CompTIA
Project+
Study Guide
CompTIA
Project+
Chapter 5:
Creating the Project Schedule
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5.1 Schedule Planning
» Steps used to construct a project schedule:
1. Determine tasks
2. Sequence tasks
3. Allocate resources
4. Determine task durations including start and end dates
5. Determine milestones
6. Construct the schedule
7. Determine the critical path
8. Set the baseline and obtain approval
9. Set quality gates
10. Establish the governance process.
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5.3 Task Sequencing
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5.2 Defining Tasks
» Foundation for developing a project schedule to complete the
project deliverables
» Iterative process that involves further decomposing the WBS
work packages into individual tasks
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5.3 Task Sequencing
 Types of Dependencies
 Logical Relationships
 Creating a Network Diagram
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Types of Dependencies
» Four categories are:
 Mandatory dependency is directly related to the type of work
being performed.
 Discretionary dependency is defined by the project
management team and is usually process driven.
 External dependency is a relationship between a project task
and some factor outside the project that drives the
scheduling of that task.
 Internal dependency is a relationship between tasks within an
individual project and is under the control of the project
team.
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Logical Relationships
» Four logical relationships are:
 In a finish-to-start relationship, the successor activity cannot
begin until the predecessor activity has completed.
 In a start-to-finish relationship, the predecessor activity must
start before the successor activity can finish.
 A finish-to-finish relationship is where the predecessor
activity must finish before the successor activity finishes.
 In a start-to-start relationship, the predecessor activity must
start before the successor activity can start.
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Creating a Network Diagram
» Great tool to develop with the project team
» Depicts the project activities and the interrelationships among
these activities
» Most commonly used network diagramming method is the
precedence diagramming method (PDM)
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5.4 Assigning Resources
 Resources refer to human resources and/or consulting or
contracting resources who will work on the tasks
 Assigning tasks among the team members according to their
skills
 Determining and managing start and end dates of multiple
tasks within a work package
 Resource calendar is used to describes the time frames in which
resources are available
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5.5 Determining Task Durations
 Defining Duration
 Estimating Techniques
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Defining Duration
» When estimating duration
 Make sure that you are looking at the total elapsed time to
complete the activity
 Be aware of the difference between workdays and calendar
days
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Estimating Techniques
» Several techniques used to determine task duration estimates
are:
 Analogous estimating is a technique that uses actual
durations from similar tasks on a previous project.
 Expert judgment is a technique where the people most
familiar with the work determine the estimate.
 Parametric estimating is a quantitatively based estimating
method that multiplies the quantity of work by the rate.
 The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is a
method that the U.S. Navy developed in the 1950s. It makes
use of expected value.
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5.6 Creating the Project Schedule
 Milestones
 Displaying the Schedule
 The Critical Path Method
 Duration Compression
 Project-Scheduling Software
 Setting the Baseline and Obtaining Approval
 Quality Gates
 Establishing Governance Gates
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Milestones
» Major accomplishments of the project and mark the completion
of major deliverables in the project
» Milestone charts are one method to display schedule information
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Displaying the Schedule
» Most common way to display project schedules is a Gantt chart.
» Network diagrams can also be used to display the project
schedule.
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The Critical Path Method
» Determines the amount of float time for each activity on the
schedule
» Determine which tasks can start late or can take more time than
planned without impacting the project end date
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The Critical Path Method
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Activity Slack
Earliest start schedule (ESS)
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Activity Slack
Latest start schedule (LSS)
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What is the Critical Path?
» Activities with zero slack cannot be delayed without affecting the
entire project duration and are called critical activities. The critical
path consists of a path of critical activities and is given by
activities A, B, E and F.
» The amount of slack (or float) associated with each activity is
used to denote the free time of each activity within the ESS and
LSS. It denotes the amount of time each activity can be delayed
without violating the entire project duration. The slack of an
activity can be calculated as the difference between its latest start
and earliest start time, or alternatively, as the difference between
its latest and earliest finishing time.
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Duration Compression
» Refers to the state when calculation of the total project duration
is longer than the target project completion date
» Use duration compression scheduling techniques to shorten the
planned duration of the project to help resolve schedule slippage
» Two duration compression techniques are:
 Crashing
 Fast Tracking
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Project-Scheduling Software
» Automatically calculate task durations, determine the critical
path, and help balance resources
» Provides with the ability to display a number of different views of
the project
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Setting the Baseline and Obtaining Approval
» Schedule baseline includes the baseline start and finish dates and
resource assignments
» Obtain sign-off on the project schedule from the stakeholders
and the functional managers
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Quality Gates
» Similar to milestones
» Determine quality checks at strategic points in the project
» Ensure that the work is accurate and meets quality standards
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Quality Gates
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Establishing Governance Gates
» Used as approval points in the project
» Include client sign-off, management approval, and legislative
approval
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Summary
» Many steps are involved in schedule planning.
» Task definition is the foundation for developing a project
schedule to complete the project deliverables
» Sequencing is the process of identifying dependency relationships
between project activities and sequencing them in proper order.
» Dependencies are relationships between activities.
» There are four types of logical relationships: finish-to-start, startto-start, start-to-finish, and finish-to-finish.
» The critical path method (CPM) creates a schedule by
determining float time.
» Duration compression is the technique used to shorten a project
schedule to meet a mandated completion date.
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Summary (continued)
» Milestones mark major project events such as the completion of
a key deliverable or project phase.
» Gantt charts are a common method to display schedule data
» Quality gates may be added to the schedule to determine
whether the work so far is accurate and meets quality standards.
» Governance gates include client sign-off, management approval,
and legislative approval.
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