Project Schedule Management

Question 1

Schedule Processes

Answer 1

Planning: Plan Schedule Management
Define Activities
Sequence Activities
Estimate Activity Durations
Develop Schedule
Monitoring/Controlling: Control Schedule

Question 2

Plan Schedule Management

Answer 2

I: Project charter, PM plan, EEFs, OPAs
TT: Expert judgment, data analysis, meetings
O: Schedule management plan

Question 3

Define Activities

Answer 3

I: PM plan, EEFs, OPAs
TT: Expert judgment, decomposition, rolling wave planning, meetings
O: Activity list, activity attributes, milestone list, change requests, PM plan updates

Question 4

Sequence Activities

Answer 4

I: PM plan, project documents, EEFs, OPAs
TT: Precedence diagramming method, Dependency determination and integration, Leads and lags, PM information system
O: Project schedule network diagrams, project documents updates

Question 5

Estimate Activity Durations

Answer 5

I: PM plan, project documents, EEFs, OPAs
TT: Expert judgment, analogous estimating, parametric estimating, three-point estimating (most likely, optimistic, pessimistic), bottom-up estimating, data analysis, decision making, meetings
O: Duration estimates, basis of estimates, project documents updates

Question 6

Develop Schedule

Answer 6

I: PM plan, project documents, agreements, EEFs, OPAs
TT: Schedule network analysis, Critical path method, Resource optimization, data analysis, leads/lags, schedule compression, PM information system, agile release planning
O: Schedule baseline, project schedule (Gantt chart), schedule data, project calendars, change requests, PM plan updates, project documents updates

Question 7

Control Schedule

Answer 7

I: PM plan, project documents, work performance data, OPAs
TT: Data analysis, Critical path method, PM information system, Resource optimization, Leads/lags, schedule compression
O: Work performance information, schedule forecasts, change requests, PM plan updates, project documents updates

Question 8

Precedence relationships

Lags / Leads

Answer 8

Finish to Start
Finish to Finish
Start to Start
Start to Finish

Lag: successor starts later than predecessor finish (eg, FS+10 means activity 2 cannot start until 10 days after activity 1 ends
Lead: successor starts before predecessor finish (eg, FS-10 means activity 2 can begin up to 10 days before activity 1 finishes)

Question 9

Critical Path Method

Answer 9

Early Start, Duration, Early Finish
Late Start, Total Float, Late Finish

Forward Pass:
ES=1; EF=ES+duration-1
ES=EF of predecessor +1 (if two predecessors, use latest EF)

Backward Pass:
EF = LF for last activity; LS = LF-duration +1
LF = LS of successor - 1 (if two successors, use the smallest one)

Float = LF-EF or LS-ES
Float = 0: activity must occur as planned or risk running late
Critical Path = all activities with 0 float, min amount of time for project

Question 10

Resource Optimization

Answer 10

Resource leveling: balancing demand for resources with available supply (eg, ensuring only 8 hrs per day), may delay past critical path
Resource smoothing: activities only delayed within available float (sticks to critical path)

Question 11

Schedule compression

Answer 11

Crashing: Adding resources (approving overtime, new people) -> increased cost to stay on schedule
Fast tracking: phases usually in sequence performed in parallel -> increased risk

Question 12

Schedule outputs

Answer 12

WBS (output of Create WBS), leads to
Activity List (through decomp, output of Define Activities), leads to
Network Diagram (precedence diagramming, output of Sequence Activities), leads to
Schedule baseline (includes duration estimates, Critical Path Method, output of Develop Schedule)

schedule presented as Gantt chart