The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling

A PMO Approach

Michelle Colodzin
PMP, PMI-SP, MCTS, MS Project Black Belt
MetaVista Consulting Group
 Introduction
• What is a good project schedule?
– A good project schedule is one that accurately models the work of the
project, encapsulates the full scope and nothing extra and which
maintains a consistent and appropriate level of detail

• How is a good schedule built and maintained?

– The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling provide a framework and
methodology for consistently producing and maintaining good project
schedules

• How can a good schedule improve project performance?

– A good schedule can provide advanced warning of possible schedule
slippage, resource issues, cost overruns and general project risks –
giving the project manager time to avoid or mitigate potential problems

• What is the role of the PMO in developing and maintaining good

project schedules?
– The PMO can develop, champion and support good scheduling
practices, provide templates, train schedulers and project managers and
perform project and portfolio analysis on an organization-wide basis
The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling
• The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling are five factors
(or “secrets”) that when used together will help project
managers and project schedulers consistently produce
and maintain good project schedules

• These secrets are not new concepts - they provide a

context, framework and methodology, which when
followed consistently, result in better project schedules
that are easier to maintain and analyze

• Taking full advantage of these secrets requires a

centralized group – such as a PMO - overseeing and
enforcing their use throughout the organization
The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling
1. Create deliverables-based project schedules

2. Determine the appropriate level of detail

3. Implement a regular status update and reporting

process

4. Review and adjust the schedule regularly

5. Create and follow project scheduling standards

 Secret # 1
Create Deliverables-based Project Schedules
Deliverables vs. Activities
– Deliverables are products produced by a project – all
projects have deliverables
• Deliverables are tangible: documentation, physical computer
hardware, application accessible by users, etc.

– Activities are performed by team members in order to

create a deliverable
• Activities consist of one or more tasks: gather system
requirements, install hardware, install software, test system
access and features
 Secret # 2
Determine the Appropriate Level of Detail
• The best project schedules are those which contain all of
the required information and nothing more
– There must be sufficient detail to accurately track and manage the
project’s activities and deliverables
– There must not be so much detail that the schedule becomes
unmanageable

• Since each project is unique there is no single level of

detail that is appropriate for all projects or project
schedules

• The level of detail required for a particular project must be

defined prior to the start of scheduling and followed
consistently throughout the life of the project
 Secret # 3
Implement a Regular Schedule Status Update and
Reporting Process

• A project schedule must be updated regularly to ensure

ongoing integrity and to enable monitoring of project
progress

• The project scheduler is responsible for determining how

to gather task status information, how often the information
will be collected and the method for collecting and
validating the information

• The first step in developing a regular update and reporting

process is to work with the project manager and key
stakeholders to determine the reporting requirements and
expectations
 Secret # 4
Review and Adjust the Schedule Regularly
• A good project schedule must not be static - it must reflect
actual changes occurring on the project

• All projects experience unexpected events – successful

projects have a process for incorporating these events into
the project schedule

• All projects should establish and follow a schedule change

control process

– For smaller projects, this may be informal and occur on an as-

needed basis

– For larger projects, this must be formal and occur regularly

 Secret # 5
Create and Follow Scheduling Standards

• The use of scheduling standards can significantly reduce

the time required and eliminate some of the complexity
involved in developing a realistic and maintainable project
schedule.

• Scheduling standards help ensure consistency when

schedules are created by multiple schedulers and/or
project managers.

• Scheduling standards provide the PMO with objective

measures to evaluate, monitor and provide feedback on
specific schedules and scheduling practices
What Are Scheduling Standards?
• Scheduling standards are specific guidelines for
creating and maintaining project schedules within a
single or multiple related organizations
• Scheduling standards are created or adopted by an
organization (such as a PMO) which then
champions, supports and monitors their use within
the project schedules developed for projects under
their sphere of influence or control.
• It is a good practice to base specific scheduling
standards on an industry-accepted documents such
as the PMICOS standard and/or industry-accepted
best practices.
 Why Follow Scheduling Standards?
• They contribute to the development of realistic
and manageable project schedules
• They help ensure consistency in the structure
and level of detail across project schedules
• They help ensure that the information reported is
more easily compared and leveraged
• They help ensure consistency in schedule-
related processes (such as reporting and
change control)
 The Role of the PMO in Project
Scheduling
• The PMO can by a key enabler of good project scheduling – the
more active and widespread the influence of the PMO the better
the results from a centralized approach to scheduling

• Key PMO Responsibilities related to scheduling:

– Define, document and enforce scheduling standards
– Define, document and enforce schedule-related processes
• Length of reporting cycle
• Triggers and/or time interval for reviewing and updating schedules
• Specific reports to be submitted to the PMO

– Develop and distribute tools and templates whenever possible

– Train project managers in scheduling practices and tools
– If possible, centralize scheduling services within the PMO and provide
scheduling resources to projects
 The Benefits of an Active PMO in
Project Scheduling
• The PMO can by a key enabler of good project
scheduling practices – the more active and widespread
the influence of the PMO the more likely project
performance and success rates will improve throughout
the organization
• Use of standard practices, tools and templates reduces
the time required to create and maintain project
schedules
• Standard processes help facilitate the ongoing capture
and application of lessons learned across the
organization
• Standard report formats and content enable faster and
more accurate comparison of status and issues across
multiple projects – this is vital for organizations doing
portfolio management
 Using the Five Secrets for the First Time

When implementing these secrets for the first time:

• start small and focus on the strengths of the
organization
• Develop a small set of scheduling standards,
simple processes, tools and templates
• Capture lessons learned and build a repository
where schedulers and project managers can:
– document and share their experiences and knowledge
– Store and retrieve schedules which worked well in
similar situations
– build and share new processes, tools and templates
 Using the Five Secrets in a Mature PMO
Environment
• Create a Centralized Scheduling Practice
– Train project managers how to build and use a good project
schedule
– Take on responsibility for scheduling all projects or providing
project schedulers to other parts of the organization

• Benefits of Centralizing Scheduling in the PMO

– Centralizing schedulers and scheduling helps ensure that
standards and processes are followed consistently
– It offers better visibility into what is working well and where
improvements are needed
– Increased overall project success rates due to better schedules
that are followed and managed consistently throughout the
organization
 Conclusion
• These secrets are not new concepts – however, many
organizations overlook or downplay their importance

• Using the five secrets requires discipline and consistency –

this can best be provided through a PMO

• Developing, championing and managing scheduling

processes through a PMO:
– accelerates organizational learning
– improves schedule quality
– improves the likelihood of project success throughout an
organization
 For further information contact
Michelle Colodzin via e-mail or phone

mcolodzin@metavista.com
530-798-1656