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2©Joe Lukas, Feb-2011

What Will Be Covered?

• Topic 1: „Dave Letterman‟ top ten list of

mistakes people make when preparing

project schedules

• Topic 2: Recommended

Scheduling Procedure

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Topic #1:

Common Scheduling Mistakes

„Dave Letterman‟ Top Ten List:

7. Confusing Duration and Work

10. Not using the project summary task,

header, footer and legend

9. Not Using Start & Complete Milestones

8. Linking Summary Tasks

6. Misuse of Constraints

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Topic #1:

Common Scheduling Mistakes

„Dave Letterman‟ Top Ten List:

1. Lack of Scheduling Knowledge

4. Lack of Schedule Contingency

5. Presence of Hangers

3. Incorrect Schedule Logic

2. Inappropriate Level of Detail

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Scheduling Mistakes: #1

Lack of Scheduling Knowledge

Problem: difficult to prepare a correct andefficient schedule without knowing Critical

Path Method:

Forward and backward pass Critical Path determination

Float calculation:

Free Float (Free Slack) Total Float (Start Slack)

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Scheduling Knowledge Check

1. Total Float (also called Start Slack) is the amount

of time that an activity may be delayed without

delaying the:

A. early start of any immediately following activityB. early finish of any immediately following

activity

C. late finish of any immediately following activity

D. project completion date

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2. When the “from” activity must complete beforethe “to” activity can complete, it is called:

A. a finish-to-start dependency

B. a start-to-finish dependencyC. a concurrent activity

D. a finish-to-finish dependency

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3. Duration is defined as:

A. the number of estimated hours of effort that is

needed to complete an activity

B. the total calendar time to complete an activityincluding week-ends and holidays

C. the total number of work periods to complete a

schedule activity

D. the total time resources actually spend

working on the activity


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Inappropriate Level of Detail

D e f i n

e d

a s “ t a s k s ” i

n

s c h e

d u l i n g s o f t w a r e

Use20/80

Rule

Major Deliverables

May not be needed for small

or medium projects, probably

>1 level for large projects

Deliverables

Lowest level for control Work Package

Deliverables

Steps needed to create the

deliverable Activities

Includes the Structure of Project Tasks andProper Naming of Deliverables & Activities

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Inappropriate Level of Detail

Data Flow Diagram

Risk Management Plan

Training Manual Outline

Test Plan

Conduct unit test for program 21A

Review requirements document

Prepare report specification draft

Write script for interface module

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Incorrect Schedule Logic

Gantt View - not useful for checkingschedule logic (hard to follow relationships)

Network Diagram – not useful since can‟t

easily see/follow entire schedule on screen

BEST PRACTICE:

Plot the schedule on one large sheet (many

copy vendors can plot schedules) Tape on a wall and track the logic

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Common Problem: incorrect use of SS with

lag instead of FF with lag

Example: Task A = Equipment Layout Drawing (5 days)

Task B = Detailed Piping Drawings (7 days)

Can start detailed drawings once equipmentlayout drawing started



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Task A duration increased to

10 days

Task B still shows completionin 10 Days!

A5 Day Duration

B7 Day Duration

SS +3

~

10 Days

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Better Schedule Logic

Task A duration increased to

10 days

Task B now shows completionin 15 Days!

A5 Day Duration

B7 Day Duration

FF+5

10 Days

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Checking Schedule Logic

Default task box is not useful for checking

schedule logic

Change task box style to show early & latestart, early & late finish so you can check

schedule calculations

Default Task Box StyleRecommended Task Box Style

ES EF

LS LF

ID

Duration

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Lack of Schedule Contingency

• Adjust the project contingency task duration up or

down based on actual progress:

Result => project completion date stays constant Project completion date only changes when the

Project Team deems it appropriate

Task

P

Schedule

Contingency

11 days

Project

Complete

Task

Q ~

~

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Lack of Schedule Contingency

• Use a contingency log and drawdown graph(below) to track remaining schedule contingency

Project Timeline

5

10

15

D a y s

Nov Dec JanOct Feb Mar Apr May

Schedule ContingencyStart = 15 days001

002

003

004

Status Date

8 days

EAC = 0 days 5

10

15

005

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How to Check for Hangers

• Add Successor column to Gantt Chart View• Scroll Predecessor and Successor columns for missing links

• Exception: Summary Level Tasks should not be linked

Hangers

These are NOT hangers –

see schedule mistake #8

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Misuse of Constraints

Constraint Types

Flexible

Inflexible

Semi-flexible

Constraint Rules

Negative Slack

Deadlines

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Flexible Constraint: Schedule software can

change the task start & finish date

Default constraint type used:

As Soon As Possible (ASAP) – default

constraint type applied to tasks when

scheduling from the project start date

As Late As Possible (ALAP) – defaultconstraint type applied to all new tasks when

scheduling from the project finish date

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Inflexible Constraint: task must begin orend on a given date; called „hard constraint‟:

KEY POINT: You should only use an

inflexible constraint if the task start or finish

date is fixed by factors beyond the control ofthe project team!

Must Start On (MSO) – Task must start on an exact date

Must Finish On (MFO) – Task must finish on a exact date

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• Semi-flexible Constraint: task has a start orfinish date boundary & schedule can move

dates within the boundary - „soft‟ constraint:

Start No Earlier Than (SNET) – task will not start before a specific date

Start No Later Than (SNLT) – task will not start after a

specific date

Finish No Earlier Than (FNET) – task will not finishbefore a specific date

Finish No Later Than (FNLT) – task will not finish after a

specific date

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Entering a Finish date for a task (for

example, in the Finish Column) applies an

FNET constraint to the task

Entering a Start date for a task (for

example, in the Start Column) applies an

SNET constraint to the task

RECOMMENDATION: Never enter dates -

let the schedule software calculate dates!

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In this case a „Must Finish On‟ 8/4 was added to

the Project Complete milestone (was 8/11)

The start & end dates for the preceding tasks

don‟t change (note the 5 days of negative float),but successor tasks end dates would change

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Constraints limit scheduling flexibility!

Example: You have a five-day task that you want

to finish by Friday, October 13th:

Today is October 3rd

You add a „Must Finish On‟ constraint to the task

Schedule software will move the start date out to

Monday, October 9th so you finish on October 13th

Even if task can be started/finished earlier, scheduling

software will not reschedule the task to start earlier!

S h d li Mi t k #6

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Use Deadlines

Deadline – an option to constraints! Deadline for a

task indicates the latest date you want the task to

be completed:

Notification if task scheduled completion date > deadline

Deadline dates do not impact task logic

Deadline

S h d li Mi t k #7

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Confusing Work & Duration

Duration = how long (the elapsed time) it will

take to complete the task, not counting non-

working time such as week-ends Work = how many hours of effort (work) are

needed to complete the task

Resources – specific people or work groups

that will do the work of the task

Availability – what % of time each resource is

available to work on the task

Definitions

S h d li Mi t k #7

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Units = the number of resources and theavailability of those resources:

For example: if Helen is 100% available and Joe is50% available to work on a task, the number ofresource units is 1.50

Duration, Work and Resources/Availability are

related – you can only specify two andscheduling software calculates the third value:

Duration = Work / Units



Duration and Work Relationship

S h d li Mi t k #7

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Duration and Work Relationship: Individual has 60 hours

of effort to complete

a task

The person has 50%availability due to

other commitments

Result is 120 hours

duration(D = W/U = 60/0.5)



S h d li Mi t k #7

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Schedule software allows you to decide on theTask Type for scheduling each task:

Fixed Units - resources and availability do not vary -

if you change Work or Duration, the other valuechanges

Fixed Work – required work amount does not vary -

if you change Units or Duration, the other value

changes

Fixed Duration – time period does not vary - if you

change Units or Work, the other value changes

S h d li Mi t k #7

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Change the duration, work is recalculated

Change the units, work is recalculated

Change the work, units are recalculated

Example - For Fixed Duration:

If the task

type is:

UnitsWorkWork

WorkUnitsDuration

Fixed Units

Fixed Duration

…and you change the

…then

schedule

software

recalculates

DurationDurationWork

DurationDurationUnitsFixed Work

Task Type Relationships:

S h d li Mi t k #7

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Use Fixed Duration:

Resources not assigned to tasks

For Program/Project summary schedules

Recommended “default” type to use

Use Fixed Work:

Work hours & resources assigned to tasks Resource availability can be varied

When to Use Specific Task Types:

S h d li Mi t k #7

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Use Fixed Units:

Work hours & resources assigned to tasks

Resource availability is fixed

Fixed Units – very infrequently used

When to Use Specific Task Types:


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Linking Summary Tasks

• Some people like to show linked phases (sample above), or will link

summary tasks to other summary tasks or to lower level tasks

• PROBLEM: on many projects some phase tasks may be able to startbefore completion of the prior phase

• Linking phases means entire phase must be completed before next

phase begins


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• On many projects some tasks can start before completion of theprior phase

• Example: starting work on detailed specifications or obtaining

price quotes while waiting for final funding approval

Planning Phase Summary Task

Execution Phase Summary Task

Approvals

10 days

P- 4

E-1


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• Linking the Summary Level Planning and Execution Phase Tasksmeans no Execution Phase tasks can start until the Planning Phase

is complete

• In this example it pushes out the start date for Task E-1 by 10 days

Task E-1 start push ed

back 10 days due to l ink

between summary tasks

Planning Phase Summary Task

Execution Phase Summary Task

E-1

Approvals

10 days

P- 4


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Start & Complete Milestones

First task - Project Start Milestone

Last task - Project Complete Milestone

Helps ensure no hangers

Project

StartProject

Complete

Schedule

Contingency


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Project Summary Task

For new projects: add Project Summary Task:

Go to „File‟, „Properties‟ and in the „Title‟ field

input your project name

Go to „Tool‟s, „Options‟, „View‟ tab and click on„Show Project Summary Task‟


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Project Summary Task

Project Summary Task will be the first tasklisted in the Gantt View (task #0)

When you print the schedule, the legend field shows:

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Header, Footer & Legend

Header : Project Title & Company Logo.

Footer :

Left: Date of update

Center: Page # of # Pages

Right: Updated by (or Project Manager)

Legend: File name

Version (revision) number

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Topic 2: Scheduling Procedure

1. Set Project Start Date2. Set-up Project Summary Task

3. Set Task Type to Fixed Duration

4. Set-up Header and Footer Information5. Enter Tasks

6. Establish Task levels using indent/outdent

7. Establish Task Relationships

8. Add Project Resources

9. Assign Resources (and effort hours if desired)

to Tasks

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1. Set Project Start Date

•Click on „Project‟, then

„Project Information‟

•Enter Start Date

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2. Set-up Project Summary Task: Click on „Tools‟,then click on „Options‟

• On line 0 of your

schedule (which is now

the Project Summary

Task), add your projectname in the „Task

Name‟ column

• In the lower right cornercheck the box labeled„Show project summary

task‟

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3. Set Task Type to Fixed Duration: still in „Options‟,click on „Schedule‟

• In the default tasktype field, select„fixed duration‟, then

click on „OK‟ inlower right corner ofdialog box

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5. Enter Tasks

• Start with WBS deliverables (see next slide

for example)

• Add activities and milestones if desired

6. Establish Task levels using indent &

outdent on the toolbar

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Heaven Acres Water Main

Project Management Legal Assistance Design Documents Water Main Installation

Design Phase

Coordination

Construction

Phase

Coordination

Close-out

Project

Funding

Agreement

Maintenance

Agreement

Right-of-Way

Agreements

Concept Routing

Plan

Design

Approvals

ConstructionDrawings

Contractor

Selection

Project Plan

Contracts –

Lawyer/Engineer

Water Main

Transfer to County

Heaven Acres Water MainHeaven Acres Water Main

Project ManagementProject Management Legal AssistanceLegal Assistance Design DocumentsDesign Documents Water Main InstallationWater Main Installation

Design Phase

Coordination

Design Phase

Coordination

Construction

Phase

Coordination

Construction

Phase

Coordination

Close-out

Project

Close-out

Project

Funding

Agreement

Funding

Agreement

Maintenance

Agreement

Maintenance

Agreement

Right-of-Way

Agreements

Right-of-Way

Agreements

Concept Routing

Plan

Concept Routing

Plan

Design

Approvals

Design

Approvals



Contractor

Selection

Contractor

Selection

Project PlanProject Plan

Contracts –

Lawyer/Engineer

Contracts –

Lawyer/Engineer

Water Main

Transfer to County

Water Main

Transfer to County

WBS deliverables become

Project Schedule Tasks


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7. Establish Task Relationships: Double click on a task, which opens the Task

Information Dialog box

Enter task ID, relationship type and lag if not 0

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Precedence Diagramming Method

• Four types of dependencies orprecedence relationships are used:

Finish-to-Start

(most commonly used)

Start-to-Start Finish-to-Finish

start-to-Finish

(never used)

A BFS

A BFS

A

B

SS

A

B

SS

A

B

FF

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8. Go to the Resource Sheet and

add project resources (vendors,suppliers, contractors, internal

personnel) under the „Resource

Name‟ column

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9. Assign Resources to Tasks from the Gantt Chart

(sample next slide):

• From the Menu bar, click on „Window‟ and „Split‟. On

the lower half of the screen will be detailed taskinformation for the task selected on the Gantt chart

• Add resources to the tasks as appropriate

• If you want to manage work hours on the project,

also add the planned hours of effort in the „Work‟

field

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• Gantt Chart showing split view for enteringresources

Don’t change to Fixed Work until

schedule is baselined!

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Conclusion

• Watch for the common scheduling

mistakes outlined in this presentation!

• Follow the suggestions in this presentationwhen preparing schedules!

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Questions?

Joe Lukas, PMP, PM, CCEVice-President

609-575-9306 (c)

888-762-3683 (w)

[email protected]