Section 6: Project Schedule Management Flashcards

1
Q

Schedule Management for Smaller Projects

A

-can often define, sequence, estimate activity durations and develop schedule model in a single process

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2
Q

Tailoring Considerations for Schedule Management

A

Life Cycle Approach - i.e. predictive or adaptive
Resource Availability - productivity impacts
Project Dimensions - how complex is the project, pace, tracking
Technology Support - how to develop, record, transmit, receive and store project schedule model

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3
Q

Phases of Work

A

describes what’s happening in a phase

phases help to develop milestones

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4
Q

Theory of Constraints

A

constraints are anything that limit your options

Theory:

  • identify the most important limiting factor (bottleneck)
  • focus on this factor and make adjustments and measurements until it’s no longer the most limiting factor

most often used in LEAN Manufacturing

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5
Q

Agile Release Planning

A
  • high-level summary/timeline of the release schedule
  • 3 to 6 months for each release
  • release planning identifies product roadmap and product vision
  • determines # of iterations/sprints based on releases (milestones)
  • how much needs to be developed per release
  • how long will it take for the whole project to be a releasable product
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6
Q

Burndown Chart

A

-shows what was planned, actual and then a forecast of future work based on actual trends

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7
Q

Schedule Management Plan

A
  • defines the schedule model and how it will be developed
  • level of accuracy and units of measures
  • organization procedure links (resources, discipline)
  • maintenance plan
  • control thresholds
  • rules for performance measurements (Earned Value Management)
  • reporting templates/formats
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8
Q

Creating/Building Activity List

A
  • activity list and work packages
  • each work package should correlate to at least 1 activity
  • *** work packages should be no greater than 80 hours and no smaller than 8 hours = 8/80 rules

Decomposing Project Activities Requires 3 Inputs:
1 - Scope Baseline
2 - EEFs
3 - OPAs

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9
Q

Rolling Wave Planning

A
  • example of progressive elaboration
  • imminent work is planned in detail
  • distant work is planned at a high level
  • future work approaches require more planning
  • focus is on most important
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10
Q

Activity List

A
  • separate from the WBS
  • lists all project activities
  • code of account = numbering system (activity identifier)
  • activity list often includes a scope of work description
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11
Q

Level of Effort (LOE)

A

support activities

  • reporting
  • budgeting
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12
Q

Discrete Effort

A
  • activities required to complete project scope

- most activities on the project at “discrete effort activities”

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13
Q

Apportioned Effort

A
  • typically done by the PM
  • are the project management work
  • quality assurance
  • integrated change control
  • communications
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14
Q

Milestone Chart

A
  • shows when the project will hit milestones
  • white upward triangle is predicted/anticipated milestones
  • black upside down triangle is actual milestone event
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15
Q

Dependencies

A

Mandatory = hard logic = order in which things MUST happen

Discretionary = soft logic = order can be chosen/more flexible i.e. at your discretion

External = external constraint = waiting on something outside the project so project can move forward to next step/phase

Internal = type of hard logic = waiting on something within the project so project can move forward to next step/phase

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16
Q

Lead and Lag

A

Lead = accelerated time and is on the successor activity - [negative time - subtracting time] and allows activities to overlap

example - painting and priming hotel rooms

Lag = waiting time and moves activities farther apart - [positive time - adding time]

example = concrete pad and framing

17
Q

Creating Duration Estimates

A
  • tasks are first identified
  • sequencing the activities
  • resources defined
  • durations are estimated
  • ***above activities are iterated as more information is available or changes happen
18
Q

Estimating Duration Considerations

A

1- Law of Diminishing Returns
=> an increase in resources will eventually yield diminishing returns

2- Number of resources
=> potential to introduce risk, are resources appropriate, skilled, is there knowledge transfer/learning curve for new technology

3- Advances in technology
=> learning curve for new technology

4- Motivation of staff
=> Student Syndrome or Parkinson’s Law

5- Duration and Effort
Duration = how long an activity takes
Effort = billable time for the labor

19
Q

Crashing Schedule

A

adding more resources

20
Q

Parkinson’s Law

A

work expands to fill the time allotted to it

21
Q

Three-Point Estimate/Triangular Distribution

A

Finds an average of

  • optimistic
  • most likely
  • pessimistic

(O+ML+P)/3 = Estimates

22
Q

PERT Estimate/Beta Distribution

A

Program Evaluation and Review Technique
(O+(4ML)+P)/6 = Estimate

weighted towards “most likely”

23
Q

Bottom-Up Estimating

A
  • most reliable type
  • associated with cost estimates but can be used with time/schedule
  • requires a fully-decomposed WBS for each work package
  • estimate how many and what type of resources or TIME you’ll need to create each work package and then aggregated for all the work packages in the WBS
24
Q

Management Reserve (Schedule/Time)

A
  • specified amount of the project budge for TIME OVERRUNS
  • withheld for management control purposes
  • reserved for unforeseen work
  • address unknown-unknowns
  • not included in the schedule baseline
  • part of overall project duration
25
Q

Develop Schedule

A
  • all about sequencing activities in the correct order
  • determines when resources are needed
  • establishes logical relationships between activities
26
Q

Project Constraints related to Schedule

A
-when and how work can be implemented
weather
government requirements
industry regulations
timeframes for vendors
27
Q

Types of Float

A

Free Float - activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of any successor activities

Total Float - an activity can be delayed without delaying project completion

Project Float - a project can be delayed whiteout passing the customer-expected completion date

28
Q

Critical Path

A
  • longest path in the project

- no float available

29
Q

Forward Pass

A

early start + duration - 1

ES + du - 1 = Early Finish

30
Q

Backward Pass

A

late finish - duration + 1

LF - du + 1 = Late Start

31
Q

Find Float

A

Late Finish - Early Finish
or
Late Start - Early Start