Project Scheduling, Planning & Time Management

Sana Najmusahar
MPM1A_1984237
Project Schedule Planning Tools & Techniques

Management is continually seeking new and better control techniques to cope with the
complexities, masses of data, and tight deadlines that are characteristic of highly competitive
industries. Managers also want better methods for presenting technical and cost data to customers.
Scheduling techniques help achieve these goals. The most common techniques are:

• Task list
• Gantt or bar charts
• Milestone charts
• Line of balance
• Networks
o Arrow Diagram Method (ADM) [Sometimes called the Critical Path Method
(CPM)
o Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
o Precedence Diagram Method (PDM)
o Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT)
• Simulation

TASK LIST
The task list is the simplest project scheduling technique of all the techniques available.
Documented in a spreadsheet or word processor is the list of all possible tasks involved in a
project. This method is simple and the most popular of all methods. It is very useful while
implementing small projects. But for large projects with numerous aspects to consider task list is
not a feasible method.
GANTT CHART

Gantt Charts are also known as bar charts. Activities are represented as bars and the length of
each bar represents the activity duration. The beginning of the bar shows the start date and the
end of the bar shows the end date of the activity. Depending on the project execution plan and
resource availability, these bars may be sequential or run in parallel. Gantt Charts are simple
tools; therefore, project management teams and stakeholders can easily understand it and manage
their projects by the help of it.

Gantt Chart is the most frequently used scheduling technique because of its simplicity. However,
without using software it is difficult to update activities, activity relationships and manage
changes as the project progresses.

MILESTONE CHART

A milestone is used to represent groups of activities or significant events or commitments in the

project. A milestone chart shows a group of milestones in an organized way similar to a Gantt
chart with one milestone per line vertically with a description on the left and the milestone
located horizontally along a time scale showing when it occurs. Milestones differ from the bars
in a Gantt chart in that they show only a single date and are usually depicted as a triangle instead
of a bar.

LINE OF BALANCE
Line of Balance (LOB) is a method of showing the repetitive work that may exist in a project as
a single line on a graph. Unlike a Bar Chart, which shows the duration of a particular activity, a
LOB Chart shows the rate at which the work that makes up all of the activities has to be
undertaken to stay on schedule, the relationship of one trade or process to the subsequent trade or
process is defined by the space between the lines.
A line of balance diagram comprises a series of inclined lines which represent the rate of
working between repetitive operations in a construction sequence. The Line‐of‐Balance also
known as the Repetitive Scheduling Method (RSM), Location Based Scheduling, Vertical
Production Method or Vertical Scheduling Method. It's the best planning method for a repetitive
work such as Villas or Dwelling units, High-rise building, highways, pipeline, tunnels, railway,
however it may be adapted for non-repetitive projects as well.

CRITICAL PATH METHOD

The critical path method is an advanced scheduling method which was developed in the late
1950s. Then it has been used for the scheduling of any type of projects including construction,
aerospace and defense, software development, IT, etc. In this method, activities are linked to
each other by using dependencies in a network diagram. These activity groups form paths.

The critical path is the longest path of the network diagram. In this method, activities are listed,
activity durations are determined, dependencies between the activities are established and the
longest path is identified by making forward and backward calculations. The critical path method
is a visual technique which enables to show activities, activity dependencies, and durations in the
same diagram.

PERT METHOD

PERT Method is one of the most common project scheduling techniques. PERT Program
Evaluation Review Technique was developed by the US Navy in the late 1950’ s for Ballistic
Missile Program in order to find a simple system to manage and organize complex objectives
and thousands of contractors.

In this method, activities are listed, activity durations are determined by using three estimate
techniques, dependencies between the activities are established and the longest path is identified
by making forward and backward calculations.

The three estimate techniques are;

• Most Likely Estimate
• Optimistic Estimate
• Pessimistic Estimate

Simply put, most likely estimate refers to the most possible time required to complete the task.
Optimistic Estimate refers to the shortest time required to complete the task. Pessimistic Estimate
refers to the longest time required to complete the task. Expected time of the task is calculated by
using these three estimates.

In PERT Method, project completion time relies on the calculation of the expected duration for
each activity. The critical path method is used in conjunction with the PERT Method. You can
determine the critical path of the project by performing forward, backward calculations.
However, PERT is a time-consuming method which requires software to implement.

PDM METHOD
The precedence diagram method is a tool for scheduling activities in a project plan. It is a
method of constructing a project schedule network diagram that uses boxes, referred to as nodes,
to represent activities and connects them with arrows that show the dependencies. It is also called
the activity-on-node method.

Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT)

A network analysis technique that allows for probability distributions of activity durations and
also conditions under which some activities may not be carried out.
The use of visual information to predict sales patterns typically involves plotting information in a
graphical form. It is relatively easy to convert a spreadsheet into a graph that conveys the
information visually. Trends and patterns of data are easier to spot, and extrapolation of previous
demand can be used to predict future demands.

SIMULATION
In the simulation technique we use a different set of activities to calculate possible durations
of the project. It’s especially handy when there are many uncertainties and variables. Using
simulation, we can create a schedule based on assumptions, so we can use even if we don’t
know all of the actions or if the scope may change.
One of the models is a Monte Carlo Simulation. It takes different assumptions and possible
outcomes into account, resulting in forecasted duration. The advantage of this approach is
that it takes risks and uncertainties into account, so even if a scope changes or additional
tasks occur, we can adjust our schedule.