Lecture 5

Scheduling Projects

MN601 Network Project Management

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 Review of Lecture 4

Project Risk Management

1. What is Project Risk
2. Risk Management Plan
3. Managing Project Risks
4. Software for Risk Management
5. Risk Management Benefits
6. Conclusions
7. References

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 Outline of Lecture 5

Scheduling Projects
1. What is Project Schedule?
2. Importance of Project Schedules
3. Project Time Management Processes
A. Activity definition
B. Activity sequencing
C. Activity duration estimating
D. Schedule development
E. Schedule control
4. Conclusions

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 What is Project Time
Managment

Copyrighted 2014 The Daily Project Manager

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flX82lnFoZE

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 What is Project Schedule?

• Project scheduling is the

process of defining
project activities,
determining their
sequence, and
estimating their duration.
• A building block of a
project schedule are
activities This Photo by Unknown Author is
licensed under CC BY-SA

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 Importance of Project
Schedules
• Managers often cite
delivering projects on time
as one of their biggest
challenges
• Schedule issues are the
main reason for conflicts
on projects, especially
during the second half of
projects This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

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 Importance of Project
Schedules
CHAOS Report of 2009 (by
The Standish Group):
- 32 % of all projects were successful
(2004 – 29%);
- 44 % were late, or over budget, or
with less than required features and
functions (2004 – 53%);
- 24 % failed or cancelled (2004 –
18%)
• Ref: https://www.classes.cs.uchicago.edu/archive/2
014/fall/51210-1/required.reading/Standish.Group.
Chaos.2009.pdf

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 Importance of Project
Schedules
Conflict Intensity Over the Life of a Project
0.40
0.35
Conflict Intensity

0.30
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

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 Project Time
Management Processes
Project time management involves the processes
required to ensure timely completion of a project
Processes include:
A. Activity definition
B. Activity sequencing
C. Activity duration estimating
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed
D. Schedule development under CC BY-SA-NC

E. Schedule control

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 A. Activity definition

A. Activity definition
– Activity: A task that
consumes certain time and
resources
– Identifying the specific
activities that must perform
to produce the project
deliverables
– A project schedule grows out
of an activity list.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under
CC BY-SA-NC

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 A. Activity definition

Activities should have the

following characteristics:
– Clear start and end date
– Tangible output that can be verified
– Scope small enough to understand
and control without micro-
management
– Labour, costs and schedule can be
estimated and controlled This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under
CC BY-SA

– Can be assigned to a single

person

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 A. Activity definition

– A milestone is a significant
event that normally has no
duration
• Often takes several activities
and a lot of work to complete
(reach) a milestone
• Can follow the SMART
(Specific, Measurable,
Assignable, Realistic, Time-
framed) criteria in developing
milestones This Photo by Unknown Author is
licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

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 A. Activity definition
Activities and Milestone examples

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 Discussion Points

1. What are the common characteristics of project

activities?
2. Can you list a few examples of project milestones that
you might include in your schedule?
3. How many milestones should a normal project has?

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 Project Time
Management Processes
Project time management involves the processes
required to ensure timely completion of a project
Processes include:
A. Activity definition
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under

B. Activity sequencing CC BY-ND

C. Activity duration estimating

D. Schedule development
E. Schedule control

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 B. Activity sequencing

– In order to manage the project time,

it is critical to identify the activity
sequence
– The activities identified should be
sequenced based on the execution
order
Involves:
• Drawing Network diagrams
• Documenting activities’
dependencies This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed
under CC BY-SA

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 B. Activity sequencing

Project Network Diagrams

• Graphical representation of the task flow for a project
• It depicts task length, sequence, concurrency, and
dependency
• Project network diagrams are the preferred technique for
showing activity sequencing
• Two main methods for network diagrams:
1. Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)
2. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)

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 B. Activity sequencing

1. Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM) –

has two methods:

a) Activity-On-Arrow (AOA) network

diagrams

b) Activity-On-Node (AON) network

diagrams

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 B. Activity sequencing
a) Activity-On-Arrow (AOA) 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
– Can omit activities that have no dependencies

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 B. Activity sequencing

a) Process for Creating AOA Diagrams

• 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
• Continue drawing the network diagram, working from left to
right: Look for bursts and merges
• Continue drawing the project network diagram until all
activities are included on the diagram that have
dependencies
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 B. Activity sequencing

b) Activity-On-Node (AON) network diagrams

– Activities are represented by nodes
– Arrows connect the activities in the correct order

Ref: https://project-management-knowledge.com/wp-
content/uploads/2008/01/AON-Diagram.jpg
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 B. Activity sequencing

b) Activity-On-Node (AON) network diagrams

– Activities are represented by nodes

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 B. Activity sequencing

b) Activity-On-Node (AON) network diagrams

Precedence Diagramming Method(PDM) Network Diagram

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 B. Activity sequencing
PDM Network Diagram – sample from MS Project software

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 Group Exercise

Draw an activity sequence diagram for the following

activities and their dependencies using AON method.

• Activity #1 must start first.

• After Activity #1 finishes, Activity #2 and Activity #3 will
begin.
• Activity #4 can start only after Activity #2 finishes.
• Activity #5 depends on Activity #2 and Activity #3, therefore,
it will start only after these two activities are completed.
• And the last Activity, activity #6 can start only if Activity #4
and Activity #5 are completed.
• After activity #6 completion, the project will end.

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 Group Exercise

Draw an activity sequence diagram for the following

activities and their dependencies using AON method.

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 Project Time
Management Processes
Project time management involves the processes
required to ensure timely completion of a project.
Processes include:
A. Activity definition
B. Activity sequencing
C. Activity duration estimating
D. Schedule development
E. Schedule control

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 C. Activity duration
estimating

Activity duration
estimating
– Duration includes the
actual amount of time
worked on an activity plus
elapsed time
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

– Effort is the number of

workdays or work hours
required to complete a
task. Effort does not equal
duration

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 D. Schedule Development

• The process of analysing activity

sequences, durations, resource
requirements, and schedule
constraints to create the project
schedule
– Important tools and techniques
include
i. Gantt charts
ii. Critical path analysis
iii. Critical chain scheduling

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 D. Schedule Development

• “A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart, devised by 

Henry Gantt in the 1910s, that illustrates a 
project schedule.” (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart )
• Provide a standard format for displaying project schedule
information by listing project activities and their
corresponding start and finish dates.
• Symbols include:
– Black diamonds: milestones
– Thick black bars: summary tasks
– Lighter horisontal bars: durations of tasks
– Arrows: dependencies between tasks
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 D. Schedule Development
Gantt Chart example

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 D. Schedule Development
Adding Milestones to Gantt Charts
• The five key points of using project milestones
include:
1) Define milestones early in the project and include
them in the Gantt Chart to provide a visual guide
2) Keep milestones small and frequent
3) The set of milestones must be all-encompassing
4) Each milestone must be binary, meaning it is either
complete or incomplete
5) Carefully monitor the critical path

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 D. Schedule Development
Using Milestones in Gantt Charts

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 D. Schedule Development

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
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 D. Schedule Development
Example of Determining the Critical Path
Critical Path Consider the following project network diagram.
Assume all times are in days.

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?
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 D. Schedule Development
Example of Determining the Critical Path

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 D. Schedule Development
Formula for calculating ES, EF, LS, LF

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 D. Schedule Development
Using Critical Path Analysis to 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
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 D. Schedule Development
Calculating Early and Late Start and Finish Dates

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 D. Schedule Development
How to Find the Critical Path:
• To find the critical path, one needs to determine the
following quantities for each activity in the network
1. Earliest start time (ES): The earliest time an activity can begin without
violation of immediate predecessor requirements
2. Earliest finish time (EF): The earliest time at which an activity can end
3. Latest start time (LS): The latest time an activity can begin without
delaying the entire project
4. Latest finish time (LF): The latest time an activity can end without
delaying the entire project

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 D. Schedule Development
How to Find the Critical Path: Example 1
• At the start of the project we set the time to zero
• Thus ES = 0 for both A and B

A t=2
ES = 0 EF = 0 + 2 = 2

Start

B t=3
ES = 0 EF = 0 + 3 = 3

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 D. Schedule Development
How to Find the Critical Path: Example 2

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 D. Schedule Development
To Find the Critical Path:
1. Find ES, LS, EF, and LF

2. Find slack time

Slack Time = LS – ES = LF – EF
• Activities A, C, E, G, and H have no slack time
• These are critical activities on the critical path
• The total project completion time is 15 weeks
• Industrial managers call this a boundary timetable

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 D. Schedule Development
To Find the Critical Path:

EARLIEST EARLIEST LATEST LATEST ON

START, FINISH, START, FINISH, SLACK, CRITICAL
ACTIVITY ES EF LS LF LS – ES PATH?

A 0 2 0 2 0 Yes
B 0 3 1 4 1 No

C 2 4 2 4 0 Yes

D 3 7 4 8 1 No

E 4 8 4 8 0 Yes

F 4 7 10 13 6 No

G 8 13 8 13 0 Yes

H 13 15 13 15 0 Yes

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 D. Schedule Development

To Find the Critical Path:

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 E. Schedule control
Schedule control is Controlling and
managing changes to the project
schedule baseline to achieve project
plan
– Perform reality checks on
schedules
– Allow for contingencies
– Don’t plan for everyone to work
at 100% capacity all the time This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

– Hold progress meetings with

stakeholders and be clear and
honest in communicating
schedule issues

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 E. Schedule control
Tools and techniques include:
• Progress reports
• A schedule change control
system
• Project management
software, including
schedule comparison
charts like the tracking
Gantt chart

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-SA

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 Conclusions
• Project scheduling is the process of defining project
activities, determining their sequence, and estimating
their duration
• Time has the least amount of flexibility; making Project
Schedule of vital importance
• Project Time Management Processes are:
A. Activity definition
B. Activity sequencing
C. Activity duration estimating
D. Schedule development
E. Schedule control
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 References
Acknowledgement: Some of the text in this lecture is
taken almost verbatim from the following references:
1. Kloppenborg, T.J. Contemporary Project Management, 3rd Ed.,
Cengage Learning, 2015.
2. Schwalbe, K. Information technology project management, 8th
ed., Course Technology, 2015.
3. Project Charter: Website Redesign, Accessed 20 September
2017,
https://images.template.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/131217
50/Website-redesign-project-charter.pdf
4. Gray, C., & Larson, E. (2011). Project management – The
managerial process (Fifth edn). NY: McGraw-Hill.
5. Fuller, Mark A., Valacich, Joseph S., and George, Joey F.
(2008), Information Systems Project Management: A Process
and Team Approach, Pearson Education Inc. Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey, 07458.
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 D. Schedule Development

Critical Chain Method (CCM)

• Critical chain method (CCM) is a scheduling technique that
takes into account limited resources (people, equipment,
physical space) when scheduling resources

• To account for the uncertainty and protect the completion

date it adds buffers at the end of the project
• Critical chain scheduling assumes resources do not
multitask because it often delays task completions and
increases total durations

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 D. Schedule Development

• CCM Attempts to minimise multitasking

– When a resource works on more than one task at a
time
• This can actually delay the completion of tasks as
compared to working on each task in sequence
• Multitasking also often involves wasted setup time;
which increases total duration
• Project duration can be reduced by 25-40% compared
to CPM
• Resources can be utilised effectively
• Focuses on both critical and non critical tasks

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