Schedule Management

Question 3

Define:

Activity Duration Estimate

Answer 3

This is used to create the project schedule and to predict when the project should end.

Inaccurate estimates could cost the performing organization thousands of dollars in fines, missed opportunities, lost customers, or worse.

Question 4

Define:

Activity List

Answer 4

The primary output of breaking down the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) work packages. A collection of all the work elements required to complete the project.

The activity list is an extension of the WBS and will be a fundamental tool in creating the project schedule.

The activity list is needed to ensure that all the deliverables of the WBS are accounted for and that the necessary work is mapped to each work package.

Question 5

List:

Activity List Attributes

Answer 5

• Activity identifier
• Activity codes
• Activity description
• Predecessor and successor activities
• Logical relationships
• Leads and lags
• Resource requirements
• Imposed dates
• Constraints and assumptions
• Responsibility of the project team member(s) completing the work
• Location of the work
• Type and amount of effort needed to complete the work

The documentation of each activity’s characteristics will help with additional planning, risk identification, resource needs, and more.

Question 6

Define:

Affinity Estimation

Answer 6

A method used to quickly place user stories into a comparable-sized group.

Question 7

Define:

Analogous Estimating

Answer 7

An approach that relies on historical information to predict the cost of the current project.

Analogous estimating, also known as top-down estimating, is a form of expert judgment. To use analogous estimating, activities from the historical project that are similar in nature are used to predict similar activities in the current project.

Question 8

Define:

Apportioned Effort

(AE)

Answer 8

These activities can’t be easily broken down into individual, traceable events.

For example, quality assurance is part of every project activity, but it isn’t just one activity in the project.

Question 9

Define:

Bar Chart

Answer 9

These show the start and end dates for the project and the activity duration against a calendar.

They are easy to read. Scheduling bar charts are also called Gantt charts.

Question 10

Define:

Bottom-Up Estimating

Answer 10

The most accurate time-and-cost estimating approach a project manager can use.

This estimating approach starts at “the bottom” of the project and considers every activity, its predecessor and successor activities, and the exact amount of resources needed to complete each activity. This estimating approach starts from zero, accounts for each component of the WBS, and arrives at a sum for the project. It is completed with the project team and can be one of the most time-consuming and most reliable methods to predict project costs.

Question 11

Define:

Control Account

Answer 11

A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) entry that considers the time, cost, and scope measurements for that deliverable.

The estimated performance is compared against the actual performance to measure the overall performance for the deliverables within that control account.

The specifics of a control account are documented in a control account plan.

Question 12

Define:

Control Threshold

Answer 12

A predetermined range of acceptable variances, such as +/–10 percent off schedule.

Should the variance exceed the threshold, project control processes and corrected actions will be enacted.

Question 13

Define:

Corrective Action

Answer 13

This is any method applied to bring the project schedule back into alignment with the original dates and goals for the project end date.

Corrective actions are efforts to ensure that future performance meets the expected performance levels.

Question 14

Define:

Crashing

Answer 14

A schedule compression approach that adds more resources to activities on the critical path to complete the project earlier.

When crashing a project, costs are added because the associated labor and sometimes resources (such as faster equipment) cause costs to increase.

In the crashing process, costs grow as resources are added. Crashing doesn’t always work. Consider activities that have a fixed duration and won’t finish faster with additional resources.

Question 15

Define:

Critical Path

Answer 15

The path in the project network diagram that cannot be delayed; otherwise, the project completion date will be late.

There can be more than one critical path. Activities in the critical path have no float.

Question 16

Define:

Discretionary Dependencies

Answer 16

These dependencies are the preferred order of activities. Project managers should use these relationships at their discretion and should document the logic behind the decision.

Discretionary dependencies allow activities to happen in a preferred order because of best practices, conditions unique to the project work, or external events.

This also shows the number of user story points in the product backlog in relation to the number of user stories the team can create in each iteration.

These relationships are also known as soft logic, preferred logic, or preferential logic.

Question 17

Define:

Early Finish

Answer 17

The earliest a project activity can finish.

This is used in the forward pass procedure to discover the critical path and the project float.

Question 18

Define:

Early Start

Answer 18

The earliest a project activity can begin.

This is used in the forward pass procedure to discover the critical path and the project float.

Question 19

Define:

External Dependencies

Answer 19

As the name implies, these are dependencies outside of the project’s control.

Examples include the delivery of equipment from a vendor, the deliverable of another project, or the decision of a committee, a lawsuit, or an expected new law.

Question 20

Define:

Fast Tracking

Answer 20

A schedule compression method that changes the relationship of activities.

This is a schedule compression method that changes the relationship of activities, allowing activities that would normally be done in sequence to be done in parallel or with some overlap.

However, it adds risk to the project. This method makes it more difficult to show proof of progress to management.

Question 21

Define:

Finish-to-Finish

(FF)

Answer 21

An activity relationship type that requires the current activity to be finished before its successor can finish. Task B cannot finish until Task A is finished.

For example, two teams of electricians may be working together to install new telephone cables throughout a building by morning. Team A is pulling the cable to each office. Team B, meanwhile, is connecting the wires to wall jacks and connecting the telephones.

Team A must pull the cable to the office so that Team B can complete their activity. The activities need to be completed at nearly the same time, by Monday morning, so that the new phones are functional.

Question 22

Define:

Finish-to-Start

(FS)

Answer 22

An activity relationship type that requires the current activity to be finished before its successor can start. Task B cannot start until Task A is finished.

For example, in a construction project, the foundation must be set before the framing can begin.

Question 23

Define:

Fragnet

Answer 23

A representation of a project network diagram is often used for outsourced portions of a project, repetitive work within a project, or a subproject.

Can also be referred to as a subnet.

Question 24

Define:

Free Float

Answer 24

The total time a single activity can be delayed without affecting the early start of its immediately following successor activities.

Question 25

Define:

Hard Logic

Answer 25

Logic that describes activities that must happen in a particular order.

For example, the dirt must be excavated before the foundation can be built. The foundation must be in place before the framing can begin.

Also known as a mandatory dependency.

Question 26

Define:

Ideal Time

Answer 26

The amount of time needed to complete an assignment without distractions or interruptions.

Question 27

# Define: Industrial Work

Answer 27

Typically centered on physical labor, and it’s easy to see results and predict time and cost.

Question 28

# Define: Internal Dependencies

Answer 28

Internal relationships to the project or the organization. ## Footnote For example, the project team must create the software as part of the project’s deliverable before the software can be tested for quality control.

Question 29

# Define: Lag Time

Answer 29

Positive time that moves two or more activities farther apart.

Question 30

# Define: Late Finish

Answer 30

The latest a project activity can finish. ## Footnote Used in the backward pass procedure to discover the critical path and the project float.

Question 31

# Define: Late Start

Answer 31

The latest a project activity can begin. ## Footnote Used in the backward pass procedure to discover the critical path and the project float.

Question 32

# Define: Lead Time

Answer 32

Negative time that allows two or more activities to overlap where ordinarily these activities would be sequential. ## Footnote Lead time is considered a negative value, because time is subtracted from the downstream activity to bring it closer to the start of the project.

Question 33

# Define: Leads and Lags

Answer 33

These are values added to activities to alter the relationship slightly between two or more activities.

Question 34

# Define: Level of Effort | (LOE)

Answer 34

These activities involve ongoing project maintenance tasks that must be performed repeatedly, such as budgeting, reporting, and communicating.

Question 35

# Define: Little’s Law

Answer 35

The law that limits work-in-progress efficiently with development of an appropriate cycle time.

Question 36

# Define: Management Reserve

Answer 36

A percentage of the project duration to combat Parkinson’s Law. ## Footnote When project activities become late, their lateness is subtracted from the management reserve.

Question 37

# Define: Mandatory Dependencies

Answer 37

These dependencies are the natural order of activities. ## Footnote For example, you can’t begin building your house until your foundation is in place. These relationships are called hard logic.

Question 38

# Define: Mathematical Analysis

Answer 38

This analysis is the process of factoring theoretical early and late start dates and theoretical early and late finish dates for each activity within the project network diagram (PND).

Question 39

# Define: Milestone Charts

Answer 39

These plot the high-level deliverables and external interfaces, such as a customer walkthrough, against a calendar. ## Footnote Milestone charts are similar to Gantt charts, but with less detail regarding individual activities.

Question 40

# Define: Monte Carlo Analysis

Answer 40

A project simulation approach named after the world-famous gambling district in Monaco. This predicts how scenarios may work out, given any number of variables. ## Footnote The process doesn’t churn out a specific answer, but a range of possible answers. When Monte Carlo is applied to a schedule, it can examine, for example, the optimistic completion date, the pessimistic completion date, and the most likely completion date for each activity in the project and then predict a mean for the project schedule.

Question 41

# Define: Negative Total Float

Answer 41

A constraint on an activity, such as the activity must start on a specific date, or a deadline for the project completion, can cause negative float. ## Footnote This means the activities on the critical path don’t have enough time to meet the defined finish date for the project or the constrained activity.

Question 42

# Define: Network Diagrams

Answer 42

A network diagram shows the relationships between the work activities and how they will progress from start to completion. ## Footnote These diagrams can be extremely complex or easy to create and configure. Most network diagrams in today’s project management environment use an approach called “activity-on-node” to illustrate the activities and the relationships among those activities.

Question 43

# Define: Parametric Estimate

Answer 43

A quantitatively based duration estimate that uses mathematical formulas to predict how long an activity will take based on the quantities of work to be completed.

Question 44

# Define: Parkinson’s Law

Answer 44

A theory that states: 'Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.' ## Footnote It is considered with time estimating, because bloated or padded activity estimates will fill the amount of time allotted to the activity.

Question 45

# Define: Planning Package

Answer 45

A Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) entry located below a control account and above the work packages. ## Footnote A planning package signifies that there is more planning that needs to be completed for this specific deliverable.

Question 46

# Define: Precedence Diagramming Method | (PDM)

Answer 46

A network diagram that shows activities in nodes and the relationship between each activity. ## Footnote Predecessors come before the current activity, and successors come after the current activity.

Question 47

# Define: Product Roadmap

Answer 47

This is a tool to show the major product deliverables when they’ll be available based on project conditions, and how the product can grow. ## Footnote Product roadmaps identify the pain points of an organization, the business value of why the project is being undertaken, and loosely tie the forecasted deliverables to the overall goals and solutions of the project. This enables the project requirements to shift as expected in an agile project without conflicting with big promises in the product roadmap.

Question 48

# Define: Project Calendars

Answer 48

Calendars that identify when the project work will occur.

Question 49

# Define: Project Coding Structure

Answer 49

The coding structure identifies the work packages within the WBS and is then applied to the PND. ## Footnote This enables the project manager, the project team, experts, and even key stakeholders to extract areas of the project to examine and evaluate.

Question 50

# Define: Project Float

Answer 50

The total time the project can be delayed without passing the customer-expected completion date.

Question 51

# Define: Project Network Diagram | (PND)

Answer 51

A diagram that visualizes the flow of the project activities and their relationships to other project activities. ## Footnote PNDs, when used as the project schedule, should have dates associated with Each project activity should show when the activity is expected to start and end.

Question 52

# Define: Project Simulations

Answer 52

This enables a project manager to examine the feasibility of the project schedule under different conditions, variables, and events. ## Footnote You can play “what-if” scenarios with your project. For example, the project manager can imagine the circumstances if activities were delayed, if vendors missed shipment dates, or if external events affected the project.

Question 53

# Define: Rebaseline

Answer 53

This is when all historical information is eliminated as a result of the schedule delay. ## Footnote Rebaselining is a worst-case scenario and should be used only when adjusting for drastic, long delays. You should rebaseline only in extreme, drastic scenarios; however, a change request can justify rebaselining the project if additional scope items require additional time for the project.

Question 54

# Define: Refinements

Answer 54

As the project moves toward completion, refinements ensure that all the deliverables are accounted for within the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). ## Footnote Refinements may also call for, indirectly, updates to the activity list.

Question 55

# Define: Reserve Time

Answer 55

This is a percentage of the project duration or a preset number of work periods, and it is usually added to the end of the project schedule or just before project milestones. ## Footnote When activities are completed late, the additional time for the activity is subtracted from the reserve time. As the project moves forward, the reserve time can be reduced or eliminated as the project manager sees fit. Reserve time decisions should be documented.

Question 56

# Define: Resource Smoothing

Answer 56

This is the approach of doing resource leveling on noncritical path activities.

Question 57

# Define: Resource-Leveling Heuristic

Answer 57

A method for adjusting project schedules to balance resource allocation and prevent overallocation. This can be applied using different methods to accomplish various goals. ## Footnote One of the most common methods is to ensure that workers are not overextended on activities. Another method for resource leveling is to take resources off noncritical path activities and apply them to critical path activities to meet the project end date.

Question 58

# Define: Reverse Resource-Allocation Scheduling

Answer 58

This is the approach of scheduling resources from the project end date, rather than from the start date. ## Footnote Consider a highly skilled technician or consultant who is available to contribute to the project on a particular date only.

Question 59

# Define: Rolling Wave Planning

Answer 59

The imminent work is planned in detail, while the work in the future is planned at a high level. ## Footnote This is a form of progressive elaboration.

Question 60

# Define: Schedule Activities

Answer 60

This details the labor involved in creating the things defined in the Work breakdown structure.

Question 61

# Define: Schedule Compression

Answer 61

This is a mathematical approach to scheduling that calculates ways the project can get done sooner than expected. ## Footnote Consider a construction project slated to last eight months. Because of the expected cold and nasty weather typical of month seven, the project manager needs to rearrange activities, where possible, to end the project as soon as possible.

Question 62

# Define: Schedule Control

Answer 62

A formal approach to managing changes to the project schedule. It considers the conditions, reasons, requests, costs, and risks of making changes. ## Footnote It includes methods of tracking changes, approval levels based on thresholds, and the documentation of approved or declined changes.

Question 63

# Define: Smoothing

Answer 63

This approach smooths out the conflict by minimizing the perceived size of the problem. ## Footnote It is a temporary solution, but can calm team relations and boisterous discussions.

Question 64

# Define: Soft Logic

Answer 64

Activities that don't have to occur in a strict order but are guided by preferences, best practices, or organizational policies. ## Footnote For example, you could install the light fixtures first, then the carpet, and then paint the room. The project manager could use soft logic to change the order of the activities if desired.

Question 65

# Define: Sprint Retrospective Duration

Answer 65

The sprint retrospective, held at the end of each sprint, should last up to three hours for a four-week sprint. Shorter sprints will have shorter retrospectives.

Question 66

# Define: Start-to-Finish

Answer 66

An activity relationship that requires an activity to start so that its successor can finish. ## Footnote It requires that Task A start so that Task B may finish. This relationship is unusual and is rarely used. Such relationships may be encountered in construction and manufacturing. It is also known as just-in-time (JIT) scheduling.

Question 67

# Define: Start-to-Start | (SS)

Answer 67

An activity relationship type that requires the current activity to start before its successor can start. ## Footnote This relationship means that Task A must start before Task B can start. This relationship enables both activities to happen in tandem. For example, a crew of painters is painting a house. Task A is to scrape the flecking paint off the house, and Task B is to prime the house. The workers scraping the house must start before the other workers can begin priming the house. All the scraping doesn’t have to be completed before the priming can start, just some of it.

Question 68

# Define: Subnet

Answer 68

A representation of a project network diagram that is often used for outsourced portions of projects, repetitive work within a project, or a subproject. ## Footnote Also called a fragnet.

Question 69

# Define: Tasks

Answer 69

The smaller jobs to fulfill a user story, usually divided among team members.

Question 70

# Define: Technical Interfaces

Answer 70

The project team identifies the disciplines and specialties that the project will require to complete the project scope statement. ## Footnote The technical interfaces are the resources that will be doing the project work.

Question 71

# Define: Template

Answer 71

A previous project that can be adapted for the current project and forms that are pre-populated with organizational-specific information. ## Footnote Templates can include the activity list, resource skills, estimated hours of effort, risks, deliverables, and any relevant project work information.

Question 72

# Define: Three-Point Estimate

Answer 72

A technique for each activity that requires optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates to be created. ## Footnote Based on these three estimates, an average can be created to predict how long the activity should take. This is also known as simple averaging. Based on these three estimates, an average can be created to predict how long the activity should take.

Question 73

# Define: Time-Boxing

Answer 73

To set a fixed delivery date for a project or release.

Question 74

# Define: Total Float

Answer 74

This is the total time an activity can be delayed without delaying project completion.