need to have your team members review it and modify it to meet the needs for your
particular project.

Define Activities: Outputs

The first output for this process is a list of activities. For a shorter project, you should build a
comprehensive list. Comparatively, for a longer project, your list should have sufficient detail to
build a realistic schedule.

For complex projects, it‘s appropriate to extend the description of the activities by documenting
activity attributes. Activity attributes can include:

Activity identifier or code (usually an extension from the WBS numbering scheme)

Activity description

Predecessor and successor activities

Logical relationships

Leads and lags

Imposed dates

Constraints

Assumptions

Required resources and skill levels

Geographic location of performance

Type of effort

Note that at this point in time you don‘t have effort or duration information. That comes later.
You can always add that information to your activity attributes as a form of progressive
elaboration. A list of activity attributes might be too detailed for your project. Generally,
documenting activity attributes is reserved for projects that meet the following criteria:

Large projects with a lengthy duration

Complex projects with many interdependencies and stakeholders

Projects with much uncertainty or risk

Projects that include technology that‘s unproven or experimental in nature

3. Estimating Activity Resources and Durations

What Are Activity Duration Estimates?

The purpose of estimating activity durations is to determine the amount of time it takes to
complete an activity. Estimate activity durations is a process of the Project Schedule
Management knowledge area according to PMI‘s Guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK®, 6th ed., ch. 6.4).

This process requires several input parameters, which include, in particular, the scope of work
and the list and characteristics of planned activities as well as the resources that are deployed to
perform the work.

The PMBOK lists

expert judgment,

analogous estimating,

parametric estimating,
bottom-up estimating, and

three-point estimation

as techniques to determine duration estimates. Read on for an overview of these estimation

techniques.

The estimation of durations is normally done on the level of activities (see below image).
Determining the total duration of a work package or the whole project requires scheduling of
activities, taking their individual durations into account.

What Is the Basis of (Duration) Estimates?

The basis of estimates is a documented set of assumptions and constraints that underlay a
duration estimate. This document also describes the methods applied to produce an estimate, the
range of potential outcomes as well as the confidence of the estimate(s).

This documentation is important in projects for several reasons. It makes the constraints and
assumptions transparent that have been considered for the estimation. Once an assumption
becomes invalid, this may trigger the need for a new estimation. A project manager can also use
these documents to ensure consistency across the different activities in a project, as a
justification for the project schedule and for the communication with stakeholders.

How Is Activity Duration Estimated?

The estimation process requires some input information and documents and implies the use of
one or multiple estimation techniques. The following subsections elaborate on these
requirements.

The estimation of activity durations should generally be done by the person who is the most
familiar with the activity‘s type of work. This is even more important if an estimation technique
is used that relies on the expertise and experience of the estimator(s) instead of historical data.

The output of duration estimations is always a number of time periods (e.g. days, weeks, months;
source). The level of confidence and whether it is a single estimate or a range depend on the
estimation technique that is applied.

Regardless of the estimation technique, it is good practice that a document accompanies the
estimated number that sets out all underlying assumptions and constraints, the estimate ranges
and the expected level of accuracy. In PMI terminology, this document is called the ‗basis of
estimates‘.

Inputs

The PMBOK lists a number of inputs which are grouped under the project management plan,
project documents, enterprise environmental factors and organizational process assets. While the
knowledge of the complete list is likely relevant for project management exams (you will find it
in ch. 6.4.2 of the PMBOK), an estimation can be done with the following minimum key input
parameters

list of activities and their attributes,

assigned resources (material and team members, incl. availability and skills), and

historical data (for some estimation methods).

The more information you can consider – such as risk register or enterprise environment factors
– the better your estimates.

Estimate Activity Resources is the process of estimating the type and quantities of material,
human resources, equipment, or supplies required to perform each activity. The key benefit of
this process is that it identifies the type, quantity, and characteristics of resources required to
complete the activity which allows more accurate cost and duration estimates.

Activity Resources

The resources can take the following forms:

Labor. This usually takes the form of hours or days assigned to the task or project. It‘s easy to
assume all labor is the same, but make sure you consider that experience and knowledge level
vary drastically. For example, junior vs. intermediate engineers have varying levels of
productivity. Also, for knowledge workers such as engineers, the addition of more of them tends
to slow the decision making process down, not speed it up.

Equipment. Often equipment is sourced at hourly rates, or internally owned equipment has an
hourly rate applied to it.

Materials. If the project needs to purchase materials, their cost is often easy to estimate from
published rates, or quotes can be obtained from suppliers.

Fixed cost items, such as a subcontractor. This is a double edged sword, as a subcontractor‘s
costs are fixed, but they take responsibility for the schedule and quality of work away from you.
Also, you must know the fine print, or else the costs might not nearly be as ―fixed‖ as you think.

It is not only important to know what resources you need, but what their minimum specifications
are. For example, you might know you need a crane, but how big of a crane? Another example
might be that the project‘s budget will invest in a new printer to produce a large report, but if it
prints too slow it might severely bog down the production process.

Resource Calendars

For larger projects or project management offices, resource calendars can be consulted before
assigning resources to specific tasks. Resource calanders show the availability of a resource in
calendar form.

4. Developing and Controlling Schedule

Control a Schedule in a Project

Management signifies the approach to
monitor the status of the project, and consequently,
update and manage the project changes to the scheduled baseline to accomplish
the goal.

This procedure helps to decrease the threat of

delivery slippage when handled
well. Besides monitoring the status,
schedule control process
updates projects and manages
the change in the schedule so that
project managers can achieve the goal.

Control the Project Schedule: Techniques

By utilizing Earned Value Management (EVM) the schedule variance and schedule performance
index are employed to survey the scope of schedule changes.

In schedule control, it is essential to decide if the schedule variation needs corrective action. For
instance, if a project gets interrupted leads to a negative impact on the schedule plan and thus
requiring immediate action.

Utilize the critical chain scheduling method; you are allowed to compare the amount of defense
needed and the remaining security to regulate the schedule status.

The measurements of Schedule performance are utilized to evaluate the amount of variation to
the original schedule baseline. The aggregate float variance is likewise a vital module to assess
project time performance.
Essential aspects of project schedule control incorporate deciding the reason and level of change
in respect to the schedule baseline and choosing whether the corrective or preventive action is
required.

Sources:

https://www.invensislearning.com/articles/pmp/project-schedule-plan-develop-maintain-control

https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/a-guide-
to/9781935589679/sub6.4.xhtml#:~:text=Estimate%20Activity%20Resources%20is%20the,requ
ired%20to%20perform%20each%20activity.

https://www.projectengineer.net/knowledge-areas/project-time/estimate-activity-resources/

https://project-management.info/estimating-activity-durations/

https://www.invensislearning.com/articles/pmp/how-to-plan-schedule-management-for-a-project

https://www.dummies.com/careers/project-management/pmp-certification/define-activities-for-
planning-schedule-management-on-the-pmp-certification-exam/#:~:text=and%20the%20exam.-
,Define%20Activities%3A%20Inputs,will%20decompose%20to%20determine%20activities.