Advanced Project Management
Project Time Management
Ghazala Amin
Project Time Management
• Reference study materials
– A guide to the Project Management Body of
Knowledge (PMBOK Guide), Chapter 6
– Study notes
– Dr. Kerzner’s book, Chapter 12
2
Project Parameters: Time
All projects have a life span, namely, the interval
between the point in time the project formally
commences and the point in time when it is
completed or prematurely terminated.
The project life-span can range from very short - for e.g., one week
for recataloguing books in a public library - to very long, for e.g.,
eight years for the construction of a large dam with attached
electric power generating station.
As with cost, it is often difficult to determine the life-span of a
project with a high level of accuracy, especially in the pro-ject‘s
early stages. Schedule overruns are common in pro-jects and, like
cost overruns, they too are also considered a manifestation of
project failure.
3
Project Parameters: Time
(Important Topics in Project Time Management)












Project Activities
Dependency Relationships Between Project Activities
Project Activity Duration Estimation
Project Milestones
Project Schedule Baseline
Project Gantt Charts
Network Diagrammes (Arrow-on-Arrow, Arrow-on-Node)
Critical Path Method
Programme Evaluation Review Technique
“Crashing“ the Project
Earned Value Method
Time Management Training for Project Staff
4
PMBOK Area: Time Management
Project Time Management includes the
processes required to ensure the completion
of the project within the time-frame which
has been allocated for it.
Processes covered under Project Time
Management are activity definition, activity
resource estimating, activity duration
estimating, schedule development, and
schedule control.
5
Project Time Management
• Includes the processes required to ensure timely
completion of the project
• Enables effective management of time and
resources assigned to project tasks
6
Project Time Management
• Poor time management is caused by
– difficulty in saying no
– lack of self discipline
– bureaucracy
– lack of delegation
– poor utilization of staff
7
Project Time Management - Processes
Project Time Management processes (per PMBOK)
Define Activities
Sequence Activities
Estimate Activity Resources
Estimate Activity Duration
Develop Schedule
Control Schedule
Process
Groups
Initiation
Planning
Execution
Control
Closing
Knowledge
Areas
Time
Management
Define Activities
Schedule Control
Sequence Activities
Estimate Activity Resources
Estimate Activity Duration
Develop Schedule
8
Activity Definition
• Involves identifying and documenting the
specific activities that must be performed in
order to produce the deliverables and subdeliverables identified in the work breakdown
structure
9
Activity Definition
• Work breakdown structure is reviewed.
• Any additional Constraints and assumptions are
identified
• Expert judgment of staff or SMEs are procured
• Results in;
– Finalized Activity list for project delivery
– Work breakdown structure updates are made if
needed.
10
Activity Sequencing
• Involves identifying and documenting
interactivity logical relationships. Activities
must be sequenced accurately to support
later development of a realistic and
achievable schedule
11
Activity Sequencing
•
•
•
•
•
•
Activity list is finalized.
Mandatory dependencies are identified
Discretionary dependencies are identified
External dependencies are identified
Milestones are identified
Common Tools & Techniques used are;
• Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
• Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)
• Results in;
– Project network diagram – Schematic Display of project
activities and logical relationships among them. (Eg. ADM,
PDM)
– Activities will get further decomposed and redefined after
establishing logical relationships.
12
Activity Sequencing
• Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
– Nodes represent activities
– Arrows connect activities and show dependencies
– Also referred to as Activity-on-Node (AON)
– Uses four type of dependencies:
• Finish-to-start, finish-to-finish, start-to-start, start-tofinish
Activity (A)
Activity (B)
13
Activity Sequencing
• Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)
– Arrows represent activities
– Connected at nodes showing dependencies
– Also referred to as Activity-on-Arrow (AOA)
– Uses only finish-to-start dependencies
– May use dummy activity
Activity
14
Project Network Diagram – Example
6/7
7/27
7/28
9/6
Mileage (5,10&15)
CUPID Unload
6/7 6/23
Dealer
Unload
5/22
6/2
Design
Trans.
9/7
6/7
6/27
Dealer (16)
6/28
8/8
Suppression
Contact History (6&7)
8/1
6/7
Dealer (18.1 & 18.2)
PIT
Handoff
8/2
10/27
10/30
PIT Testing
8/23
8/9
9/11
Code
Freeze
CKS R2
Launch
8/18
PMC
15
Resource Planning
• Involves determining physical resources and
the quantities required to perform project
activities
– People
– Facilities
– Equipment
– Material
16
Activity Duration Estimating
– Involves assessing the number of work
periods likely to be needed to complete
each identified activity
17
Activity Duration Estimating
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Activity list is further reviewed and finalized
Any additional Constraints and assumptions are identified
Resource requirements/capabilities are defined
All Historical information is retrieved for estimating
Identified Risks with estimation is documented.
Expert judgment is used for time estimation
Reserve time (Contingency) is built in as risk mitigation
• Results in;
– Activity duration estimates
– Activity list updates
18
Schedule Development
– Schedule development means determining
start and finish dates for project activities
19
Schedule Development
• Project Management Software is most commonly
used for schedule development.
• Leads and lags are identified for tasks;
– Lead: A modification of a logical relationship
which allows an acceleration of the successor
task
– Lag: A modification of a logical relationship which
directs a delay in the successor task
• Resource pool description
• Calendars and work hours are updated
20
Schedule Development
• Mathematical Analysis used commonly;
• Critical Path Method (CPM)
• Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT)
• Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
– Duration Compression
• Crashing
• Fast Tracking
– Simulation
• Monte Carlo
21
Schedule Development
• Critical Path Method (CPM)
– Determines early and late start and finish date for
each activity
– Calculate float
– Find least flexible activities
22
Schedule Development
• Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
– Uses weighted Average duration estimates
– PERT uses mean instead of Most Likely estimate
used by CPM
• Pert Calculations
– O = Optimistic
– P = Pessimistic
– M = Most likely
– Weighted duration = (O+4M+P)/6
23
Schedule Development
• Crashing
– Maximum amount of compression for minimum
additional cost
• Fast tracking
– Overlapping serial activities
24
Schedule Control
• Schedule control is concerned with
– (a) influencing the factors which create schedule
changes to ensure that changes are beneficial,
– (b) determining that the schedule has changed,
– (c) managing the actual changes when and as
they occur
25
Schedule Control
• Project schedule is updated with actual
• Change requests are reviewed and added to
schedule
• Project Management software is used for updates
• Results in;
– Schedule updates
– Documentation of Corrective actions and lessons
learned.
26
Schedule Management Plan
– Plan for how the schedule changes will be managed
– Plan for change control process and procedures,
performance measures
– This will be part of Project Plan
27