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his document is intended for project schedulers, on time and within budget and scope, which is often defined
project managers, members of a project management as project success.
office (PMO) and those interested in learning more For those currently part of a PMO or who are considering
about the factors that contribute to good project scheduling. establishing a PMO, this document provides insight into the
It assumes a basic knowledge of the activities involved with role of the PMO in project scheduling and suggests specific
and common pitfalls of project scheduling. ways that the PMO can implement and support use of
While project schedulers frequently play more the five secrets. Involving the PMO in defining and
than one role on a project, such as project manager, supporting the scheduling process facilitates and
team lead, etc., this document refers to the A hastens organizational learning, which, when done
project scheduler as a discrete role. The properly, benefits everyone in the organization.
information presented in this document project
applies to projects with a dedicated Executive Summary
project scheduler as well as to projects
schedule that is The purpose of a project schedule is
where the scheduler has additional followed and maintained to provide a road map through the
project responsibilities. project and to provide sign posts
This document does throughout a project can (or milestones) so that we
not discuss specific tools know where we are at any
or go into depth with
provide early identification of point in time.
regard to project potential schedule slippage, project risks Most of us have
management worked on projects
methodology and other issues. where the project
such as that schedule is
discussed in created during
the Project Management Institutes A Guide to the Project the planning phase and is then largely abandoned once the
Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)Fourth
edition (Project Management Institute [PMI], 2008). It is
project moves into the execution phase. Often, these project
schedules are focused on the individual and groups of tasks
intended to provide an and activities necessary to complete the project. They tend
overview of the scheduling process and offers specific to be thought of and created as a checklist of tasks with
suggestions for improving project schedules and the process associated timelines, resources and costs to be used and
of project scheduling. tracked during the execution of a project. This focus on
This document defines five factorsor secretswhich, activities during the creation of the schedule overlooks the
when consistently implemented together, result in project fact that projects do not exist just to perform activities, they
schedules that are more likely to be used and maintained exist to produce specific products.
throughout the life of a project. A project schedule that is For small projects, it may be sufficient and appropriate
followed and maintained throughout a project can provide to create these activities-based checklist-style schedules, but
early identification of potential schedule slippage, project risks for the majority of us who work on larger and more complex
and other issues. Identifying problems, risks and issues early projects, a simple checklist is insufficient. On a larger project,
significantly increases the likelihood of completing a project developing a schedule by focusing primarily on the tasks and
activities to be performed often makes it difficult to identify schedule, how to apply these secrets to your schedules and how
the key milestones and to know whether were on track. Use to build an organization that establishes, promotes and supports
of such a schedule can make it difficult to anticipate problems, good scheduling practices on a long-term basis.
and this often results in the occurrence of unexpected and
unplanned events, which can eventually lead to project failure. Secret #1:
Creating schedules that can act like road maps that guide Create Deliverables-Based Project Schedules
the team and can warn project managers before they veer off As project schedulers and project managers, were well aware
track requires a focus on deliverables and a consistent level of that deliverables are tangible products produced by a project.
detail. Maintaining such a schedule requires a clearly defined All projects have deliverablesfor example, documentation,
process and a disciplined approach to keeping it current. physical computer hardware installed and operational,
This document is intended for project managers, project applications correctly configured and accessible by users,
schedulers and PMO staff who either create and manage etc. During project execution, the project team performs
project schedules or support those who do. It describes five many activities in order to produce the project deliverables.
secrets of project scheduling that, if followed, will help start Activities consist of one or more tasks, such as gathering system
you down the road to developing and managing project requirements, installing hardware, installing and configuring
schedules that enable and support good project management software, testing system access and functionality, etc.
practices and contribute significantly to project success. Project schedules can be divided into two types, activities-
The five secrets of project scheduling are: based and deliverables-based. In my experience, the majority
1. Create deliverables-based project schedules of project schedules are activities-based, meaning that they are
2. Establish and maintain the appropriate level of detail developed from the mindset of what activities and tasks need
3. Implement a regular status update and reporting process to be completed during the course of this project? While it is
4. Review and adjust the schedule regularly important to carefully consider this question, it should not be the
5. Create and follow project scheduling standards driving force behind the structure and organization of a schedule.
Instead, a good project schedule should be built and organized
As you can see, these secrets are not new concepts. around the deliverables that the project is meant to produce.
They are presented here together to provide a context and There are two steps to creating a deliverables-based project
methodology for creating good project schedules. The schedule:
following sections of this document are designed to help 1. Identify all deliverables and their owners
project schedulers, project managers and PMO staff to think 2. Build a deliverables-based work breakdown structure (WBS)
differently about the schedules they create or support and
suggest some best practices for incorporating these five secrets Identify Deliverables and Deliverable Owners
into the processes followed within their organizations. Most of us understand the importance of identifying and
The first step to building a good project schedule is to documenting all of the deliverables to be produced by our
establish what defines a good schedule. A simple definition, projects before work on the project begins. Its no different
and the one used throughout this document, is a schedule that when creating a project schedule. Before a schedule can be
accurately models the work of the project and which maintains drafted, the scope, and deliverables required to complete that
a consistent and appropriate level of detail. Schedules that meet scope, must be clearly identified and documented. So the first
these criteria are more likely to provide accurate information step to creating a good project schedule is to sit down and
about the project status, issues and risks and are much more document all of the deliverables to be produced by the project.
easily maintained than schedules that do not meet these criteria. This should be done by the project manager since he or she has
Smaller, shorter-term projects require a much simpler and ultimate responsibility for producing the deliverables.
smaller project schedule than longer, more complex projects. One step that is sometimes overlooked when creating the
While this is very obvious to anyone who has created even a list of deliverables is to identify one primary owner for each
few project schedules, it does not provide enough information deliverable at the time that the deliverables are identified. If the
to tell us anything about what a simple or complex project project has not yet been fully staffed, then a position or title,
schedule should contain nor what level of detail is most such as Infrastructure Team Lead, may be used instead of an
appropriate. The remainder of this document provides the individuals name. Doing this early in the project life cycle can
additional information required to help you understand the prevent disagreement regarding who is responsible for creating
various factors, or secrets, that contribute to a good project or managing the creation of a particular deliverable.
same WBS level and that all detail tasks and activities listed below each deliverable directly
duration of any detail task should be between 1% and 10% of following the selected rule(s.) Project schedules having varying
the total project duration. For example, if the project duration levels of detail tend to be more difficult to status and report
is expected to be 100 days, then all detail tasks should have on because key information can be easily overlooked when
a duration of between 1 and 10 days. This rule can also be it is buried too deeply in the WBS and/or doesnt reflect a
applied to work estimates, although it can be difficult to measurable result. In addition, project schedules that do not
determine the total estimated work until the schedule is fully follow consistent rules for defining the appropriate level of
developed. Therefore, I recommend using duration as the detail can become unnecessarily long, taking on the role of a
driving factor
or projectwhen using Therefore
schedules. this rule.the level of detail required for checklist
schedule instead
is fully of a schedule.
developed. Therefore, IThis puts them
recommend at high risk for
using duration
Another way to
a particular define
project mustthebelevel
definedofprior
detail is tostart
to the put of an being
as abandoned
the driving factor when during
usingproject
this rule. execution.
upper and lower limit on the number of work hours a task
scheduling. Another way to define the level of detail is to put an upper
may havein Theother
level ofwords,
detail required
defineshould be defined as
an acceptable a range
work of
package and
Ensurelower That
limit onAlltheTasks
numberEntered
of work hours Into a task
themay havein Meet
Schedule
acceptable task durations and/or work effort. In addition, the other words, define an acceptable work package size. The size of
size. The size of the work package should be large enough the Established Criteria
type of acceptable tasks must also be defined. For example, will the work package should be large enough to be measurable while
to be measurable while staying small enough to
administrative activities such as project team meetings, time
manage. Now that a deliverables-based WBS has been developed and
staying small enough to manage. If the work package is too small,
If the work package
tracking, is too
resource small,
leveling, themanagement,
people schedule can etc. become
be included in theschedule
the acceptable level of
can become detail defined,
unnecessarily large andthe next step
cluttered, seems to be
making
unnecessarily large and cluttered, making it difficult
the schedule? If so, will they be tracked for each deliverable or willto the easiest: build out the details of the schedule.
it difficult to manage. If the work package is too large, it can be However, this
manage. they
If the workout
be called package is too
under their ownlarge,
projectitarea?
can Ifbenot,
difficult
will this can be tothe
difficult most difficult
accurately part ofofdeveloping
track the progress tasks makingaitgood harder project
to
time be
to accurately accounted
track for by reducing
the progress resource
of tasks availability
making or willto
it harder an identify
schedule. risksMany
or issuesschedulers
early on. either know the work well enough
administrative project be used? A good rule of thumb for defining the work package size is to
identify risks or issues early on. to build the detailed information themselves or they gather
One rule for defining a standard level of detail for a schedule keepThetask Five
durationSecrets of Project
and/or work Scheduling
effort within one to two reporting
A good rule of thumb for defining the work
that can be useful is the 1%10% Rule developed by Eric
package size a list of tasks and activities from the project manager and/or
cycles. If your project produces status reports weekly, then the
is to keepUyttewaal,
task duration As the in and/or
book work
project effort
manager within
or team withone to add detail
lead(s) projecttasks team leads.
underneath each deliverable,
and two weeksthey
PMP his Dynamic Scheduling Microsoft work package should be between one in duration
two reporting cycles. If your project produces status
Office Project. The 1%10% Rule states that the duration of any reports It is very easy to
and/or 40 to 80 hours of effort. simply enter this information into a
weekly, then
detailthe should
task work
should also add
package
be between 1%aand
should milestone
be
10% of themarking
between one
total the completion
and
project scheduling of thetool
Regardless ofdeliverable
theand andschedule
sayselected
rule(s) the ensure
to define thethat
is it is
complete.
appropriate In following
level
two weeks in duration
duration. and/or
For example, 40
if the to 80
project hours
duration of
is effort.
expected this
to be 100 of pattern,
detail schedulers
for a project
linked to the appropriate detail task(s.) This is shown in the figure below on the first
schedule,may lose
the key sight
is in of the
consistently role they
following play
days, then all detail tasks should have a duration of between 1 and the selected rule(s.) Project
Regardless of the rule(s) selected to define the appropriate within the projectto ensure that the schedule provides schedules having varying levels of
10 days. This rule can also be applied to work estimates, although detail tend to be more difficult to status and report on because key
level of detail for adeliverable
project schedule,in eachthe project
key isarea: Install Hardware
in consistently (WBSproject
valuable 1.1), Install Applications
information (WBS 2.1)
while keeping maintenance
it can be difficult to determine the total estimated work until the information can be easily overlooked when it is buried too deeply
and Document Business Process Changes (WBS 3.1)
FigureFigure
3: Simple deliverables-based
3: Simple deliverables-basedproject schedule
project schedule framework.
framework
in project schedule determining what
development. and adjusted as events warrant. information to
Time spent gather, how
properly often the
evaluating, information
editing and/or combining detail tasks in a project schedule will be collected and the method for collecting and validating
will not only reduce the time required to manage the the information. The methods used will depend upon the
schedule, but it can be the key to prompt identification of reporting requirements, frequency of reporting, availability
potential schedule slippage, issues and/or risks so that there is of automated vs. manual tools and the geographic location of
sufficient time to avoid or mitigate them. the team members responsible for providing the data.
To determine whether a task should be included in a project At a minimum, schedulers should collect actual and
schedule, the scheduler should ask the following questions: remaining work and/or duration, actual start and actual
1. Does this task directly contribute to the completion finish dates. Without this information, the schedule cannot
of one or more specific deliverables? be properly maintained. It is often tempting to collect the
2. Is the task at an appropriate level of detail? percentage of complete data for each task instead of actual
3. Does this task have at least one named or generic and remaining work/duration; however, the percentage of
resource assigned? complete information is subjective and does not provide
4. Does this task have at least one predecessor and/or any information about when the task will be finished nor
one successor? whether additional effort and/or resources may be required to
complete the task on time.
Only when the answer to all of these questions is yes, The first step in developing a regular update and
should the task be added to the project schedule. If the reporting process is to work with the project manager and
scheduler does not know the answer to one of these questions key stakeholders to determine the reporting requirements
or if information is missing, the scheduler must take and expectations. The following is a list of minimal reporting
responsibility for following up with the owner of the deliverable requirements that applies to most projects:
to which this task is related to obtain the missing information. Executive OverviewOverview of project status at a
Once all information in entered into the plan, resources high level. This report frequently shows the actual status
must be leveled to ensure that the timeline is realistic and that of key milestones and deliverables compared against the
resources will be available when required. baseline schedule.
Building a project schedule in this manner will help Variance Reports (Duration, Start, Finish and/or Work
ensure that the result will be a schedule that produces: Variance)Specific tasks, activities and/or deliverables
A complete and unbroken critical path that are running behind (or ahead) of schedule, are
Detailed tasks that are relevant to specific deliverables taking significantly longer (or shorter) than expected and/
A realistic timeline or are requiring significantly more (or less) work than
A schedule that is easier to maintain anticipated. The level of detail of this report is normally
Consistent and relevant status reports dictated by the audience receiving it.
independently. As the PMO
However, to all schedulers. grows in
to realize maturity and
the full resources, it
value of implementing these secrets, an organization needs to may also take on the responsibility for the project scheduling
provide a central repository of standards, tools and templates function. This has several advantages over simply providing
available to all schedulers. Failing to do so forces each the tools and guidance to schedulers from other groups:
scheduler to reinvent the wheel each time a new schedule It enables the PMO to control the specific qualifications
is developed. This is clearly inefficient and fails to capture the of its project schedulers such as required training,
value of the combined knowledge and experience that are certifications, experience and demonstrated knowledge of
present in larger organizations. the PMOs specific standards, best practices and tools.
Over the past decade or so, the PMO has become It allows the PMO to grow existing staff into higher-level
more common and more important in many project-based scheduling positions, thus getting a greater return on
organizations. Most PMOs are developed as the focal point their human resource investments.
for supporting, monitoring and in some cases managing It enhances the PMOs ability to foster a positive
many simultaneous projects taking place in a variety of parts environment where schedulers are encouraged to evaluate
of the organization. Some companies have a single PMO each situation and make exceptions where appropriate (of
with responsibility for all project activities, while other course, all exceptions should be carefully documented)
companies have a PMO in each of their various business and contribute to the growth of expertise for both the
units or functional areas. In either case, the PMO is generally schedulers individually and the organization as a whole.
responsible for overseeing and supporting project managers It makes it easier to broadly implement lessons learned
and project schedulers and in some cases other project staff and and accelerates continuous improvement.
stakeholders. It enhances employee retention by offering career
This centralized approach to project management and advancement opportunities and a positive working
oversight provides organizations with a concentration of project environment.