Schedule management. Developing a Project Schedule What is involved in managing a project schedule?

Schedule Resource Leveling

A network schedule with deadlines will only become a real schedule when it is guaranteed by the availability of resources. The project manager must align schedules and resources so that all project activities are provided with sufficient resources on time. But when leveling schedule resources, there is usually one of two constraints: either the project is time-bound (activity durations cannot be extended) or the project is resource-constrained.

The art of the project manager is to prioritize the project, minimize the risk of delaying the overall project, and not exceed resource limits. In this case, it is possible to explore many options using computer programs.

In scheduling programs, each operation can follow one of two resource leveling principles:

Fixed duration, when the duration of the work remains constant, but the provision of this amount of work with assigned resources will change;

Fixed amount of resources, where resources are assigned based on their availability, i.e. The duration of the work will vary depending on the availability of assigned resources.

Thus, by reducing the supply of resources to a job, its duration increases, and by increasing the number of resources, its duration decreases.

Scheduling software allows you to assign resources to activities (jobs) - in hours, days or percentage of occupancy per day. Usually the calculation is based on an 8-hour working day and a 40-hour working week. Computer programs provide an opportunity to identify resource problems when creating a schedule. Required condition is the presence of a description of the need and availability of resources at the input of the process under consideration. In our project, if it employs one person with 100% daily employment, then the histogram of resource utilization will look as shown in the previous figure. As you can see, in the first half of the schedule there is an overload of resources. It can be leveled either by a) adding resources, or b) increasing the period of operations, or c) reducing the labor costs of operations. In our case, it is reasonable to use the last option for resource leveling. For example, resource overload can be eliminated by reducing the labor costs of operations, i.e. the following load of one person for operations: operation No. 1 - 100%, No. 2 - 50%, No. 3 - 50%, No. 4 - 50%, No. 6 - 100%, No. 7 - 100%. 7.9

Timing is one of the three project constraints. Maintaining a project schedule—the baseline schedule—requires effort and certain actions on control.

Process schedule management is:

In regulating factors influencing the schedule;

In the analysis of deviations, identification of changes and actual changes in the schedule, both documented and through corrective influences on project participants.

At the input of the schedule management process we have:

Project Schedule;

Execution reports;

Change requests;

Schedule management plan.

At the exit:

Clarification of the schedule, adjustment of the Project Plan;

Corrective actions.

Note that the schedule is sensitive to risks, or more precisely to additional work that causes risks. Therefore, the final schedule is prepared after detailed risk planning.

Schedule Management Plan A document that establishes the criteria and operations for developing and managing a project schedule. The schedule management plan can be formal or informal, very detailed or generalized, depending on the needs of the project.

What is Project Schedule Management? Essentially, the project schedule is reflected in the project schedule. One of the first actions when planning a project is drawing up a hierarchical work structure (WBS or Work Breakdown Structure), from which a work schedule is subsequently obtained by setting the duration of the work, their relationship, their start and end, as well as the resources involved.

The project schedule provides a “roadmap,” a map by which the project manager should navigate his project. Those. The project schedule shows at what point in time, what resources will be involved, on what work, and what results will be provided. Project schedule management includes all planning, control, and even schedule-correcting activities. It is the project schedule that allows you to use resources in the most effective way, attract them on the dates when they are needed and release them when the need for resources is no longer necessary. From a financial point of view, the company will be able to plan its payments through the project schedule, which avoids such negative things as cash gaps. In addition, the project schedule is included in the sources for estimating by analogy and is an excellent source for project analysis. When creating a project schedule, large projects use different standards. For example, the PMBoK standard. The Project Management Institute PMI even released a “Practice Standard for Schedule Management.” Creating and managing a project schedule according to a standard is a long and painstaking process that may include such actions as choosing a schedule management methodology, choosing tools, etc. On small projects, of course, the process of creating and managing a schedule differs in the direction of simplification, but still, as a rule, it cannot be called simple. In addition to the project manager, the project team, the customer and the project sponsor must also participate in the process of creating and managing the schedule . If the company has project office(project management office) he can help you. It is necessary to carefully evaluate the duration of certain operations. Coordinate with resource owners their availability, with various financial departments of the company, making payments on certain dates.

The project schedule must be realistic. An unrealistic project schedule is a mistake that new project managers often make. Some try to set minimum deadlines, while others, on the contrary, lay in too large reserves of time and resources. Both are bad. If you initially set deadlines that you cannot meet, this will either lead to the fact that already at the beginning of the project you will be forced to adjust the schedule (and additional risks arise), or you will immediately experience a lag behind the plan, and therefore, extracurricular work , stress, etc. If you have included too much reserve in your schedule, you most likely will not be able to explain it to management in a reasonable manner, and think about the team, what will they do in their free time? Well, the effectiveness of your project compared to similar ones, alas, will be low. So, to summarize: 1. When creating and further managing a project schedule, it is necessary to understand the purposes for which the project schedule is being created. 2. Before you start creating a schedule, try to determine exactly how you will create it (whether you will use a specific technique, what tool you will use, etc.). 3. Involve the project team, client, project sponsor, and other stakeholders to create the project schedule. 4. The project schedule must be realistic!

Topic 4. Project Time Management (Time Management) 4.1. Stages of project time management 4.2. Project Schedule Management Plan 4.3. Development of a project schedule (schedule plan) using the critical path method © Kokodey T. A.,

Project management subsystems/knowledge areas Project scope management Project time management Project cost management Project personnel management Project delivery management Project risk management Project communication management Project quality management Project stakeholder management Project integration management Stages (phases) of project management 1. Process Project Initiation 2. Project Planning Processes 3. Project Execution Organization Process 4. Project Execution Control Process 5. Project Completion Process Project Time Management - Processes for determining and controlling when project work included in the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) will be completed for timely completion of the project

Full table from PMBoK, fifth edition 2013 mooc/lesson01/story_content/external_files/PMB OK5_Tab_3-1.jpg

Translation: Processes (stages): Initiation Planning Execution Monitoring and control Closing - - Drawing up a schedule management plan - Determining the composition of work at the lowest level of the WBS hierarchy (WBS) - Determining the sequence of work (dependencies between them) - Estimating types and quantities work resources - Estimating the duration of work - Development of a project schedule - - Control of the schedule (analysis of deviations by deadlines and adjustments): determining the current status of the schedule, identifying facts of schedule changes, managing changes when they occur - Managing project deadlines Planning deadlines

The process of developing a schedule in accordance with Russian GOST R The purpose of the process: determining the start and end dates of the project, key events, stages and the project as a whole. Outputs of the process: - the relationships between the project activities are determined; - the duration of the project was assessed; - a schedule for attracting resources necessary to complete the project on time was determined and approved; - the project schedule is defined and documented; - basic approved calendar plan project.

1. Detailed hierarchical structure of work WBS (with marked works that will be used in drawing up the schedule. See example on slide 7) 2. Table of duration and work dependencies 3. Calculated network diagram (precedence diagram) with the found critical path 4. Project schedule ( basic schedule): Gantt chart 5. Resource schedule (resources must be assigned to all activities on the schedule) 6. Schedule control plan (how the project schedule will be controlled and how changes will be made)

Project as a whole Creation of result 1 Work package 1.1 Work 1.1.1Work Work package 1.2 Creation of result 2 Work package 2.1 Work package 2.2 Work 2.2.1Work Works of the lowest level of the WBS hierarchy (WBS) Detailed Hierarchical work structure (WBS)

The project schedule (calendar plan) is the planned dates for the completion of work and milestone events of the project. Stage 1. Determining the sequence of activities at the lowest level of the hierarchy from the Work Hierarchical Structure (WBS) and estimating their duration. Example: The organizers of a pop concert suggested that you organize the construction of a stage for performances in the central square of the city. Let us determine the composition, duration and sequence of work on this project:

Stage 2. Let's build a network diagram of the project (Network Diagram), which reflects the sequence of work, carry out its calculation and determine the critical path. Let's use the type of network diagram - “Precedence Diagramming Method” (PDM), in which rectangles display the work of the project, and arrows show the connections between the works. Let us introduce the notation: The critical path of the network schedule - the longest from the beginning to the end of the schedule - determines the minimum amount of time required to implement the project. Critical path tasks have no slack (R=0) - they cannot be delayed or “delayed”, otherwise the duration of the entire project will increase.

Let's reflect on the network diagram the sequence of project activities (taking into account their predecessors) and indicate their numbers and durations. Tasks 1 and 2 have no predecessors, they can start simultaneously, followed by task 3, which is the predecessor of tasks 4, 5 and 6, which are executed in parallel. They, in turn, are the predecessors of the last task 7. Let's build a network graph:

For each job, we calculate the ES (early start) and EF (early finish) parameters, moving along the schedule from the beginning to the end of the project. ES for parallel jobs 1 and 2 is 1 because the project starts on day 1. ES + “Duration” -1 = EF For work 1 we calculate EF: =20 That is, starting in the morning of the 1st day, work 1 lasts 20 days and ends at the end of the 20th day. The earliest job 3 can start (ES) is at the beginning of the 21st day, because it has two predecessors (1 and 2), the latter of which ends at the end of the 20th day at the earliest. For work 3 we calculate EF: =40. Similarly, we continue calculating ES and EF for each job until the end of the network diagram. Let's calculate the network diagram:

For each job, we calculate the LS (late start) and LF (late finish) parameters, moving along the schedule from the end to the beginning of the project. For the last work 7: EF=LF=52 (there is only one end date for the project - at the end of the 52nd day). LF- “Duration”+1 = LS For job 7 we calculate LS: =51 We define LF for jobs 4, 5 and 6: they must finish at the latest at the end of the 50th day so that their successor (job 7) can start (at the latest later) at the beginning of the 51st day. Let's calculate LS for work 4: =46. Similarly for tasks 5 and 6. To get the LF for work 3, select the smallest of the LS values ​​of its successors (works 4, 5 and 6) and subtract “1”. That is, 41-1=40 We continue similar calculations until the start of the project.

For each job, we calculate the full slack time (R) using the formula: R=LS-ES=LF-EF Then we determine the critical path from the works with zero slack (R=0): The length of the critical path or the project implementation period is = 52 days. During the implementation of the project, it is necessary to monitor the completion of these works exactly on time, since their delay or “delay” in implementation will lead to an increase in the duration of the entire project. At the same time, for example, job 2, which is not on the critical path, can be delayed by 10 days or performed longer by 10 days. If you need to shorten the project implementation period, it is necessary to reduce the duration of work on the critical path, for example, by attracting additional labor resources to carry them out. Let's define the critical path:

This method takes into account a probabilistic estimate of the duration of work. For each job, experts give estimates of duration: 1. They distinguish between optimistic, pessimistic and expected duration. 2. The duration is entered into the network diagram, which takes into account all estimates and is calculated according to the formula (coefficients may change): Duration = (Optimistic + Expected * 4 + Pessimistic) / 6 Alternatively, you can use the PERT method (Program Evaluation and Review Technique): Methods network planning works Critical path method (you can accurately determine the duration of work or use PERT estimates) PERT (uncertainty of the duration of work, expert estimates are used)

Stage 3. Construction of a Gantt chart is a “superstructure” over the network diagram, which makes it possible to visually represent the project calendar plan (schedule). 1st day 21st 41st 51st reserve 10 days In the Gantt chart, activities are indicated by bars oriented along the time axis (red ones are critical path activities), and the connections between them are indicated by arrows. The length of the bar indicates the duration of the corresponding work. The vertical axis of the diagram is the list of works. In addition, packages and blocks of work (summary tasks), labels of key schedule events (milestones), resources assigned to work, etc. can be marked in brackets on the diagram. In addition to the Gantt chart, you can present the schedule in the form of a calendar network diagram, in which the deadlines for completing the work are fixed in calendar dates

Stage 4. Determining resource requirements It is necessary to assign the necessary resources (human and material) to each job, i.e. draw up a project resource plan. Those. determine who will perform certain works or stages of work, as well as what are required Consumables, raw materials, machinery, equipment, transport, etc. Stage 5. Calculation of costs and labor for the project Determine the cost of the resources involved Stage 6. The resulting work schedule is analyzed and the calculation of the schedule is repeated with changes in the characteristics of the work, assignment of new resources, etc. Calendar network schedule

What is Project Schedule Management? Essentially, the project schedule is reflected in the project schedule. One of the first actions when planning a project is drawing up a hierarchical work structure (WBS or Work Breakdown Structure), from which a work schedule is subsequently obtained by setting the duration of the work, their relationship, their start and end, as well as the resources involved.

The project schedule provides a “roadmap,” a map by which the project manager should navigate his project. Those. The project schedule shows at what point in time, what resources will be involved, on what work, and what results will be provided. Project schedule management includes all planning, control, and even schedule-correcting activities. It is the project schedule that allows the most resources to be used effective way, attract them on the dates when they are needed and release them when the need for resources disappears. From a financial point of view, the company will be able to plan its payments through the project schedule, which avoids such negative things as cash gaps. In addition, the project schedule is included in the sources for estimating by analogy and is an excellent source for project analysis.

When creating a project schedule, large projects use different standards. For example, the PMBoK standard. The Project Management Institute PMI even released a “Practice Standard for Schedule Management.” Creating and managing a project schedule according to a standard is a long and painstaking process that may include such actions as choosing a schedule management methodology, choosing tools, etc. On small projects, of course, the process of creating and managing a schedule differs in the direction of simplification, but still, as a rule, it cannot be called simple.

In addition to the project manager, the process of creating and managing a schedule must include the project team, the customer, and the project sponsor. If the company has a project office (project management office), it can help you. It is necessary to carefully evaluate the duration of certain operations. Coordinate with resource owners their availability, with various financial departments of the company, making payments on certain dates.

The project schedule must be realistic. An unrealistic project schedule is a mistake that new project managers often make. Some try to set minimum deadlines, while others, on the contrary, lay in too large reserves of time and resources. Both are bad. If you initially set deadlines that you cannot meet, this will either lead to the fact that already at the beginning of the project you will be forced to adjust the schedule (and additional risks arise), or you will immediately experience a lag behind the plan, and therefore, extracurricular work , stress, etc. If you have included too much reserve in your schedule, you most likely will not be able to explain it to management in a reasonable manner, and think about the team, what will they do in their free time? Well, the effectiveness of your project compared to similar ones, alas, will be low.

So, to summarize:
1. When creating and further managing a project schedule, it is necessary to understand the purposes for which the project schedule is being created.
2. Before you start creating a schedule, try to determine exactly how you will create it (whether you will use a specific technique, what tool you will use, etc.).
3. Involve the project team, client, project sponsor, and other stakeholders to create the project schedule.
4. The project schedule must be realistic!

In future articles, I will try to detail some of the procedures for creating a schedule, as well as highlight other processes for managing the project schedule.

Successful projects to you!

Schedule management is associated with determining the current state of the project schedule, influencing factors that create changes in the schedule, identifying the facts of changes in the project schedule, and managing changes. Schedule management is considered part of the process general management changes.

Inputs to the Schedule Management Process

Schedule Management Plan contains a schedule management plan that defines how the project schedule will be controlled and managed.

Basic Schedule Plan The schedule baseline is a component of the project management plan and the basis for measuring and reporting schedule performance within the performance baseline.

Task execution reports provide information about schedule execution

Approved Change Requests uses updates to the schedule baseline and other plan components

Schedule Management Tools and Techniques

Project progress reporting includes actual start and completion dates and remaining duration of unfinished scheduled activities. When using the earned value methodology, reporting may include the percentage of completion of current planned activities. To simplify the preparation of periodic reporting on the progress of the project, it is convenient to use standard forms - templates. An example of a reporting form template is shown in Figure 5.12.

Fig.5.12. Project Progress Report Form Template

Schedule Change Management System The schedule change control system defines how the project schedule changes and includes the document management, tracking systems, and authorization levels required to authorize changes as part of the overall change control process.

Performance measurement Performance measurement methods produce a schedule variance and a schedule performance index, which are used to estimate the magnitude of any schedule deviations that occur.

Deviation Analysis A key function of schedule management is to perform schedule variance analysis. Comparing target start and completion dates with actual/forecast dates provides information for taking corrective action in the event of delays.

Comparative schedule charts. To simplify the analysis of schedule execution, it is convenient to use a comparative bar chart that has two bars for each scheduled operation - the current state and the state of the approved baseline schedule. The diagram clearly shows where the schedule is ahead of the plan and where it is behind it.

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