Topic 4: Project schedule development and tracking Flashcards
What is project scheduling?
The process of defining project activities, determining
their sequence, and estimating their duration.
When is a project schedule typically created?
During the project initiation and planning phases.
What are the top challenges in project scope?
- Lack of clarity in scope of the project
- Shifting organizational priorities
- Project changes not well managed
- A lack of project management skills
- Training of project sponsors
What is the ‘cone of uncertainty?’
A progressively more detailed and accurate projection of the project schedule and duration as the project manager or project team specifies project deliverables and activities in more detail.
What are the processes in the project schedule management process?
- Plan Schedule Management
- Define Activities
- Sequence Activities
- Estimate Activity Duration
- Develop Schedule
- Control Schedule
What are rough order of magnitude (ROM) estimates?
Important but inexact estimates occurring very early in a project’s life cycle—that may be used to justify a
project’s consideration.
What are Budgetary estimates?
Estimates that occur later as the various project components are specified in greater detail.
What are definitive estimates?
Estimates that are developed when the project’s resources and activities are highly detailed - and therefore only have a minor degree of potential error.
What is a work breakdown structure?
A WBS is a way to illustrate the project’s scope and as a launching point for describing the activities necessary for creating the various subcomponents of the project.
What is a work breakdown structure similar to?
A product breakdown structure.
What are the inputs a PM uses to create a WBS?
- The project management plan
- Project scope statement
- Documented requirements
- Other factors
What is the primary process for creating a WBS?
Decomposition.
What is ‘rolling wave planning’?
A scheduling technique in which the team defers breaking down components until they are further clarified and the decomposition takes place as the project progresses.
What are different methods for working out the high level deliverables in the WBS
- Breaking down by major deliverables
- Use the phases in the System Development Lifecycle as a guide
- Breaking down by functional areas
What is the ideal time for a work package within a work breakdown structure
No less than 8 hours, no longer than 80.