ISDS PM Ch. 6 Project Time Management

Project managers should use: - em____________ - inc____________ - dis_____________ - neg___________

- empowerment - incentives - discipline (rigorous methods, not punishment) - negotiation

The project team uses these to develop the schedule management plan: - expert j_____________ - a__________ techniques - m__________

- expert judgement - analytical techniques - meetings

Controlling the Schedule: Tools and Techniques

- progress reports - schedule change control system - project management software (ex: Gantt Charts) - variance analysis (ex: analyzing float or shack) - performance management (earned value)

Effort does not normally equal _____________

Effort does not normally equal duration

Murphy's Law

If something can go wrong, it will.

Effort

The number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task

Critical Path Method (CPM)

a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration

A schedule management plan include: project schedule m______________ development

model

Time is a ___________ resource

scarce

Gantt Chart Symbols

-A black diamond: a milestones -Thick black bars: summary tasks -Lighter horizontal bars: durations of tasks -Arrows: dependencies between tasks

Core Values of the Manifesto for Agile Software Development: - customer c_____________ over contract negotiation - responding to c__________ over a following plan

-Customer collaboration over contract negotiation -Responding to change over following a plan

Main Processes of Project Time Management

-Plan schedule management -Define activities -Sequence activities -Estimate activity resources -Estimate activity durations -Develop schedule -Control schedule

Reality Checks on Scheduling

1) Review draft schedule or estimated completion date in the project charter 2) Prepare a more detailed schedule with the project team 3) Make sure the schedule is realistic and followed 4) Alert top management well in advance if there are schedule problems

Schedule Control Suggestions: Don't plan for everyone to work at _________% _____________ all the time

100% capacity

_______________ ______________ are the main reason for conflicts on projects, especially during the second half of projects

Schedule Issues

Milestones should be SMART:

Specific Measurable Assignable Realistic Time-framed

Duration includes

The actual amount of time worked on an activity plus elapsed time

Task Dependencies

When tasks are dependent on the completion of other tasks before they can begin.

Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

a network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates

Milestones

a significant event that normally has no duration; checkpoint

Gantt Charts

a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format

Buffer

additional time to complete a task

Schedule Control Suggestions: Allow for con______________

allow for contingencies

Activity or Task

an element of work normally found on the work breakdown structure (WBS) that has an expected duration, a cost, and resource requirements

Managers often cite delivering projects on time as one of their ____________ ______________

biggest challenges

A schedule management plan include: c___________ thresholds

control thresholds

Goals of Controlling the Schedule: d____________ that the schedule has changed

determine

Probabilistic Time Estimates

duration estimates based on using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of activity durations, or a three-point estimate

Goals of Controlling the Schedule: control f____________ that cause schedule changes

factors

Resource Breakdown Structure

hierarchical structure that identifies the project's resources by category and type

Internal Dependencies

impacts from within the project

Cole's Law

in traditional estimates, people often add a buffer to each task and use it if it's needed or not

Mandatory Dependencies

inherent in the nature of the work being performed on a project, sometimes referred to as hard logic

External Dependencies:

involve relationships between project and non-project activities

A schedule management plan include: level of a__________ and u____________ of measurement

level of accuracy and units of measurement

Goals of Controlling the Schedule: m_____________ schedules when they change

manage

Resources are...

people, equipment, and materials

Schedule Control Suggestions: perform r___________ c_____________ on schedules

perform reality checks on schedules

PERT uses p____________ t___________ e___________

probabilistic time estimates

A schedule management plan include: process d______________

process descriptions

Controlling the Schedule: hold p___________ meetings with the s_____________ and be clear and honest in communicating schedule issues

progress meetings stakeholders

Before estimating activity durations, you must have a good idea of the q____________ and t________ of resources that will be assigned to each activity

quantity and type of resources

A schedule management plan include: reporting f____________

reporting formats

Sequencing activities involves reviewing ______________ and _________________ dependencies

reviewing activates and determining decencies

A schedule management plan include: rules of p_____________ m______________

rules of performance measurement

A schedule management plan include: s____________ methodology

scheduling

Goals of Controlling the Schedule: to know the _____________ of the schedule

status

Critical Path

the sequence of activities that determine the earliest time by which the project can be completed The critical path is the longest path (in time) through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float

Dependency/relationship

the sequencing of project activities or tasks

Discretionary Dependencies

things that we would like to be done first, but they don't have to be done first defined by the project team., sometimes referred to as soft logic and should be used with care since they may limit later scheduling options

The critical path only accounts for _____

time

Goals of Controlling the Schedule: u_____________ why the schedule has changed

understand

Parkinson's Law

work expands to fill the time allowed

Calculating The Critical Path

● First develop a good network diagram ● Add the duration estimates for all activities on each path through the network diagram ● The longest path is the critical path ● If one or more of the activities on the critical path takes longer than planned, the whole project schedule will slip unless the project manager takes corrective action