Third Knowledge Area of PMBOK

Project Schedule Management

Processes
Project Time Management includes the Processes required to accomplish timely completion of the project.

• Plan Schedule Management

• Define Activities
• Sequence Activities
• Estimated Activities Resources (Part of Resource Management)
• Estimated Activity Durations
• Develop Schedule
• Control Schedule
 Plan Schedule Management
A new process added in PMBOK 5th Edition
 It is a process of:
 Establishing the policies
 Establishing the Procedures and Documentation

For
 Planning & Developing
 Executing
 Controlling Project Schedule

It provides guidance and direction on how the project schedule will be

managed throughout the project.
Plan Schedule Management
 Input:
 (Scope Baseline + WBS)
 Project Charter (Constraints + Assumptions + Milestones)
 Enterprise Environmental Factors (Resource availability &
skills, Work authorization system, software tools for scheduling )
Organizational Process Assets (Historical Info, Risk Control
Procedures, Scheduling control related policies, Procedures and
guidelines).
 Tools & Techniques
 Expert Judgment
 Analytical Techniques (Scheduling methodologies, tools)
 Meetings (how to develop schedule management plan)
 Outputs
 Schedule Management Plan
Define Activities
• Decompose WP into Activities
• How to do that?
• Example package for trip abroad (Commander Javed)
Create a list of activities and add attributes
Rolling Wave Planning (progressive elaboration)
Activity Attributes
 WBS ID
 Activity ID
 Activity Name
 Activity Description
 Predecessor Activities
 Successor Activities
 Logical Relationship
 Leads and Lags
 Resource requirements
 Imposed Dates, Constraints
 Assumptions
 Person responsible for work execution
 Geographic Area
Sequence Activities
Precedence Diagramming Method:
 Finish to Start (FS)
 Finish to finish (FF)
 Start to Start (SS)
 Start-to-finish (SF)
Finish to start is the most commonly used type of
precedence relationship. The start-to-finish relationship
is most rarely used but is included to complete list of the
PDM relationship types.
 FS: The initiation of the successor activity depends upon the completion of the
predecessor activity
 FF The completion of the successor activity depends upon the completion of the
predecessor activity
Sequence Activities
PDM Examples
Start to Start:
Task (B) cannot start until task (A) starts. For example, if you have two tasks,
"Pour foundation" and "Level concrete," "Level concrete" can't begin until
"Pour foundation" begins

Finish to Finish:
Task (B) cannot finish until task (A) finishes. For example, if you have two
tasks, "Add wiring" and "Inspect electrical," "Inspect electrical" can't finish until
"Add wiring" finishes.

Can you find other examples?

Sequence Activities
• Dependency Determination
– Mandatory Dependencies:
– Discretionary Dependencies:
– Internal Dependency:
– External Dependencies:
• Applying Leads and Lags
– A lead allows an acceleration of the successor activity
– A lag directs a delay in the successor activities.
– Example: A technical editing team can begin editing the
draft of a large document 15 days after they began
writing it. SS with 15 day lag.
Lead & Lag Example from PMBoK
https://www.pmlearningsolutions.com/blog/
lead-versus-lag-pmp-concept-15

Lead and lag are both used in the

development of the project schedule.

Lead is an acceleration of the successor

activity and can be used only on finish-to-start
activity relationships.

Lag is a delay in the successor activity and

can be found on all activity relationship types.
Sequence Activities
 Schedule Network Templates
 Standardized schedule network diagram templates can
be used to expedite the preparation of network of
project activities. They can include an entire project or
only a portion of it. Portions of a project schedule
network diagram are often referred to as a subnetwork
or fragment network. Subnetwork templates are
especially useful when a project includes several
identical or nearly identical deliverables, such as floors
on a high rise office building.
Network Diagram Please Follow the lines
Classroom Example
Activities Precedence Duration

A - 5

B A 5

C A 6

D B,C 13

E B 6

F D 4

G C 9

H E,F,G 2
Example: Draw a Network Diagram
Activity Precedence Duration
A - 3
B A 15
C - 5
D C 20
E A 5
F A 1
G F 25
H G 10
I H,K 3
J B 5
K J 10
L B 1
M L 10
N E,D 10
O M,I 10
 Estimate Activity Resources
A Part of Project Resource Management

 Estimate activity Resources is the process of estimating

the type and the quantities of material, people,
equipment or supplies required to perform each
activity. The estimate activity resource process is
closely coordinated with the estimate cost process.
 Input:
 Project Document
 Activity Attributes
 Activity List
 Assumption Log (cost estimates, defining technical specs, availability)
 Cost Estimates
 Resource Calendar
 Risk Register (individual risks that can impact resource selection)
Estimate Activity Resources
• Tools & Techniques
– Expert Judgment
– Alternative Analysis (Make or buy, Machinery & Tools)
– Analogous Estimating
– Parametric Estimation
– Published estimating data (production: labor, material and
equipment & unit costs of resources)
– Bottom-up estimating (when activity cannot be estimated with
confidence)
– Project Management Software (Plan, organize, manage resource
pools and develop resource estimates - PMIS).
• Outputs
– Resource Requirements
– Basis of Estimates (methods / resources used to develop estimates &
their confidence level)
– Resource breakdown structure (RBS)
– Project document updates (activity List, Activity attributes, Lesson
Learnt Register)
Estimate Activity Duration
 Estimate Activity Duration: Uses information from scope
of work, required resource types or skill levels, estimated
resources quantities by using progressive elaboration. Major
Factors: Law of diminishing returns, Number of resources,
Advances in technology, Motivation of staff ).
 Input:
 Project Document, Resource Requirements
 Activity Attributes
 Activity List
 Assumption Log (Assumptions & Constraints recorded in
assumption log may impact project schedule)
 Lessons learnt register
 Milestone list, Project team assignments
 RBS, Resource Calendar
 Risk Register (individual risks that can impact resource selection)
 Estimate Activity Duration
• Tools & Techniques
– Expert Judgment
– Analogous estimating (Duration, budget, size, weight & Complexity
from a previous project)
– Parametric estimating (square footage – cost budget & duration)
– Three-point estimates (PERT) Most likely, Optimistic, Pessimistic
(Triangular & Beta Distribution)
– Bottom-up Estimation
– Data Analysis:
– Alternative analysis (make or buy)
– Reserve analysis, Contingency & Reserve analysis)
– Reserve analysis (Caters for Contingency Reserves)
• Outputs
– Activity duration estimates (@ weeks +- 2 days etc)
– Project document updates (activity attributes, assumptions made in
developing the activity duration)
Activity Duration Estimates
 Activity duration estimates are quantitative assessments of
the likely number of work periods that will be required to
complete a schedule activity. Activity duration estimates
include some indication of the range of possible results. For
example:
 •2 weeks ±2 days to indicate that the schedule activity will
take at least eight days and no more than twelve (assuming
a five-day workweek).
 •15 percent probability of exceeding three weeks to indicate
a high probability—85 percent—that the schedule activity
will take three weeks or less.
Analogous Estimating
 It uses parameters such as duration, budget, size,
weight and complexity from a previous and similar
project as the basis for estimating the same parameters
or measures of a future project.
 Develop Schedule
• Tools & Techniques
– Schedule Network Analysis
– Critical Path Method
– Critical Chain Method
– Resource Leveling (Resource Optimizing Techniques)
– Modeling Techniques (What-if Scenario Analysis & Simulation using probability
distribution)
– Applying leads and lags
– Schedule compression
– Scheduling tool (Project Management Software Applications)

• Output
• Schedule baseline Component of project management plan with baseline start &
finish dates.
– Project Schedules (milestone chart, bar charts - Gantt Chart, project schedule
network diagrams)
– Schedule Data (resource requirement by time period in resource histogram,
alternative schedules best case & worst case, scheduling of contingency reserves.)
– Project Calendar (working days & shifts available for work, can be modified)
– Project document updates (Activity resource requirements, activity attributes,
calendar, risk register)
Schedule Baseline & Project Schedule
 Schedule Baseline:
 It is an approved version of schedule model that can
only be changed with change request. It is accepted and
approved by appropriate stakeholders and includes
baseline start and baseline end dates. It also includes
contingency reserves.
 Project Schedule:
 It is created after the Schedule Baseline has been
created. It is a schedule model that represents linked
activities and planned dates, durations, milestones and
resources. This schedule must be completed before the
completion of PM Plan. It is normally presented
graphically as Bar chart, Milestone chart, Project
Schedule network diagram.
Schedule Compression
Crashing.
Schedule compression technique in which cost and schedule tradeoffs
are analyzed to determine how to obtain the greatest amount of
compression for the least incremental cost. Crashing does not always
produce a viable alternative and can result in increased cost.

Fast tracking.
A schedule compression technique in which phases or activities that
normally would be done in sequence are performed in parallel. An
example would be to construct the foundation for a building before all
the architectural drawings are complete. Fast tracking can result in
rework and increased risk. This approach can require work to be
performed without completed detailed information, such as
engineering drawings. It results in trading cost for time, and increases
the risk of achieving the shortened project schedule.
Critical Path & Critical Chain
 Critical Path: calculates the theoretical early start
and finish dates for all activities, irrespective of
resource any resource limitations by performing
forward and backward pass analysis through the
schedule network.
 Critical chain: is a schedule network analysis
technique that modifies the project schedule to
account for limited resources. The resource
constraint critical path is known as critical chain.
Control Schedule
 Tools & Techniques:
 Performance review
 Measures, compares, and analyzes schedule performance such as
actual start and finish dates, percent complete and remaining
duration of work in progress.
 Also reviews if corrective action is required

 Variance Analysis:
 Schedule performance measurements are used to assess the
magnitude of variation to the original schedule baseline.
 Project Management Software
 It provides the ability to track planned dates versus actual dates
and to forecast the effects of changes to the project schedule.
Control Schedule
 Tools & Techniques:
 Perform Reviews (Trend analysis, CPM, CCM, EVM)
 Resource Leveling & Optimizing Techniques
 To optimize the distribution of work among resources
 What-if Scenario Analysis
 Used to review various scenarios to bring the schedule into
alignment with the plan
 Adjust Leads and Lags
 To find ways to bring project activities that are behind into
alignment with plan
 Schedule Compression
 Scheduling Tool
 Data is updated and compiled into the schedule to reflect actual
progress of the project and remaining work to be completed.
Crashing Projects
 Causes:
 Initial schedule may be too optimistic
 Market needs change and the project is in demand
earlier than anticipated
 The project has considerably slipped behind the
schedule
 The contractual constraints
Thank you