Project Planning and Scheduling

PROJECT PLANNING AND

SCHEDULING

UNIT STANDARDS

243811: Determine the work required to accomplish the objectives and organise the scope of a simple to moderately complex project

243823: Develop a preliminary Project scope statement for a simple to moderately complex project

243820: Develop an optimised work and resource schedule for a

Simple to moderately complex project

© MSC EDUCATION HOLDINGS (PTY) LTD 2013 Volume 1

Project Planning and Scheduling

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

MODULE UNIT STANDARD ALIGNMENT

PURPOSE, OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ALIGNMENT MATRIX

KEY TO ICONS USED IN THIS MODULE

4

5

11

12

LEARNING UNIT 1: THE PROJECT SCOPE STATEMENT 13

1.1 OVERVIEW 13

1.2 PROJECT CHARTER

1.2.1 REASONS AND OUTCOMES

15

15

1.3 KEY REQUIREMENTS

1.3.1 PRODUCTS FOR THE PROJECT

1.3.2 MAJOR DELIVERABLES

20

20

21

1.3.4 INCLUSIONS AND EXCLUSIONS

1.3.5 MAJOR PROJECT ASSUMPTIONS

ACTIVITY 1 – REVIEWED, GROUPS - US243823 SO1 AC1-3,

26

27

SO2 AC1-6

1.4 THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACH

31

32

1.4.1 PROJECT PHASES, PROCESSES AND APPROACH 32

1.4.2 PROJECT STRATEGIES

1.4.3 PROJECT CONTROLS

1.4.4 PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND ACCEPTANCE

CRITERIA

1.5 THE PRELIMINARY PROJECT SCOPE STATEMENT

1.5.1 COMPONENTS

1.5.2 CORRECTING DISCREPANCIES

ACTIVITY 2 – REVIEWED, GROUPS, US243823 SO3 AC1-6,

35

37

38

39

39

43

SO4 AC1 45

LEARNING UNIT 2: VERIFY PROJECT SCOPE AND WORK 46

2.1 REFINE THE PROJECT SCOPE 46

2.1.1 REVIEWING THE PROJECT SCOPE 46

2.1.2 REFINING REQUIREMENTS, ASSUMPTIONS AND

CONSTRAINTS

2.1.3 COMPILING THE PROJECT STATEMENT

2.2 DECOMPOSING PROJECT WORK

2.2.1 AN OVERVIEW OF DECOMPOSITION

2.2.2 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES

2.2.3 COMPONENTS AND DIVISIONS

2.2.4 DECOMPOSITION AND THE WBS

49

51

53

53

55

57

62



2.2.5 THE WBS DICTIONARY 67

ACTIVITY 3 – REVIEWED, GROUPS US243811 SO1 AC1-4, SO2

AC1-2, SO3 AC1-8 75

LEARNING UNIT 3: THE RESOURCE SCHEDULE

3.1 SCHEDULING TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

3.1.1 PURPOSE OF SCHEDULES

3.1.3 SCHEDULE TECHNIQUES

3.1.3.1 THE GANTT CHART

76

76

76

81

82

3.1.3.2 MILESTONE CHARTS

3.1.3.3 NETWORK DIAGRAM

3.1.4 ANALYSING PROJECT SCHEDULES

3.1.4.1 CRITICAL PATH METHOD (CPM)

3.1.4.2 CRITICAL CHAIN SCHEDULING (CSS)

3.1.4.3 PROGRAMME EVALUATION AND REVIEW

84

85

85

85

87

TECHNIQUE (PERT)

3.1.5 DATE AND RESOURCE ADJUSTMENTS

3.2 AN INITIAL WORK SCHEDULE

3.2.1 ACTIVITIES AND SCOPE

3.2.2 DEFINE DEPENDENCIES

3.2.4 MILESTONES AND CRITICAL PATH

3.3 RESOURCES

3.3.1 RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS

3.3.2 RESOURCE PLAN, AVAILABILITY AND COSTS

95

97

3.4 OPTIMISING WORK AND RESOURCES 101

3.4.1 THE IMPACT OF RESOURCE MISALLOCATION 101

3.4.2 RISK ANALYSIS

3.4.3 AGREEMENTS

102

103

89

90

93

93

93

95

95

3.5 SCHEDULE AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 104

ACTIVITY 4 – REVIEWED, GROUPS - US 243820 SO1 AC1-6,

SO2 AC1-5, SO3 AC1-4, SO4 AC1-5, SO5 AC1-3 113



MODULE UNIT STANDARD ALIGNMENT

This module is aligned to the following unit standards:

US

Number

Title NQF

Level

Credits

243811

243823

243820

Determine the work required to accomplish the objectives and organise the scope of a simple to moderately complex project

Develop a preliminary Project scope statement for a simple to moderately complex project

Develop an optimised work and resource schedule for a simple to moderately complex project

5

5

5

7

12

12



PURPOSE, OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

243811: Determine the work required to accomplish the objectives and organise the scope of a simple to moderately complex project

Purpose: Learners credited with this unit standard will be able to determine the work required to accomplish the objectives of a simple to moderately complex project. Learners will be able to compile a project scope statement that provides for project requirements, assumptions and constraints. Learners will also be able to determine an appropriate approach to ensure that the work of the project is decomposed to an appropriate level of detail

Outcome 1

 Refine the project scope statement.

Assessment Criteria

 The preliminary scope statement as well as other relevant inputs are reviewed and understood in order to develop a more detailed project scope statement. (Range: Relevant inputs include but are not limited to the project brief, project charter, stakeholder expectations and requirements of the project)

 Project requirements, assumptions and constraints are refined using project management principles to meet project objectives.

 The project scope statement is compiled so that it provides for the project requirements, assumptions and constraints.

 The project scope statement is documented in the required format and agreed with relevant stakeholders in required timeframe.

Outcome 2

 Determine the approach for decomposing the work of the project.


 Components into which work needs to be decomposed (horizontal division) are determined using project management principles to support the planning and control of the project. (Range: Components include but are not limited to project phases, disciplines, geographic areas and products)

 The level of detail to which work is decomposed (vertical division) is determined using project management principles in order to support the planning and control of the project.

Outcome 3

 Decompose the work of the project into components to the required level of detail.


 The work of the project is decomposed into major deliverables or subprojects to support the planning and control of the project. (Range:



Work may be broken down to multiple levels depending on aspects such as management control and risks)

 Each component of work is coded in accordance with required organisational procedures to enable unique identification.

 Completion criteria are determined for each component to support the planning and control of the project.

 The decomposed work is documented in the Work Breakdown Structure format required by the organisation.

 Details of the components are documented in the Work Breakdown

Structure dictionary to explain and communicate the requirements and completion criteria.

 The Work Breakdown Structure is verified and approved in the required format by relevant stakeholders.

 Roles and responsibilities for work components are defined in required format and in accordance with project requirements.

243823: Develop a preliminary project scope statement for a simple to moderately complex project

Purpose: Learners credited with this unit standard are able to obtain, analyse and interpret a project charter or brief and its associated documents. They will be able to, from the document, define the project assumptions, constraints, inclusions and exclusions and include these in the development of the preliminary scope statement

Outcome 1

 Interpret the project charter or brief and associated documents.


 Reasons for undertaking the project are interpreted and described to reflect the desired outcomes of project.

 Goals and objective of the project are identified and described in line with project charter

 The way the project integrates with the overall business strategy is interpreted and described in line with the project charter

Outcome 2

 Determine the key requirements of the project.


 The products of the project required to achieve the objectives of the project, are identified and described

 The major deliverables required to produce the products of the project, are identified, described and recorded in the required format

 The major resources groupings required to achieve the major deliverables are identified and documented in the required format. (Range: Major


Project Planning and Scheduling resource groupings include but are not limited to project team members, contracting groups, equipment and material)

 Inclusions and exclusions from the project are identified and documented in the required format in support of project scope clarification agreements.

 An initial project schedule is compiled to determine the initial overall timeline of the project and is documented in the required format. (Range:

Initial project schedule consists of key project milestones e.g. key milestone chart

 The initial project budget is compiled to determine the feasibility of the project and is documented in the required format. (Range: Initial project budget is mostly a top-down approach rather that a bottom-up approach when a detailed project budget is compiled.

Outcome 3

 Develop the Project Management approach.


 The major project assumptions and constraints are identified and documented in the required format

 Major project assumptions and constraints are interpreted and the impact thereof on the project is explained

 Project strategies are identified and described in the context of both its alignment with project objectives and practicality. (Range: Project strategies include but are not limited to management strategies for scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, communication)

 Project controls required to govern the project are determined and documented in the required format. (Range: Project controls include but are not limited to policies, procedures, standards and guidelines required to govern the project)

 Performance measures and acceptance criteria are identified and explained in support of project objectives

 The Project Management approach is compiled to best suit the specific project and the stakeholder requirements. (Range: The project management approach includes but is not limited to project phases, project management processes and specific strategies regarding key project aspects

Outcome 4

 Compile a preliminary project scope statement.


 All components of the preliminary scope statement are gathered, interrogated and checked for cohesion and balance between them to ensure alignment between them. (Range: Components include but are not limited to the products of the project, major deliverables, inclusions and


Project Planning and Scheduling exclusions, initial project schedule and budget, assumptions, project strategies, controls and performance measures)

 Revisions to correct discrepancies between components are agreed with relevant stakeholders and in the required format

 All components are integrated into the preliminary scope statement document in the required format

 The preliminary scope statement document is submitted and presented for approval by the authorised individuals in the required format and time frame

 The approved preliminary scope statement is communicated to all relevant stakeholders in the required format and time frame

243820: Develop an optimised work and resource schedule for a simple to moderately complex project

Purpose: The person credited with this unit standard is able to develop and optimise a schedule showing work and resources using scheduling tools and techniques. They will be able to gather or define activity descriptions, schedule activities, define and allocate resources and produce a schedule that optimises the timing of the work and the resources allocated

Outcome 1

 Demonstrate an understanding of scheduling tools and techniques.


 The purpose of using schedules on a project is explained with examples of the benefits derived

 The process and techniques for developing a schedule are explained with examples appropriate to project type and/or project management needs

 The use of alternative start and finish dates on a schedule is explained with examples of their impact. (Range: May include but are not limited to early/late, fixed dates)

 The process and techniques for resource planning are explained with examples appropriate to project type and/or project management needs.

(Range: May include but is not limited to resource identification, allocation, loading and levelling)

 The process and techniques to optimise project schedules in order to complete the work within project constraints, are explained with examples appropriate to project type and/or project management needs. (Range:

Project constraints may include but are not limited to time, resources, nature of the activity/deliverable, cash flow)

 Different ways of representing a project schedule is explained with examples of appropriate use.



Outcome 2

 Produce an initial work schedule.


 Activities are identified and described in terms of the work required to address the scope of the project

 Dependencies between activities are defined and activities are sequenced to reflect the logic relationship of the work

 Durations of activities are estimated, in consultation with experts, and/or in accordance with procedures

 Time based work schedules are produced in accordance with procedures and in required format

 Initial critical path is identified and explained in accordance with standard organisational procedures

Outcome 3

 Identify and estimate resources for each activity.


 Resource requirements are defined by activity in accordance with agreed procedures and or standards

 Quantities of resources are defined per activity as per initial work schedule and in accordance with established procedures and or standards

 Resource availability and costs are researched and compared using agreed procedures and or standards

 Resource plan is developed and agreed with relevant stakeholder in accordance with procedures and in required format. (Range: Resource plan may include but is not limited to resource category and/or types, quantities, availability, capability, resource calendars, activity resource requirements, resource risk analysis and management actions)

Outcome 4

 Optimise the work and resource schedule.


 Resources are allocated to activities on the schedule according to resource plan, their availability, standards and procedures

 Potential resource constraints, conflict, under or over utilisation situations are identified and explained in terms of their impact on the project work

 Risk analysis of work and resources is undertaken and documented according to agreed procedures

 Resource usage and work/activity timing is adjusted to produce a realistic schedule. (Range: Realistic schedule recognises project and work constraints and allocates resources for agreed and acceptable time frames)

 Optimised work and resource schedule is agreed with responsible parties in accordance with agreed procedures



Outcome 5

 Compile the schedule and resource management plans.


 Work and resource schedule is base lined in accordance with standards and procedures

 Schedule management plan is produced incorporating agreements in accordance with procedures and standards

 Resource management plan is produced incorporating agreements in accordance with procedures and standards



ALIGNMENT MATRIX

The above outcomes can be found in the following learning units:

Unit Std Number and Name

243811: Determine the work required to accomplish the objectives and organise the scope of a simple to moderately complex project

243823: Develop a preliminary project scope statement for a simple to moderately complex project

243820: Develop an optimised work and resource schedule for a simple moderately to complex project

Specific Outcomes

Specific Outcome 1

Specific Outcome 2

Specific Outcome 3

Specific Outcome 1

Specific Outcome 2

Specific Outcome 3

Specific Outcome 4

Specific Outcome 1

Specific Outcome 2

Specific Outcome 3

Specific Outcome 4

Specific Outcome 5

Learning Unit

Number and Name

Learning Unit 2: Verify

Project Scope and

Work

Learning Unit 1: The

Project Scope

Statement

Learning Unit 3: The

Resource Schedule



KEY TO ICONS USED IN THIS MODULE

Group work/Brainstorm

Individual activity

Questions

Class discussion

Case Study

Formative

Assessment

Activity

Role-play

Research

Notes and observations

Summative

Assessment

Preparation



LEARNING UNIT 1: THE PROJECT SCOPE STATEMENT

Learning outcomes to be achieved:



Interpret the project charter or brief and associated documents.



Determine the key requirements of the project.



Develop the Project Management approach.



Compile a preliminary project scope statement.

1.1 OVERVIEW

Planning can be defined as making decisions with the objective of influencing the future. This means determining:



What tasks will be performed?



How tasks will be performed?



In what sequence the tasks will be performed?



Who will perform the tasks?

Project management has been a recognised profession since about the 1950’s, but project management type of work has been occurring for as long as people have been doing complex work. When the Great

Pyramids at Giza in Egypt were built, somebody, somewhere, was tracking resources, schedules, and specifications in some fashion.

The Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge

(PMBOK) (Project Management Institute, 2004) defines a project as “a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product or service.” This means that a project is temporary , with the duration of possibly just one week or even for years, as long as it has an end date. Projects are not the same as on-going operations, although the two have a great deal in common.



Projects are distinguished from on-going operations by an expected end date, whereas on-going operations go on indefinitely e.g. most activities of accounting and human resources departments. People who run on-going operations might also manage projects e.g. a manager of a human resources department for a large organisation might plan a recruitment campaign.

A project is also an endeavour , where resources, such as people and equipment, need to do work. The endeavour is undertaken by a team or an organisation, and therefore projects are intentional, planned events. Successful projects do not just happen, because some amount of preparation and planning comes first.

Every project creates a unique product or service , which is the deliverable for the project and the reason that the project was undertaken.

In summary, a project typically:

 Is temporary and unique . Designing a car manufacturing plant is a project because it is a one-time activity. The manufacturing of the car coming out of the plant, although it involves numerous linked steps, and is an on-going series of activities.

 Has a beginning and an end . Designing a car manufacturing plant has an end date, but the manufacturing of cars is on-going.



 Consumes resources . Resources, either people or materials, are finite and need to be managed carefully, especially if they are shared across projects.

 Has a budget . Project managers are typically concerned with the overall profitability of a project and whether the activities of the project fall within the costs allocated to it.

You can visualise project work in many ways, but a favourite method is what is sometimes called the project triangle or triangle of triple constraints .

The basic concept is that every project has some element of a time constraint, has some type of budget, and requires some amount of work to complete (a defined scope.)

Some examples of projects include:

 Developing a new product.

 Restructuring an organisation.

 Constructing a house.

 Designing a type of vehicle with low emissions.

1.2 PROJECT CHARTER

1.2.1 Reasons and Outcomes

Project Initiation

Developing the Project Charter is documenting the business needs, project justification, current understanding of the requirements, and the new product, service or result that is


Project Planning and Scheduling intended to satisfy those requirements. The Project Charter should address the following information:

 Requirements that satisfy the needs, wants, and expectations of stakeholders.

 Business needs, high level project description, or product requirements that need to be addressed by the project.

 The purpose or justification of the project.

 The assigned Project Manager and authority level.

 A summary milestone schedule.

 Influences that stakeholders may have.

 Functional organisations and their participation.

 Organisational, environmental and external assumptions.

 Organisational, environmental and external constraints.

 The business case justifying the project, including return on investment.

 A summary budget.

At the beginning of a project, the Project Manager is assigned, who will work with the Project

Sponsor to identify the necessary resources.

Approval of the Project Charter by the Project

Sponsor authorises the designated project team to begin the initial planning. The project team members then need to further develop the key project parameters of the scope, schedule, cost, and quality. The Project Charter, is based on the Project Proposal, and includes the initial business case, which is shown below.



Problem

• What is the problem we are trying to solve and the bsuiness opportunity?

Solution

• How can we address the problem or take advantage of the business opportunity?

Approach

• What are the viable options available to implement the solution?

Risk

Assessment

• What are the risks associated with each option and what are the risks of doing nothing?

• What business value is generated from each option?

Value

Analysis

The project plan

The initial Project Plan results from project initiation and must be sufficient to identify and acquire any additional resources needed to implement the project. It must also include plans for involving and communicating with all the parties that are affected by the project, as well as identification of an initial set of foreseeable risks that can threaten the project. At the conclusion of the Project

Initiation phase and based on the initial planning documents, the Business

Case is then revised and re-evaluated and a decision is made to either halt the project, or proceed to the Project

Planning phase.

The outcomes of the project constitute the actual changes that the intervention seeks to support. These outcomes comprise a purpose statement, objectives and targets. The purpose is an overall statement of why the project is required and links the


Project Planning and Scheduling project to the strategic objectives of the broader business programme.

1.2.2 Goals and Objectives



Goals describe a project's main purpose and tend to be wide reaching and related to senior management and client expectations. A project's success depends on achieving its goals.



The objectives are statements of what should be achieved and by which time e.g. “to (the achievement) by (a certain time)”.

A clear project objective must be both specific and measurable.

The deliverables must be a tangible and measurable result that must be produced to complete the project of part thereof. Normally the project team and stakeholders will agree on the deliverables before the project begins. A project's objectives may include:

 A list of outcomes.

 Specific due dates for both the project and milestones.The milestones are reference points that mark a major event in the project and which are used to monitor the project’s progress. Any task with a zero duration is automatically displayed as a milestone.

 Specific quality criteria that the deliverables must meet.

 Cost limits that the project must not exceed.

For objectives to be effective all project stakeholders should officially agree to them and the project manager will create an


Project Planning and Scheduling objectives document that becomes a permanent part of the project.

Objectives fall into two broad categories:



Objectives achieved by undertaking the project work according to guidelines for planning e.g. a legal framework guiding the specific industry, policies such as safety, sustainability and human development, and organisational strategies.



Objectives achieved as a consequence of completing the work , which means creating the deliverables and transferring them to the customer, thus meeting the requirements defined and agreed upon in the project's scope statement.

Objectives are the direct responsibility of the project manager, who should be assigned the authority, responsibility and resources to achieve them. The project manager must understand the goal of the project, the objectives to support that goal and the deliverables needed to fulfil those objectives. A successful delivery hinges on achieving the specified requirements of time, cost and scope while satisfying the key stakeholder's requirements and understanding how these deliverables will contribute to overall goals of the organisation.

1.2.3 Overall Business Strategy

Most corporations have multiple levels of management. Strategic management can occur at corporate, business, functional and operational levels.





Corporate strategy answers the questions, "which businesses should we be in?" and "how does being in these businesses create synergy and add to the competitive advantage of the business as a whole?"



Business strategy is the corporate strategy of a single business unit in a diversified corporation, which must be aligned with the overall corporate strategy.



Functional strategies are specific to functional areas such as marketing, product development, human resources, finance, legal, and information technology, where the emphasis is on implementing short and medium term plans.

Functional strategies are derived from and must comply with broader corporate strategies.



Operational strategy deals with operational activities such as implementing the plans according to schedule in order to achieve the objectives using the allocated resources.

1.3 KEY REQUIREMENTS

1.3.1 Products for the Project

A product breakdown structure (PBS) is a tool for analysing, documenting and communicating the outcomes of a project, and forms part of a productbased planning technique. The PBS provides a complete, hierarchical tree structure of deliverables that make up the project in diagram form, with outputs to provide a clear and unambiguous statement of what must be delivered. The following

PBS shows the structure for a project to create a computer.


Computer


Main unit

Housing

Hard drive

Video card

Motherboard

Monitor

Housing

CRT

Electronics

Mouse

Body

Electronics

Keyboard

CPU

Memory

The PBS is identical in format to the Work Breakdown Structure

(WBS), but is a separate entity and is used at a different step in the planning process. It precedes the WBS and focuses on cataloguing all the desired outcomes needed to achieve the goal of the project. These desired outcomes are the basis for the creation of the WBS, which identifies the tasks and activities required to deliver the outcomes. The PBS defines where you want to go (the goal), while the WBS tells you how to get there (the project).

1.3.2 Major Deliverables

The deliverables are the specific work products that have to be produced in order to complete the project. Defining the deliverables is a component of asking “what is the intended outcome” that helps to clarify what the project means and therefore how to complete it. It directs your attention to outcomes rather than activities.



Activities are not necessarily productive and can often be not necessary. If you focus on activities to accomplish a project, you may create a lot of unnecessary work. On the other hand, if you focus on the deliverables, you are directed to the eventual outcomes, which will filter out unnecessary activities and assist you to identify and focus on only the activities that are actually essential to the project.

1.3.3 Major Resources

Identifying the major resources for a project includes finding the project team members, contracting groups, equipment and material required for the project lifecycle. All people who are connected to the project must be identified, along with their particular responsibilities.

The project team is responsible for planning and executing the project by delivering tasks according to the project schedule. The project manager is responsible for ensuring that the project is completed. The project manager, together with the project team, develops the Project Plan. It is also his responsibility to secure acceptance and approval of deliverables from the Project Sponsor and stakeholders. He is responsible for communications that include status reporting, risk management, escalation of issues that cannot be resolved, and also making sure that the project is delivered in budget, on schedule and within scope. On larger projects, some project team members may serve as team leaders, providing task


Project Planning and Scheduling and technical leadership, and sometimes maintaining a portion of the project plan.

The executive sponsor is normally a manager with demonstrable interest in the outcome of the project, and who is ultimately responsible for securing spending authority and resources for the project. Ideally, he should be the highest-ranking manager possible, in proportion to the project size and scope, because he legitimis es the project’s goals and objectives, keeps abreast of major project activities, and is the ultimate decision-maker. He will provide support for the project sponsor or project director and project manager, and has the final approval of all scope changes, and signs off on approvals to proceed to each succeeding project phase.

The project sponsor or project director is a manager will participate in or lead the project initiation and the development of the Project Charter, participate in project planning and the development of the Project Plan. He is required to:



Provide support for the project manager.



Assist with major issues, problems, and policy conflicts.



Remove obstacles.



Be active in planning the scope and approving scope changes.



Sign off on major deliverables and on approvals to proceed to each succeeding project phase.



The project sponsor generally chairs the steering committee on large projects, but may elect to delegate any of the above responsibilities to other personnel on the project team.

The steering committee generally includes management representatives from the organisations involved in the oversight and control of the project, and any other key stakeholder groups that have special interest in the outcomes of the project. This committee acts individually and collectively to:



Help resolve issues and policy decisions.



Be involved in providing resources.



Assist in securing funding.



Act as liaisons to executive groups and sponsors.



Fill other roles as defined by the project.

Customers comprise the business units that identified the need for the product or service that will be developed by the project.

Customers can be at all levels of an organisation. Since it is frequently not feasible for all customers to be directly involved in the project, the following roles will be identified:



Customer representatives are members of the customer community who are made available to the project for their subject matter expertise.



Customer decision-makers are those members who have been designated to make project decisions on behalf of


Project Planning and Scheduling major business units that will use, or be affected by the product or service being delivered.

Stakeholders are all those groups, units, individuals, or organisations that are impacted by and can affect the outcomes of a project. This includes the project team, sponsors, steering committee, customers, and co-workers who may be affected by the change in work practices due to the new product or service, managers affected by modified workflows or logistics, correspondents affected by the quantity or quality of newly available information, vendors who are contracted to provide additional products or services required by the project, and other similarly affected groups. Key stakeholders are a subset of stakeholders who, if their support were to be withdrawn, would cause the project to fail.

The facilities and resources required by the project may include office space, special facilities, computer equipment, office equipment, and support tools. It is necessary to identify responsible parties who must provide the specific items needed to support the project environment. After identifying the activities, the resources to accomplish these activities will have been identified, and written on a Resource Requirement form, similar to that shown below.



1.3.4 Inclusions and Exclusions

Project exclusions, assumptions, and constraints, along with other information, are included in a project scope statement. They are also referenced in the project charter and project plan.



Project exclusions are things that are outside of the project boundaries and are explicitly stated as not included in the project.



Project inclusions are things that should be inside project boundaries and explicitly stated as being included in the project.



Project assumptions are those things that are believed to be true.



Project constraints are limitations placed upon the project team.

A template can be used for the identification of these, similar to that shown below:

Project Exclusions

Identify what is excluded from the project by explicitly stating what is out of scope in order to help manage stakeholder expectations

(a)

(b)

(c)



Project Inclusions

(a)

(b)

(c)

Project Assumptions

(a)

(b)

(c)

Project Constraints

(a)

(b)

(c)

1.3.5 Major Project Assumptions

Few projects begin with absolute certainty. As projects are planned and executed, some facts and issues are known and others must be estimated. You cannot just hope you have the resources you need to do the job, and you cannot wait until every resource is available to begin. You have to manage and diminish problems using informed assumptions and constraints. Assumptions and constraints form the basis for project planning, filling in the gaps between known proven facts and total guesswork.

Each assumption is a likely condition or event, presumed known and true, based on the absence of absolute certainty. It is an estimate of the existence of a fact derived from other facts. It is used because if you have to wait for absolute certainty, most projects would never get off the ground. Although useful in providing a platform for action and in creating, "what if" scenarios to simulate different possible situations, assumptions are dangerous when accepted as reality without thorough examination.

Therefore assumptions require objective examination of underlying


Project Planning and Scheduling current beliefs to assess their correctness and legitimacy, and thus to validate or invalidate the beliefs. It is therefore practical knowledge based on experience.

Each constraint is a limiting condition or event, setting boundaries for the project process and expected results.

Once identified, these assumptions and constraints shape a project in specific, but in differing ways, with assumptions bringing possibilities, and constraints bringing limits.

Consider this example:



A defined budget is a fact i.e. R100 000 has been allocated to complete a given project.



The belief that the budget is sufficient to complete the project on time and as required is an assumption. This assumption should not be a guess, but should be the result of a planned, verified budget estimate.



The need to modify deliverables and adapt the schedule to suit the budget is a constraint.

The following further illustrates these similarities and distinctions:

Process

Assumptions

Must be analysed and

Constraints

Characteristics

Impact

Condition or event Condition or event

Allow the project to proceed Restrict and limit project execution

Must be identified and monitored to ensure validity and relevance as the project proceeds incorporated into the project plan to ensure that the plan is realistic



A project management principle is that it requires the balancing of the three priorities of scope, time and cost, so that when a change is made to one, there must be a review of the other two to determine if there is a potential impact. This is the Project Triangle principle, as explained previously, and is often competing constraints. Increased scope typically means increased time and increased costs, while a tight time constraint could mean increased costs and reduced scope, and a tight budget could mean increased time and reduced scope.

Project Management is about providing the tools and techniques that enable the project team and project manager to organise their work to meet these constraints.

1.3.6 The Initial Project Schedule

An initial project schedule consists of key project milestones. All the project’s major milestones and deliverables must be listed along with the planned completion dates for delivery. This list should reflect products or services delivered to the end-user and the delivery of key project-related work products.

A template similar to the following can be used:



1.3.7 The Initial Project Budget

The initial project budget uses mostly a top-down approach, rather than a bottom-up approach, when a detailed project budget can be compiled. Budgeting is a vital part of a project, as, without resources, nothing can be done. In this part of the project plan, the input variables must be specified i.e. everything you would need to complete the job. The overall resource requirements are specified and costed in order to prepare the budget for the project. These resources, financial, equipment and human, for each activity must be identified and estimated. Once this is known you can address the budget for the project. The following actions should take place in order to prepare the budget:



Identify the detailed activities that need to be performed.



Identify what resources may be required.



Obtain realistic estimates of the costs for these activities and resources.



Prepare a budget that includes all the related cost estimates, taking into account other factors such as inflation and the impact of the exchange rate if goods or services need to be paid for in foreign currency.



Separate the capital costs of equipment, vehicles, land and buildings, from other costs relating to the activities.



A typical budget tool can be seen in the following example:

Budget Outlay for Training Project

1.00 Preparatory Meeting

1.10 Venue

1.20 Communications – telephone, emails, faxes

1.30 Stationery – writing pads, pens, etc.

1.40 Logistics – travel arrangements

2.00 Participants’ Accommodation and Travel Costs

2.10 Air fare

2.20 Airport tax

2.30 Accommodation

2.40 Airport transfers – taxi to and from airport

2.50 Per diem to cater for incidental costs

3.00 Training Costs

3.10 Resources persons – experts and interpreters

3.20 Training equipment (hardware)

Data projector

Computer

Photocopy machine

3.30 Training equipment

Manuals

Stationery – flip charts, folders, writing materials

4.00 Production of training materials

4.10 Design and typesetting

4.20 Printing and proofing

4.30 Printing of 500 copies

4.40 Postage and courier services

SUBTOTAL

5.00 Add: Administrative Costs of 10% of Subtotal

GRAND TOTAL

ACTIVITY 1 – REVIEWED, GROUPS -

US243823 SO1 AC1-3, SO2 AC1-6

Complete this activity in your Portfolio of Evidence Workbook.

Amount

Amount

Amount

Amount

Amount



1.4 THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACH

1.4.1 Project Phases, Processes and Approach

The project management approach includes project phases, project management processes and specific strategies regarding key project aspects. Applying various approaches to the complex task of project management will enable you to ensure that you deliver your project on time and on budget.

The conventional project management approach revolves around the five basic phases of project management:

 Initiation , which determines the nature and scope of the project. All the basic elements like requirements analysis, feasibility, review of current operations and goals are determined. It is the most crucial stage, and if not performed correctly, results in the failure of the whole project.

 Planning and design is to plan time, costs and resources for the development of the project, along with risk planning to engage uncertainties.

 Executing consists of the activities working together with the project plan to meet the deadlines of different milestones.

 Monitoring and controlling phase is the verification and validation of activities, their sequence and timelines to be in line with the project plan. The quality of activities is also important.

 Closing is the formal acceptance of the outcomes and the administrative and other formal activities being performed to release the product to the client after thorough testing.



This traditional approach assumes that the project scope and goals will remain constant until project completion. A project manager plans and identifies project resources based on this assumption.

Since the approach is inherently rigid, many organisations may choose a hybrid approach to project management. These could include:



Critical chain approach assumes that at least one constraint is likely to hinder projects that use complex processes and a large number of cross-functional teams.

The approach recommends the use of behavioural and mathematical sciences to predict, analyse and remove constraints, with the project team using data to remove the constraints e.g. if productivity is a foreseen concern, then the project manager must track the actual time spent by team members on the job. This approach is useful in sending quality deliverables, on time, by proactively removing constraints.



Extreme project approach is suitable for projects that handle dynamic situations such as changing customer requirements. It may not be possible to clarify the requirements prior to commencement, and the project may be guided by market changes e.g. the mobile phone industry experiences rapid changes. The project team will plan based on currently available data, and depending on requirement changes, modify the plans.



Event chain project approach where a single constraint can create a chain of constraints that severely impede a project e.g. if several departments depend on one another,


Project Planning and Scheduling constraints in any one department can negatively impact the productivity of other departments.

The project team must use past data to foresee any negative events so that they can identify preventive measures.

Reliable data, collected over time, can help track event chains. The event chain approach is an ideal problem solving approach for critical projects.



Best practice approach: Top management is interested in the development of project management best practices, because the economy demands that they need to do more with less. This means reducing timelines to get a product or service to the market to increase revenue, or smaller budgets to get projects completed, or reduced project staff due to layoffs or restructuring. However, best practice means different things to every organisation, even though it can be defined as an optimal way currently recognised by industry to achieve a stated goal or objective .

Organisations who establish best practices to meet their needs have to ensure that they include the following factors: o Effective management of project resources. o Alignment of projects to the strategic goals of the organisation. o Improved tracking and reporting on project status. o Reduction in the time and money spent on ensuring projects are brought to a successful conclusion.



In order to ensure the best practice approach, organisations must also ensure the factors shown in this diagram:

Develop project management roles and competencies

Assess staff against those competencies

Develop strategic training and mentoring plans

Continue to monitor, assess and improve

Develop a knowledge base and support portal

1.4.2 Project Strategies

Project strategies must include activities to reach objectives for scoping, scheduling, costing, quality control, risk management and communication. Strategy refers to an action designed to achieve a particular goal. Strategy is distinct from tactics, which concerns the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked. How the work is done, is a matter of tactics, while the terms and conditions of the work, and whether it should be done at all is a matter of strategy. Strategies include:



Operational strategy is the decision-making level of managers who are responsible for ensuring the achievement of the objectives and the direction indicated by the corporate level, within their specific areas. Apart from the formulation of strategies and objectives for the division or department concerned, this also involves the implementation, monitoring and coordination of strategies. This is normally the level of the project director .





Functional level strategy is the lowest level of the decisionmaking hierarchy, where middle-level managers must develop annual objectives and short-term strategies for their specific units, usually based on an allocated budget. This determines actions that need to be taken in order to move the functional area from its present position to its desired position in order to maximise resource allocations. Each functional-area strategy is dependent on the strategies developed at the corporate and business unit levels and the resources provided from these levels. Functional departments develop strategies where all resources and competencies are pulled together, which are the level of the project strategy formulated by the project manager, such as the one shown.

The work of the project manager is much more than simply starting a project, managing staff and organising goods. The most successful project managers are always excellent strategists, managers and excellent team leaders, who spend increasing amounts of time as a leader rather than a manager, making and implementing decisions. Managing a project means managing a multiplicity of tasks all at the same time, so it is vital to evaluate at any given time the task that is the most important for allocating resources and time.

As a project manager you are responsible for the whole project, but you cannot do everything yourself. You will be relying on the


Project Planning and Scheduling managers and other stakeholders in the project. Whether they are appointed staff or belong to external consulting agencies that you need to work with, you must understand their roles and their needs in order to maximise their contribution to the project.

Once the project is running, you will spend much time solving problems, but the best is to anticipate these and try to prevent them. Your job is to have the project completed on time and within budget, so using initiative and creativity in your approach will lead to effective attainment of the project goals.

1.4.3 Project Controls

Project controls are policies, corporate strategies, procedures, standards and guidelines required to govern a project, which provides the framework in which project decisions must be made.

Project governance is a critical element of any project, because accountabilities and responsibilities associated with an organis ation’s activities are set by their governance strategies and controls. The role of project governance is to provide a decisionmaking framework that is logical, robust and repeatable for all the organis ation’s projects. In this way, an organisation shows a structured approach to conducting both its business activities and its projects.



1.4.4 Performance Measures and Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance criteria are the performance requirements and essential conditions that must be met before project deliverables are accepted. They define the specific circumstances under which the client will accept the final output of the project and are criteria against which completed work is measured, achieved, and proven to the client. They represent a specific and defined list of conditions that must be met before a project has been considered completed and the project deliverables will be accepted. Normally the acceptance criteria are outlined in specific detail before work on the project is started and a very detailed timeline is set to make sure that parties are committed and work is according to the acceptance criteria.

Acceptance criteria are documented in the requirements document and the project scope statement. Acceptance criteria are often considered as an important part of contractual agreements in case of external projects. The success or failure of s project depends on the ability of the project manager and project team to meet the clients documented acceptance criteria. By having a clearly defined set of acceptance criteria, the client’s expectation level for the completed product will be satisfied. Inaccurate acceptance criteria can lead to low customer satisfaction levels, missed delivery dates and development cost overruns.

In the event that a series of acceptance criteria is not met or is met only partially, the final set of deliverables can either be refused


Project Planning and Scheduling acceptance or it may be assigned conditional acceptance. This means an acceptance pending modifications or corrections to better meet the acceptance criteria.

1.5 THE PRELIMINARY PROJECT SCOPE STATEMENT

1.5.1 Components

The Scope Statement is an essential element of any project. Project managers use it as a written confirmation of the outcomes the project will produce and the constraints and assumptions under which the work will take place. The client, other stakeholders and the project team should agree to all terms in the

Scope Statement before actual project work begins. The components of a scope statement include:



The products of the project.



Major deliverables.



Inclusions and exclusions.



The initial project schedule and budget.



Assumptions.



Project strategies.



Controls and performance measures.

The following is an example of an outline of a preliminary project scope statement:

PRELIMINARY SCOPE STATEMENT

Project Description: Write an explanation of the project to be undertaken, the ultimate intended outcomes and how these will be accomplished. This should be a brief introduction, with a background of how the project got to this point.



Project Purpose: State the purpose of the project and tie it to the organisation's strategic goals and objectives. Allow a reader to understand why this project is being started and what needs are being fulfilled. Identify any specific mandates, policies or laws that are driving this change.

Project Objectives: Provide clear, actionable and measurable objectives of the project, so that the project can be measured against the objectives once completed. The ultimate success of a project is whether the project achieved its stated objectives. An example of an objective is “The product will cut response times in half, thus allowing the organisation to process twice as many tickets”.

Project Deliverables: Identify the products and services that the project will deliver, and not the project management deliverables e.g. “An online store with a shopping cart and credit card purchasing capability”.

Project Product Requirements: Identify the high-level requirements of the product or service that will be developed. This must not be a detailed list of system requirements or specifications, but must be at a level that is sufficient for performing an alternatives analysis to identify service providers that can meet the requirements e.g. “The system will provide users with the ability to create and maintain a login account and profile online”. If there are enough requirements, it makes sense to group the requirements by category, and to display these in the product breakdown structure (PBS). There are two types of requirements - functional and non-functional. Non-functional requirements are normally broken into groups like security, usability, quality, scalability, privacy, maintainability, etc.

Project Inclusions and Exclusions: If the product boundary is known, describe it here e.g. if a system requires access to multiple external systems, then it makes sense to break the scope into multiple phases so that the scope of the first phase of development will be to develop the core functionality. A later phase would integrate the remaining functions. In this scenario, you could have two projects.

Therefore, clearly defining the project boundaries helps set the scope of work that is to be accomplished. An example of a system boundary concept is “The online store will integrate with the shopping cart and credit card purchasing modules for the initial release. The second release will contain social media integration modules.”

Project Assumptions are conditions at the start of the project that must be considered e.g. when developing the new software system that is going to take 3 years to fully complete, an assumption could be that the project budget is approved each year for three years so that the project scope is not impacted.



Project Constraints are situations that must be considered and accounted for, over which the project has no control e.g. a constraint may be a hard deadline or completion date, or resources, tools or hardware. If the project has no budget for additional resources, then it must find a way to develop the new system using the hardware already in place.

Project Risks: State the known risks, which are generally at a high level since not much is known about the details of the project yet. If a Benefit-Cost Analysis was performed, then risks identified during the Benefit Cost Analysis should be placed here e.g. if the project were going to span 5 years and touch multiple third party systems, the integration and technology change would be risks to consider.

Project Approach and Strategy: This is where the Project Manager and his team takes initiative over the implementation of the project, using the goal, objectives, requirements, deliverables, boundaries, constraints and assumptions as a strategic framework . The approach to the desired end state must be clearly stated and illustrated, with the emphasis on what means will be used to follow the chosen course of action.

Initial Milestones: Identify the project milestones e.g.

Date Name Description

Jan 10 System requirements complete Version 1.0 approved and baseline so that project can commence with development

June 1 Development complete Software development is completed and ready for integration testing

Dec 1 Deployed for production System passes integration and client acceptance, and is deployed for production

Project High Level Work Breakdown Structure (WBS): If you have decomposed the high-level work that needs to be done, then provide the highlevel work breakdown structure (WBS) here.

Controls and Performance Measures: List the policies, corporate strategies, procedures, standards and guidelines, which are the project governance framework. Stipulate the accountabilities and responsibilities for the project.

Authorisation: If approval is required, provide the names of those clients that must sign the Preliminary Project Scope Statement.

Approved by the Project Sponsor: [Name] [Title] [Organisation or division]

Date:

Signature:



All of the above must be integrated in the required format or the organisation, so that the clients and all stakeholders will have written proof of what is to be undertaken.

An example of a very simple preliminary Scope Statement to build a house is shown below:

PRELIMINARY SCOPE STATEMENT

PROJECT OBJECTIVE

To construct a high-quality, custom home within five months at cost not to exceed

R850 000.

DELIVERABLES

• A 2,200m², 2½ bathrooms, 3 bedroom, finished home.

• A finished garage, insulated.

• Kitchen appliances to include range, oven, microwave, and dishwasher.

• High-efficiency gas heater with programmable thermostat.

MILESTONES

1.

Permits approved - March 5.

2.

Foundation poured - March 14.

3.

Framing, sheathing, plumbing, electrical, and mechanical inspections passed – June 7.

4.

Final inspection - June 21.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

1.

Home must meet local building codes.

2.

All windows and doors must pass energy ratings.

3.

Exterior walls and insulation must meet requirements.

4.

Ceiling insulation to be included.

5.

Garage to accommodate two large-size cars.

6.

Structure must pass all stability codes.

LIMITS AND EXCLUSIONS

1.

The home will be built to the specifications and design of the original blueprints provided by the clients.

2.

Owner responsible for landscaping.

3.

Refrigerator is not included among kitchen appliances.

4.

Air conditioning is not included but prewiring is included.

5.

Contractor reserves the right to subcontract out services.

6.

Contractor responsible for subcontracted work.



7.

Site work limited to Monday to Friday 08h00 to 17h00.

CLIENT REVIEW

John and Jean Jones

1.5.2 Correcting Discrepancies

It is essential that you identify all of the stakeholders as early as possible and establish their needs. It may be difficult to negotiate consensus early in the project, but involving the stakeholders in the defining of the scope of the project, parameters, and success criteria will save a lot of time and ensure that all stakeholders are satisfied.

The Scope Statement, when viewed together with the other components of the project plan, is a binding agreement in which:



The project manager and team commit to producing certain results.

 The project’s clients commit to considering the project 100% successful if the stated results are produced.



All restrictions regarding the approach to the work and the resources needed to support the work have been identified.



The project’s clients agree that there are no restrictions other than the ones that have been identified.



All assumptions made when setting the terms of the Scope

Statement have been identified.



The clients agree that, if any of these assumptions prove to be invalid, the project manager may have to modify some or all of the project plans.



A well-written Scope Statement is an important resource for helping to manage stakeholder expectations, but predicting the future is impossible. However, the

Scope Statement represents the project commitments based on what is known and expected to be true in the future.

If situations change, you have to assess the effect of the changes on all aspects of the project and propose the necessary changes to the Scope Statement. The clients always have the option of either accepting the proposed changes and allowing the project to continue, or cancelling the project.

The scope statement also provides the project team with guidelines for making decisions about change requests during the project. It is natural for parts of a large project to change along the way, so the better the original project scope statement, the better the project team will be able to manage change.

When documenting a project's scope, stakeholders should be as specific as possible in order to avoid scope creep . Scope creep is the increase of product or project requirements beyond those originally foreseen. Scope creep may be driven by a client's increased requirements or by the project team, as they see opportunities for improving the product. This situation results in one or more parts of a project requiring more work, time, effort and


Project Planning and Scheduling costs, and is normally caused through poor planning or miscommunication.

ACTIVITY 2 – REVIEWED, GROUPS,

US243823 SO3 AC1-6, SO4 AC1




LEARNING UNIT 2: VERIFY PROJECT SCOPE AND

WORK

Learning Outcomes



Refine the project scope statement.



Determine the approach for decomposing the work of the project.



Decompose the work of the project into components to the required level of detail.

2.1 REFINE THE PROJECT SCOPE

The preliminary scope statement needs to be approved by all stakeholders, so that you can refine it and do the detailed planning for the project.

2.1.1 Reviewing the Project Scope

Once the preparation for the project initiation has been done, it is time to review the project scope and clearly define the project boundaries, in a way that it:



Identifies the scope dimensions relevant to the project.



Takes account of the background to the project.



Explores the variety of objectives and activities that the project would cover.



Provides a clear and commonly understood target and benchmark for the project members and stakeholders.



Allows for the implementation of the project.



Allows for an upfront assessment of the quality of the final product.

This is total scope management, where the key inputs include:



Project charter.





Preliminary scope statement.



Current project management plan.



Policies and procedures related to the scope management.



Historical information for similar previous projects.



Environmental conditions, such as market conditions and trends.

Although the preliminary scope statement and the project charter has been reviewed and approved by the project sponsor and other stakeholders, the project manager and team must continue to work together to decide on the more detailed scope statement and WBS would be prepared. They must also document how they will verify completion of project deliverables and manage change requests.

At the outset of a project, a precise definition of the purpose and a preliminary scope statement is established to ensure that the project brief is adequately covered and that stakeholders and the project team are clear about the field of reference. This must address one or more of the business objectives of the organisation and identify the overall reason for the project.

It must be remember that the project scope statement must refer to all the work involved in creating the products required by the project and the processes that will be used to create them. The project scope management includes all processes involved in defining and controlling what is or is not included in the project. These processes for scope management must include:





Scope planning to decide how the scope will be defined, verified and controlled.



Scope definition for reviewing of the project charter and preliminary scope statement, and adding more information as requirements are developed and change requests are approved.



Creating the WBS by subdividing the major deliverables into smaller and more manageable components



Scope verification and formalising the acceptance of the project scope.



Scope control measures to control the changes to the project scope.

The importance of reviewing the preliminary project scope statement is to improve the accuracy of the time, costs and resource estimates, define a baseline for performance measurement and project control and to aid in communicating clear work responsibilities. It means analysing the requirements of the products to be produced, identifying alternative approaches to doing the work and using expert judgements to analyse stakeholder needs. As time progresses, the scope of the project will become clearer and more specific.

The final scope statement, when viewed together with the other components of the project plan, is a binding agreement in which:



The project manager and team commit to producing certain results.





The project’s clients commit that they will consider the project 100% successful if these results are produced.



The project manager and team identify all restrictions regarding the approach to the work and the support they will need.



The project’s sponsors agree that they will provide the support needed to overcome constraints.



The project manager and team have identified all assumptions made when agreeing to the terms of the scope.



The client agrees that, if any of these assumptions prove to be invalid, some or all of the project plans may be modified.

2.1.2 Refining Requirements, Assumptions and Constraints

A thorough estimate of the key elements of the project must be made and then used to modify estimates for the project. This means:



Determining the detailed project requirements: The project appraisal was used for the initial decision to commit the required funding and other resources to delivering the product. The management of scope and activities to achieve the desired objectives requires addressing the following: o Technical criteria, job profiles, technical specifications and alignment with national standards in the industry. o Financial criteria, which are an important element of any project. o The person or organisation that budgeted for the project.


Project Planning and Scheduling o Cost effectiveness, return on investment (ROI), administrative costs, the market-related of quotations and the financial system to be used.



Managing the constraints: Project management gets most challenging when you must balance the time, cost, and scope constraints of your projects. The project triangle illustrates the process of balancing constraints because the three sides of the triangle are connected, and changing one side of a triangle affects at least one other side. Examples of constraint balance are: o If the duration of a project schedule decreases, you may need to increase budget to hire more resources to do the same work in less time. o If you cannot increase the budget, you might need to reduce the scope, because the resources you have cannot complete all of the planned work in less time. o If the budget of the project decreases, you may need more time, because you cannot pay for as many resources, but if you cannot increase the time, you may need to reduce project scope, because fewer resources cannot complete all of the planned work in the time remaining.



Managing assumptions: Initially, some assumptions will have been made, because of insufficient information and assuming certain things based on the personal interpretation of requirements. Uncertainty will always be inherent in any project, but a project manager’s ability to identify and react to


Project Planning and Scheduling uncertainty will influence the outcome of the project. Project environments rarely remain static, and the planning and assumptions may change over time. Therefore, to manage uncertainty means a willingness to revise the plan when the situation demands.

2.1.3 Compiling the Project Statement

The scope statement is one of the most critical pieces of any project, because an effectively written scope statement will assist the project to be implemented and proceed with minimal problems.

It is normally written after the project charter that authorises the project, provides a high-level overview and identifies the main stakeholders, and includes everything that the project is intended to produce. The charter also identifies objectives or goals, and constraints on resources or time. It is used as a focal point throughout the life of a project, which can be especially useful during change control meetings for minimising scope creep, where the scope of a project gradually increases over time.

This formal scope statement must contain:

Inputs:



Project management plan including: o Scope baseline. o Scope management plan. o Change management plan. o Configuration management plan. o Requirement management plan.





Work performance information.



Requirements documentation.



Requirements traceability matrix.



Organisational process assets: o Existing formal and informal scope control policies and procedures. o Monitoring and reporting methods, along with data control and communication channels.

Variance analysis:



Determining cause and degree of variance versus scope baseline.



Corrective and preventive actions planned for.

Outputs:



Work performance measurements



Organisational process assets updates for: o Causes of variances. o Corrective actions chosen along with reasons for this. o Lesson learned.



Change requests



Project management plan updates, including: o Scope baseline updates. o Other baseline updates for costs, schedule and durations.



Project document updates.

After everything has been reviewed and refined, and the client has been interviewed, the formal scope statement can be written,


Project Planning and Scheduling which must be specific, detailed and thorough, with supplemental documents and references included. This scope statement must be titled and dated, and then distributed to all stakeholders, including the client and the sponsor, for acceptance and agreement on the final version to deter the temptation to later increase scope and thereby affect completion date, duration, costs and outcomes. The scope statement may need updates as the project progresses, because of changing circumstances and new information that require adjusting the statement to a new version. To avoid confusion, these updates should be labelled as such, with the date of the revision included.

2.2 DECOMPOSING PROJECT WORK

2.2.1 An Overview of Decomposition

Before being able to understand the formal lines for decomposing the project work, it is necessary to understand the terminology involved.



A work breakdown structure is a deliverable-oriented grouping of work that defines the total scope involved in a project. It the document that provides the basis for planning and managing project schedules, costs, resources and changes.



Decomposition is subdividing the project deliverables into smaller and more manageable pieces.



A work package is a task at the lowest level of the WBS that the project manager uses to monitor and control the project.



The following diagram will help you understand the actual chain of events.

Project

Phases

Deliverables

Output of scope management

Output of time management

Work packages

Activities

Decomposition

Decomposition of project scope generally involves the following activities:



Gather information on major project deliverables and analyse related tasks.



Start development of work breakdown structure at the highest level.



Decompose the upper WBS levels into lower level detailed components.



Identify each work package and WBS components with unique code.



Verify if the degree of decomposition of the work is necessary and sufficient.



The number of levels in the WBS need not be same for all deliverables.

Excessive decomposition may lead to more work without much value for the time spent, and can lead to inefficient use of resources, and decreased work efficiency. Understanding a work package helps with in deciding on the level of decomposition:





A work package is the lowest level of WBS.



A work package is normally the major work which is assigned to a single resource as a whole and produces a verifiable outcome.

 A project’s cost and schedule estimation is done at work package level.



The accuracy of these estimations depends on the level of detail in a work package that is defined.



The levels to which work packages need to be detailed vary from project to project.



For the time management aspect, each work package within the WBS is decomposed into the activities required to produce the work package deliverables.

2.2.2 Project Management Principles

When decomposing a project, the project management principles must be applied. These include:



The Success Principle has the aim of producing a successful product to give value to the project costs incurred.



The Commitment Principle is a mutually acceptable commitment between a project sponsor and a project team that must exist before a viable project exists. The project sponsor represents the client and is responsible for providing the necessary resources, while the project team is a knowledgeable and qualified group able and willing to undertake the work. These parties must agree on the goals and objectives in terms of the product’s scope, quality grade, time to completion and final cost.





The Tetrad-Trade-off Principle states that the core variables of the project management process must all be mutually consistent. This means that scope, quality, time and cost are interrelated in a four-cornered frame with flexible joints, so that one corner can be anchored and another moved, but not without affecting the other two.



The Unity-of-Command Principle states that a single channel of communication must exist between the project sponsor and the project manager for all decisions affecting the product of the project to ensure an effective and efficient administration.



The Cultural Environment Principle is one in which there is informed management that understands and supports the project management process, so that the project is clearly backed by management, and project team members are enabled to produce their best work without unnecessary bureaucratic hindrance. This principle includes the need for management to ensure that the leadership profile and management style are suited to both the type of project and its phase in the project life cycle.



The Process Principle says that effective and efficient policies and procedures must be in place for the conduct of the project commitment. Such policies and procedures must cover clear roles and responsibilities, delegation of authority, and processes for managing the scope of work, including


Project Planning and Scheduling changes, maintenance of quality, and schedule and cost control.



The Life-Cycle Principle is a plan first, then do principle.

These two sequential activities form the basis of every project life cycle and are characterised by milestones that determine when the project starts, the controls through which it must pass, and when the project is finished.

2.2.3 Components and Divisions

Decomposition is a technique used in project management that breaks down the workload and tasks before the creation of the work breakdown structure. It takes into account the work components of project phases, disciplines, geographic areas and products.

The decomposition of the components results in:



The hierarchy of objectives in a logical framework involves both a vertical and horizontal logic.



The vertical logic answers the why-how questions, also referred to as objectives-strategy.



The horizontal logic deals with measures of results and assumptions, the if-then relationships.



Planning can begin at any vertical level of the hierarchy and then proceed in an up-down direction until all levels of the hierarchy are complete.



These levels are called policy, strategic, and operational, and each has corresponding objectives.



The interests of different levels of management in an organisation correlate with the hierarchy levels:



Top management is interested in policies and objectives.



Lower management wants to know about operational objectives.

Organisational decomposition takes two perspectives:



Horizontal decomposition and allocation of organisational objectives to specific departments. This will clearly define the roles for each department and help justify projects within a department. The executive management must decide on which objectives to allocate to each department. In a multidisciplinary project, the project manager will use horizontal decomposition to break down the outcomes into smaller deliverables after gathering task information, taking a top-down approach to determining the tasks and subtasks.

The biggest items of deliverables, milestones and major tasks are then broken into smaller tasks.



After being assigned the organisational disciplines, a department can further decompose the objectives within the department, allocating objectives within a discipline, which is vertical decomposition. The resulting decomposition may include many different project activities, sales and marketing activities, operations and supporting activities, each of which may be assigned to a different person or team. For a multidisciplinary project, the project manager, along with the project team, will move from


Project Planning and Scheduling the general aspects of the tasks to the more specific and detailed tasks so that each is broken down into its smallest components.

The following diagram showing a project to develop a new toy for

5-9 year olds will assist you to understand the divisions for decomposition.

Horizontal decomposition

New toy for 5-9 year olds

1.1 Market research

1.2 Product design

1.3 Product development

1.4

Production

Planning

1.5

Marketing

1.6 Project management

1.1.1 Focus groups

1.1.2

Surveys

1.1.3

Analysis

1.1.4

Findings

1.2.1 Design

1.2.1.1

Evaluation groups

1.2.1.2

Document

1.2.2

Models

1.2.3

Selection

1.3.1

Materials

1.3.2

Prototype

1.3.3

Testing

1.3.4 Signoff

1.4.1 Prod design groups

1.4.2 Prod testing

1.4.3 Prod

QA design

1.4.4 Prod plan sign-off

1.5.1 Mark strategy

1.5.2 Mark plan

1.5.3 Mark collateral

1.5.3.1

Brochures

1.5.3.2

Advertising

1.5.3.3

Commercials

As the requirements are decomposed, the structure and management of the project deliverables can be tackled in various ways. Some of the most common approaches include:



Spreading deliverables across project phases , which is typical for schedule-oriented projects.



Spreading deliverables across knowledge areas where project teams are organised by areas of expertise, such as operations, legal or finance.





Spreading deliverables across processes , which is typical for process-oriented projects.



Spreading deliverables across sub-projects , which is most effective in big projects with added complexity, where deliverables are specific for parts of the project but not for the project as a whole.



Organising deliverables hierarchically, from major deliverables to sub-deliverables , which is best for productoriented projects.

The manner in which the decomposition takes place is entirely dependent on the type of project and the management control required, taking the identified risks into consideration. By working from the bottom-up with estimation, project managers can paint a more accurate picture of how much their project will require in terms of resources, duration, and finances. They will also need to know when to stop dividing work into smaller elements. This will assist in determining the duration of activities necessary to produce a deliverable defined by the WBS.

The following steps must be taken when decomposing a project deliverables:



Step One: Confirm the project deliverables or milestones.

These deliverables will be the products that you will decompose and break down into tasks in order to produce work packages.



Step Two: Give each deliverable its own sheet of paper to create the least amount of frustration. This way, you will


Project Planning and Scheduling have enough room to work on your rough draft. Write the deliverable at the top of the paper.



Step Three: Deal with each deliverable individually to eliminate confusion. Take the first deliverable and ask yourself, “In order to produce this, what is the next smallest step that must be taken?” e.g. if you are preparing a large dinner for company, your deliverables would be each dish being served, the guest list, etc. If your main dish was lasagne, you would break the steps of this dish into the steps of the recipe. Note the dependent tasks. After breaking the recipe down into steps, you could further break it down into ingredients.



Step Four: Know when to stop: You know you have decomposed the deliverable sufficiently when you can accurately estimate durations and cost, and you know exactly what must be done in every step. Once you complete the first deliverable, repeat the process for the second, and so on, until every deliverable and milestone has been broken down to sufficiently estimate duration and cost.



Step Five: Estimate durations and arrange tasks into work packages: Once you have broken down your deliverables, your paper might look like a mess of boxes, so you need to organise the boxes into work packages. The work package contains related action items that will be assigned to resources for completion. Before doing this, estimate the amount of time each task will take, then group together tasks according to type or resource required.



Step Six: Estimate costs of each task. This step will allow the project manager to budget the project accurately. Some


Project Planning and Scheduling tasks will have costs dependent upon the time, other tasks will require particular resources that have a cost involved.

Once this is done, then the decomposed deliverables are ready to arrange in a work breakdown structure.

2.2.4 Decomposition and the WBS

If tackled properly, decomposition is the prerequisite for an outstanding work breakdown structure, as all project deliverables and major tasks will have been decomposed into work packages.

The work breakdown structure should flow quickly, because tasks have already been broken down in a hierarchical manner.

The framework of the WBS should contain six criteria:



The work package must be measurable, with the task adequately defined so that the exact status can be given.



Events involving the start and end of action items must be defined in a clear manner.



All activities must include deliverables, with action items clearly linked to a product that will be completed once the activity is completed.



Duration and cost must be able to be easily estimated.



The duration of an activity should follow the 8/80 rule, which states that no work package should be less than eight hours or more than 80 hours.



Work packages are independent of one another, so that once work has begun, it can continue until complete.

Dependencies are noted, and a task that has begun should


Project Planning and Scheduling not stall because it has everything it requires contained within it.

If all six of these criteria have been met, then decomposition has produced a successful work breakdown structure. If one of these criteria has not been met, the project manager and project team must go back and decompose the deliverables and arrange work packages until they meet the requirements. Once the WBS is completed, then the work packages are assigned to resources.

When done properly, decomposition will show the relevance of each task to the bigger project picture.

When decomposing a project, it must be remembered that a unit of work should appear in only one place in the WBS. The work content of a WBS item is the sum of the WBS items below it, and must be the responsibility of only one person, even though many people may be working on it. The WBS must be consistent with the way in which work is actually going to be performed, and should serve the project team first and other purposes only if practical.

Project team members should be involved in developing the WBS to ensure consistency and commitment. Each WBS item must be documented in a WBS dictionary to ensure accurate understanding of the scope of work that is included and not included in that item.

The WBS must be a flexible tool to accommodate inevitable changes while properly maintaining control of the work content in the project according to the scope statement.



The creation of the WBS will also be dependent on the format required by all stakeholders, but the simplest and most frequently used format is to list the project objective at the top of the page, as this is the ultimate desired outcome of all of the work. Underneath it, link each deliverable and major task. Assign each deliverable a code of either a letter or a number, with every task item and work package that is listed underneath it to contain this code as the first part of its own code. Each deliverable should appear on a separate sheet of paper.

When the WBS is completed, it should contain every work package created during the decomposition phase, with a code reflecting the hierarchy. Each work package should have its own code, budget, and estimated duration. It is common for WBS elements to be numbered sequentially to reveal the hierarchical structure and to provide a consistent approach to identifying and managing the

WBS across similar systems regardless of vendor or service.

The following is an example for the WBS activity list for the project to create a new toy for 5-9 year olds.



By using a WBS, it allows the project team to plan using the hierarchical structure, by identifying the elements and sub elements. A work package includes a series of tasks to be carried out as part of an element of work. The WBS is interfaced with the project plan and the coding structure within the WBS, allow reporting of cost and schedule forecasts to deliver the schedule and cost reports. The WBS serves as a starting point for control measures and planning resources.

In the project environment, a clear definition of the roles and responsibilities that people play will be critical to the success of the project. Throughout the course of the project, the role played may change. In addition, a person may play more than one role


Project Planning and Scheduling simultaneously. Individuals must understand the roles they play to know what responsibilities they have in making decisions, taking actions, reporting, and reviewing. Role definition benefits the project by:



Bringing order to the project.

 Allowing the team to reach “perform” stage of development faster.



Keeping people from performing redundant activities.



Creating a job description.



Predetermining decision-making responsibility.



Identifying personal responsibility for success at the beginning of the project.



Reducing confusion about who does what, when.



Each team member is responsible for understanding the other roles and responsibilities.

In a deliverables-based project, there are two additional responsibilities of the primary owner and secondary owner. These responsibilities are associated with either an object or a process.



Primary owner has the responsibility of planning, implementing, and monitoring. In addition, the responsibility includes assuring that the necessary quality, change, and risk processes are applied to the object or process.



Secondary owner has the responsibility of project processes e.g. the change management process can have a primary owner who initiated, planned, and implemented the


Project Planning and Scheduling process. The responsibility of the secondary owner is monitoring and controlling. Additional responsibilities include holding meetings as required by the process, maintaining logs, and facilitating decisions.

Because the project has active sponsors, a business unit driving the project, a client and a project team, there are also responsibilities of reporting, and assigning.



Reporting: Every project team member has the responsibility for reporting. A more complete description of the roles and responsibilities for reporting is provided in the communications plan. A high-level description of the responsibility is to have it roll up from team leader to project manager to sponsor to advisory committee.



Assigning mostly covers acquiring and allocating resources to tasks. Although this responsibility belongs to the project manager, the project team leader and project manager jointly assign them to ownership of objects and resources to tasks.

2.2.5 The WBS Dictionary

The WBS dictionary is often termed the “work package description.” Its function is to provide the person completing the work package with a description of the work included in the work package. In addition to the work package description, the dictionary also should include any types of control, such as signoffs needed, cost and time estimates for the work package, and the acceptance criteria for the package.



Most electronic project management tools readily enable both the

WBS and the numbering scheme, making development of the documents fast and easy.

It may seem like overkill to have a WBS dictionary for small projects, but even the smallest project can end up with dozens or even hundreds of work packages. In addition, the information included in the dictionary adds value to the historical records, enabling more accurate project estimates for similar projects.

The WBS Dictionary is used to:



Control the project e.g. is the work being done on a work package level as described in the WBS dictionary?



Determine if a requested change is within the scope of the project.



Prevent scope creep.



Increase understanding of what needs to be done.



Increase commitment to what needs to be done.



Send to functional managers or resource owners to inform them about what work their people are doing for the project.



Report the project manager provides for outsourced or contract work.



In the real world of project management, scope creep and lack of buy-in are significant problems that can cost the project a huge amount of time, money. Project management is about preventing problems rather than dealing with them. The WBS dictionary is a key tool in the challenge to manage and control projects.

The WBS will continue to provide value throughout the life of the project. The WBS can be used any time the project manager needs to re-evaluate the scope of the project, for example:



When there is a scope change to the project.



To evaluate any impacts of other changes on scope.



As a way to control scope creep by reminding everyone what work is to be done.



As a communications tool.



To help new team members see their roles.



The WBS may be changed and updated throughout the project, and can be used to help stakeholders understand how their pieces fit into the whole project. On very small projects, where a detailed schedule has not been created, work packages in a WBS could be crossed off to show progress.

The WBS dictionary should be created by or with the person responsible for the work package. This aids in the responsible person taking ownership of the work package. Therefore, the project manager’s work may not take much more time than reviewing and approving


Project Planning and Scheduling each work package, looking for added scope or misunderstanding of scope, and making sure the estimates are reasonable.

It is important to note that the WBS dictionary may be iterated as new information becomes available. Here are some tips to making the WBS dictionary work for you.



When approved, a final copy of each WBS dictionary is provided to those who will complete the work package work.

As the work is being done, team members use the WBS and

WBS dictionary to confirm the work they are assigned.



The WBS dictionary can also form the basis for any work package level reporting e.g. team member status reports can be formatted to answer the questions of how they are doing in meeting deliverables, cost and time estimates, and acceptance criteria.



It is a good idea to summarise major WBS elements in terms of a WBS dictionary, describing the WBS element and its unique identification codes, listing contact information for who is responsible for the work associated with the WBS, planned start date, planned completion date, and planned costs.

Components of the WBS dictionary are:



Work package name and number .



Date of update . Work packages can change over time.

Document control and configuration management activities require the project manager to make sure everyone has the correct version of any project document. Putting a date on it can help.





Responsible person . In order to have accountability, each work package should be assigned to one person on the project team who will own the work. That person might need to form a small team to complete the work package, but the project manager would only need to interact with the person assigned the work package.



Work package description . This section of the dictionary is best created with the help of the person assigned the work package. The project manager is not required to know how to do all the work on the project, just how to manage it. The responsible person can provide the details necessary to complete the activities of the work package. Quality and commitment to completing the work on time are much improved when the person who knows how to do the work completes the description. The work package becomes his package, rather than the project manager’s work package.

The project manager will get a chance to look for scope creep in the description of the work package. The description also helps prevent scope creep later, as the work package is being completed.



Work package product .

Describing the result of the work package helps the project manager be assured that the complete scope of the work package will be done. The product description also helps decrease the possibility of scope creep.



Acceptance criteria . The person completing the work should review his own work to make sure it is acceptable


Project Planning and Scheduling before providing it to the project manager. Having measures of success for the work package determined in advance will save time and improve quality.



Assumptions change the entire design of the project.

Therefore, it is wise to document any assumptions made for each work package so the project manager can review the assumptions to check validity later on.



Resources assigned . The project manager might assign resources to assist the person completing the work package.

These resources can be people, equipment, or supplies, and should be described in the WBS dictionary.



Duration : When compiling the WBS dictionary, it is important to estimate duration and cost at the same time.



Schedule milestones : The creation of milestones for the project is another way for the project manager to control the project and to know how the project is doing while the work is underway. If a milestone date is met, the project may be on track. Depending on the project, it might be useful for the person completing a work package to know to which milestone the work package belongs.



Cost estimates need to be captured for comparison to actual costs. Accurate cost estimates for each project help project managers, who use historical information, to be increasingly more accurate in their pricing models.



Due date : Once the project management plan is completed, each work package will have a date by which it must be completed, without delaying the project. Such a date is listed


Project Planning and Scheduling in the WBS dictionary in order to keep focus on the date and prevent delay.



Interdependencies : It is helpful to know what work comes before and after the work package. Sometimes knowing this will prevent the work package from being delayed, because the effect becomes more widely known by the project team.



Approved by the project manager : Approval implies authorisation, and without approval, there can be no control.

The following template is an example of a WBS Dictionary. Please note that different organisations may have their own preferences and templates.

<Project Name>

Work Breakdown Structure Dictionary

Version <1.0>

<mm/dd/yyyy>

VERSION HISTORY

[Provide information on how the development and distribution of the Work

Breakdown Structure Dictionary was controlled and tracked. Use the table below to provide the version number, the author implementing the version, the date of the version, the name of the person approving the version, the date that particular version was approved, and a brief description of the reason for creating the revised version.]

Version

#

1.0

Implemented

By

<Author name>

Revision

Date

<mm/dd/yy

>

Approved

By

Approval

Date

Reason

<name> <mm/dd/yy> <reason>

Template Version: 11/30/20XX

This document is a template of a Work Breakdown Structure Dictionary document for a project.




1 WBS Element Definitions

APPENDIX A: REFERENCES

APPENDIX B: KEY TERMS

WBS Element Definitions

WBS Code WBS Element

[WBS code] [WBS element name]

WBS Element Description

[include a brief definition of the WBS element (function, deliverable, etc.) associated activities, milestones, and other information such as performance measurement criteria, statement of work paragraph number, contract line item, start and end dates, resource requirements, cost estimates, quality requirements, technical content, contact information, revision history, etc.]









APPENDIX A: REFERENCES

[Insert the name, version number, description, and physical location of any documents referenced in this document. Add rows to the table as necessary.]

The following table summarizes the documents referenced in this document.

Description Location Document

Name

Version

<Document

Name

Version

Number> and and

[Provide description of the document]

<URL or Network path where document is located>



APPENDIX B: KEY TERMS

[Insert terms and definitions used in this document. Add rows to the table as necessary. Follow the link below to for definitions of project management terms and acronyms used in this and other documents. http://www2.cdc.gov/cdcup/library/other/help.htm

The following table provides definitions for terms relevant to this document.

Term

[Insert Term]

Definition

[Provide definition of the term used in this document.]

[Insert Term]

[Insert Term]



Approval: Responsibility for approval of a WBS normally occurs with a plan, process, or decision that affects project scope, methodology, or object creation.

Sponsors have approval responsibility for WBS, project processes, and other project plans. The Sponsor approves the project manager’s request for acquiring new project resources.

The project manager assumes responsibility for approving project work plans and quality control sign-offs

The project track lead approves tasks, resource assignments, and work time estimates.

ACTIVITY 3 – REVIEWED, GROUPS

US243811 SO1 AC1-4, SO2 AC1-2, SO3

AC1-8




LEARNING UNIT 3: THE RESOURCE SCHEDULE

Learning Outcomes:



Demonstrate an understanding of scheduling tools and techniques.



Produce an initial work schedule.



Identify and estimate resources for each activity.



Optimise the work and resource schedule.

3.1 SCHEDULING TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

3.1.1 Purpose of Schedules

Anyone who has ever worked on a project team knows that there needs to be a project schedule. In project management, a schedule is a listing of the milestones, activities, and deliverables, normally with intended start and finish dates.

These items are often estimated in terms of resource allocation, budget and duration, linked by dependencies and scheduled events. Once you have the project schedule created, it is easy to use for communicating the timeline as part of the project plan to stakeholders, project team members and anyone else who needs to be kept informed. The project schedule can be printed out and distributed in meetings.

A project schedule is one of the primary components in the classic project management triple constraint of time, cost and scope. Once the elements in the WBS are defined, creating the schedule and assigning resources to the project brings the end goal further to realisation and completion. However, in modern business, there are many challenges and threats to the project schedule, such as resource constraints, multiple projects and imperative business


Project Planning and Scheduling needs. Addressing project constraints and managing project schedules is therefore a complex, multifaceted duty for a project manager.

The schedule serves as:



A management reporting tool.



An implementation tool to help get the work done on time, because it contains activity durations, interdependencies, and constraints that help to identify conflicts and bottlenecks.



It produces a realistic and achievable timetable for executing the work, given the real-world constraints and limitations.



It is one of the most important tools in managing changes on a project. Because the activities in the schedule are tied together with logical relationships, the schedule allows the project team to accurately evaluate changes from the plan and identify the resulting impacts to time and resources throughout the entire project lifecycle.



The schedule provides the project team with a tool to evaluate alternative execution strategies to meet business objectives such as reducing duration or costs, by adjusting resources and logic.



The schedule can be a cost control tool for the project team, as time is money. The schedule allows the project team to optimise resources to produce cost savings and is essential for determining productivity factors using earned value, allowing the project team to make better cost forecasts early in the project.





A resource loaded schedule allows for accurate forecasting of cash flow requirements on complex projects.

The project schedule should be updated regularly based on conditions that occur during the project execution, to allow the project manager to monitor the progress throughout the entire project life cycle e.g. when the project schedule is initially approved and signed-off by the project sponsor, the baseline is then recorded for future comparison. By measuring the current schedule against the baseline, the performance of the schedule can be tracked for both time and costs against the original plan.

By establishing dependencies between tasks in the project schedule, it will be easy to see how delays cause future tasks to be delayed. Without a project schedule, it is difficult or impossible to know how delays on individual tasks will ultimately affect other related tasks in later stages of the project.

3.1.2 Developing a Schedule

When you create a project schedule, you take the list of tasks and add information that is a lot more valuable and organised. The project schedule represents the tasks with:



Start and finish dates.



Duration of each task.



Dependencies between tasks (predecessors and successors).



A hierarchy of tasks, using the WBS.





A graphical chart or network diagram showing the date ranges of the tasks.

Developing a project schedule requires the combination of activities, resources, and activity-performance sequences that gives you the greatest chance of meeting your client’s expectations with the least amount of risk. You need several types of inputs to create a project schedule, such as:



Personal and project calendars so that you can understand working days, shifts, and resource availability that is critical to completing a project schedule.



Description of project scope so that you can determine key start and end dates, major assumptions behind the plan, and key constraints and restrictions. You can also include stakeholder expectations, which will often determine project milestones.



Project risks so that you can understand them to make sure there is enough extra time to deal with identified and unidentified risks.



Lists of activities and resource requirements , because you need to determine if there are other constraints to consider when developing the schedule. Understanding the resource capabilities and experience you have available, as well as public holidays and staff holidays, will affect the schedule.

A project manager should be aware of deadlines and resource availability issues that may make the schedule less flexible. After you specify your project’s activities in the WBS, take the following steps to develop an initial project schedule:





Identify immediate predecessors for all activities, as these define the structure for a network diagram.



Determine the personnel and other resources required for all activities. The type, amount, and availability of resources affect how long you need to perform each activity.



Estimate durations for all activities by considering past experiences, expert opinions and other available sources of information to clarify the components for the activity.



Identify all intermediate and final dates that must be met.

These dates define the criteria that your schedule must meet.



Identify all activities or milestones outside your project that affect your project’s activities, as these allow you to set up the appropriate dependencies between them and your project’s activities and milestones.



Draw your network diagram to determine what schedules your project can achieve.



Identify all critical paths and their lengths by analysing the network diagram to identify the slack times of non-critical paths. This information helps you choose which project activities to monitor and how often to monitor them. It also suggests strategies for getting back on track if you encounter unexpected schedule delays.



3.1.3 Schedule Techniques

Scheduling is not an exact process, because it is part estimation, part prediction, and part educated guessing. Because of the uncertainty involved, the schedule must be reviewed regularly and revised, even while the project is in progress. It should continue to develop as the project progresses, changes arise, risks are overcome and new risks are identified. The schedule essentially transforms the project from a vision to a time-based plan. The main objectives of project scheduling are to:



Complete the project as early as possible by determining the earliest start and finish of each activity.



Calculate the likelihood a project will be completed within a certain time period.



Find the minimum cost schedule needed to complete the project by a certain date.

 Investigate the results of possible delays in activity’s completion time.



Progress control.



Smooth out resource allocation over the duration of the project

Most project managers use network scheduling to depict the sequence of activities necessary to complete a project. The segments of the project are represented by lines connected together to show the interrelationship of operations and resources.

When a duration is associated with each segment, the model will


Project Planning and Scheduling show the time distribution of the total project and its operations, which is then used to coordinate the application of resources.

There are some very well-known techniques for network scheduling, such as:



Gantt charts.



Milestone charts.



Network diagram.

3.1.3.1 The Gantt Chart

When you set up a Gantt chart, you need to know all the tasks involved in your project, who will be responsible for each task, how long each will take, and what problems the project team may encounter, so that you can have alternatives for potential problems before you start. Gantt charts can assist with the practical aspects of time and precedents and dependents. A Gantt chart can also be used to identify critical path, which is the sequence of tasks that must individually be completed on time if the whole project is to deliver on time. The following example is a Gantt chart showing a recruitment process.



A variety of software programmes can be used to create a Gantt chart, including Microsoft Projects and Microsoft Excel. To create a

Gantt chart, follow these steps:



Step 1: Identify essential tasks from the WBS and note the earliest start date and estimated duration. Example: An organisation has decided to create a new software product for management purposes. You will list the activities that must be done and estimate how long each task should take to complete.



Step 2: Identify task relationships . Some tasks will need to be completed before you can start the next one, and others cannot end until preceding ones have ended e.g. if you are creating a brochure, you need to finish the design before you can send it to print. Dependent activities are called linear tasks, while those that can be done at the same time are parallel tasks. Tasks can be sequential and parallel at the same time e.g. tasks B and D may be dependent on task A, and may be completed at the same time. Task B is


Project Planning and Scheduling sequential in that it follows on from A, and it is parallel, with respect to D. In Gantt charts, there are three main relationships between sequential tasks: o Finish to Start (FS) tasks cannot start before a previous and related task is finished, but they can start later. o Start to Start (SS) tasks cannot start until a preceding task starts, but they can start later. o Finish to Finish (FF) tasks cannot end before a preceding task ends, but can end later. o Start to Finish (SF) is very rare.



Step 3: Input activities into software . There are many software programmes and templates that can be used.



Step 4: Chart progress as the project moves along, and update the Gantt chart to reflect changes as soon as they occur. This will help you to keep your plans, the team, and the sponsors up to date.

3.1.3.2 Milestone Charts

A milestone chart portrays key milestones on a project time line.

The milestones are associated with some major element of project risk, such as passing a test or gaining approval from a regulatory body. Each milestone is represented by a diamond or triangle on the time line and will be major reporting points to senior management. Large complex projects may have hundreds or even thousands of tasks, which give an opportunity for senior management to receive interim reports.



3.1.3.3 Network Diagram

The Network Diagram is essentially a flowchart of the project tasks and is created by determining predecessor and successor relationships and connecting the tasks based upon those relationships. When task durations are uncertain, the network diagram is often a better technique to use than the Gantt chart, because it shifts the focus for uncertain tasks from arbitrary start and end dates to completion of the work and a handoff to the next task.

3.1.4 Analysing Project Schedules

Critical Path Method (CPM) of analysis and Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) are powerful tools that help a project manager to analyse simple schedules and manage complex projects. They can be used as the basis both for preparation of a schedule and of resource planning. During management of a project, they allow you to monitor achievement of project goals and help you to see where remedial action needs to be taken to get a project back on course.

3.1.4.1 Critical Path Method (CPM)

The Critical Path method is used to determine the shortest time to complete the entire project or an activity. It is used to analyse all possible sequences of tasks based on a network diagram, to determine the durations of sequences. The critical path sets the minimum time in which the project can be completed and shows the sequential activities from start to end of the project. Although


Project Planning and Scheduling many projects have only one critical path, some projects may have more than one, depending on the flow logic used in the project. It offers a visual representation of the project activities and presents the time to complete the tasks, enabling you to track critical activities, assuming that all resources required are available.

Once the durations and relationships have been drawn on a network diagram, you will need to firstly calculate the earliest possible start date and finish date for each task. Then, using the calculated project finish date, determine the latest possible start and finish date for each task that still supports the calculated earliest date. This set of calculations is normally done using project management software.

The following parameters for each activity on the network diagram must be determined:



Earliest start time (ES) is the earliest time an activity can start once the previous dependent activities are over.



Earliest finish time (EF) is the ES plus the activity duration.



Latest finish time (LF) is the latest time an activity can finish without delaying the project.



Latest start time (LS) minus the LF gives the activity duration.



Float time is the time between the ES and the LS or between the EF and LF. During the float time, an activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish date.





Slack time is difference between the LF of each activity and the EF, based on all predecessor activities, which will not delay the completion of the overall project.

The critical path is the longest path of the network diagram. The activities on the critical path have an effect on the deadline of the project, because if an activity of this path is delayed, the project will be delayed. In case if the project management needs to accelerate the project, the times for critical path activities should be reduced.

3.1.4.2 Critical Chain Scheduling (CSS)

Where the critical path goes from start of a project to the end, the critical chain ends at the start of a buffer assigned to the project.

With the critical path, activity sequencing is performed, but with critical chain, critical chain scheduling is performed. The critical


Project Planning and Scheduling chain is the dependent tasks that define the lower limit of possible lead time, so dependent tasks are scheduled in the most effective and beneficial way.

Dependencies are used to determine the critical chain. There are two types of dependencies used:



Hands-off dependency simply means that output of one task is the input for another, so the second task cannot be started until the first task is completed.



Resource dependency means that one task is using a resource, so the other task cannot be started until the first task is completed and the resource is free.

Critical chain scheduling complements the impact of variance with a buffer, which are constructed and applied to a project in order to ensure success. The buffer protects the due delivery dates from variations to the critical chain.

With a "feeding buffer", dependent tasks in the critical chain that are dependent on the output of non-critical chain tasks have a great opportunity to start as soon as its predecessor task is finished, and do not have to wait for non-critical chain tasks to be completed. This makes sure that the critical chain moves faster towards the project completion.



3.1.4.3 Programme Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

A PERT analysis starts with a network diagram, where all task durations are estimated three times:



A worst case schedule is developed using only worst case estimates.



A best case schedule is developed using only best case estimates.



The most likely case is an estimated likely time for a task, given constraints on resources.

Using these estimates, calculate the time to use for each project stage using the following formula:

Shortest time + 4 x likely time + longest time

6

This helps to remove bias in time estimates away from the unrealistically short time-scales normally assumed. A PERT chart or diagram can be used to display the results. The following example will show a PERT diagram with the necessary explanation.



In the above diagram, there are four tasks in the project. Task A takes one day to complete. Task B takes 4 days to complete and can be executed in parallel with Task C, which takes 11 days to complete. When tasks B and C are completed, task D can be executed, which will take 3 days to complete.

3.1.5 Date and Resource Adjustments

Schedule acceleration techniques are used to shorten the overall length of the project, but they do so by increasing risk in some other aspect of the project. They need to be used carefully, along with an update to the project risk management plan. There are five schedule acceleration techniques and selecting the one to use depends on the characteristics of the activities in the project.





Buffer management reduces the buffer inherent in the estimates of activities. Project managers tend to allow for the uncertainty by using a conservative estimate, and buffer management removes this buffer from the estimate and creates an aggressive estimate, often resulting in reduced duration. However, the risk is that there is a much higher probability that the activity will finish late, compared to the planned completion date.



Crashing accelerates an activity by adding additional resources. Some activity durations are limited by resource availability and more resources would allow a faster completion. While this is not true for all activities, it is true for some. However, this will often increase the overall cost of the project, as the additional resources are often added at a premium rate.



Fast-tracking accelerates the project by starting activities prior to the completion of all the predecessor activities. This can only be done when there is a preliminary result for the predecessor activities e.g. a preliminary bill of materials may be developed during a design process and raw materials for production may be ordered based upon this. If the bill of material does not change during the final design review and baseline process, the project is accelerated, but if it does change, the material ordered may need to be reworked or scrapped, increasing the effort and cost to the project.



The Split-to-Phases technique is used when the project has multiple, separable objectives and the scope is divided into phases based on the activities that are unique to an


Project Planning and Scheduling objective. This allows a focus of resources on the activities supporting one objective at the expense of the activities supporting a different objective. This will result in an early completion of a portion of the project, but usually causes a delay in another portion of the project, and often causes an increase in cost because activities must be repeated for each phase. This acceleration technique is appropriate only when the completion of the first phase is able to immediately start producing some business benefit, without the completion of the succeeding phases.

These methods can be used individually or in combinations, but will all result in increased risks which may fail to deliver the potential benefit.

Resource levelling is a technique used to smooth out the peaks and valleys in the required project resources and usually results in changes to the project schedule. Through the use of levelling, the best allocation of resources assigned to the project can be determined and can be applied when the project has been planned with a high degree of parallelism. Usually, many of the different parallel paths will have float, unless they are a critical path, which can be used to reposition tasks so that the resources required to conduct that task are not needed at the same time on another task.

To do resource levelling, first the network diagram is developed and the task durations and resources requirements for each task


Project Planning and Scheduling are determined so that the critical path can be calculated.

Resources are then assigned to critical path tasks first, before assigned to the other tasks, using float to reposition tasks between their earliest start and latest finish time and when resources are unallocated. If, after this, there are still insufficient resources at some time in the project, then tasks are stretched or delayed past their latest finish time until the resources are available. This will extend the end date of the project.

3.2 AN INITIAL WORK SCHEDULE

3.2.1 Activities and Scope

The first step to produce a work schedule is to envision the total project and decompose it into tasks that can easily be executed to reach the required milestones. The tasks and milestones must be scheduled, cost estimated, and the WBS created.

3.2.2 Define Dependencies

Next, establish task dependencies to facilitate execution of work in the proper sequence. These often involve physical limitations, discretionary priorities based on experience and other external factors. They are links between project activities that are used to sequence tasks in time, in a logical order and are also used to create relationships. When you use dependencies to create an activity sequence and schedule for your project, you create a project that is not bound by specific dates, and can easily accommodate changes in the schedule.



Dependency creation is a two-step process:



Create the dependency relationships.



Resolve the dependencies to adjust the schedule dates.

3.2.3 Estimating Durations

Work estimation requires calculating the number of hours or days needed to complete a scheduled task and are critical as any time overruns may over-allocate the resource levelling and adversely affect the project.

With task durations, the team knows what to expect and what is expected from them. Task duration is normally overestimated, but is frequently underestimated, and inaccurate estimates can result in an increase in the frenzy level of the project with sponsors scrambling for more money, and technical staff attempting to complete the project in an unrealistic timeframe.

The estimation process is complex, because it is affected by numerous variables that must be dealt with concurrently, such as staff availability, the skills level of a person assigned to the task, unexpected events, inefficiency and mistakes and lack of proper understandings during the development of the project.

The most common technique for task duration estimation is based on the historical experience of a similar scope of work by the project manager, which will support both the duration and the cost estimation. If historical data does not exist, seek the advice of


Project Planning and Scheduling experts and others who completed similar tasks. When historical data is available, get estimates from multiple sources, compare the results and estimate based on these inputs.

3.2.4 Milestones and Critical Path

The completion of key actions is important in all projects, and is represented by precise and measurable milestones with no duration. Deliverables are presented as milestones, while the effort to produce the deliverable is referred to as a task. Once these have been set, identify the critical path that has a direct impact on the completion date of the project.

3.3 RESOURCES

3.3.1 Resource Requirements

A successful project manager must simultaneously manage the four basic elements of resources, time, money, and scope, which are interrelated in projects.

Each must be managed effectively, and all must be managed together, if the project and the project manager are to be a success. The resource breakdowns include:



Resources of people, equipment and materials.



Time with task durations, dependencies and the critical path.



Money includes costs, contingencies and profit.



Scope includes project size, goals and requirements.

Before attempting resource levelling, the project manager must assign resources to each of the tasks to aid timely execution.



Resource levelling calls for good judgment as resources have to be used optimally throughout the project. It has to be ensured that resources are neither over-allocated nor under-allocated.

The following process can help you identify the types and quantities of resources that you need to implement a project:



Review the project scope and task list to ascertain the project's requirements.



Use historical resources and duration information. Check especially for information about the types and numbers of resources that were used, as well as the actual duration of tasks.



Consider how the resource numbers will affect the durations.

In most cases, particularly for production tasks, two resources can complete a task in half the time it takes a single resource to do it, but in other instances, adding resources does not guarantee that the duration will decrease.



Consider how the capability and quality of the resources will affect durations. These can significantly influence the duration of the task e.g. a team member with five years’ experience can be expected to complete a task in less time than one with very little experience.



Review and refine the duration estimates using the information collected. The accuracy of the resource requirement estimate depends on the accuracy of the estimate for task durations.



Identify the resource types and quantities needed and identify any specifics, assumptions or constraints that you


Project Planning and Scheduling may have e.g. "The scope of the project will not change,” or

"Identified resources and approved funding will be available upon request," or "The project team must create all of the physical deliverables within the allocated budget."



Have an expert or a knowledgeable team member review your resource requirements estimates.

3.3.2 Resource Plan, Availability and Costs

Resource planning is a key aspect of project management as the success of a project is directly dependent of how the resources are allocated and how optimally they are used.

Project activities have fixed durations and may require the use of multiple renewable resources in constant amounts throughout their duration. Various assumptions may be made about the type of precedence relations, ready times, due dates, and task interruption. The objective is to determine the resource availability levels in order to minimise the costs over all resource types.

Two important things must be given attention in a project resource plan.



Human and non-human resources must be accounted for in separate sections.



The resource requirements should be analysed individually for each phase of the project.



The resource plan may include resource category or types, quantities, availability, capability, calendars, task requirements, risk analysis and management actions. This will help to identify all the resources required to complete the project successfully.

Using this resource plan, you will then create a resource schedule to enable you to plan the use and depletion of each type of resource, so that you know that you will have enough to complete the project. The resource plan will allow you to:



Plan the dates for use of the resources.



Identify the amount of resources required per project activity.



Create a detailed resource utilisation schedule.

A good resource plan consists of a schedule that is as detailed as possible for the information known, and the types of resources needed for each task. It will have a single task owner on each task and will help you identify the:



Types of labour required for the project.



Roles and key responsibilities for each labour type.



Number of people required to fill each role.



Items of equipment to be used and their purposes.



Types and quantities of equipment needed.



Total amount of materials needed.

The following is an example of a resource plan.

Project Resource Plan

Project Name: xyz

Process: Website Development

Focus Area:

Prepared By:

Prepared On:



Authorised By:

Project Skill Requirements

Phase-1

Task/Deliverable

Resource

Type Source Skill Level Quantity

Site Layout Design Designer Internal

Macromedia

Flash 2

Hours

Required Controller

50

Project

Manager

From Date

To Date

Java Scripts

Content

Images

Programmer Internal Java

Writer

Photographer

ABC Co APA style

DE

Photo

Business photos

1

2

1

30

Project

30

Manager

PR

Manager

10

PR

Manager

Phase-2 Site Integrating

From Date

To Date

Placing

Advertisements

Phase-3 Site Testing

From Date

To Date

Phase-4 SEO

From Date Internet Marketing

To Date

Phase-2

From Date

To Date

Phase-3

From Date

To Date

Non-Human Resources

Resource

Type Source

Cost

Estimate Quantity

Hours

Required Controller

Source Name

Detailed List of Sources

Address Contact Person Contact Details



A resource plan can either be made for the entire project, if it is a small project, or for some process which is a part of a larger project.

The human resource and skill requirements will vary considerably during each phase of the project. The resource details include the following:

 Task or deliverables is either the name of the task or a short description of it.

 Resource type refers to what type of a professional is needed to execute the said task.

 Source is meant for listing the source from which the desired professionals must be made available for accomplishing the tasks. If the professional is from within the organisation you can simply write ‘Internal’ under the source.

 Skill level , if there are any specific requirements these can be detailed in this section.

 Quantity is simply the number of professionals needed for completing the task.

 Hours required is an estimate of the total number of hours that will be needed for completion of the task.

 Controller is the name of the person or team at whose deposal the resource will be and who will have full authority over allocation of the resource.



The non-human resource requirements must also be classified along the different phases and for different tasks or deliverables.

The cost estimate is the cost of purchasing a particular resource or the rent amount if a resource is needed on a temporary basis.

Resource assumptions are found in every aspect of a project, so whatever assumptions have been made at the time of resource planning can be detailed e.g. the assumption may be an estimated figure for equipment rental, but a deal is not yet final.

Resource risk and mitigation strategies are details of all the risks associated with the project resources, and the strategies that will be used to nullify these if they occur during the execution of the project.

Detailed list of sources is a list from which resources will be procured. It can either be included in the resource plan or it can be attached as an annexure to a resource plan. This must contain some basic details about the source such as the name of the source, the physical location of the source, the name of the contact person there and the contact details.

3.4 OPTIMISING WORK AND RESOURCES

3.4.1 The Impact of Resource Misallocation

If the project manager runs into trouble by over-allocating or underallocating resources then resource levelling must be done by:

 Delaying or rescheduling certain tasks.

 Allocating alternate resources.

 Reworking task dependencies.

 Eliminating redundant tasks, if feasible.



If resources have been misallocated, the financial viability of the project may be impacted in such a manner that the entire project must be stopped. The situation may not be able to be resolved by reallocating the resources, without making other tasks have a longer duration and not meet deadlines, and productivity will be hindered while additional resources are transferred from one task to another. The spiralling costs that this misallocation will encounter will be huge, with the project not viable or cost-effective.

The project manager has to constantly monitor the schedule and if the critical path drags the finish date, then he must adopt techniques to remedy the situation such as:

 Fast tracking.

 Performing tasks in parallel instead of in sequence.

 Crashing or assigning additional resources.

3.4.2 Risk Analysis

Documentation of the assumptions made in developing the project schedule is critical to the success of the project. Without clear documentation of these assumptions, late changes are very difficult and risky. If, for example, a schedule was short and because it was assumed that a highly skilled person would be performing the work, that assumption should be documented so that if a less skilled person


Project Planning and Scheduling is actually assigned to perform the task, the project manager can recognise this and can make necessary changes and decisions.

Without documentation of the assumptions, the entire schedule and project could be delayed.

There are risks inherently involved in having limited resources, but good scheduling makes allowance for preventing risks. These include:

 Where a significant scheduling risk is identified, add an additional WBS task as a risk reduction. Financial reserves can be set aside to deal with potentially delayed schedules, and additional time can be allocated to those task risks.

 Add extra time to the schedule for particular team members, particularly if new technology is being used or if the estimate is too optimistic. Technical staff often underestimate the time required to do any particular task.

3.4.3 Agreements

The development of the schedule requires input from more than one person. No one possesses all the knowledge or understands all the factors that affect schedules in a project. The acceptance of the schedule by the project team members is critical to success and participation in scheduling gives them a stake in the outcome of the project. Job descriptions and task allocations must be reviewed with all involved in the work, to ascertain whether they are complete and accurate and to ensure a common understanding of what is to be done.



The final schedule and resource plan must also be agreed with the project sponsor and the client, to ensure that the required resources are sufficient and will be available when required.

3.5 SCHEDULE AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

3.5.1 Baseline

A baseline is a set of stored values. Usually these will be:



Original scheduled start and finish dates.



Planned effort, normally expressed in hours.



Planned or budgeted cost.



Planned or budgeted revenue.

The main benefits of having a project baseline are:



The ability to assess performance.



To be able to calculate Earned Value.



To improve future estimating accuracy.

By taking the original plan and comparing it with the actual progress of the project, you will be able to make a judgement on whether the project is on track or not. This will provide you with any variance information, which can be useful for future estimating.

With Earned Value, the planned hours and costs of the tasks are compared with the actual hours and costs, taking into account the progress on each task and the project as a whole. It often includes


Project Planning and Scheduling the calculation of a performance indicator. This will allow you to see trends in performance, and therefore be able to predict any potential overruns. At an individual task level, this is a good indicator of how much time and cost should have been spent so far, compared with how much time and cost has actually been spent.

However, it is advisable not to place too much reliance on such forecasts, especially in the early stages of the project's lifecycle, as few tasks have been started or completed, but as time moves forward, the accuracy of your predictions increases, although you are still reliant on peoples' assessments of progress. When a task is completed, the Earned Value figures will be equal to the planned figures, so this measure cannot be used to enhance estimating accuracy.

When you create your plan, you estimate how long each task will take, and how much effort will be required to complete it.

You may also work out the likely costs and, if you are charging for work done, what the revenue will be. The tool most commonly used for this is previous experience. You can improve the accuracy of your estimating if you have a record of previous estimates compared with the actual outcome, to give you a margin of error that you can build into all future estimates.



3.5.2 Creating the Schedule Management Plan

Over the course of a given project, often it is up to the project management team and or the team leader to make a determination that the previously determined and derived schedule may need to be modified and or tweaked in one way or another in order to accommodate one of more schedule events. This may be because a particular event is running behind schedule or in other cases because a succeeding event’s timing has to be changed one way or another. However, when the project management team and or project management team leader seeks to initiate changes, it is important that they adhere to the previously determined schedule management plan.

The schedule management plan is the document that determines the criteria for developing and maintaining the actual project schedule, and represents a subsidiary of the project management plan as a whole. This schedule management plan may be a highly formalised document, or it could be very informal in some cases as well.

The following example will indicate everything that should appear in a Schedule Management Plan.

PROJECT SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT PLAN TEMPLATE

SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT PLAN

<PROJECT NAME>

COMPANY NAME

STREET ADDRESS

POSTAL CODE

DATE




INTRODUCTION

SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT APPROACH

SCHEDULE CONTROL SCHEDULE CHANGES AND THRESHOLDS

SCOPE CHANGE

INTRODUCTION

This section highlights the purpose and importance of the schedule management plan and provides a general description of what should be included. These items will be described in more detail later in the plan under each corresponding section.

The project schedule is the roadmap for how the project will be executed. Schedules are an important part of any project as they provide the project team, sponsor, and stakeholders with a clear picture of the project’s status at any given time. The purpose of the schedule management plan is to define the approach the project team will use in creating the project schedule. This plan also includes how the team will monitor the project schedule and manage changes after the baseline schedule has been approved.

This includes identifying, analysing, documenting, prioritising, approving or rejecting, and publishing all schedule-related changes.

SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT APPROACH

This section provides a general framework for the approach which will be taken to create the project schedule. This includes the scheduling tool and format, schedule milestones, and schedule development roles and responsibilities.

Project schedules will be created using, for example, MS Project 2010 starting with the deliverables identified in the project’s Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Activity definition will identify the specific work packages that must be performed to complete each deliverable. Activity sequencing will be used to determine the order of work packages and assign relationships between project activities. Activity duration estimating will be used to calculate the number of work periods required to complete work packages. Resource estimating will be used to assign resources to work packages, in order to complete schedule development.

Once a preliminary schedule has been developed, it will be reviewed by the project team and along with any resources tentatively assigned to project tasks. The project team must agree to the proposed work package assignments, durations, and schedule.

Once this is achieved the project sponsor will review and approve the schedule and it will then be base lined.

The following will be designated as milestones for the project schedule:

 Completion of scope statement and WBS/WBS Dictionary.

 Base lined project schedule.

 Approval of final project budget.

 Project kick-off.

 Approval of roles and responsibilities.



 Requirements definition approval.

 Completion of data mapping and inventory.

 Project implementation.

 Acceptance of final deliverables.

Roles and responsibilities for schedule development are as follows:

 The project manager will be responsible for facilitating work package definition, sequencing, and estimating duration and resources with the project team. The project manager will also create the project schedule and validate the schedule with the project team, stakeholders, and the project sponsor. The project manager will obtain schedule approval from the project sponsor and baseline the schedule.

 The project team is responsible for participating in work package definition, sequencing, and duration and resource estimating. The project team will also review and validate the proposed schedule and perform assigned activities once the schedule is approved.

 The project sponsor will participate in reviews of the proposed schedule and approve the final schedule before it is base lined.

 The project stakeholders will participate in reviews of the proposed schedule and assist in its validation.

SCHEDULE CONTROL

This section defines how the project’s schedule will be controlled throughout the life of the project. This includes the frequency of updates and schedule reviews as well as communicating the schedule and progress. This section also defines roles and responsibilities as they relate specifically to project schedule control.

The project schedule will be reviewed and updated as necessary on a bi-weekly basis with actual start, actual finish, and completion percentages which will be provided by task owners. The project manager is responsible for:

 Holding bi-weekly schedule updates and reviews.

 Determining impacts of schedule variances.

 Submitting schedule change requests.

 Reporting schedule status in accordance with the project’s communications plan.

The project team is responsible for:

 Participating in bi-weekly schedule updates and reviews.

 Communicating any changes to actual start and finish dates to the project manager.

 Participating in schedule variance resolution activities as needed.

The project sponsor will maintain awareness of the project schedule status and review and approve any schedule change requests submitted by the project manager.



SCHEDULE CHANGES AND THRESHOLDS

As the project schedule is created it is important that boundary conditions are set by the project sponsor to establish the schedule parameters within which the project is expected to operate. Any event which may potentially cause a schedule change that exceeds these boundary conditions must have a schedule change request submitted and approved by the sponsor before the schedule change is made.

If any member of the project team determines that a change to the schedule is necessary, the project manager and team will meet to review and evaluate the change.

The project manager and project team must determine which tasks will be impacted, variance as a result of the potential change, and any alternatives or variance resolution activities they may employ to see how they would affect the scope, schedule, and resources. If, after this evaluation is complete, the project manager determines that any change will exceed the established boundary conditions, then a schedule change request must be submitted.

Submittal of a schedule change request to the project sponsor for approval is required if either of the two following conditions is true:

 The proposed change is estimated to reduce the duration of an individual work package by 10% or more, or increase the duration of an individual work package by

10% or more.

 The change is estimated to reduce the duration of the overall baseline schedule by

10% or more, or increase the duration of the overall baseline schedule by 10% or more.

Any change requests that do not meet these thresholds may be submitted to the project manager for approval. Once the change request has been reviewed and approved, the project manager is responsible for adjusting the schedule and communicating all changes and impacts to the project team, project sponsor, and stakeholders. The project manager must also ensure that all change requests are archived in the project records repository.

SCOPE CHANGE

Occasionally, approved changes to the project’s scope may result in the schedule needing to be re-base lined. These scope changes may include new deliverables or requirements that were not previously considered as part of the original schedule’s development. In these situations the project manager and team must consider the current status of the project schedule and how the scope change will affect the schedule and its resources as the project moves forward.

Any changes in the project scope, which have been approved by the project sponsor, will require the project team to evaluate the effect of the scope change on the current schedule. If the project manager determines that the scope change will significantly affect the current project schedule, he/she may request that the schedule be re-base


Project Planning and Scheduling lined in consideration of any changes which need to be made as part of the new project scope. The project sponsor must review and approve this request before the schedule can be re-base lined.

SPONSOR ACCEPTANCE

Approved by the Project Sponsor:

__________________________________________ Date: ___________________

<Project Sponsor>

__________________________________________

<Project Sponsor Title>

3.5.3 Creating the Resource Management Plan

There should be a commitment by all of the people involved to seek financial, programme, and staffing resources necessary to implement the proposed management actions for any project. This cooperative relationship should be established through a

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) or Memorandum of

Understanding (MOU) or some other formal contract.

Successful implementation and monitoring of an Resource

Management Plan will rely on the cooperation of all people involved, and, in some instances, it may be appropriate for project beneficiaries to share in the cost of implementation and monitoring. Cost-share arrangements should be governed by contract language, laws, regulations, standards and policies.

The following template can be modified and used based on the specific project.



PROJECT RESOURCE PLAN

Project Name:

Prepared by:

Date (MM/DD/YYYY):

1. Resource Profiles

List below the major resources that will be needed in order to proceed with the execution of the project. These resources may include: Roles (People), Money, Equipment, Facilities,

Materials and Supplies, and Information Services/Systems.

2. Project Resource Information

For each of the resources needed on the project determine the following: (1.) Cost estimates for each resource, (2.) Availability of each resource, and (3.) Estimated quality and (4.) output of people and equipment resources. (Insert rows as needed.)

Resource Cost Estimate Availability Quality Output

3. Resource Staffing Plan

After establishing the human resources required for the project, develop a staffing plan that shows the number of personnel, by type, that will be required on the project on a monthly basis. (In place of Month , insert name of month as appropriate. Insert additional rows as needed.)

Personnel

Category

Month Month Month Month Month Month

4. Project Resource Plan / Signatures

Project Name:

Project Manager

Name Role Signature Date

(MM/DD/YYYY)

The signatures above indicate an understanding of the purpose and content of this document by those signing it. By signing this document, they agree to this as the formal Project Resource

Plan document.



Appendix - Roles and Stakeholders

Roles

Role Role Definitions Being Applied to the Resources Assigned to This

Project

Project Sponsor Provides executive team approval and sponsorship for the project. Has budget ownership for the project and is the major stakeholder and recipient for the project deliverables.

Project Manager Provides overall management to the project. Accountable for establishing a Project Charter, developing and managing the work plan, securing appropriate resources, delegating the work and insuring successful completion of the project. All Project Team members report to the Project Manager. Handles all project administrative duties, interfaces with project sponsors and owners and has overall accountability for the project.

Tech Lead The Tech Lead is the recognised domain expert in the area of technology central to the project. The team may refer technical questions to the Tech Lead, who will either answer them directly or find an expert source that can do so.

Business Lead The Business Lead is the recognised domain expert in the business area central to the project. The team may refer business questions to the Business Lead, who will either answer them directly or find an expert source that can do so.

Client Key provider of requirements and recipient of project deliverable and associated benefits. Deliverable will directly enhance the Client’s business processes and environment. Majority of Clients for this project will be department directors.

Stakeholder Key provider of requirements and recipient of project deliverable and associated benefits. Deliverable will directly enhance the stakeholders’ business processes and environment. Majority of stakeholders for this project will be agency heads, and project management representatives.

Analyst

Stakeholders

List below all individuals with a significant interest in the project. Include their individual role in the project. (Insert rows as needed.)

Stakeholder Individual Role in this Project

Working Project Team member, who analyses, designs and ultimately improves or replaces the business processes. This includes collaborating with teams to develop high level process designs and models, understanding best practices for business processes and partnering with team members to identify appropriate opportunities, challenging the old rules of the business and stimulating creating thinking, and identifying organizational impact areas.



Before the project can be implemented, make sure the following implementation criteria are in place:



The project is cost effective.



The organisation agrees and knows how to conduct and support the project.



A budget holder is responsible for the maintenance and operational costs of all aspects of the project.



The project is funded and equipped with the necessary resources.



The organisation can sustain the project activities.



The impact of the project on the work environment is considered.



In order to manage their time effectively, project leaders need to know how to: o Plan ahead. o Make a realistic estimate of how long specific tasks will take. o Prioritise tasks. o Get started. o Work to deadlines. o Minimise distractions.

ACTIVITY 4 – REVIEWED, GROUPS - US

243820 SO1 AC1-6, SO2 AC1-5, SO3

AC1-4, SO4 AC1-5, SO5 AC1-3




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MSC EDUCATION HOLDINGS (PTY) LTD

26 Bonza Bay Road,

Beacon Bay,

East London

Phone: (043) 7485778

Fax: (043) 7483610

E-mail: mscho@msccollege.co.za


Project Planning and Scheduling

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