Module 05 Flashcards
Project Consists of Two Main Components. What components?
The project work that needs to be performed
The schedule to perform the work
What makes up the the Project Work (Scope)
The Project Charter
The Scope Statement
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
What makes up the the Project Schedule
What activities need to be performed
Who will perform them
When will the activities be performed
Output of Activity Definition?
Activity List
Activity Attributes
Milestone List and Requested Changes to WBS
What is an Activity List
All activities necessary and sufficient to produce the product deliverables
Defined in sufficient detail to promote understanding by project team
How do we identify activities?
Select systems development life cycle model (SLCM)
Map life cycle process activities to SLCM using available standards and guidelines
What is Activity Sequencing
Identifies the dependencies among the schedule activities and orders the activities accordingly
Tasks may have dependencies because they require the same resource
Precedence Relationships?
Finish to Start
-Initiation of the successor activity depends upon completion of the predecessor activity
Finish to Finish
-The completion of the successor activity depends upon the completion of the predecessor activity
Start to start
-The initiation of the successor activity depends upon the initiation of the predecessor activity
Start to finish
-The completion of the successor activity depends upon the initiation of the predecessor activity
Three Types of Dependencies, what are they?
Mandatory Dependencies
Discretionary Dependencies
External Dependencies
Mandatory Dependencies
Inherent to the schedule activities (e.g. software must be developed before it can be tested)
Discretionary Dependencies
Dependencies at the discretion of the project team (e.g. acceptance test with marketing before accounting)
External Dependencies
Involves a relationship between a project activity and a non-project activity (e.g. Windows Vista Delivered)
Critical Path
The longest path (sequence of activities) in a project schedule network
Early Start
The earliest an activity can start. It is the largest early finish time of all its immediate predecessors.
Early Finish
The earliest an activity can finish if all its preceding activities are finished by their early finish times
Late Start
The latest an activity can start and not delay a succeeding activity
Late Finish
The latest an activity can finish and not delay a succeeding activity
Float Time (Slack)
Time an activity can be delayed and not become critical
Project Network Calculations
Early Start and Early Finish -Forward Pass Through the Network Late Start and Late Finish -Backward Pass through the Network Slack or Float -Late Start – Early Start
Critical Path Method? (Schedule Network Analysis)
Used to identify the schedule flexibility
The critical path is the longest path (sequence of activities) in a project schedule network diagram
Determines the length of the project
Resource Leveling (Schedule Network Analysis)
Involves taking a part of the resources from one activity and assigning it to another
Change the durations and possible the critical path
Crashing (Schedule Compression)
Used to decrease the project duration with minimal additional cost
A number of alternatives are considered, including adding additional resources
Fast Tracking (Schedule Compression)
Decrease project duration by performing project phases or some schedule activities within a phase in parallel that would normally be performed in sequence
Schedule Development Output
Project Schedule Network Diagram
Gantt Chart
Milestone Chart
Schedule Baseline
How are project schedule represented?
The Gantt chart
What is a Gantt chart
The Gantt chart shows tasks, dependencies and milestones using different shapes
Schedule Development Concerns
Actual start date
Uncertainty on the availability of resources
Identification and preparation for activities on the critical path
Risks involved or “what if” scenarios
The hard start/finish dates for activities or for the project that came down the pipeline from important stakeholders
