Session 4 Flashcards
Schedule Planning Process- What does the PM ensure
( Predictive)
• work package is broken down into required activities
• dependencies and precedence relationships are determined
• activity durations are estimated based on average resources
• critical path is determined
• resource overallocations are resolved
• schedule is compressed to meet any constraints
Schedule Planning Process- What does the Project Team ensure
(Hybrid)
• uses either time boxes ( cadences) or continuous flow method
• adopts release time frames
• plans each iteration with work
• prioritizes, estimates and decomposes user stories into tasks and determines iteration velocity
• works with product owner to refine the backlog after each iteration and plan the next
Schedule Management Plan
(Predictive)
• describes how activities will be defined and progressively elaborated
• identifies scheduling method and scheduling tool used
• determines schedule format
• establishes criteria for developing and controlling the schedule
• may be tailored for use in any type of project
• defines the maintenance process for updating status and records project progress in the schedule model during execution
Schedule Management Plan
(Hybrid)
• can help by placing managment controls on the project time line
Schedule Management Plan Components— Project Schedule Model
• methodology/tool for schedule development
• includes maintenance planning, including status updates and progress during execution
Schedule Management Plan Components— Accuracy
• acceptable range used to determine realistic activity duration estimates
• may include risk contingency
Schedule Management Plan Components— Units of Measure
• defined for each resource
~ example staff hours, days and weeks
Schedule Management Plan Components— Organizational Procedural Links
• Use of WBS to ensure consistency with estimates and schedules
Schedule Management Plan Components— Control Threshold
• monitoring schedule performance before taking action~escalation
• expressed as percentage deviation from the baseline~ percent ahead or behind schedule
Schedule Management Plan Components— Rules
• performance measurement ~ earned value management ( EVM)
Schedule Management Plan Components— Reporting
• frequency and formats for schedule- related reports
Schedule Management Plan Components— Process Description
• describes how schedule management processes are documented
Should a project start with Benchmarks and Historical Data?
T or F
True
Benchmarking
• compares current project schedule with a similar product/service schedule
• provides a good “starting point” for estimation before detailed analysis
• assesses feasibility in the initial stage of scheduling
Historical
• learn lessons from completed projects in the organization
Hybrid Schedules characteristics and benefits
• tailored plans to combine consistency and management oversight with flexible scheduling of work
• better product/deliverable quality with incremental or short-term value delivery and change (improvement, fixes) incorporated at intervals
• product delivery can be divided into subsets according to plan (milestones or cadence)
Predictive Schedule Planning—Project Manager
• breaks down a work package into required activities
• determines dependencies and precedence relationships
• estimates the duration of activities based on average resources
• determines the critical path
• resolves resource overallocations
• compresses the schedule, if needed, to meet constraints
Predictive Break Down Project Activities
• break down project work packages into activities (noun)
• enter activities into the activity list using a verb statement
• use the activity list to develop the project schedule
• include duration (start and end day) every activity
Predictive Activity Dependency Types
Mandatory
• contractually required or inherent in the nature of work
~ PM must schedule it- no way around the sequence
Predictive Activity Dependency Types
Discretionary
• established because of best practices or a specific sequence is desired
~ PM can be modified as needed, if replaceable with a better sequence, or if schedule compression is required
Predictive Activity Dependency Types
External
• activities performed outside the project team’s work
~ PM limited or no control
Predictive Activity Dependency Types
Internal
• in project work, contingent on inputs
~ PM has contol
Precedence
• indicates which activity drives the relationship
Predecessor
• usually occurs earlier in time than successor
Types of Precedence Relationships
( Finish to Start -FS)
•successor cannot start until predecessor is completed
Types of Precedence Relationships
( Start to Start SS)
• successor cannot start until predecessor starts
Types of Precedence Relationships
( Finish to Finish FF)
• successor cannot finish until predecessor is finished
Types of Precedence Relationships
( Start to Finish- SF)
• successor cannot finish until predecessor starts
Activity Duration Estimate
(Predictive)
• the quantitative assessment of the likely number of time periods required to complete an activity
Activity Duration-Elapsed Time
(Predictive)
• the actual calendar time required for an activity from start to finish
Activity Duration-Effort
(Predictive)
• the number of labor units required to complete a scheduled activity or WBS component, often expressed in hours, days, or weeks; contrast with duration
Estimating Techniques
Analogous
• uses historical data from a similar activity or project to estimate, duration, (or cost)
• aka “top- down estimating
~ less costly and time consuming
~ used she project information is limited
Estimating Techniques
Parametric
• uses an algorithm to calculate, duration or cost based on historical data and project parameters
• durations can be quantitatively determined—multiply quantity of work to be performed by the number of labor hours per unit of work
~ can produce higher levels of accuracy depending on sophistication of data from model
~ scalable and linear
Estimating Techniques
Three Point
• defines an approximate range of an activity’s duration, using most likely optimistic, and pessimistic
• used when historical data is insufficient, or subjective
~ may improve accuracy of single point estimations by including risk and uncertainty factors
Estimating Techniques
Bottom- Up
• uses aggregate of the estimates of the lower level components of the WBS
~ very accurate and gives lower-level managers more responsibility
Project Schedule
Predictive & Hybrid
• include start and finish activities
• used specific dates and I’m a certain sequence
• sets dates for project milestones
• coordinates activities to ensure on-time project completion
• tracks project progress based on schedule performance and provides visibility of project status to upper management and project stakeholders
Schedule Presentation Formats
• roadmap
• gantt chart
• milestone chart
• project schedule network diagram
Gnatt Chart
• visualize and track project over a time line
Milestone Schedule
• present milestones with planned dates
Project Schedule Network Diagram
• visualize interrelationships of activities
Schedule Compression Techniques
Fast Tracking
• perform activities in parallel to reduce time
• may result in rework, increased risk and increased cost
Schedule Compression Techniques
Crashing
• shorten schedule duration for the last incremental cost by adding resources— overtime, additional resources
• works only for activities on the critical path
• does not always produce a viable alternative and may result in increased risk and/ or cost
Special Intervals- Negotiate
Predictive
• how and when required scheduled “down” time intervals will take place
Special Intervals- Black Out times
Predictive
• deliverables are handed over for implementation:
~ suspends changes
~ reduces risks as the solution is releases to customers
Special Intervals - Go Live
Predictive
• at the end of the project timeline
Special Intervals
Adaptive
• negotiate black out times as project approaches release iteration H or hardening sprint- conducted prior to final release
Schedule Management in Adaptive Environments Guidelines
• depends on team composition and life cycle
• project team works with the product owner to decide
• develop the roadmap to show release functionality and time frames
• Choose an approach
~ time boxed scheduling with backlog
~ on demand, continuous scheduling
• project team selectes activities for delivery within an iteration or sprint
• teams produce increments of value for delivery and feedback
Adaptive Scheduling Approaches
On- Demand (Kansan/Lean based)
• allows individual requests to be addressed
• levels out work of team members
• best when activies are divided equally
• prioritize requests to determine start sequence then sequence stories individually through completion
• team pulls work from queue
•provides incremental business value
Adaptive Scheduling Approaches
Time-boxed/ Iterative
• uses progressive elaboration (rolling wave) to schedule activities
• uses a specific work interval—e.g. 2 weeks
• allows changes at any time during project
• define requirement with user stories then prioritize stories
• select work based on priority and time box; add remaining stories to backlog; reintroduce stories later,, based on priority
• delivers business value early and incrementally
Adaptive Planning Overview
• release schedule usually last from 3 to 6 months
• time- boxed iterations or sprints typically last 1-4 weeks
• assign story points to tasks to determine the amount of work
• Velocity- the capacity of the team to complete work
Agile Release Planning- Story Mapping
• group stories by sequence and priority
• sequence features and functions for the release
• prioritize user stories in the release backlog and associate them with features and functions
Story Points
• uses a relative measure— e.g. numbers in the Fibonacci sequence— to identify the level of difficulty or complexity is a user story or task
Planning Poker
• estimates effort or relative of development effort
• uses a deck of cards with Fibonacci numbers to vote on users stories
Definition of Ready (DoR) Adaptive Approach
• what needs to be in place so the team can begin work
~ a team’s checklist for a user-centric requirement that has all the information the team needs to be able to begin working on it
~ depends on the environment’s complexity and lessons learned from past iterations
Definition of Done (DoD) Adaptive Approach
• describes the goal or desired state
~ a team’s checklist of all the criteria required to be met so that a deliverable can be considered ready for customer use
Definition of Done (DoD) is similar to acceptance criteria in predictive projects
T of F
True
Responsibility assignment matrix RAM or RACI- Predictive or Hybrid Approach
• designates typed of accountabilities assigned to resources or stakeholders
• keeps information visible
What does R stands for in RACI
• Responsible - a team member
~ performs work to complete the task or create the deliverable
~ every task has at least one responsible person
What does A stands for in RACI
• Accountable- on the team (leadership or management)
~ delegates and reviews the work involved in a project
~ ensures the responsible person/team know me project expectations and completes work on time
~ each task has only one accountable person
What does C stands for in RACI
• Consult - Stakeholders
~ provides input and feedback on project work
~ not every task or milestone needs a consulted party
What does I stands for in RACI
• Inform- usually not project decision makers
~ needs to be informed of project progress because their work might be affected, but don’t need details
Plan the Procurement Strategy with the following:
• prerequisite OPAs
• acquisition method
• contract types
• procurement phases
Procurement Management Plan- Predictive Approach
• specifies the types of contracts that will be used
• describes the process for obtaining and elevating bids
• mandates standardized procurement documents
• describes how providers will be managed
Procurement Documents (Bids and Proposals Activities)
• Statement of Work SOW
~ details is work
• Request of Quotation- RFQ
~ bid
• Invitation for Bid - IFB
~ buyer request expresssion of interest in work
• Request for Information- RFI
~ buyer requests more information from seller
• Request for proposal- RFP
~ buyer issued statement of work required
• Expression of Interest- EOI
~ seller- issued expression of interest in work
Formal Procurement Processes
• use RFPs, bidder conferences and formal processess to ensure all prospective vendors have a clear and common understanding of the procurement
3 Categories of Contracts
• cost plus fixed fee -CPFF
~ amont per hour
~ fees do not change unless the project scope change
• cost plus incentives fee- CPIF
~ not sure how much it will take to get the project done
• cost plus award fee- CPAF
~ based of performance
Cost reimbursable contracts
• for projects with excepted, significant scope changes
~use when scope is not well defined
Fixed price contracts
• sets a fixed total price for a defined product, service, or result; used when requirements are well defined and no significant scope changes are expected
Time and material contracts
• also called time and means
• combine aspects of both cost reimbursable and fixed price contracts
• used when a precise scope or statement of work is unavailable
• used often for argumenting staff, acquiring experts or gaining external support
Components of contracts
• description of work- deliverables and scope
•‘delivery date and schedule information
• identification of authority; where appropriate
• responsiblities of both parties
• management of technical and business aspects
• price and payment terms
• provisions for termination
• applicable guarantees and warranties
• intellectual property
• security, confidentiality, data privacy
What to consider for Budget Planning using expert judgment
• cost as well as value
• organization and stakeholder attitudes towards budget and costs
Budget Planning Predictive
• create cost management
• employ estimating techniques to assign cost to activities
• tailor a cost baseline
Productive Resource Costs
• match project needs to resource attributes,(availability, experience, knowledge, skills attitude
• create initial estimate, based on average rate
• modify as needed
Adaptive Resource Costs
• assign a blended rate
• estimate points (effort) using planning poker or affinity diagram to find the number of user stories that can be completed based on team velocity
• use a simple formula to estimate the cost per point
• use a formula to estimate budget
Predictive Estimate Costs
• estimate the cost for each activity or package in a project including:
~ direct labor
~ materials
~ equipment
~ facilities
~ services
~ information technology
~ contingency reserves
Adaptive Estimate Costs
• expecting the scope of change
• use light weight estimation methods for high-level estimating
Project Budget
• use the bottom up approach to aggregate activity costs, work package cost cost baseline
• include contingencies to support risk management
Adaptive Budget Guidelines
Examples
• focus on short term, budgeting, and metrics vs long-term
• set time periods for work and prioritize work within those time.
• base cost on the resources used for that time period
Hybrid Budget Guidelines
Examples
• estimate budget based on current data, plus a forecast algorithm that is based on historical data or expert guidance— Lean or Kanban
• use a top down approach using gross-level estimation techniques such as planning poker and affinity grouping on feature sets, then employing progressive elaboration and rolling wave planning methods to drill down to the task level on a just in time basis (iteratively)
• revise budget at sprint planning intervals
Hybrid Budget Considerations
• estimate budget based on the length of time of the project
• burn rate includes:
~ number of team members
~ blended or actual team member rates
~ time of involvement
• assumption a full-time team involvement
• if additional equipment or supplies are required, add them to the estimated cost
Work Package
• the work, define at the lowest level of the work breakdown structure WBS for which clause and duration are estimated and manage
Dependency
• a relationship between one or more tasks/activities. A dependency may be mandatory or discretionary, internal or external.
Precedence Relationship
• a logical dependency used in the precedence diagramming methods
Critical Path
• the sequence of activities that represents the longest path through a project, which determines the shortest, possible duration
Project Activity
• a distinct, scheduled portion of work performed during a project
Activity List
• a documented tabulation of schedule activities that show the activity description, activity identifier, and a sufficiently detailed scope of work description so project team members understand what work is to be performed
Activity Dependency
• a logical relationship between two project activities
Precedence Diagramming Method
• a technique used to create the network diagram. It constructs a schedule model in which activities are represented by nodes and are graphically linked by one or more logical relationships to show the sequence in which the activities are to be performed
LEAD
• the amount of time, a success or activity can be advanced with respect to a predecessor activity
LAG
• the amount of time a successor activity will be delayed with respect to a predecessor activity
Critical Path Method
• a technique of schedule analysis in which the schedule activities are evaluate to determine the float or slack for each activity and the overall schedule. To calculate critical path, use the forward and backward pass along with float analysis to identify all network paths including critical
FLOAT
• the difference between the early and late dates
Total Float
• the amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed or extended from its early start date without delaying the project finish date or violating a schedule constraint
Free Float
• the amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed without impacting the early start date of any subsequent scheduled activity
Early Finish Date - EF
• the earliest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can finish based on the schedule network logic, the data date, and any schedule constraints
Early Start Date ES
• the earliest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can be started based on the schedule network logic, the data date in any schedule constraints
Late Finish Date LF
• the latest possible point in time when the uncompleted portions of a schedule activity can finish based on the schedule network logic, the project completion date, and any schedule constraints
Late Start Date LS
• the latest possible point in time when the uncompleted portion of a schedule activity can start based on the schedule network logic, the project completion date and any schedule constraints
Resource Smoothing
• a resource optimization technique, in which free and total flow are used without affecting the critical path
Resource Leveling
• a resource optimization technique in which adjustments are made to the project schedule to optimize the allocation of resources and which may affect the critical path
Fast Tacking
• a schedule compression technique, in which activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration
Crashing
• apply additional resources to one or more task /activities to complete the work more quickly. Crashing usually increases cost more than risks. In comparsion, fast tracking increases risk.
Schedule Baseline
• the approved version of a schedule model that can be changed using formal change control procedures, and is use as the basis for comparison to actual results. It is one of the main project documents that should be created before the project starts.
Hardening Iteration/ Iteration H
• specialized increment/iteration/sprint dedicated to stabilizing the code base so that it is robust enough for release. No new functionality is added. Primarily used for refactoring and/ or technical debt
Sprint Velocity
• a descriptive metric used by agile and hybrid teams. It describes the volume of work the a team performs during a sprint. Use this metric to understand the rate of your teams work during an average sprint.
Iteration Backlog
• the work that is committed to be performed during a given iteration and is expected to burn down the duration. The work does not carry over to the next iteration
Resource Management Plan
• a component of the project management plan that describes how project resources are acquired, allocated, monitored and controlled
Resource Calendar
• a calendar that identifies the working days and shifts for which each specific resource is available
RACI Chart
• stands for:
~ Responsible
~ Accountability
~ Consult
~ Inform
• a common type of responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) that uses responsible, accountable, consult, and inform statuses to define the involvement of stakeholders in project activities
Make Or Buy Analysis
• the process of gathering and organizing data about product/ service requirements and analyzing data against available alternatives including the purchase or internal manufacture of the project
Make or Buy Decisions
• decisions made regarding the external purchase bs internal manufacture of a product
Procurement Management Plan
• a component of the project or program management plan that describes how a project team, acquire goods and services from outside the executing organization
Cost Performance Index (CPI) or Schedule Performance Index (SPI)
• anything below 1 is bad
~this mean you are over budget
