Project Schedule Management Flashcards
What is schedule management?
The process of developing, maintaining and communicating schedules for time and resource
What are the 6 processes in schedule management?
- Plan schedule management
- Define activities
- Sequence activities
- Estimate activity durations
- Develop Schedule
- Control Schedule
What is a schedule?
A schedule is the timetable for a project, programme or portfolio.
What is rolling wave planning?
The work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail, whereas the work in the future is planned at a higher level.
What is the purpose of the plan schedule management process?
Provides guidance and direction on how the project schedule will be managed throughout the project.
What is the ITTO for plan schedule management?
Inputs – Project Charter/ Project Management Plan (scope management plan/scope baseline)/Organisational Process Assets/Enterprise Environmental Factors
Tools and Techniques – Expert Judgement/Meetings/Data Analysis
Output – Schedule Management Plan
What is the purpose of the define activity process?
Decomposes work packages into schedule activities that provide a basis for estimating, scheduling, executing, monitoring, and controlling the project work.
What is the difference between the create WBS process and the define activity process?
The define activities process defines the final outputs as activities whereas the WBS process defines the outputs as deliverables.
What is the ITTO for the define activity process?
Inputs – Project Charter/ Project Management Plan (scope baseline/schedule management plan) Organisational Process Assets/Enterprise Environmental Factors
Tools and Techniques – Expert Judgement/Decomposition/Rolling Wave Planning/Meetings
Outputs – Activity list/activity attributes/milestone list/change requests/updates to project management plan such as changes to schedule and cost baseline
What is the purpose of the sequence activities process?
Defines the logical sequence of work to obtain the greatest efficiency given all project constraints.
Every activity except the first and last should be connected to at least one predecessor and at least one successor activity with an appropriate logical relationship.
The Sequence Activities process concentrates on converting the project activities from a list to a diagram to act as a first step to publish the schedule baseline.
What is PDM?
Precedence Diagram Method - is a technique used for constructing a schedule model to show the sequence in which the activities are to be performed.
What 4 types of dependencies are used in PDM?
Finish-to-Start [FS] - An activity must finish before the successor can start
Start-to-Start [SS] - An activity must start before the successor can start
Finish-to-Finish [FF] - An activity must finish before the successor can finish
Start-to-Finish [SF] - An activity must start before the successor can finish. The successor can finish only after the predecessor starts
What are the attributes of dependencies?
Mandatory dependencies (hard logic) are legally or contractually required or inherent in the nature of the work, often involve physical limitations.
Discretionary dependencies (soft logic) are established based on knowledge of best practices within a particular application area or some unusual aspect of the project where a specific sequence is desired – e.g. in construction electrical work should start after finishing the plumbing work.
External dependencies involve a relationship between project activities and non-project activities. These dependencies are usually outside of the project team’s control – e.g. Procurement delivery of HW.
Internal dependencies involve a precedence relationship between project activities and are generally inside the project team’s control.
What is the Inputs for the sequence activities process?
Project Management Plan (schedule management plan/scope baseline)
Organisational Process Assets
Enterprise Environmental Factors
Project Documents (activity list/activity attributes/assumptions/milestone log)
What is the purpose of the estimate activity durations process?
Provides the amount of time each activity will take to complete.
What are the 4 estimating techniques?
Analogous, Parametric, Bottom Up, Three point estimating.
What is Analogous estimating?
Is based on previous similar projects, fast calculations, not much documentation needed but also not very accurate.
What is Parametric estimating?
Parametric estimating is based on historical records, fast calculation but not very accurate. Slightly more accurate than analogous.
What is Bottom Up estimating?
Is based is a more detailed estimate as it is divided into smaller parts, takes longer to estimate but the estimate is more accurate.
What is Three-Point estimating?
Three- point estimate provides three estimates such as optimistic, realistic and pessimistic, takes the longest to estimate as 3 estimates are produced but forms the highest level of accuracy out of all the methods.
What is the Input for the estimate activity durations process?
Project management plan; Schedule Management Plan/ Scope Baseline
Project Documents - activity attributes/activity list/assumption log/lessons learned register/milestone list/project team assignments/resource breakdown structure
Organisation process assets
Enterprise environmental factors
What is the duration of a milestone?
Zero, these are not work activities
The term ‘Crashing’ in Project Management is?
Schedule compression technique use more resources to deliver in a shorter amount of time
The term ‘fast tracking’ in Project Management is?
Activities taking place in parallel, this is a schedule compression technique
What are the key activities of the develop a schedule process?
The schedule model is used to determine the planned start and end dates for project activities and milestones. Once these have been determined the project staff assigned to the activities review their assigned activities to ensure the dates present no conflict with resource calendars or assigned activities on other projects. The schedule is then analysed to determine conflicts with logical relationships and if resource levelling is required before the schedule is approved and baselined.
Schedule development can require the review and revision of duration estimates, resource estimates and schedule reserves to establish an approved project schedule that can serve as a baseline to track progress.
Key steps include defining project milestones, identifying and sequencing activities and estimating durations.
What is the critical path?
The logical flow of tasks that must happen within their planned timescales so as to hit the project end date: Activities on the critical path have no float.
What is the critical path method (CPM)?
The method used to calculate the minimum project duration and determine the amount of scheduling flexibility.
What is a critical task?
Is one with no float, or leeway to move without affecting the project end date.
What is a float?
A float = the amount of schedule flexibility
What is a total float?
The Amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying project end date or a milestone.
What is a free float?
The Amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of its successor(s)
What is the project float?
The amount of time a project can be delayed without delaying an externally imposed completion date, or the date previously committed.
What is negative float?
The amount of time the project is expecting to overrun past the deadline date.
What are the Tools and Techniques for the Sequence Activities process?
PDM/Dependency determination and integration
Leads and lags
project management information system
What are the Outputs for the Sequence Activities process?
project schedule network diagram
project document updates (activity list/activity attributes/assumptions/milestone log)
What are the Tools and Techniques for the estimate activity duration process?
Expert judgement estimation techniques Data analysis Decision making Meetings
What are the Outputs for the estimate activity process?
Duration estimates
basis of estimates
project document updates (lessons learned register/assumptions/activity attributes)
What are the inputs for the develop schedule process?
Project management plan; scope baseline/schedule management plan
Project documents; activity attributes/activity list/assumption log/basis of estimates/duration estimates/lessons learned register/milestone list/project schedule network diagrams/project team assignments/resource calendars/resource requirements/risk register
Agreements
Operational Process Assets
Enterprise environment factors
What are the Tools and Techniques for the develop a schedule process?
Schedule network analysis Critical path method Resource optimisation Data analysis (what if scenario analysis/simulation) Leads and lags Schedule compression PMIS Agile release planning
What are the outputs of the develop schedule process?
Schedule baseline
Project schedule
Schedule data
Project calendars
Change requests
Updates to schedule management plan and cost baseline
Updates to activity attributes/assumption log/duration estimates/lessons learned register/resource requirements/risk register
What are the 2 data analysis techniques that can be used during the develop schedule process?
What if scenario analysis
Simulation
What is a what if scenario analysis and why would if be used?
The process of evaluating scenarios in order to predict their effect, positive or negative on project objectives.
Can be used to assess the feasibility of the project schedule under different conditions and in preparing schedule reserves and response plans to address the impact of unexpected situations.
What is a simulation model and why would it be used?
The most common simulation technique is the Monte Carlo analysis, in which risks and other sources of uncertainty are used to calculate possible schedule outcomes for the total project.
What is the formula for the triangular 3 point estimating technique?
Most likely + Optimistic + Pessimistic / 3
What is the formula for the beta/pert 3 point estimating method?
Optimistic + 4 x Most likely + pessimistic / 6
e.g optimistic 10, most likely 25, pessimistic 70 (10+100+70=180/6) answer is 30
What is the purpose of the Control Schedule process?
The process of monitoring the status of the project to update the project schedule and managing changes to the schedule baseline.
What are the inputs for the control schedule process?
Project Management Plan; schedule management plan/schedule baseline/scope baseline/performance measurement baseline
Project documents; lessons learned register/project calendars/project schedule/resource calendars/schedule data
Work performance data
Organisation Process Assets
What are the Tools and Techniques used during the control schedule process?
Data analysis (earned value analysis/iteration burndown chart/performance reviews/trend analysis/variance analysis/what if scenario analysis) Critical path method Project management information system Resource optimisation Leads and lags Schedule compression
What are the outputs for the control schedule process?
Work performance information
Schedule forecasts
Change requests
Updates to the schedule management plan/schedule baseline/cost baseline/performance measurement baseline
Updates to project documents; assumption log/basis of estimates/lessons learned register/project schedule/resource calendars/risk register/schedule data
