NCV 4 Project Management Hands-On Support Slide Show - Module 3

Project Management 4

Module 3: Develop schedules for project management

Module 3; Develop schedules for project management

• After completing this module, you will be able to:– demonstrate an understanding of the purpose

and process of scheduling project activities

– define and gather information about project activities from technical (subject matter) experts and within own field of expertise

– develop a simple schedule for a project or part thereof

1. DEMONSTRATE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROCESS AND PURPOSE OF SCHEDULING PROJECT ACTIVITIES

After completing this outcome, you will be able to:• explain the purpose and importance of a schedule of

activities on a project

• explain the development process of a schedule in accordance with industry practices

• differentiate between completing a project within the shortest possible time, and at specified due date

• explain the use of a work breakdown structure in the development of a schedule

1.1 Explain the purpose and importance of a schedule of activities on a project

• Normalising the schedule:– You must review the schedule to determine

whether the resources you assigned are actually available within each task’s schedule window

– Start with the activities on the critical path and work the rest of the schedule from there

–Move things around based on the float available to ensure that you don’t overload someone and that others are fully utilised

1.1 Explain the purpose and importance of a schedule of activities on a project

• Three strategies to normalise the schedule:– Schedule all non-critical tasks at the earliest

date possible

– Schedule all non-critical tasks as late as possible

– Schedule a subset of non-critical tasks

1.1 Explain the purpose and importance of a schedule of activities on a project

• Loading up and levelling up:– Some members will likely be overloaded and

others may not have enough work

– Scheduled work should be redistributed from those who have too much work to those not fully booked – this is called levelling out

1.1 Explain the purpose and importance of a schedule of activities on a project

• International and local professional bodies linked to project management practice and standards– PMBOK

– APM BOK

– PMI

– APMA and AIPM

1.2 Differentiate between completing a project within the shortest possible time

and at specified due dates• Project managers can do the following to

shorten the time:– Overlapping of activities

– Crashing

–Work overtime or 24 hour shifts

1.3 Explain the use of a Work Breakdown Structure in the development of a

schedule• The purpose of a WBS is to subdivide the

scope of the work into manageable packages• In a WBS a project is broken down into the

following levels or parts:– The total project– Sub-projects –Milestones –Major activities –Work packages

1.3 Explain the use of a Work Breakdown Structure in the development of a

schedule• The answers a project manager got from a well

organised WBS refer to:– How long (time duration) will it take to complete

the activity?– What skill(s) are required to perform the activity?– What is the estimates cost (cost will be finalised at a

later stage) to complete/perform the activity?– The resources required to do the work –

machinery, raw material and other equipment– Does the work on the activity depend on the

completion of any other activities?

1.3 Explain the use of a Work Breakdown Structure in the development of a

schedule• The WBS should be able to help you do the following:

– Identify the major parts of the project so that all the work needing to be done is clearly indicated

– Organise the work in the most logical sequence so the work packages can be efficiently scheduled

– Identify work packages that need to be assigned to various team members

– Identify the resources necessary to complete each work package so a budget can be developed

– Communicate the work to be done in a unambiguous way so that team members understand their assigned jobs and responsibilities for completing the project

– Organise related work packages using logical milestones

1.3 Explain the use of a Work Breakdown Structure in the development of a

schedule• Four steps to the work breakdown structure– Break the work into independent work packages that

can be sequenced, assigned, scheduled and monitored– Define the work packages at a level of detail

appropriate for the length and complexity of the project– Integrate the work packages in a format that can be

easily communicated to people assigned to complete them during the project

– Verify that completion of the work packages will result in attainment of all the project goals and objectives

1.3 Explain the use of a Work Breakdown Structure in the development of a

schedule• Work packages – what are they?

– Each work package represents the lowest level of project activity that has both time and cost associated with it

• Work packages are useful in the following ways:– They are a way of modularising the project into manageable

segments – By breaking work into work packages, you can determine

the skills you need to complete the work on a project, and you can quantify how many people will be required to do the work 

– They allow you to communicate the work that needs to be done to other team members without getting into too much detail 

– Breaking the work into work packages ensures that all the work sequences are identified and understood

DEFINE AND GATHER INFORMATION ABOUT PROJECT ACTIVITIES FROM TECHNICAL EXPERTS AND WITHIN OWN FIELD OF EXPERTISE

After completing this outcome, you will be able to:• identify activities for the identified project

• prioritise activities within scope of project

• identify and explain the use of documents required for identified activities

• explain the need for documents to reflect activities at a level of detail to support further planning activities

2.1 Identify activities for the identified project

WBS for house project1.1Civil

1.1.1 Lay foundations1.1.2 Walls and roof

1.2Plumbing1.2.1 Piping1.2.2 Sewerage

1.3Electrical1.3.1 Wiring1.3.2 Appliances

1.4Security wall and gates1.5Landscaping

1.5.1 Garden outlay, trees and shrubs1.5.2 Irrigation system

2.2 Prioritise activities within the scope of project

2.2 Prioritise activities within the scope of project

2.3 Identify and explain the use of documents required for identified

activities• Work Breakdown Structure

• Task list

• Risk Plan

• Quality plan

3. DEVELOP A SIMPLE SCHEDULE FOR A PROJECT OR PART THEREOF

After completing this outcome, you will be able to:• develop a simple schedule for the identified

project to reflect the following components

House projectHouse project

CivilCivil

PlumbingPlumbing

Security wall and

gates

Security wall and

gates

ElectricalElectrical

LandscapingLandscaping

FoundationsFoundations

Walls and roofWalls and roof

PipingPiping

SewerageSewerage

WiringWiring

AppliancesAppliances

Garden outlayGarden outlay

Water irrigation system

Water irrigation system

WBS as a horizontal presentation

House projectHouse project

Civil workCivil work Plumbing workPlumbing work Electrical workElectrical work

Security walls and gates

Security walls and gates

LandscapingLandscaping

FoundationsFoundations

Walls and roof

Walls and roof

PipingPiping

SewerageSewerage

WiringWiring

AppliancesAppliances

Garden outlay

Garden outlay

Water irrigation

Water irrigation

WBS as an organogram illustration

House projectR84 000

House projectR84 000

Civil work1.1

R44 000

Civil work1.1

R44 000

Plumbing work1.2

R8 000

Plumbing work1.2

R8 000

Electrical work1.3

R11 000

Electrical work1.3

R11 000

Security walls and gates1.4

R12 000

Security walls and gates1.4

R12 000

Landscaping1.5

R9 000

Landscaping1.5

R9 000

Foundations1.1.1

R15 000

Foundations1.1.1

R15 000

Walls and roof1.1.2

R29 000

Walls and roof1.1.2

R29 000

Piping1.2.1

R6000

Piping1.2.1

R6000

Sewerage1.2.2

R2 000

Sewerage1.2.2

R2 000

Wiring1.3.1

R3 000

Wiring1.3.1

R3 000

Appliances1.3.2

R8 000

Appliances1.3.2

R8 000

Garden outlay1.5.1

R3 000

Garden outlay1.5.1

R3 000

Water irrigation1.5.2

R6 000

Water irrigation1.5.2

R6 000

Definition of an activity

• An activity may be defined as any task, job or operation that must be performed to complete the work packages or project– Activities in series

– Activities in parallel

Characteristics of an activity• An activity must have a unique activity code or number (A or 1 or 100, 200,

etc). The code may be alpha, numeric or alpha-numeric • An activity must have a description • There will be logical relationships between the activities• All activities will have a time duration for completing the task, even if it is zero• All activities will have a calendar or work pattern to indicate when the work

can be scheduled, even it is seven days a week• The activity can have target start and finish dates assigned. Certainly a

starting date or finishing date for the project is required• An activity may need items to be procured, by linking the procurement to the

activity a procurement schedule can be produced• An activity may need resources, by linking the resources to the activity they

can be scheduled to produce a resource histogram• An activity will incur expenses. If these costs are linked to the activities the

costs can be scheduled and rolled-up to produce a cash-flow statement and plan expenditure curves.

•  If a WBS is used, the activities can be linked to the work packages. This will enable the costs to be entered at the activity level and roll-up to be reported at a higher level

Example of an activity

Activity box

Network diagram• What is a network diagram?

– The network diagram shows the path of the project, lists starting and completion dates, and names the responsible party for each task.

– Networks are usually drawn from left to right with times drawn between activities to indicate the procedure among activities in the project

• If properly sequenced, a network diagram will:– Show the sequence and relationships among activities necessary to

complete a project– Identify relationships among milestones in the project that can be

used for monitoring progress and completion– Show the interrelationships of activities in different parts of the

work breakdown structure (WBS) hierarchy– Establish a vehicle for scheduling activities– Help reduce uncertainty in the project by breaking it into many

small phases that have been analysed and sequenced in advance of starting the work

5 Steps to create a network diagram

1. List the activities using the WBS2. Establish the interrelationships between activities3. Identify the milestones that you want to specify4. Lay out the activities and milestones as a network5. Review the logic of the network

– Are the activities properly sequenced?– Is all necessary precedence identified?– Is there any precedence that isn’t really required? – Are all of the activities really necessary?– Are any activities missing?– Does the completion of the activities in the network represent

the accomplishment of everything necessary to meet the project goals that have been specified?

Network diagram of our project

Notes

• Project manager and project team works 7 days a week (including Saturdays and Sundays)

• Project team also work on public holidays.

• The early start time (EST) of a new project is always 0-hours/days or months into the project

• In our project the plumbing and electrical work will take place at the same time – simultaneously