2013-3-1 1
Chapter 5,
Project Time Management
2013-3-1 2
Learning Objectives
? Explain the basic process for developing project schedules
? Describe how various tools and techniques help project managers
perform activity definition,activity sequencing,activity duration
estimating,schedule development,and schedule control
? Use a Gantt chart for schedule planning and tracking schedule
information
? Construct a project network diagram and understand its importance for
determining overall project completion dates
? Understand and use critical path analysis
? Describe several techniques for shortening project schedules
? Explain the basic concepts behind critical chain scheduling
? Discuss reality checks and people issues involved in project schedule
management and control
? Describe how software can assist in project time management
2013-3-1 3
Chapter Outline
? Importance of Project Schedules
? Where Do Schedules Come From? Defining Activities
? Activity Sequencing
? Project Network Diagrams
? Activity Duration Estimating
? Schedule Development
? Gantt Charts
? Critical Path Method
? Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
? Controlling Changes to the Project Schedule
? Reality Checks on Scheduling
? Working with People Issues
? Using Software to Assist in Time Management
? Words of Caution On Using Project Management Software
2013-3-1 4
1,Importance of
Project Schedules
2013-3-1 5
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 63% 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
2013-3-1 6
Conflict Intensity Over the Life
of a Project
0, 0 0
0, 0 5
0, 1 0
0, 1 5
0, 2 0
0, 2 5
0, 3 0
0, 3 5
0, 4 0
P r o j e ct
F o r m a t i o n
E a r l y P h a se s M i d d l e P h a se s E n d P h a se s
C
o
n
fl
i
ct
I
n
ten
si
ty
S ch e d u l e s
P r i o r i t i e s
M a n p o w e r
T e ch n i ca l o p i n i o n s
P r o ce d u r e s
C o st
P e r so n a l i t y co n f l i ct s
A v e r a ge
To t a l C on f l i c t
2013-3-1 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
2013-3-1 8
2.Where Do Schedules
Come From?
2013-3-1 9
Defining Activities
? 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
? Activity definition involves developing a
more detailed WBS and supporting
explanations to understand all the work
to be done
2013-3-1 10
3.Activity Sequencing
2013-3-1 11
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
? Examples of each type of dependency from
your team projects?
? You must determine dependencies in order to use
critical path analysis
2013-3-1 12
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
2013-3-1 13
Sample Activity-on-Arrow (AOA)
Network Diagram for Project X
2013-3-1 14
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
2013-3-1 15
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 an AOA
network diagram
2013-3-1 16
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
2013-3-1 17
Task Dependency Types
2013-3-1 18
Sample PDM Network Diagram for Project X
Project 2000 file
2013-3-1 19
4,Activity Duration Estimating
2013-3-1 20
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
? Examples of duration estimates to
? Read a favorite book?
? Prepare your team’s final presentation?
? People doing the work should help create
estimates,and an expert should review them
2013-3-1 21
5.Schedule Development
2013-3-1 22
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
? Important tools and techniques include Gantt
charts,PERT analysis,critical path analysis,and
critical chain scheduling
2013-3-1 23
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
2013-3-1 24
Gantt Chart for Project X
Project 2000 file
2013-3-1 25
Gantt Chart for Software
Launch Project
Project 2000 file
2013-3-1 26
Sample Tracking Gantt Chart
white diamond,slipped milestone
two bars,planned and actual times
2013-3-1 27
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
2013-3-1 28
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
2013-3-1 29
Simple Example of
Determining the Critical Path
? Consider the following project network
diagram,Assume all times are in days,
2 3
4
5
A = 2 B = 5
C = 2
D = 7
1 6
F = 2
E = 1
s t a r t f i n i s h
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?
2013-3-1 30
Determining the Critical
Path for Project X
2013-3-1 31
Class Exercise
? p,150,Exercise 2,Do this exercise on
your own or pair up,
? Check your answers with another
person/group
?,Neatest” solution put on the board
? Note,You’ll have a very similar
exercise on Exam I next class!!!
2013-3-1 32
More on the Critical Path
? If one of 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
? 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
2013-3-1 33
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
2013-3-1 34
Free and Total Float or Slack
for Project X
2013-3-1 35
Techniques for Shortening a
Project Schedule
? Shortening durations of critical tasks for
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
2013-3-1 36
Shortening Project Schedules
Overlapped
Tasks or fast
tracking
Shortened
duration thru
crashing
Original
schedule
2013-3-1 37
Many Horror Stories Related
to Project Schedules
? See,What Went Wrong?” example
about the National Insurance
Recording System
? Creating realistic schedules and
sticking to them is a key challenge of
project management
2013-3-1 38
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
2013-3-1 39
Program Evaluation and
Review Technique (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
2013-3-1 40
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
2013-3-1 41
6.Controlling Changes to the
Project Schedule
2013-3-1 42
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
2013-3-1 43
Working with People Issues
? Strong leadership helps projects
succeed more than good PERT charts
? Project managers should use
? empowerment
? incentives
? discipline
? negotiation
2013-3-1 44
7.Using Software to Assist in
Time Management
2013-3-1 45
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
2013-3-1 46
Project 2000 Features Related to
Project Time Management
R e po r t s V ie ws a nd Ta ble V ie ws F ilt e r s
? ? O v e r v ie w r e p o r ts,c r itic a l
ta sk s a n d m ile sto n e s
? ? Cu r r e n t a c tiv itie s r e p o r ts,
u n sta r te d ta sk s,ta sk s sta r tin g
so o n,ta sk s in p r o g r e ss,
c o m p le te d ta sk s,s h o u ld h a v e
sta r te d ta sk s,a n d s lip p in g
ta sk s
? ? A ss ig n m e n t r e p o r ts,w h o
d o e s w h a t w h e n
? ? G a n tt c h a r t,PE RT
c h a r t,T r a c k in g G a n tt,
sc h e d u le,tr a c k in g,
v a r ia n c e,c o n str a in t
d a te s,a n d d e la y
? ? A ll ta sk s,
c o m p le te d ta sk s,
c r itic a l ta sk s,
in c o m p le te ta sk s,
a n d m ile sto n e
ta sk s
2013-3-1 47
8.Words of Caution on Using
PM Software
2013-3-1 48
Words of Caution on Using PM
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
2013-3-1 49
Quick Demo of Project 2000
? Show class how to get into Project 2000
? Open some of the template files (File,
New,click Project Templates tab)
? Encourage students to go through
Appendix A step-by-step,
2013-3-1 50
Quick Quiz
? What is the most common type of task dependency?
? What is the critical path on a project?
? What is PERT?
? What is the first step in project time management?
1,Finish-to-start
2,The critical path is the series of activities in a project network
diagram that determines the earliest completion date of the project
3,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,
4,Activity definition
Chapter 5,
Project Time Management
2013-3-1 2
Learning Objectives
? Explain the basic process for developing project schedules
? Describe how various tools and techniques help project managers
perform activity definition,activity sequencing,activity duration
estimating,schedule development,and schedule control
? Use a Gantt chart for schedule planning and tracking schedule
information
? Construct a project network diagram and understand its importance for
determining overall project completion dates
? Understand and use critical path analysis
? Describe several techniques for shortening project schedules
? Explain the basic concepts behind critical chain scheduling
? Discuss reality checks and people issues involved in project schedule
management and control
? Describe how software can assist in project time management
2013-3-1 3
Chapter Outline
? Importance of Project Schedules
? Where Do Schedules Come From? Defining Activities
? Activity Sequencing
? Project Network Diagrams
? Activity Duration Estimating
? Schedule Development
? Gantt Charts
? Critical Path Method
? Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
? Controlling Changes to the Project Schedule
? Reality Checks on Scheduling
? Working with People Issues
? Using Software to Assist in Time Management
? Words of Caution On Using Project Management Software
2013-3-1 4
1,Importance of
Project Schedules
2013-3-1 5
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 63% 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
2013-3-1 6
Conflict Intensity Over the Life
of a Project
0, 0 0
0, 0 5
0, 1 0
0, 1 5
0, 2 0
0, 2 5
0, 3 0
0, 3 5
0, 4 0
P r o j e ct
F o r m a t i o n
E a r l y P h a se s M i d d l e P h a se s E n d P h a se s
C
o
n
fl
i
ct
I
n
ten
si
ty
S ch e d u l e s
P r i o r i t i e s
M a n p o w e r
T e ch n i ca l o p i n i o n s
P r o ce d u r e s
C o st
P e r so n a l i t y co n f l i ct s
A v e r a ge
To t a l C on f l i c t
2013-3-1 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
2013-3-1 8
2.Where Do Schedules
Come From?
2013-3-1 9
Defining Activities
? 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
? Activity definition involves developing a
more detailed WBS and supporting
explanations to understand all the work
to be done
2013-3-1 10
3.Activity Sequencing
2013-3-1 11
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
? Examples of each type of dependency from
your team projects?
? You must determine dependencies in order to use
critical path analysis
2013-3-1 12
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
2013-3-1 13
Sample Activity-on-Arrow (AOA)
Network Diagram for Project X
2013-3-1 14
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
2013-3-1 15
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 an AOA
network diagram
2013-3-1 16
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
2013-3-1 17
Task Dependency Types
2013-3-1 18
Sample PDM Network Diagram for Project X
Project 2000 file
2013-3-1 19
4,Activity Duration Estimating
2013-3-1 20
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
? Examples of duration estimates to
? Read a favorite book?
? Prepare your team’s final presentation?
? People doing the work should help create
estimates,and an expert should review them
2013-3-1 21
5.Schedule Development
2013-3-1 22
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
? Important tools and techniques include Gantt
charts,PERT analysis,critical path analysis,and
critical chain scheduling
2013-3-1 23
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
2013-3-1 24
Gantt Chart for Project X
Project 2000 file
2013-3-1 25
Gantt Chart for Software
Launch Project
Project 2000 file
2013-3-1 26
Sample Tracking Gantt Chart
white diamond,slipped milestone
two bars,planned and actual times
2013-3-1 27
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
2013-3-1 28
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
2013-3-1 29
Simple Example of
Determining the Critical Path
? Consider the following project network
diagram,Assume all times are in days,
2 3
4
5
A = 2 B = 5
C = 2
D = 7
1 6
F = 2
E = 1
s t a r t f i n i s h
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?
2013-3-1 30
Determining the Critical
Path for Project X
2013-3-1 31
Class Exercise
? p,150,Exercise 2,Do this exercise on
your own or pair up,
? Check your answers with another
person/group
?,Neatest” solution put on the board
? Note,You’ll have a very similar
exercise on Exam I next class!!!
2013-3-1 32
More on the Critical Path
? If one of 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
? 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
2013-3-1 33
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
2013-3-1 34
Free and Total Float or Slack
for Project X
2013-3-1 35
Techniques for Shortening a
Project Schedule
? Shortening durations of critical tasks for
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
2013-3-1 36
Shortening Project Schedules
Overlapped
Tasks or fast
tracking
Shortened
duration thru
crashing
Original
schedule
2013-3-1 37
Many Horror Stories Related
to Project Schedules
? See,What Went Wrong?” example
about the National Insurance
Recording System
? Creating realistic schedules and
sticking to them is a key challenge of
project management
2013-3-1 38
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
2013-3-1 39
Program Evaluation and
Review Technique (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
2013-3-1 40
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
2013-3-1 41
6.Controlling Changes to the
Project Schedule
2013-3-1 42
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
2013-3-1 43
Working with People Issues
? Strong leadership helps projects
succeed more than good PERT charts
? Project managers should use
? empowerment
? incentives
? discipline
? negotiation
2013-3-1 44
7.Using Software to Assist in
Time Management
2013-3-1 45
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
2013-3-1 46
Project 2000 Features Related to
Project Time Management
R e po r t s V ie ws a nd Ta ble V ie ws F ilt e r s
? ? O v e r v ie w r e p o r ts,c r itic a l
ta sk s a n d m ile sto n e s
? ? Cu r r e n t a c tiv itie s r e p o r ts,
u n sta r te d ta sk s,ta sk s sta r tin g
so o n,ta sk s in p r o g r e ss,
c o m p le te d ta sk s,s h o u ld h a v e
sta r te d ta sk s,a n d s lip p in g
ta sk s
? ? A ss ig n m e n t r e p o r ts,w h o
d o e s w h a t w h e n
? ? G a n tt c h a r t,PE RT
c h a r t,T r a c k in g G a n tt,
sc h e d u le,tr a c k in g,
v a r ia n c e,c o n str a in t
d a te s,a n d d e la y
? ? A ll ta sk s,
c o m p le te d ta sk s,
c r itic a l ta sk s,
in c o m p le te ta sk s,
a n d m ile sto n e
ta sk s
2013-3-1 47
8.Words of Caution on Using
PM Software
2013-3-1 48
Words of Caution on Using PM
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
2013-3-1 49
Quick Demo of Project 2000
? Show class how to get into Project 2000
? Open some of the template files (File,
New,click Project Templates tab)
? Encourage students to go through
Appendix A step-by-step,
2013-3-1 50
Quick Quiz
? What is the most common type of task dependency?
? What is the critical path on a project?
? What is PERT?
? What is the first step in project time management?
1,Finish-to-start
2,The critical path is the series of activities in a project network
diagram that determines the earliest completion date of the project
3,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,
4,Activity definition
