Schedule Management Flashcards
project schedule management
includes processed to plan the project schedule and monitor and control the timeliness of work performance
project schedule management
- processes
- plan schedule management (planning)
- define activities (planning)
- sequence activities (planning)
- estimate activity durations (planning)
- develop scheudule (planning)
- control schedule (monitoring and controlling)
plan schedule management
the process of documenting how the project schedule will be planned and controlled. this helps to ensure all individuals of the project management team are using the same approach and tools for time management
plan schedule management
- key inputs
- project charter
- project management plan
- scope management plan
- development approach
plan schedule management
- key outputs
- schedule management plan
schedule management plan
defines how the project schedule will be planned, approved, and controlled through a series of project management processes. this may describe the tools to be used, the participating stakeholders, and the frequency of iteration. further, it may establish thresholds for planning accuracy, variance limits (thresholds for escalation), and rules for performance measurement and reporting
define activities
the process to take work packages, the lowest level of work defined in WBS, and decompose them further into schedule activities to facilitate better schedule planning and schedule control
the purpose of this process is to elevate the level of detail found in the WBS and determine areas where more detail is required for effective scheduling. for example, it may be determined that a work package can be further divided into smaller activities that will provide more accurate sequencing, duration estimates, or resource assignments
define activities
- key inputs
- project management plan
- schedule management plan
- scope baseline
define activities
- key tools and techniques
- decomposition
- rolling wave planning
define activities
- key outputs
- activity log
- activity attributes
- milestone list
rolling wave planning
a planning technique where planning for upcoming activities is more detailed than for activities that will occur later in time. detail will be added closer to the start date of each activity. this is a form of progressive elaboration
decomoposition
the breakdown of work packages into more detailed schedule activities
progressive elaboration
means that the project team does not know all variables and details about a project from the start, so updates and revisions must be made to plans throughout the project lifecycle. as a team learns more about the project, a greater level of detail can be incorporated into the project management plan
activity list
a comprehensive list of schedule activities, in more detail than the WBS. it should contain a unique identifier as well as the scope of work for that activity
provides the level of detail required to sequence the schedule activities of the project
provides the level of detail required to estimate durations for the schedule activities of the project
activity attributes
provides additional details for each activity in the activity list such as activity codes, notes about the activities, assumptions, and constraints
milestone list
identifies all milestones for the project and describes their need. milestones are significant events on the project schedule with a duration of zero.
sequence activities
the process of identifying and documenting logical relationships such as dependencies and leads and lags between project activities
sequence activities
- key inputs
- project documents
- activity attributes
- activity list
- assumptions log
- milestone list
sequence activities
- key tools and techniques
- precedence diagramming method (PDM)
sequence activities
- key outputs
- project schedule network diagrams
precedence diagramming method (PDM)
a technique of designing a network diagram using nodes to represent activities, and using arrows to represent dependencies, connecting the nodes. alos know as activity-on-node (AON)
finish-to-start (logical relationship)
the beginning of the dependent activity (successor) cannot occur until the predecessor activity has been completed
finish-to-finish (logical relationship)
the successor activity cannot finish until the predecessor activity has completed
start-to-start (logical relationship)
the successor activity cannot start until the predecessor activity has begun
dependency determination and integration
used to classify dependency relationships
mandatory dependencies
aka hard logic. represent dependencies without alternatives. the work must be performed in the specified order due to a legal or contractual obligation or because of the nature of the work
discretionary dependencies
aka soft logic. represent a dependency that is preferred, but not required. these dependencies must be documented since they may contribute to unnecessary schedule delays
external dependencies
represent when project activities depend on activities that are beyond the scope of the project
internal dependencies
relationships between activities that are fully within the scope of the project
leads and lags
the documentation of required space (lag) or overlap (lead) built into the dependencies of project activities. it is also important to document any assumptions that are made in this process.
project schedule network diagrams
graphical approach to display project schedule activities and the dependencies between them
estimate activity durations
the process of making educated guesses of the time it will take to complete project activities base on scope, resource assignments, and resource availability. typically, the opinions of those performing the work will need to be consulted for estimation.
estimate activity durations
- key inputs
- project documents
- activity attributes
- activity list
- assumption log
- lessons learned register
- milestone list
- project team assignments
- resource breakdown structure
- resource calendars
- risk register
estimate activity durations
- key tools and techniques
- analogous estimating
- parametric estimating
- three-point estimating
estimate activity durations
- key outputs
- duration estimates
analogous estimating
the use of actual data from a similar project as a basis for predicting durations for future schedule estimates
parametric estimating
the use of a mathematical equation to estimate the total duration of an activity based on known quantity and rate information
three-point estimating
the use of averaging three different estimates (most likely, optimistic, and pessimistic) to estimate the duration of a project activity.
program evaluation review technique (PERT)
a more complex form of three point estimating used to estimate the durations of schedule activities and of a project as a whole. PERT uses an optimistic estimate, pessimistic estimate, and a most likely estimate weighted by a factor of four (beta distribution). uncertainty can be calculated by finding the task variance and project standard deviation
- task weighted average duration = (O+(4*ML)+P)/6
- task variance = ((P-O)/6)^2
- project standard deviation = sqr(sum of all task variances)
- estimated project duration = sum of all task averages +- project standard deviation
triangular distribution formula
=(Optimisitc + Most Likely + Pessimistic) / 3
=(O+ML+P)/3
task weighted average duration formula
=(Optimistic + (4 * Most Likely) + Pessimistic) / 6
=(O+(4*ML)+P)/6
reserve analysis
a technique used to counteract schedule risk by adding a buffer of time to an estimate representing potential schedule delay
a technique used to counteract risk by adding a buffer into the cost estimate. in this process, contingency reserve can be added at the activity level based on an identified risk
a technique used to counteract risk by adding a buffer into the cost estimate. in this process, management reserves can be added at the project or phase level based on undefined risks.
duration estimates
numerical assessments of how long each project activity is expected to take from start to completion
basis of estimates
documentation stating how the estimates were generated, assumptions, constraints, and anticipated variances
project document updates
can include activity attributes, the WBS dictionary, or the assumptions log. since the estimate activity durations process involves “guessing” it is important to document assumptions and constraints involved in the estimates
can include many different project documents. most importantly are updates to the risk register to describe the ranking of risks using subjective qualitative scores. a qualitative ranking can be descriptive (low, med, high) or numerical (1-10)
made to the risk report to include an assessment of overall project risk exposure, a detailed analysis of risk value through s-curves, tornado diagrams, and/or criticality analysis along with a narrative interpretation of results
task variance formula
= ((P-O)/6)^2
= ((Pessimistic - Optimistic)/6)^2
project standard deviation formula
= sqr(sum of all task variances)
estimated project duration formula
= sum of all task averages +- project standard deviation
develop schedule
plans the start and finish dates for all project activities using the outputs from the other project time management planning processes. this is an iterative process that will evolve as work progresses
develop schedule
- key inputs
- 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
develop schedule
- key tools and techniques
- critical path method
- resource optimization
- data analysis
- what if scenario analysis
- simulation
- schedule comparison
- agile release planning
develop schedule
- key outputs
- schedule baseline
- project schedule
project team assignments
the assignment of individual resources to project schedule activities
resource calendars
the documentation of when resources can and cannot contribute effort to project activities.
documents the working days and non-working days for project resources. this information will be determined as a result of the acquire resources and conduct procurements processes.
schedule network analysis
a technique that describes the combination of the other tools and techniques in the schedule development process to generate a schedule model
critical path method (PTM)
a technique that evaluates schedule start and finish information and logical dependencies to determine the longest path of schedule activities. because the project cannot complete any faster than this path it helps determine the shortest possible schedule.
the technique involves a forward pass to determine the early start and finish for each activity and a backward pass to determine the late start and finish for each activity. by subtracting the activity early start from the late start, the activity float can be determined. the “path” of all activities that has zero float is said to be critical; any delay in one of these critical activities will cause an immediate impact on the overall project completion
early finish = early start + 1
late start = late finish - 1
float = late start - early start
resource optimization
used to adjust the schedule based on resource management
resource leveling (resource optimization)
the rescheduling of activities to resolve the over-allocation of a shared resource or other scenario of resource limitation. this commonly delays the project completion
resource smoothing (resource optimization)
the rescheduling of resource assignments to provide more balanced allocation without changing start dates for critical activities
what-if scenario analysis
a technique used to predict schedule outcomes based on a change made to the project
simulation
uses multiple estimated data points and the schedule model to help determine the likely project outcome and a distribution of probability for alternative outcomes. One popular simulation technique is known as the Monte Carlo Analysis
schedule compression
a technique to shorted the project schedule duration without changing the scope of the project
crashing (schedule compression)
technique of increasing cost, usually adding resources to reduce the schedule
fast-tracking (schedule compression)
the application of overlap to normally sequential activities
agile release planning
provides a high level summary of the features that may be delivered for each iteration of a project using an agile lifecycle. this technique can help to reconcile a product roadmap with the timing of when the project will deliver value.
schedule baseline
a formal approved version of the schedule model that will be used by the project management team, plus all approved changes. this will provide the basis for schedule performance measurement
baseline = plan + approved changes
project schedule
an instance of the schedule model that includes, at a minimum, a list of schedule activities and their scheduled start and finish dates additional information may include dependencies, resource assignments, costs, and more. as the schedule model changes, each instance of the project schedule will be unique. these are often represented graphically, via a network diagram, milestone list, or bar chart (also known as Gantt Chart).
represents the most current representation of the schedule model to include completion status and updates
schedule data
supports the project schedule such as milestones, activity attributes, assumptions, constraints, or buffer information
project calendars
identify the availability of when project work may or may not be scheduled. this provides the most basic set of rules for when activities may be scheduled; however, resource calendars may impose additional rules
control schedule
the process of proactively comparing actual project execution to the approved plan to document the performance closer in line with the plan.
in this process, the project management team observed the completion of project work as compared to the approved plan to determine performance. when a variance exists, corrective and preventative change requests should be generated to help bring future results closer in line with approved plans. the tools and techniques listed in this process are similar to the variance analysis technique used in control scope.
control schedule
- key inputs
- work performance data
control schedule
- key tools and techniques
- data analysis
- earned value analysis
- iteration burndown chart
- performance reviews
- trend analysis
- variance analysis
- what if scenario analysis
control schedule
- key outputs
- work performance information
- schedule forecasts
- change requests
iteration burn down chart
tracks the planned work remaining to the actual work remaining to measure past performance and predict future performance
change requests
may be issued by project stakeholder based on their understanding of project performance and opportunities to bring future project results closer in line with the plan.
may be generated if the stakeholder find that the project’s deliverables do not meet acceptance criteria or are not fit for use.
can be generated after the scope baseline has been approved and the team revisits decomposition (through progressive elaboration) and identifies new work not in the approved plan
preventative or corrective change requests may be generated by the project management team to help bring future schedule results closer in line with the schedule baseline. potential change requests include - crashing, fast tracking, descoping, extending the schedule baseline
may be issued by the project team to repair defects found during inspection
