PLANNING YOUR PROJECT
What do we do now?
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Project outcome is specified
Key specifications and technical requirements known
Now: need to plan the project carefully
Exactly what is required to be done over the next 9 weeks?
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Who will do what?
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How will we make it all come together successfully?
Need to analyse the overall project, break it
down into manageable tasks, prepare a
detailed plan, allocate tasks – before go further –
or it becomes random and haphazard rather
than systematic.
From now, utilise tools –
PM software – try out in labs before next lecture.
BUT – plan will only be as effective as the input
– must define tasks, order, relationships,
durations etc – need to research, meet and discuss.
“rubbish in – rubbish out”
THE PLANNING PROCESS:
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define objectives
identify activities and resources
establish sequences
estimate time for activities
schedule project completion
compare to objectives
determine resource requirements
utilize software to assist
Planning
“Planning is something you do before you actually do it, so that when you do it, you
don’t mess it up”
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Planning determines what needs to be done, who will do it, how long it will
take, and how much it will cost
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Planning is an essential part of project management
Planning is a roadmap to show how to get from where the project is
currently at to where you want the project to be
Key to success: “Plan the work and work the plan”
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
• Breaks the project down into manageable pieces, or work items
• Smallest work item is called work package
• The work packages are not necessarily at the same level of breakdown
• The level of breakdown is determined by:
• The level at which the work package can be assigned to a single
individual or organization (sub-contractor)
• The level at which you want to control the budget and monitor and
control cost data during the project
WBS for a Festival Project
Responsibility Matrix
• A method to display, in tabular form, the individuals responsible for
accomplishing the work items in the WBS: P – Primary responsibility, S –
Support responsibility
• Emphasize who is responsible for each work item and show each individual’s
role in supporting the overall project
• Assign only one person as lead, or primary person, to avoid “fall thru crack”
trap – each person assuming that the other person is going to do it
Responsibility Matrix
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Defining Activities
• Activity is a piece of work that consumes time
• Activity can be defined by the project manager or the person responsible to
the WBS
• Example: For work package 3.1 – Gaming Booths, the following
detailed activities may be defined:
• Design booths
• Specify materials
• Buy materials
• Construct booths
• Paint booths
• Dismantle booths
• Move booths to festival site and reassemble
• Dismantle booth and move to storage
Developing the Network Plan
• Network plan: Technique to plan, schedule and control a project that
consists of many activities
• Techniques:
• Gantt Chart (Bar Chart)
• Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
• Critical Path Method (CPM)
• Procedure Diagramming Method (PDM)
• Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT)
• All use a network diagram to show the sequential flow and inter-relationship
of activities
CRITICAL PATH METHOD:
• critical path network diagram
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list all activities
study dependencies of activities
assess timing of each activity
decide on logical sequence of activities
allocate resources
“ In every network diagram there will be at least
one path through the network for which all
activities will have zero float - the critical path.”
WAYS TO USE CRITICAL PATH METHODS:
1. Display relationship between tasks.
- consequences of a delay in one task?
2. Identify potential problem areas & bottlenecks.
- where are difficult tasks and tight deadlines combined?
3. Explore effects of alternate courses of action.
- what happens if we redesign the workflow?
4. Focus attention on key jobs.
- management by exception
5. Discover ways to shorten a project.
- replan sequence to make more tasks parallel** (risk)
- apply additional resources to critical path items
- transfer resources from non-critical to critical tasks to
speed up completion (redo CPN chart)
CRITICAL PATH: no delays without affecting
minimum project completion time.
Reality: delays occur
• how to absorb?
• how to keep on target?
Crashing a project:
• to reduce time, spend money, change
quality
CPN diagram: shows flow and logic
Gantt chart: clear bar chart, shows start
and finish of activities clearly.
Gantt Chart
• Simple and useful
• Combining planning and
scheduling:
• List activities in left column
and draw the schedule of
each activity on the right pane
• Simple and useful
• Drawbacks:
• Does not display interrelationships among activities
• Cumbersome to make
changes of plan and schedule
simultaneously
Preparing the Network Diagram
• When scheduling an activity, must consider:
• which activities must be finished before this activity can start
• Which activities can be done concurrently with this activity
• Which activities cannot be started until this activity is finished
Activity Duration Estimates
• Duration estimates: Total elapsed time for the work to be done including any
associated waiting time
• Responsibility of Project manager, preferably with the agreement and
commitment of the project team
• Based on the quantity of resources expected to be used on the activity
Activity Duration Estimates
• Duration estimates:
• Should be aggressive (to avoid over-relaxation) yet realistic (to avoid
impossible time target)
• Should not be overly cushioned nor too optimistic
• Utilize experience and historical data available
• Utilize experts and external consultants when necessary
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Project Start and Finish Times
• Necessary to specify an estimated start time and required completion time
• Required completion time normally part of the contract, sometimes in
forms of estimated start and no. of days to complete
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Contractors often try not to commit on required completion time
before finalization of contract
Example: The project will be completed in 130 days from the start
date
Schedule Calculations: Forward Scheduling
• Earliest Start Time (EST) is the earliest time at which a particular activity
can begin, calculated on the basis of the project’s estimated start time and
duration for preceding activities
EST = (EST + Duration Estimate)Preceding activity
• Earliest Finish Time (EFT) is the earliest time by which a particular activity
can be completed
EFT = EST + Duration Estimate
• Rule 1: The earliest start time for a particular activity must be the same as or
latest than the latest of all the earliest finish times of all the activities leading
into that particular activity, i.e., for any activity:
EST  All incoming EFT
Schedule Calculations: Backward Scheduling
• Latest Finish Time (LFT) is the latest time at which a particular activity
must be completed in order for the entire project to be finish by its required
completion time, calculated on the basis of the project’s required completion
time and duration estimates for succeeding activities, i.e.,
LFT = (LFT + Duration Estimates)Succeeding activity
• Latest Start Time (LST) is the latest time by which a particular activity must
be started for the project to be completed by its required completion time
LST = LFT - Duration Estimate
• Rule 2: The latest finish time for a particular activity must be the same as or
earlier than the earliest of all the latest start times of all the activities coming
out directly from that particular activity, i.e., for any activity: LFT  All
direct outgoing LST
Critical Path
• Critical path is the path from start to finish in which the total float  0, i.e.,
Total float = LFT – EFT = LST – EST  0
• Critical Path is the longest path in the overall network diagram. A project
cannot be completed until the longest (most time-consuming) path of
activities is finished
• Alternatively, activities with the least slack are on the critical path
• Tasks on the critical path cannot be delayed without delaying the project
completion. Task on the non-critical path can be delayed without delaying
the project completion date
Float
• Difference between the calculated earliest finish time of the last activity and
the project’s required completion time
• Positive total Float = Maximum amount of time that the activities can be
delayed without delaying the completion of the project
• Negative total Float = Project delayed. Must speed up some of the activities
PERT
• PERT: Program Evaluation and Review Technique
• Developed in 1958 by US Navy to plan and control the Polaris missile program
• Similar to CPM but has a probabilistic approach that allows three time estimates
for each activity:
• Optimistic time: to - If everything goes perfectly
• Most likely time: tm - Most realistic
• Pessimistic time: tp - If everything goes wrong
• The time estimates often follow the beta probability distribution:
Expected time: te = (to + 4tm + tp)/6
Project Control
• Before project starts: Establish base plan and schedule
• After project initiation: Monitor project to ensure that everything is going
according to schedule
• Schedule control involves:
• Measure actual progress on a timely and regular basis
• Compare progress with schedule
• If project behind schedule, take timely corrective action to pull project
back to schedule
Project Control: Key Points
• Problems won’t go away - must be solved with corrective intervention
• Murphy’s Law says that if anything could go wrong, it will. The corollary to
Murphy’s law is: Murphy is an optimist because what should not go wrong could
also go wrong
• Project management is a proactive approach to controlling a project, to ensure that
the project objective is achieved even when things don’t go according to plan
Project Control Process
• At start of project:
• Establish baseline plan
(schedule and budget)
• Establish regular reporting
period: daily, weekly, biweekly or monthly
• During each reporting
period:
• Collect data on actual
performance
• Identify changes to the
project scope, schedule
and budget
Network Plan Formats
• Activity In the Box
(AIB) or Activity On
the Node (AON)
• Activity On the
Arrow (AOA)
Activity In the Box (AIB or AON)
• Each activity is
represented by a box in
the network diagram
• activity number is
assigned
• Precedence relationship
(i.e. sequence) is
represented by arrows
• Concurrent activities
represented by parallel
boxes
Activity On the Arrow (AOA)
• Each activity represented by
an arrow
• Arrows are linked by circles
called events
• An event represent the finish
of activities going into it, and
start of activities going out of
it
• Each event is assigned a
number
• All activities going into an
event must finish before any
activity leaving the event can
start
Developing the Network Plan
Serial Activities
AIB
AOA
• Serial activities follow one after another
Developing the Network Plan
Parallel Activities
AIB
AOA
• Parallel activities occur concurrently
Examples
WBS for Sales Reporting System
Project
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Examples
List of Activities
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Examples
.Network Diagram for Sales Rpt
Project
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CPM
Example
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
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Software Features
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Sample Reports
Popular Project Management (PM) Software
Criteria for Selecting PM Software
Advantages in Using PM Software
Concerns About Using Software
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Project Management Software Features
Planning
Scheduling
Resource management
Calendars
Project monitoring and tracking
Budgeting and cost control
Graphics
Importing/Exporting data
Handling multiple projects and subprojects
Report generation
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Project Management Software Reports
Network Diagram
Gantt Charts
Calendar of activities
Resource allocation graph
Resource usage chart for every resources
Task list with estimated durations. Start and end dates, predecessors and resource
names
Assignment report on assignment of resources to tasks
Etc …
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Popular Project Management Software
Microsoft Project
CA-Clarity Project Manager (Computer Associates International)
Project Scheduler (Scitor Corp.)
SureTrak Project Manager (Primavera Systems Inc.)
Time Line (Symantec Corp.)
Etc…
High End Project Management Software
Artemis (Lucas Management System)
Project Planner (Primavera Systems Corp.)
Open Plan (Welcom Software Technology)
Project/s (Project Software & Development, Inc)
Microsoft project
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Versions
Functions
Features
Shortcomings
Application
Microsoft Project 2003
Predecessors
• Project 97
• Project 2000
Versions
• Project Standard 2003/07
• Project Professional 2003/07
• Enterprise Project Management
• Requires Microsoft Office Project Server 2003 or later Client
Access Licenses
Microsoft Project 2003/07 - Functions
Database
• Lists of task, durations, dates, costs, constraints, and notes
Spreadsheet
• Automatically recalculates durations and costs, task start and finish dates,
and project start and finish dates
Chart
• Views of project information, including the Gantt Chart, Network
Diagram, and Calendar views
Report Writer
• Predefined reports, customized existing reports
Enterprise Management
• Allows integration with other enterprise applications
Microsoft Project 2003/07 - features
Look-and-feel of Microsoft Office Application
• It is a Microsoft Office application!
Simple
Comprehensive
Good Help features
Low cost
Popular
Interfaces seamlessly with other Microsoft Office applications: Word, Excel,
Powerpoint, Outlook
Microsoft Project 2003/07 - shortcomings
Limited Capabilities
• Cannot handle multiple projects and sub-projects
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Messy handling of critical path
No facility for time reports
No facility for entering and posting current period’s actual activities –
only timings
Cannot handle budget revision, changing order and billing
No interface to other application systems: Job Costing, Accounts,
Purchasing, Inventory Control, Equipment Maintenance, Fixed Assets,
Human Resources Management, Design, Drafting, Quality Assurance,
Estimation, Delivery Order, Shipping
Microsoft Project 2003/07 - application
Learn it to appreciate basic project management tools
Use it in small projects
• Up to $ 5 million
• Up to 1000 activities
Use it in high (i.e. Summary) level
Use it with knowledge of its limitations
Croteria for selecting Project Management Software
Capacity
• No. of projects, no. of resources, no. of tasks
Documentation and on-line help
Ease of use
Features available
Integration with other systems
• Databases, spreadsheets, word processors, graphic software, accounting
software
Design basis
Schedule (Plan)
• Task, duration, starting/ending, dependencies, work breakdown
Project Information
• Reports, filtering, formatting
• Gantt chart, network diagram, critical path
Resources
• Defining, assigning to tasks, leveling, costs
Tracking Progress
• Baseline, progress (% complete, days used), progress reports
Sharing Information
• Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, Templates, Master
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Learning tips
Use Templates
Access resources on the Internet
Deploy resources in the books, CDs
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Ask others who are more familiar
Must practice and use
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Criteria for selecting
Installation requirements
Reporting capabilities
Security
Vendor support
Cost
• One-time
• Annual maintenance
• On-site support/consultancy fee
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Advantages in using Project Management Software
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Accuracy
Affordability
Ease of use
Ability to handle complexity
Maintainability and modifiability
Record keeping
Speed
What-if analysis
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Points on using Project Management Software
No software does everything you need
May need several software packages to deliver what you need
All software has constraints
Software and tools only provide information, managers have to make the
decisions
“Rubbish-in-rubbish-out” rule always prevails
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Concerns about using:
Becoming distracted by the software
A false sense of security
Information overload
The learning curve
Over-reliance on software