Study Cards - Chapter 6 Flashcards
The time management planning processes are…
- Define activities
- Sequence activities
- Estimate activity resources
- Estimate activity durations
Activities are…
- The foundation of providing estimates for budgets, scheduling, executing, and monitoring & controlling the project
The time management M&C process is…
- Control schedule
The define activities inputs are…
Output from Create WBS
- Scope baseline
EEFs
OPAs
The define activities processes are…
- Decomposition
- Rolling wave planning
- Templates
- Expert judgement
The define activities outputs are…
- Activity list (key)
- Activity attributes
- Milestone list
The sequence activities inputs are…
Outputs from Define Activities
- Activity list
- Activity attributes
- Milestone list
Outputs from Define Scope
- Project scope statement
OPAs
The sequence activities processes are…
- Precedence Diagraming Method (PDM)
- Dependency determination
- Applying leads and lags
- Schedule network templates
The sequence activities outputs are…
- Project schedule network diagrams
- Project documentation updates
A network diagram is useful for…
- Illuminates dependencies
- Assigns duration to each activity
- Graphically identifies the workflow
- Justifies time estimate for project
- Identifies critical path
The four relationships in the Precedence Diagramming method are…
- Finish to start
- Start to start
- Finish to finish
- Start to finish
Three types of network diagrams are…
- Precedence Diagramming Method (Activity on Node)
- Activity on Arrow
- GERT (looping)
Three types of network dependencies are…
- Mandatory dependency (must have)
- Discretionary dependency (nice to have)
- External dependency (third party)
A milestone list becomes part of…
- The project plan
- The project scope statement
- The WBS dictionary
Can be applied in the sequence activities process to affect timing…
- Leads (schedule compression)
- Lags (imposed delay)
The estimate activity resources inputs are…
Outputs from Define Activities
- Activity list
- Activity attributes
Outputs from Develop PM Plan (subsidiary plan)
- Resource calendars
EEFs and OPAs
The estimate activity resources processes are….
- Expert judgement
- Alternatives analysis
- Published estimating data
- Bottom-up estimating
- PM software
The estimate activity resources outputs are…
- Activity resource requirements (key)
- Resource breakdown structure
- project document updates
The estimate activity durations inputs are…
Outputs from Define Activities
- Activity list
- Activity attributes
Output from Estimate Activity Resources
- Activity resource requirements
Outputs from Develop PM plan (subsidiary plan)
- Resource calendars
Outputs from Define Scope
- Project scope statement
EEFs and OPAs
As the project manager, you are responsible for the following when estimating activity resources and activity durations…
- Obtaining historical information
- Creating your own estimates
- Forecasting your own estimates to completion
- Reviewing estimates
- Looking to shorten the project timeline
- Basing estimates on the WBS
- Ensuring that SMEs are delivering the estimates
- Managing to the schedule baseline
- Knowing when to implement a change
- Create most accurate estimate possible
- Meeting agreed estimates
Analogous Estimating
- Project ‘A’ is like 3 previous projects
- Quick and low cost
- Very ‘rangy’
- A form of expert judgement
Parametric Estimating
- If it takes 1 day and costs x to build a widget, then 1000 widgets will take 1000 days and cost 1000x
- Can be more detailed than analogous
- Faster than bottom-up
- Parameters may not scale
Three-Point estimating
- PERT (a weighted average)
- Triangular Distribution (non-weighted average)
- Can be very accurate for activities that are well understood
- Can be very inaccurate if elements are unknown
Bottom-Up estimating
- A detailed estimate based on reliable historical values
- More accurate
- Better team buy-in
- Longer with higher cost
- Relies on WBS
- Team may ‘pad’ estimates
Expert Judgement
- Subject matter expertise
Reserve Analysis
- Part of the Risk process
One-Point estimate
- Based on expert judgement but has numerous negative effects on the project
Heuristics
- Problem solving by experimental and trial-and-error methods (rule of thumb)
Standard Deviation
- The sigma value (σ)
- 1 σ = 68%
- 2 σ = 95%
- 3 σ = 99%
Six Sigma
- 99.99966%
- (3.4 defects per million)
PERT formulas
Mean = (To + 4Tml + Tp) / 6
Standard Deviation = (Tp - To) / 6
Variance = σ² (Standard Deviation squared)
Triangular Distribution formulas
Mean = (To + Tml + Tp) / 3
Standard Deviation = (Tp - To) / 3
Variance = σ² (Standard Deviation squared)
The develop schedule inputs are…
Outputs from Define Activities
- Activity list
- Activity attributes
Outputs from Sequence Activities
- Project schedule network diagrams
Outputs from Estimate Activity Resources
- Activity resource requirements
Outputs from Develop PM Plan (subsidiary plan)
- Resource calendars
Output from Estimate Activity Durations
- Activity Duration Estimates
Outputs from Define Scope
- Project scope statement
EEFs and OPAs
The develop schedule processes are…
- Schedule network analysis
- Critical path method
- Critical chain methods
- Resource leveling
- What-if scenario analysis
- Applying leads and lags
- Schedule compression
- Scheduling tool
The develop schedule outputs are…
- Project schedule
- Schedule baseline
- Schedule data
- Project document dates
Schedule baseline
- A version of the project schedule
- A component of the project management plan
- Accepted, approved and signed-off by the project management team
- Calendar based (start and finish dates)
Time estimate
- NOT calendar based
- aka Work Effort or Level of Effort
Slack or Float (three types)
Time an activity can be delayed without impacting…
Free - the Early start of the successor
Total - the project end date
Project - another project
Critical Path
- The longest path through a network diagram that produces the shortest possible completion time for a project
- Contains zero or negative float
- There can be more than one, and it can change
- Negative float means you are behind schedule
- Early start and late start are identical
4-box method
- Network diagram setup
- Activity Identifier (upper left)
- Activity Duration (upper right)
- Early Start (lower left)
- Late Start (lower right)
Early Start
- Calculated using the forward pass
- Sum of the Early Start and Duration of the predecessor activity
- When merging paths the largest number wins
Late Start
- Calculated using the backward pass
- The Late Start of the successor activity minus the duration of the predecessor activity
- When merging paths the smallest number wins
Total Float
- Sum of float across all activities in a path
Fast Tracking
- Schedule compression technique
- Allows for overlapping of activities
Crashing
- Schedule compression technique
- Adding resources to critical path activities
Critical Path Method (CPM)
- Computes forward and backward path to identify float
Monte Carlo
- What-if analysis
- Mathematical model based on statistical probabilities
- Uses random variables called stochastic variables
- Uses PERT and Triangular Distribution
Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM)
- Extension of the process called the Theory of Constraints
- Accounts for limited resources
- Focuses on managing time buffers and resources
- Cuts each task to it’s 50/50 estimate
- Adds 50% duration buffer to end
- Developed by Eliyahu Goldratt
Resource Leveling
- Used to adjust the variation in resource loading
- Applied after use of the Critical Path Method
- Stabilizes the number of resources working in each time period to prevent over-allocation
Milestones
- Have no duration
- Are an indicator that something has been completed
The control schedule inputs are…
Outputs from Develop PM Plan
- Project Management Plan
Outputs from Develop Schedule
- Project Schedule
Outputs from Manage Project Execution
- Work performance information
OPAs
The control schedule processes are…
- Performance reviews
- Variance analysis
- Project management software
- Resource leveling
- What-if scenario analysis
- Applying leads and lags
- Schedule compression
- Scheduling tool
The control schedule outputs are…
- Work performance measurements
- OPA updates
- Change requests (key)
- PM plan updates
- Project document updates
Duration Estimating Types
- Analogous Estimating
- Parametric Estimating
- Three-Point Estimating
- Bottom-Up Estimating
- Expert Judgement
- Reserve Analysis
- One-Point estimate
- Heuristics
