Project Schedule

Management (Lecture 2)
Naeem Iqbal, MCS, MBA, PMP, LIMC
Iqbal.naeem@gmail.com
 Key Concepts

How and when the project will deliver

the products, services, and results

serves as a tool for communication,

managing stakeholders’ expectations,

and as a basis for performance

reporting 2
 Scheduling Methods

Precedence
Critical Path Critical Chain
Diagram
Method Method
Method
(CPM) (CCM)
(PDM)
 Critical Path Method
§ determines the minimum total project
duration and the earliest possible finish
date of the project as well as the amount
of scheduling flexibility (total float) in the
schedule model
§ pure CPM network allows only zero or
positive total float
 Float Types
Free Float Time a task can be delayed without
delaying the early start date of its
successor

Total Time a task can be delayed without

Float delaying the project completion date
Project Time the project can be delayed
Float without delaying the externally
imposed project completion date (by
customer, management, project
manager etc.)
Precedence Diagramming Method
§ Precedence diagrams illustrate the
relationships between activities left to right
(time-phased), allowing project activities to
flow from a project start milestone to the
project complete milestone.
§ Relationships between time-phased
activities are represented by directional
arrows.
§ PDM diagrams use lead and lag
components.
 Critical Chain Method

§ The longest resource-leveled path through the

schedule, including buffers, is the critical chain,
and it is often different from the critical path in
CPM.
§ The critical chain method is developed from the
CPM approach and considers the effects of
resource allocation, resource leveling, and activity
duration uncertainty on the CPM-determined
critical path.
 Buffer Types
Feeding A buffer (in duration) added to the
Buffers schedule model at the merge of non-
critical paths with the project critical path
from the CPM
Resource The frequent passing of forecast finish
Buffers dates to a predecessor activity alerting the
resources of the successor activity to be
prepared to start work on the forecast
finish date of the predecessor activity
Project A duration added to the end of the project
Buffers between the last project activity and the
final delivery date or contracted completion
date.
Scheduling Techniques

Rolling wave planning,

Agile scheduling,

PERT,

Monte Carlo simulation

 Rolling Wave Planning
§ a detailed decomposition of the high-level
activities is performed only for those
activities in the “near term,”
§ perform the detailed planning at regular
intervals
 Agile Technique
§ The Agile project team utilizes CPM
scheduling for each development cycle,
called a sprint, which typically lasts two to
four weeks
§ focuses on shorter development cycles and
tangible results at frequent and incremental
intervals
§ involvement of the key stakeholders, primarily
the customer/end user, at the end of every
iteration to approve the interim work products
Program Evaluation and Review
Technique
§ Starting with a precedence diagram, PERT
allows for activity duration estimates to be
determined allowing for the uncertainty
contained in the duration estimating
process
 TRENDS AND
EMERGING PRACTICES IN
PROJECT SCHEDULE
MANAGEMENT
Iterative Scheduling with Backlog
§ form of rolling wave planning based on
adaptive life cycles
§ requirements are documented in user
stories that are then prioritized and refined
just prior to construction
§ product features are developed using time-
boxed periods of work
§ User Story. A brief description of
deliverable value for a specific user. It is a
promise for a conversation to clarify details
 User Story
§ User Story. A brief description of
deliverable value for a specific user. It is a
promise for a conversation to clarify details

§ Example: As a trainer, when I create an

Other Course or Event, I am charged a
listing fee for that activity so I don’t list
events I don’t really intend to hold.

https://www.atlassian.com/agile/project-management/user-stories
§ Kanban is a visual system for managing
work as it moves through a process.
 Summary
§ High levels of uncertainty and
unpredictability in a fast-paced, highly
competitive global marketplace, it is
becoming even more important to respond
to the changing needs of the environment.
§ Adaptive planning defines a plan but
acknowledges that once work starts, the
priorities may change and the plan needs
to reflect this new knowledge.
Thank You!