We all know that project scheduling is a key part of successful projects. There’s an abundance of data to support the need to define the activities of a project, assign the necessary resources, & to estimate the length of time for each activity. A well-designed project schedule is a methodical map to completion, a generous gatherer of information & data, & a convincing communication tool for the project team.
Before the time when cars had GPS, many of us had the trusty Road Atlas stuffed in the pocket of the front seat. This tattered, torn, & well-loved book got us out of many a jam, when the road we thought we wanted turned out to take us somewhere completely unexpected. If we didn’t plan our trip, listing the highways, exits, & landmarks along the way, we were often at a loss as to our progress towards our destination. This is a similar feeling on a project without a schedule.
Project schedules provide the atlas, or road map towards completion. Once the scope of the project is well-defined, the team should begin to define the list of activities as well as the attributes of each. This list should include a unique identifier & a short description or scope for each activity. When possible the scope shall be stated in physical units for completion, such as linear feet of pipe, cable, or yards of concrete. Attributes for each activity are like the physical landmarks & geographical clues for the project. Attributes may include characteristics such as predecessors & successors, resource requirements, constraints, assumptions & responsible personnel.
In today’s climate of instant access to an unlimited amount of data, it’s important to gather, organize & store that data to create useful information. This is an area where a properly designed & maintained project schedule excels. For example, as delays in material delivery are input into the schedule & calculated, the effects of the delay are quantified in possible schedule slips & increased costs. The earlier in the project that changes can be analyzed, the greater number of options available to the project team for correction.
Today’s scheduling softwares create fantastic communication tools, such as Gantt charts, logic diagrams, resource curves, & cost profiles. These charts, graphs, & reports can easily be tailored to any audience or purpose. A Gantt chart set against the baseline or target is a great graphical depiction of project progress. Resource allocation charts are beneficial when staffing projects, & also to show where resource demands may be difficult to meet. In these cases, it may be necessary to level-load the resources to more manageable applications. There are nearly endless options to slice & dice schedule data to provide meaningful & timely information for managing the project.
With all of the benefits provided by a high-quality project schedule, project managers should insist on making their creation & maintenance a priority!