Time Flashcards
What is a schedule management plan?
- how schedule will be defined
- how activity definition will be done
- how it will be measured
- how and how often the team will track progress
- what will happen if the project veers from the plan
For what 5 processes is the activity list an input?
- Sequence Activities
- Estimate Activity Resources
- Estimate Activity Durations
- Develop Schedule
- Control Schedule
When is Define Activities performed?
- After the scope is baselined
* IOW: after the requirements documentation, project scope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionary under control
What are the components of the scope baseline?
- approved scope statement
- WBS
- WBS dictionary
Exactly when are baselines created relative to the Planning and Executing process groups? IOW relative to approval of PMP?
• find out
What is rolling-wave planning and when would it be appropriate to use?
• contrast IT system creation vs. construction (waterfall?)
What are some differences between a work package & a schedule activity?
- work packages are deliverables-based, focusing on the scope of the project, while activities are focused on the work that needs to be done to execute the work packages
- WBS belongs to scope baseline, while activity list is more closely related to the schedule
- activities are verbs; work packages may be noun/verb
- each activity maps back to one and only one work package
What is an activity attribute?
additional info/parameters about an activity
What are some typical milestones?
- imposed dates (constraints)
- projected dates (based on historical info)
- phase gates
- completion of interim deliverables
- hand-offs
What is a network diagram?
- preferred method of representing activities, dependencies, and sequences
- activities drawn in order they must be performed, and the amount of time each activity takes is represented by numbers
In what process are network diagrams created?
Sequence Activities
synonym for precedence diagramming method?
activity on node
What is the relationship between activities and milestones?
activities often must be arranged so as to meet imposed milestones
Describe the ITTO for Sequence Activities?
Inputs: • Schedule Management Plan • activity list • milestone list • scope statement Tools: • PDM • dependency determination • leads & lags (waiting) Output: • schedule network diagrams
What are the 3 main classes of dependencies?
- mandatory (hard logic)
- discretionary (soft logic)
- external (must be considered, but outside scope/control; i.e. supplier)
What are the 4 types of dependencies?
Give an example of each?
- FS, SS, FF, SF
- FS: hard logic (concrete)
- SS:
- FF:
- SF:
Why must leads be clearly explained and documented?
Need a good reason not to start an activity
What 3 factors typically affect an activity’s duration?
- level of effort required
- number of resources required
- resource availability
Describe the ITTO for Estimate Activity Resources?
Inputs: • Schedule Management Plan • activity list • resource calendars • risk register • activity cost estimates (if available) Tools: • expert judgment • alternative analysis • published estimating data • bottom-up estimating Outputs: • activity resource requirements • RBS • document updates
Explain why activity duration is different than the level of effort required?
LOE is invariant, but duration is a function of: how many, who, when
When is Estimate Activity Durations performed relative to adjacent processes?
> Estimate Activity Resources
Explain the similarities and differences between crashing and fast-tracking?
Both get project done faster:
• crashing adds resources (and cost)
• fast-tracking does tasks in parallel (adds risk as discretionary dependencies (soft logic) are ignored and more is going on simultaneously)
Describe the ITTO for Control Schedule?
fill this in
Why are network paths important?
- they illustrate different sets of sequences in which activities must be performed
- they are used to identify areas of high risk
• critical path calculations show where most schedule risk exists
What is the critical path?
Activities that cannot be delayed without delaying the finish date.
Why is the critical path significant?
- longest path, thus minimum (shortest) duration
* may be more than one CP (same length), which reflects increased risk
What is float?
- how much time an actvity can slip before it affects the critical path
- activities on the CP have zero float
How can an activity become critical temporally?
even if not initially on the CP, major slippage of a task can put it on the CP
How compute CP on the exam?
path chart:
path-activities-path duration
How compute float on the exam?
float = CP duration - other tasks on that task’s path - task duration
Describe the ITTO for Estimate Activity Durations?
Inputs:
• Schedule Management Plan
• activity list
• activity resource requirements
• resource calendars
• RBS
• risk register
• scope statement (constraints/assumptions)
Tools:
• expert judgment
• analogous estimating
• parametric estimating
• three-point estimating (PERT):
• beta/triangular distributions
• bottom-up estimating
• reserve analysis
Outputs:
• activity duration estimates
• document updatesWhat are the PERT formulas for an activity duration estimate and the std deviation (beta), and a triangular distribution?
Beta: duration estimate = (P + 4 * R + O) / 6 std dev = (P - O) / 6 Triangular: avg of 3 estimates (P + R + O) / 3
What does PERT stand for, and how is it used?
- Program Evaluation and Review Technique
- method to analyze the time tasks will take, to find the minimum (CPM)
- advantage: incorporates uncertainty in all activity durations
What is a reserve time estimate?
time added to activities as a contingency
When is Develop Schedule performed?
before Determine Budget
Describe the ITTO for Develop Schedule?
INPUTS:
• Schedule Management Plan
• activity list
• activity resource requirements
• activity duration estimates
• schedule network diagrams
• RBS
• resource calendars
• scope statement
• risk register
• staff assignments
• EEF + OPA
TOOLS:
• schedule network analysis
• CPM
• Critical chain method (CCM)
• Resource optimization techniques:
• leveling
• smoothing
• modeling techniques
• leads and lags
• schedule compression
OUTPUTS:
• schedule baseline
project schedule
milestone chart
Gantt charts
network diagram
schedule data
project calendars
PMP updates
document updatesWhat is the critical path method?
the combination of activities that, if delayed, will delay the project’s finish
What are the 3 purposes of the CPM?
- calculate project finish date
- identify how much individual activities can slip without delaying the project
- identify activities with the highest risk that cannot slip without changing the project finish date
What is the critical chain method?
- a way to view and manage uncertainty when building the schedule
- it modifies buffering techniques by estimating each activity as aggressively as possible, building the schedule network, then adding one lump-sum buffer to the end
- unlike other schedule network analysis techniques, it takes into account both activity and resource dependencies
What is a principal advantage of the CCM?
team not aware of the buffers!
What is the difference between resource leveling, and resource smoothing? When are they used?
- both forms of resource optimization
- Leveling: Used when org can’t supply enough resources simultaneously. Determine CP, then model uresource application to determine the effect on the schedule outcome. Schedule will lengthen: “With the resources available, when is finish date?”
- Smoothing: form of leveling where time constraint has priority, while avoiding peaks/troughs of resource demand. CP and completion date do not change, activity float decreases. Less disruptive to schedule than leveling.
What is the early start date for an activity?
earliest date activity can start when factoring in other dependencies (forward pass)
What is the early finish date for an activity?
early start date + duration - 1
What is the late start date for an activity?
latest an activity can start without changing CP (backward pass)
What is the late finish date for an activity?
late start + duration - 1
What are network diagrams used for?
- show workflow to team and sponsors
- identify opportunities to compress the schedule
- show project progress
What is the two-pass method, and why are two passes required?
forward pass (calculates EF) EF = ES + duration
backward pass (calculates LS and LF) LS = LF - duration
Two passes are required because the EF must be summed initially; unless there is an imposed date, LF = EF. LS is when an activity MUST begin (given all before it) to meet the schedule.
Distinguish between total float and free float?
- total float = amount of time and activity may be delayed or extended from its early start without delaying the project finish date
- free float = amount of time and activity can be delayed without delaying the ES of any successor
What is the enumeration method?
And what is its principal advantage?
- sum the durations for all paths; longest is the CP
* one knows near-critical paths too
What is the pneumonic for calculating float?
there is a start formula and a finish formula, and we always begin late
What crashing and how do you do it?
- accelerating project
* do activities on the CP faster
What actions can be taken to reduce the CP?
- reduce scope and/or quality
- overlap sequential activities using FF, SS or SF relationships
- partially overlap sequential activities by using leads
- increase the number of work hours per day or work days per week
- schedule activities that are normally in sequence at the same time (fast-tracking)
- shorten durations by assigning more resources (crashing)
- shorten activities that cost the least to speed up
Contrast what is given up to accelerate the schedule for both crashing and fast tracking?
- crashing = money +/- risk
* fast-tracking = risk +/- re-work
What does negative float mean?
you’re behind !
When can the CP have float?
• In planning = 0
• In executing:
negative = behind
positive = ahead
How would you resolve negative float?
compress the schedule
How would you choose an activity to fast track?
Look for those whose dependencies are discretionary
When are critical chain or agile scheduling methods often used?
where schedule is resource-dominated
availability may vary
Distinguish between buffers and padding?
buffers are planned, and inserted to minimize known risks
What is project float?
- difference between the schedule baseline in the end date required by the customer
- not the same as total float, which pertains to individual activities
