Time Management Flashcards
Define activities
Taking the work packages created in the WBS and decomposing them into activities that are required to produce the work package deliverables
Plan schedule management
How you will plan manage and control the project schedule
Need to determine in advance what the measures of performance will be how and when you will capture the data you need to measure how you will use the data to keep the project on track and what you will do when variances occur
Rolling wave planning
Planning to a higher level and then waiting until project work has begun and work is clearer to plan at lower levels
Milestones
Significant events within the project schedule. They are not work activities and have no duration
Sequence activities
Taking activities and milestones and sequencing them in the order in which the work will be performed
Result is a network diagram
Precedence diagramming method (PDM)
Activity on node (AON)
Boxes are used to represent activities and arrows show activity
Finish-to-start - an activity must finish before the successor can start
Start to start - an activity must start before the successor can start
Finish to finish - an activity must finish before the successor can finish
Start to finish - an activity must start before the successor can finish
Graphical evaluation and review technique ( GERT )
Allows loops between activities
Ex: design a component and then test it, after testing the component may or may not need to be redesigned
Types of dependencies
Mandatory ( hard logic ) - inherent in the nature of work; you must design before you can construct
Discretionary (preferred soft logic preferential ) - the way an organization has chosen to have work performed; established based on knowledge of best practice within an area of the project
External - needs or desires of a party outside the project
Internal - based on the needs of the project and may be something the project team can control
Leads and lags
Lead may be used to indicate that an activity can start before its predecessor activity is completed
Lag is waiting time inserted between activities such as needing to wait 3 days after pouring concrete for construction can begin
Estimate activity resources
Type and quantity of needed resources are determine
Resources can include equipment materials and people
Estimate activity durations
Estimate how much time each activity will take
Estimators should be the ones who will be doing the work
One-point estimating
Estimator submits one estimate per activity based on expert judgment or historical information
Analogous estimating (top down)
Uses expert judgement and historical information to predict the future; can be done at various times and level of accuracy depends on how closely the project or activity matches past history
Management provides the schedule
Pros:
Quick
Less costly
Cons:
Less accurate
The last 5 projects took this long so this one should as well
The last two times this activity was completed each took 3 days
Parametric estimating
Looks at the relationship between variables on an activity to calculate time or cost estimates
Can come from historical records industry requirements standard metrics
Example estimator may use measures like time per line of code time per linear meter or time per installation
Takes 2 hours to paint 1 square foot of wall so 60 square feet would take 120 hours
Types of parametric estimates
Regression analysis ( scatter diagram ) - tracks two variables to see if they are related and crate a mathematical formula to use in future parametric estimating
Learning curve - the 100th room painted will be less time than the first room because of improved efficiency
Heuristics
Generally accepted rule or best practice
Example design work is always 15% of the total project length
Three point estimating
Estimating in a range
Estimators give an optimistic pessimistic and most likely estimate for each activity
Allows for more consideration of the uncertainty of estimating and the risk associated with the activities
Types of 3 point estimating
PERT
Triangular distribution ( simple average ) a simple average of the 3 point estimates (P + O + M / 3)
Beta distribution PERT (weighted average) gives stronger consideration to the most likely estimate ( P + 4M + O / 6)
Group decision making
Involving team members In estimating; brainstorming
Reserve analysis
Reserve to accommodate the risks that remain in the project after the risk management planning processes have been complete
Develop Schedule
After the network diagram and activity duration estimates are complete you put all this information into a schedule tool to create a schedule model.
Everything needed to develop a finalized schedule that is bought into, approved, realistic and formal
Schedule network analysis types
Critical path method Schedule compression Modeling Resource optimization Critical chain method
Critical path method
Determining the longest path through the network diagram the earliest and latest an activity can start and th earliest and latest it can be completed
Critical path
Longest duration path through a network diagram and determines the shortest time that it could take to complete the project
Helps prove how long the project will take
Helps you determine where to focus your PM efforts
Provides vehicle to compress schedule
Shows where activities have float and can therefore be delayed without delaying the project
Near-critical path
Close in duration to the critical path; something could happen that shortens the critical path or lengthens the near critical path to the point where the near critical path becomes critical
Float
Total float - amount of time and activity can be delayed without delaying the project end date
Free float - amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of its successor
Project float - amount of time a project can be delayed without delaying the externally imposed project completion date required by the customer or management
Schedule compression
Fast tracking - tacking critical path activities that were planned in a series and doing them in parallel
Crashing - adding or adjusting resources to compress the schedule; results in increased costs
Modeling
Asking yourself what if a particular factor changed on the project? And using ways to calculate or model the effect of these changes is through Monte Carlo analysis
Monte Carlo analysis - computer software to simulate the outcome of a project based on 3 point estimates
- the probability of completing the project on any specific day
- the probability of completing the project for any specific cost
Resource optimization
Resource optimization refers to finding ways to adjust the use of resources
Resource leveling - used to produce a resource-limited schedule; lengthens the schedule and increases cost in order to deal with a limited amount of resources
Resource smoothing - resources are leveled only within the limits,it’s of the float of their activities
Critical chain method
Uses a network diagram and critical path to develop a schedule by assigning each activity to occur as late as possible to still meet the end date
Allows the project team to place buffers on a h project schedule path to account for limited resources and project uncertainties
Project schedule
Network diagram - show interdependencies between activities
Milestone charts - bar charts that only show major events; good for reporting to executives
Bar charts / Gantt charts - effective for progress reporting and control; good for reporting to the team
Schedule baseline
Version of the schedule model used to mange the project and that the project team’s performance is measured against
Reestimating
Standard practice to reestimate remaining work of project at least once during the life of the project to ensure you can still meet the end date
Control schedule
Measuring against the baseline schedule and taking action to control it
Schedule management plan
Reporting formats to be used
Planning for how schedule variances will be identified and managed
Determination of what acceptable variance will be on the project
Scheduling methodology used on the project
Establishment of schedule baseline
Network diagrams
Shows dependencies and critical path
Help justify your time estimates for the project
Show workflow
Identify opportunity to compress the schedule
Impacts of schedule compression options
Fast track - adds risk; may add management time for the PM
Crash - adds costs; may add risk; may add mgmt time for the PM
Reduce scope - may save cost, time and resources; may impact customer satisfaction; when choosing which activity to shorten always choose on the critical path and the 1st activity available
Cut quality - may increase risk; may save cost, time and resources; requires good metrics; may negatively impact customer satisfaction
Options for shortening project schedule
Fast tracking Crashing Reestimate / review risks - the best and first choice Reduce scope - cut an activity Lower quality standards Stand your ground Work overtime
How is estimating done?
One-point estimating Analogous estimating ( top down) Parametric estimating -regression analysis - learning curve Heuristics 3 point estimating Group decision making Reserve analysis
