Setting actual dates limits the ability of the scheduling tool to automatically adjust the plan when a task changes, so this should be used with great care and only when there is an external constraint on the task date. Task constraints (as soon as possible, as late as possible, etc.) should also be defined at this stage. It is best to define dependencies at the lowest level of the WBS (the task level) to have full control, and because some types of dependency only work at the task level. Sequencing is the process of identifying and modelling the task dependencies using the correct type of link. Tasks need to be performed in a certain sequence defined by pre-requisites and other requirements. Some common techniques are using past experience, functional decomposition of the task, using industry metrics, etc. There are many estimating techniques for task duration and task work that can be used depending on the type of project and technologies employed. If the work is constant then increasing the allocated effort reduces the duration. For instance if the duration is constant then increasing the allocated effort results in more work. If one of the factors is kept constant then any change must affect the two other remaining factors to keep the relationship balanced. These three parameters are related by the fundamental scheduling relationship: There are three task parameters to consider, the first 2 are estimated and the last one is arbitrarily assigned: On a constant work/effort tasks the effort to complete the task is independent of the number of people working on it for instance building an item requires a fixed amount of work performed by a skilled resource, and the allocation of multiple resources does not reduce the amount of work required, although it may reduce the duration. The type must be defined for each task in the schedule.Ĭonstant duration tasks have inelastic time, which means that the duration is independent of the effort for instance delivering a training session requires an elapsed time to complete which cannot be accelerated by the addition of more instructors. There are two main types of tasks: constant duration and constant work ( Project) or constant effort ( OmniPlan). Additional levels can be used for documentation and structure, but the essence of a good plan is in the 3 levels discussed above. This creates a schedule based on project deliverables. Ideally the WBS should have 3 levels, with the bottom level corresponding to the tasks. 1- Task identificationĪ work breakdown structure (WBS) is essential for identifying the tasks. There are five stages to create a good project schedule, they are:Įach step should be done in the correct sequence and no step should be omitted. Changes are inevitable in a project and without being able to control its impact the work is performed randomly causing problems and rework, or perhaps following a flawed plan that leads to failure. Its greatest value is the ability to automatically update the entire plan to reflect changing circumstances. It is used to design the best way to do the work and to track progress against the plan. What is a project schedule and what is it used for?Ī project schedule is a model of the work to be done. For instance many products lack the ability to level resources, making them a poor choice for managing a project. One important criteria when selecting scheduling software is the ability to perform all the functions discussed in these articles. The discussion is based on Microsoft Project for Windows and OmniPlan for OS X, but also applies to other tools. This is the first article in a series designed to explain how the main features of scheduling tools work and interact with each other. This is not because the tool is poorly designed but because there are many interactions between multiple features. A project scheduling tool can be very useful for managing projects, but if not used properly it can be confusing.
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