Project Time Management PDF

PTCM PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENT  Project Time Management ROLE OF A PROJECT MANAGER  Learning Objectives Understand the importance of project schedules and good project time management Define activities as the basis for developing project schedules Describe how project managers u...

PTCM PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENT  Project Time Management ROLE OF A PROJECT MANAGER  Learning Objectives Understand the importance of project schedules and good project time management Define activities as the basis for developing project schedules Describe how project managers use network diagrams and dependencies to assist in activity sequencing Explain how various tools and techniques help project managers perform activity duration estimating and schedule development Use a Gantt chart for schedule planning and tracking schedule information 3  Learning Objectives Understand and use critical path analysis Describe how to use several techniques for shortening project schedules Explain the basic concepts behind critical chain scheduling and Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) Discuss how reality checks and people issues are involved in controlling and managing changes to the project schedule Describe how software can assist in project time management 4  PROJECT TIME Completing the project on time is one of the project Managers critical success criteria set out in the project charter it is essential for that the project manager understand he characteristics and features of project time management to be able to manage the process effectively.  Importance of Project Schedules Managers often cite delivering projects on time as one of their biggest challenges Average time overrun from 1995 CHAOS report was 222%; improved to 163% in 2001 study Time has the least amount of flexibility; it passes no matter what Schedule issues are the main reason for conflicts on projects, especially during the second half of projects 6  Figure 6-1. Conflict Intensity Over the Life of a Project 0.40 0.35 0.30 Conflict Intensity Schedules 0.25 Average Total Conflict Priorities Manpower 0.20 Technical opinions Procedures 0.15 Cost Personality conflicts 0.10 0.05 0.00 Project Early Phases Middle Phases End Phases Formation 7  Project Time Management Processes Project time management involves the processes required to ensure timely completion of a project. Processes include: – Activity definition – Activity sequencing – Activity duration estimating – Schedule development – Schedule control 8  Activity Definition Activity, in project management, is defined as the amount of work performed that converts input to appropriate outputs Project schedules grow out of the basic document that initiate a project – Project charter includes start and end dates and budget information – Scope statement and WBS help define what will be done 9  Define activities refer to the process of identifying as well as documenting actions that need to be implemented and performed in order to produce the deliverables of the project Activity definition involves developing a more detailed WBS and supporting explanations to understand all the work to be done so you can develop realistic duration estimates 10  TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES Decomposition Rolling wave planning Templates Expert judgment 11  Decomposition – Subdivides the project work packages into activities – Provides better management control – Leads to activities, the lowest level of the work packages in the Define Activities process – Leads to the work package, the lowest level in the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in the Create WBS process, where the deliverables are identified – Process can involve team members. This can lead to better and more accurate results 12  Work based structures 0nce the scope and deliverables have ben defined, the work of the project can be successively subdivided into smaller and smaller work elements A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a key project deliverable that organizes the team's work into manageable sections. 13  The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) defines the work breakdown structure as a "deliverable oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be executed by the project team 14  PROJECT Complete Project 1 Deliverable 2 Major Deliverable Supporting 3 Sub deliverable deliverable Lowest sub deliverable Lowest 4 management responsibility level of work Grouping 5 Cost account packages for monitoring progress and responsibility Work package Identifiable work activities 15  The WBS begins with the project as the final deliverable Major project deliverables/systems are identified first Then the sub deliverables necessary to accomplish the larger deliverables are defined The process is repeated until the sub deliverable detail is small enough to be manageable and where one person can be responsible 16  This sub deliverable is further divided into work packages Because the lowest sub delivery usually includes several work packages, the work packages are grouped by type of work This groupings are called cost accounts which facilitates a system of for monitoring project progress by work, cost, and responsibility Work packages are short duration tasks that have a definite start and stop point, consume resources and 17 18  Rolling wave planning – Is an iterative planning technique in which the work to be accomplished in the near future is planned in detail – While the work in the future is planned at a higher level – And as more is known about the work that’s when it is planned in detail 19  Expert Judgement – This is when project team memebers or other experts who are experienced and skilled in developing detailed project scope staetents and project schedules are use to provide their expertise in defining avcativities 20  Activity Sequencing Involves reviewing activities and determining dependencies – Mandatory dependencies: inherent in the nature of the work; hard logic – Discretionary dependencies: defined by the project team; soft logic – External dependencies: involve relationships between project and non- project activities You must determine dependencies in order to use critical path analysis 21  Mandatory dependencies: – Also referred to as hard logic – Required as per contract or inherent in the nature of the work – Usually involve physical limitations (e.g., you cannot build the ceiling until walls are constructed) – Are determined by the project management team during the activity sequencing process 22  Discretionary dependencies: – Also referred to as preferred logic, preferential logic, or soft logic – Are determined by the project management team during the activity sequencing process – Should be used with care and well documented, since they may limit later scheduling options 23  External dependencies: – Are determined by the project management team during the activity sequencing process – Involve a relationship between project and non-project activities such as activities outside the project team’s control (e.g., dependence on external sources for deliveries, environmental factors governed by statutes, etc.) 24  Project Network Diagrams Project network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity sequencing A project network diagram is a schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities 25 Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) Also called activity-on-arrow (AOA) project network diagrams Activities are represented by arrows Nodes or circles are the starting and ending points of activities Can only show finish-to-start dependencies 26  Process for Creating AOA Diagrams 1. Find all of the activities that start at node 1. Draw their finish nodes and draw arrows between node 1 and those finish nodes. Put the activity letter or name and duration estimate on the associated arrow 2. Continuing drawing the network diagram, working from left to right. Look for bursts and merges. Bursts occur when a single node is followed by two or more activities. A merge occurs when two or more nodes precede a single node 3. Continue drawing the project network diagram until all activities are included on the diagram that have dependencies 4. As a rule of thumb, all arrowheads should face toward the right, and no arrows should cross on an27 Figure 6-2. Sample Activity-on-Arrow (AOA) Network Diagram for Project X 28  Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM) Activities are represented by boxes Arrows show relationships between activities More popular than ADM method and used by project management software Better at showing different types of dependencies 29 30  Used in the Critical Path Methodology (CPM) for constructing the project schedule network diagram Uses nodes to represent the activities and connects them with arrows that reflect dependencies and the logical relationships that exist between the activities 31  Includes four types of dependencies or logical relationships: – Finish-to-start (FS) – Finish-to-finish (FF) – Start-to-start (SS) – Start-to-finish (SF) Uses, most commonly, the finish-to- start (FS) precedence relationship Is also called Activity–On-Node (AON) and is used by most project management software packages 32 Figure 6-3. Task Dependency Types 33 Sample PDM Network Diagram 34 Class Exercise-Construct a network diagram Preceding activity Activity in question Duration (days) _ A 5 A B 6 A, B C 5 B D 4 C,D E 2 35 Activity Duration Estimating After defining activities and determining their sequence, the next step in time management is duration estimating Duration includes the actual amount of time worked on an activity plus elapsed time Effort is the number of workdays or work hours required to complete a task. Effort does not equal duration People doing the work should help create estimates, and an expert 36  Estimating Activity Durations Process that requires the estimate of the amount of work effort required and the amount of resources to be applied for approximating the work periods needed to complete the activity. Uses information on the activity scope of work, required resource types, estimated resource quantities, and resource calendars, as well as historical information 37  Is progressively elaborated with duration estimates becoming progressively more accurate and of better quality Should take into consideration the input data’s quality and availability All assumptions and data used for supporting the duration estimating are documented 38  Tools and Techniques used are: – Expert judgment – Analogous estimating – Parametric estimating – Three-Points estimating – Reserve analysis 39  Expert judgement – Guided by historical information – Available from: – Project files: Records of previous project results that are detailed enough to help in duration estimating – Commercial duration estimating databases: Available for standard tasks – Team members’ past experience: Individual members of the project team, who worked on prior similar projects, and who might be able to recollect details of estimates from those projects for possible application in the current project 40  Analogous Estimating/Top down Estimating – An estimating technique – Uses the parameters from a previous, similar project as the basis for estimating the same parameter for a future project – It is a gross value estimating approach – Uses historical information and expert judgment – Less costly and time consuming than other techniques 41  Generally less accurate Most reliable when: – Previous activities are similar in fact and not just in appearance. – Individuals preparing the estimates have the needed experience 42  Parametric Estimating – Uses a statistical relationship between historical information and other variables to calculate an estimate for activity parameters – Determines how many times the specific work category is going to be performed in the given activity – Can be applied to a total project or segments of a project – Activity durations=Quantity of work to be performed x Labor hours per unit of work 43  Three Point Estimate or PERT – PERT is a network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates – PERT uses probabilistic time estimates based on using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of activity durations 44  PERT Formula and Example PERT weighted average formula: optimistic time + 4X most likely time + pessimistic time 6 Example: PERT weighted average = 8 workdays + 4 X 10 workdays + 24 workdays = 12 days 6 where 8 = optimistic time, 10 = most likely time, and 24 = pessimistic time 45  Standard deviation is an abstract concept derived from observation rather than calculation or experimentation Activity standard deviation is the possible range for the estimate And the formular is (P-O)/6 46  Reserve analysis – Duration estimates may include contingency reserves to account for schedule uncertainty – These are the estimated duration within schedule baseline which is allocated for identified risks that are accepted for which mitigation responses are developed – This may be a percentage of estimated activity duration or a fixed number of work periods – As more precise information about the project becomes available, the contigency reserve may be used, reduced, or eliminated 47 – Estimates may also be produced for the amount of management reserve of time for the project – These are specified amount of the project duration withheld for management Control purposes – They are intended to address the unknown-unknowns that can affect the project – And is not included in the schedule baseline but is part of the overall project duration requirements 48  Schedule Development Schedule development uses results of the other time management processes to determine the start and end date of the project and its activities Ultimate goal is to create a realistic project schedule that provides a basis for monitoring project progress for the time dimension of the project 49  Tools and techniques Critical path method (CPM) Critical Chain method (CCM) Resource optimization techniques 50  Critical Path Method (CPM) CPM is a project network analysis technique used to predict total project duration A critical path for a project is the series of activities that determines the earliest time by which the project can be completed The critical path is the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float 51  Finding the Critical Path First develop a good project network diagram Add the durations for all activities on each path through the project network diagram The longest path is the critical path 52 Figure 6-8. Determining the Critical Path for Project X 53 Simple Example of Determining the Critical Path Consider the following project network diagram. Assume all times are in days. A=2 B=5 C=2 4 E=1 start 1 2 3 6 finish D=7 5 F=2 a. How many paths are on this network diagram? b. How long is each path? c. Which is the critical path? d. What is the shortest amount of time needed to complete this project? 54  More on the Critical Path If one or more activities on the critical path takes longer than planned, the whole project schedule will slip unless corrective action is taken Misconceptions: – The critical path is not the one with all the critical activities; it only accounts for time. Remember the example of growing grass being on the critical path for Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park – There can be more than one critical path if the lengths of two or more paths are the same – The critical path can change as the project progresses 55  Using Critical Path Analysis to Make Schedule Trade-offs Knowing the critical path helps you make schedule trade-offs Free slack or free float is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of any immediately following activities Total slack or total float is the amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early start without delaying the planned project finish date A forward pass through the network diagram determines the early start and finish dates A backward pass determines the late start and finish dates 56  Why critical path Helps prove how long the project will take Helps to determine where to focus your project management efforts Helps to determine if the issue needs immediate attention Provides a vehicle to compress the schedule during project planning and whenever there are changes Shows which activities have float and can be delayed without delaying the 57 Calculating Early and Late Start and Finish Dates 58  Critical Chain Method Technique that addresses the challenge of meeting or beating project finish dates and an application of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) Developed by Eliyahu Goldratt in his books The Goal and Critical Chain Critical chain scheduling is a method of scheduling that takes limited resources into account when creating a project schedule and includes buffers to protect the project completion date Critical chain scheduling assumes resources do not multitask because it often delays task completions and increases total durations 59 Multitasking Example 60  Buffers and Critical Chain A buffer is additional time to complete a task Murphy’s Law states that if something can go wrong, it will, and Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the time allowed. In traditional estimates, people often add a buffer and use it if it’s needed or not Critical chain schedule removes buffers from individual tasks and instead creates – A project buffer, which is additional time added before the project’s due date – Feeding buffers, which are addition time added 61 before tasks on the critical path Figure 6-11. Example of Critical Chain Scheduling 62  Resource optimization techniques Resource optimization is the set of processes and methods to match the available resources (human, machinery, financial) with the needs of the organization in order to achieve established goals Examples of resource optimization tha can be used to adjust the schedule are: 63  Resource levelling which is technique in which start and finish dates are adjusted based on resource constraints with the goal of balancing demand for resources with the available supply – Can be used when shared or critically required resources are only available at certain times 64  – Or in limited quantities – Or over allocated – Resource leveling can often cause the original critical path to change, usually to increase Resource smoothing: a technique that adjust the activities of a schedule model such that the requirements for resources on the project do not exceed certain predefined resource limits – The projects critical path is not changed and the completion date may not be delayed – Activities can only be delayed within their free or total float 65  Schedule compression Shorten durations of critical tasks by adding more resources or changing their scope Crashing tasks by obtaining the greatest amount of schedule compression for the least incremental cost Fast tracking tasks by doing them in parallel or overlapping them 66  Rationale for Schedule compression When the project has unrealistic time-frame or schedule end dates. During Integrated Change Control process to analyze the impacts on the Project Schedule (Time), Cost, Scope, Risk, Resources, Quality and Customer Satisfaction. 67  During project planning, when the management or the customer requires a completion date that cannot be met. During executing, when the project manager needs to bring back the project in line with the schedule baseline or for approved change requests. 68  Four Steps to Project Crashing 1. Find the normal critical path and identify the critical activities 2. Compute the crash cost per week (or other time period) for all activities in the network using the formula Crash cost – Normal cost Crash cost/Time period = Normal time – Crash time  Four Steps to Project Crashing 3. Select the activity on the critical path with the smallest crash cost per week and crash this activity to the maximum extent possible or to the point at which your desired deadline has been reached 4. Check to be sure that the critical path you were crashing is still critical. If the critical path is still the longest path through the network, return to step 3. If not, find the new critical path and return to step 2. Crashing and Fast Tracking Original schedule Shortened duration thru crashing Overlapped Tasks or fast tracking 71  CRASHING TECHNIQUES Crashing almost always increases cost – Typically done by adding resources/moving them around within the project – Focus on critical activities, one unit at time Fast tracking involves moving critical path activities from sequential to parallel – Causes rework – 72  Crashing 73  It involves adding more or adjusting physical and human resources to the Critical Path Activities to shorten the project duration without changing the Original Project Scope. 74  Elements of crashing It may save and reduce project schedule dur ation , but it always results in increased costs due to increase in the number of resources. It may involve resources like weekend work, over time to meet the Project Timeline Constraints. This results in team burnout.. 75  It may involve increasing the Risk. It may also involve using the resources from non-critical path activities, but you must be careful that this may cause the abandoned activities to quietly go critical 76  Fast tracking 77  It involves compressing the Project Schedule by rearranging the Project Schedule Network Diagram and changing the relationship of activities on the critical path from Finish-to- Start to Start-to-Start or by adding lead time to downstream activities to perform activities in parallel that would normally be done in sequence 78  Elements of fast tracking It saves time but more often it results in rework, it increases Project Cost and Risk, It also requires more attention to communication among the team to do the work. It overlaps the Phases of the Project; i.e., Phase 2 can start before Phase 1 is completed. 79  Interdependencies between the Phases must be managed properly to avoid Risk and Rework. Uses the already planned resources. It involves overloading the resources if the same resources are used on an activity and its immediate successive activities. Resources may find themselves working for more than sixteen hours per day. 80 Fast tracking vs crashing 81  Challenges Related to Project Schedules Creating realistic schedules and sticking to them is a key challenge of project management Crashing and fast tracking often cause more problems, resulting in longer schedules Organizational issues often cause schedule problems. 82  Importance of Updating Critical Path Data It is important to update project schedule information The critical path may change as you enter actual start and finish dates If you know the project completion date will slip, negotiate with the project sponsor 83  Projects schedule Bar charts Milestone charts Project schedule network diagrams 84  Gantt Charts Gantt charts provide a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format Symbols include: – A black diamond: milestones or significant events on a project with zero duration – Thick black bars: summary tasks – Lighter horizontal bars: tasks – Arrows: dependencies between tasks 85 Figure Gantt Chart for Project X 86 Gantt Chart for Software Launch Project 87  Milestones Milestones are significant events on a project that normally have zero duration You can follow the SMART criteria in developing milestones that are: – Specific – Measurable – Assignable – Realistic – Time-framed 88 Sample Tracking Gantt Chart 89  Controlling Changes to the Project Schedule Perform reality checks on schedules Allow for contingencies Don’t plan for everyone to work at 100% capacity all the time Hold progress meetings with stakeholders and be clear and honest in communicating schedule issues 90  Working with People Issues Strong leadership helps projects succeed more than good PERT charts Project managers should use – empowerment – incentives – discipline – negotiation 91  Using Software to Assist in Time Management Software for facilitating communications helps people exchange schedule-related information Decision support models help analyze trade-offs that can be made Project management software can help in various time management areas 92  Table 6-2. Project 2000 Features Related to Project Time Management Reports Views and Table Views Filters  Overview reports: critical  Gantt chart, PERT  All tasks, tasks and milestones chart, Tracking Gantt, completed tasks,  Current activities reports: schedule, tracking, critical tasks, unstarted tasks, tasks starting variance, constraint incomplete tasks, soon, tasks in progress, dates, and delay and milestone completed tasks, should have tasks started tasks, and slipping tasks  Assignment reports: who does what when 93  Words of Caution on Using Project Management Software Many people misuse project management software because they don’t understand important concepts and have not had good training You must enter dependencies to have dates adjust automatically and to determine the critical path You must enter actual schedule information to compare planned and actual progress 94