Five Ways to Build
a
Microsoft Project Schedule
Lynn Frock, PMP
513-321-3187 Phone
www.lynnfrock.com
lmfrock@one.net
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
1
Table of Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Presentation Assumptions.
The Five Ways to Build a Schedule.
Comparison Criteria.
Constraint Based
Project Network Diagram Only
Project Network Diagram with Contacts
Project Network Diagram with Leveled Resources
Portfolio / Program with a Resource Pool
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
2
Presentation Assumptions
• Schedule variance requires timely analysis & response.
–
–
Minimize negative variance.
Maximize positive variance.
• Stakeholders need fact based status.
• Requested change requires accurate analysis.
–
Impacts on time, cost and quality compared to baseline.
• Efficient and current resource forecasting & deployment.
• The team is accountable to the current agreed baseline.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
3
The Five Ways to Build a Schedule
1. Constraint Based
<<== (not recommended).
2. Project Network Diagram Only.
3. Project Network Diagram with contact information.
4. Project Network Diagram with leveled resources.
5. Portfolio / Program with a Resource Pool.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
4
Comparison Criteria
• Management needs.
• When appropriate.
• Advantages.
• Disadvantages.
• Construction and update techniques.
• Skills required.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
5
1. Constraint Based
•
Management needs:
–
–
•
A sufficiently detailed, accurate project schedule.
May or may not need resource assignment detail.
Appropriate when:
–
•
**not recommended**
Almost never.
Advantages:
–
–
Little understanding of Microsoft Project modeling required.
No understanding of the Precedence Diagramming Method
(activity sequencing) required.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
6
1. Constraint Based
**not recommended**
(Continued)
•
Disadvantages
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
No Project Network Diagram.
No Critical Path – all tasks marked as on the Critical Path.
Difficult to predict impacts of task slippage.
Changes can require manual recalculation.
Microsoft Project leveling feature much less useful.
Very difficult to model different scenarios for evaluation.
Very time consuming.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
7
1. Constraint Based
**not recommended**
(Continued)
•
Construction and update techniques:
–
–
–
–
–
•
Set the Project start date and working time definitions.
Enter task, duration and milestone data.
Manually calculate and set each task & milestone date.
Manually adjust impacted dates after entering actuals and
approved changes.
Manually adjust dates, as needed, to resolve resource
overloads.
Skills required:
–
–
–
Entering basic project, working time and task data.
Setting task constraints.
Workflow analysis modeling.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
8
2. Project Network Diagram Only.
•
Management needs:
–
–
•
Appropriate when:
–
–
•
A sufficiently detailed, accurate project schedule.
Do not need resource assignment details.
Resource schedules are managed in some other way.
Perhaps each task represents a sub-project.
Advantages:
–
–
–
Microsoft Project re-calculates start/finish dates and duration
when a modification potentially affects any of those values.
Impacts of variance are quickly available.
Easier to create alternative schedule scenarios.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
9
2. Project Network Diagram Only
(Continued)
•
Disadvantages
–
–
•
No resource assignment schedule.
No ability to understand resource capacity or find overassignments and overloads.
Construction and update techniques:
–
–
–
–
Set the Project start date & define the project working time.
Enter task, duration and milestone data.
Define the Project Network Diagram (internal & external links).
Enter actuals (could include cost data).
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
10
2. Project Network Diagram Only
(Continued)
•
Skills required:
–
–
–
–
Workflow analysis & modeling.
Activity sequencing (Precedence Diagramming method).
Entering basic project, working time, task data and actuals.
Using Microsoft Project to entering the Precedence Diagramming
Method’s internal & external links.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
11
3. Project Network Diagram with
Contact Information
•
Management needs:
–
–
•
Appropriate when:
–
–
•
A sufficiently detailed, accurate project schedule.
The name of the person, department or organization
responsible for the task (or deliverable).
Resource schedules are managed in some other way.
Perhaps each task represents a sub-project.
Advantages
–
–
Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.
Plus: A contact is listed for task information.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
12
3. Project Network Diagram with
Contact Information (Continued)
•
Disadvantages
–
•
Construction techniques:
–
–
•
Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.
Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.
Plus: A contact name is added to the Contact field or a user
defined field.
Skills required:
–
–
Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.
Plus: Adding the contact name without causing work to be
calculated.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
13
4. Project Network Diagram with
Leveled Resources
•
Management needs:
–
–
•
A sufficiently detailed, accurate, realistic project schedule
(no over-assigned resources.)
The name (or type) and quantity of each assigned resources.
Appropriate when:
–
–
–
–
Resource shortages might not be discovered in time.
Resource overloads could harm the project.
Costs will be forecast and tracked using Microsoft Project.
Earned Value is used.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
14
4. Project Network Diagram with
Leveled Resources (Continued)
•
Advantages
–
–
•
Disadvantages
–
–
•
Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.
Plus: Understand which and how many resources are needed
when.
More modeling time is required.
Balancing resources can be tedious.
Construction techniques:
–
–
–
Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.
Plus: Assign resources to tasks with accurate work (hours)
and duration estimates.
Plus: Enter actual work (hours) or actual duration.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
15
4. Project Network Diagram with
Leveled Resources (Continued)
•
Skills required:
–
Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.
–
Plus: Ability to define and assign resources.
–
Plus: Ability to model resource work - understand & use the
duration / units / work relationship.
–
Plus: Use Microsoft Project features to balance resources as
per management decisions.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
16
5. Portfolio / Program with a
Resource Pool
•
Management needs:
–
–
–
•
How much capacity is available for additional projects?
What happens to delivery if project priorities are changed?
Same as the Project Network Diagram Method with
Resources, but across a portfolio of projects.
Appropriate when:
–
–
–
Resources are shared across projects.
Resource skill shortages and overloads are difficult to
discover in a timely way.
Resources must be efficiently utilized.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
17
5. Portfolio / Program with a
Resource Pool (Continued)
•
Advantages:
–
–
–
•
Resources are not over assigned.
Resource capacity and load is known to some future time.
The impact of adding projects or changing priorities can be
analyzed.
Disadvantages
–
Requires a defined, disciplined administrative process to
maintain an updated and resource leveled portfolio.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
18
5. Portfolio / Program with a
Resource Pool (Continued)
•
Construction Techniques:
–
–
–
–
–
•
Establish a resource pool.
Add chartered projects to the portfolio (connect to the pool).
Define relative project priorities.
Balance resources across the portfolio.
Remove completed projects from the portfolio.
Skills required:
–
–
–
Resource pool definitions.
Connecting to the pool.
Resource leveling procedures.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
19
The Five Ways to Build a Schedule
1. Constraint Based
<<== (not recommended).
2. Project Network Diagram Only.
3. Project Network Diagram with contact information.
4. Project Network Diagram with leveled resources.
5. Portfolio / Program with a Resource Pool.
Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved.
20