MECH 3170 Ch. 6 - Schedule Management

Question 1

What does 6.1 Plan Schedule Management result in?

Answer 1

A Schedule Management Plan that provides the processes for how the project schedule will be managed

Question 2

What should the schedule management plan include?

Answer 2

Scheduling methodology to be used;
Rules for schedule units of measure;
Level of accuracy;
Schedule baseline;
procedures for how to manage schedule variances;
reporting formats

Question 3

What is 6.2 Define Activities?

Answer 3

The process of identifying and documenting the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables

Question 4

What does 6.2 Define Activities involve, and what process group is it?

Answer 4

It is Planning group. It involves taking the work packages from WBS and breaking them down into activities that are required to produce work package deliverables. Each activity identified needs to be small enough to estimate, schedule, monitor, and manage

Question 5

What do you need to help 6.2 Define Activities (P)?

Answer 5

Scope baseline (project scope statement, WBS, WBS dictionary) and project team

Question 6

What does 6.2 Define Activities (P) result in?

Answer 6

An activity list and project milestones

Question 7

What are project milestones? Give examples.

Answer 7

Significant events (check points) within the project schedule that are not work activities. Example: deliverable due date, critical design review meeting, etc.

Question 8

What is involved with 6.3 Sequence Activities (P)?

Answer 8

Involves placing all activities in order.

Question 9

What is a common tool for 6.3 Sequence Activities (P)?

Answer 9

The Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) also known as Schedule Network Diagram

Question 10

What are the 4 relationship types that can be illustrated using PDM (Precedence Diagramming Method)? What is the most common?

Answer 10

Finish - Start (FS) - Successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has finished. MOST COMMON;
Finish - Finish (FF);
Start - Start (SS);
Start - Finish (SF)

Question 11

What are the types of dependencies in Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)?

Answer 11

Mandatory (Hard Logic) Dependency;
Discretionary (Soft Logic) Dependencies;
External Dependencies;
Internal Dependencies;

Question 12

What are Manadatory (Hard Logic) Dependencies (PDM)?

Answer 12

Dependencies that are contractually/legally required or are inherent to the nature of the work (eg. you must design before you construct)

Question 13

What are Discretionary (Soft Logic) Dependencies (PDM)?

Answer 13

Dependencies that are determined by the PM and could be changed if needed.

Question 14

What are External Dependencies (PDM)?

Answer 14

Dependencies that re based on the needs of someone outside of the project (eg. government of suppliers)

Question 15

What are Internal Dependencies (PDM)?

Answer 15

Dependencies that are determined by the PM or project team.

Question 16

What is Lead?

Answer 16

An amount of time that may be used to indicate that an activity can start before its predecessor activity is completed. Example, landscaping can start 2 weeks before completion of building construction.

Question 17

What is Lag?

Answer 17

An amount of time inserted between activities. Example, framing can only begin 3 days after the foundation is poured

Question 18

What is 6.4 Estimate Activity Durations (P)?

Answer 18

The process of estimating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources.

Question 19

What does 6.4 Estimate Activity Durations (P) result in?

Answer 19

A realistic project time estimate.

Question 20

To create realistic estimates, what do you need?

Answer 20

You need to:
Have estimates created by people who will be doing (or are familiar with) the work;
Provide the estimators with access to activity resource requirements, resource calendars, OPA’s, EEF’s

Question 21

What are the 4 main types of estimating techniques in 6.4 Estimate Activity Durations (P)?

Answer 21

One-Point Estimating
Analogous Estimating
Parametric Estimating
Three-Point Estimating

Question 22

Talk about One-Point Estimating

Answer 22

One estimate is submitted for each activity;
May be based on expert judgement, historical info, or guessing;
Problems are: can force people to pad estimates, hides important info about risks and uncertainties, often results in a schedule no one believes, often results in the estimators working against the PM to protect themselves;
Therefore, one-point estimates should only be used for projects that don’t require a detailed, highly reliable schedule.

Question 23

Talk about Analogous Estimating

Answer 23

AKA top-down estimating. Uses recent historical info and expert judgement to predict the future. Example: The last 5 single-family home construction projects took 6 months to complete, so we will use this as our estimate.
Can be used at activity or project/phase level.

Question 24

Parametric Estimating

Answer 24

Uses statistical relationships between variables to calculate estimates;
Often relies on ‘standard times’ for labour hour estimates;
Measurements must be scalable to be accurate.

Example:if it took me two hours to mow my one acre yard last week and this week I’m mowing four acres, I could estimate that it will take eight hours to mow.
However, if the first one hour was spent transporting my tractor and preparing it to mow, the estimate would need to be scaled appropriately: 1 hour for transporting and then four hours to mow, for a total of five hours.

Question 25

Three-Point Estimating

Answer 25

AKA Program Evaluation and Review Technique or PERT

Estimators give 3 estimates for each activity as it is statistically speaking a small probability of completing a project exactly on any one date.

Optimistic (O)
Pessimistic (P)
Most Likely (M)

Provides a risk-based estimate and is calculated as follows on formula sheet.

Question 26

Reserve Analysis vs. Padding

Answer 26

Involves adding more hours than the task will take;
Results when people don’t have enough info and are not confident in project risks;
Padding is a bad PM practice;
performing a thorough risk analysis will elp reduce level of uncertainty in project estimate;
Padding is an arbitrary amount added to an estimate
Contingency reserve is a reliably calculated amount added to the estimate to account for remaining project risks;
A PM has a professional responsibility to establish a contingency reserve to accommodate risks that remain even after risk assessment and mitigation planning has occured.

Question 27

6.5 Develop Schedule (P)

Answer 27

Once you have an initial schedule, you begin schedule network analysis to create a final calendar-based schedule. Developing schedule can be iterative.

Question 28

What does Schedule network analysis include?

Answer 28

Critical Path method, schedule compression, What-If Scenario analysis, resource leveling

Question 29

What is the Critical Path Method?

Answer 29

A method that involves determining: The longest path through the network diagram, the earliest and latest an activity can start, and the earliest and latest an activity can end

Question 30

What is Critical Path?

Answer 30

The longest duration through a network diagram. Determines the shortest time it could take to complete the project. Requires constant monitoring to minimize chance of delays.

Question 31

What is Near-Critical Path?

Answer 31

A path through the network diagram that is close in duration to the critical path (and could become the CP if something goes wrong). The closer in length the near-critical and critical paths are, the more risk the project has.
Requires close monitoring to minimize chance of delays

Question 32

What are the three types of float (slack)?

Answer 32

Total Float (slack)
Free Float (slack)
Project Float (slack)

Question 33

What is Total float (slack)?

Answer 33

Th amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project end date or an interim milestone

Question 34

What is Free Float (slack)?

Answer 34

The amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of its successor(s)

Question 35

What is Project Float (slack)?

Answer 35

The amount of time a project can be delayed without delaying the externally imposed project completion date required by the customer or management, or the date previously committed to by the PM

Question 36

Notes about float

Answer 36

Activities on the critical path have zero float/slack;
Critical path activities that are delayed can result in negative float;
Float on a project is an asset. Means have flexibility in allocating your resources

Question 37

How does the critical path help you as a PM?

Answer 37

Helps prove how long the project will take;
Helps determine where best to focus your efforts;
Helps determine if an issue needs to be addressed immediately;
Provides method for potential project compression;
Provides a method for determining which activities have float and can be delayed without delaying overall project;
can be used to help motivate team members

Question 38

What are the 2 main ways to compress the schedule?

Answer 38

Fast tracking

Crashing

Question 39

What is fast tracking?

Answer 39

Attempts to compress the schedule by overlapping critical path activities that would normally be done in sequence.
Always adds risks to the project and may add management/communication time for the PM.

Sequence: 1 -> 2 -> 3
-> 2
Fast track to overlap: /
1
\
-> 3

Question 40

What is crashing?

Answer 40

A schedule compression technique. Involves making cost and schedule trade-offs to compress the schedule the most for the least cost while maintaining scope.
Always results in increased costs - trades time for money
May add more management/communication time for the PM

Question 41

What-If Scenario Analyis

Answer 41

Ask yourself “What-if a particular factor changed on the project? Would that produce a shorter schedule?”

Question 42

What is a common technique for performing What-If analysis, and what is it?

Answer 42

Monte Carlo Analysis. Uses computer software to simulate the outcome of a project based on a three-point estimate (O,P,M). The simulation can tell you:
Probability of completing the project on any given day;
Probability of completing the project for all possible costs;
The probability of any activity actually being on the critical path;
overall project risk.

Typically used for large complex projects

Question 43

What is resource leveling?

Answer 43

Used when you have a limited number of resources for your project.
Levels the peaks and valleys of the schedule from one month to the next resulting in a more stable or level number of resources used on your project.
Leveling results in a longer schedule and increased project cost.

Question 44

The iterated and realistic schedule that results from the schedule network analysis is called?

Answer 44

The schedule baseline, and is part of the PM Plan

Question 45

Define 6.6 Control Schedule (M&C)

Answer 45

The process of monitoring the status of project activities to update project progress and manage changes to the schedule baseline to achieve the plan.

Question 46

What does 6.6 Control Schedule (M&C) involve?

Answer 46

Involves:
Measuring how you are tracking to the planned schedule;
Re-estimating remaining components of a project pathway;
Adjusting future parts of project to deal with delays,rather than asking for an extension (compression techniques);
Conduct performance reviews by analyzing how the project is progressing;
Identify the need for changes to the schedule;
Follow the change control process

Question 47

What are the processes that Time Management involves?

Answer 47

Plan Schedule Management
Define activities
Sequence activities
Estimate activity resources
Estimate activity durations
Develop schedule
Control schedule