PROJECT MANAGEMENT

DSC 3343

Scheduling Projects
Dr C. W. Chathurani Silva
Senior Lecturer
Dept. of Decision Sciences
University of Sri Jayewardenepura
 A Brief History of Scheduling
major tool in PM
■ Henry Gantt - A complete notational system for showing progress with bar charts (Gantt charts).
■ Simple to construct and read so, the best tool for communicating to team members what they need
to do within given time frames. Gantt chart is a way of presenting the project schedule
■ Du Pont - Critical Path Method (CPM),
■ U.S. Navy and the Booz Allen Hamilton consulting group - Program Evaluation and Review Technique
(PERT)
– The PERT method makes use of probability techniques, whereas CPM does not

project scheduling is not project management but it is the main part.

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 2

Project Management is not just
Scheduling
■ It is nearly impossible to use the software effectively unless you understand PM
■ It is necessary to get some professional training on how to use the scheduling
software you choose

before scheduling should prepare the WBS

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 3

 Who Is Involved in Scheduling? required.
everyone's participation is
at least the top persons.
■ Team members
– typically own work packages and tasks, reporting their completion and estimating how much time is
necessary to complete each unfinished work package or task
– no need for extensive knowledge of scheduling theory
■ Functional managers HRM, marketing manager, supply chain manager, finance manager
– providers of resources to a project,
– care about the accuracy of the estimates and availability of resources when projects need them
– basic scheduling theory knowledge even they should be able to read a Gantt chart
■ Project managers should have a sound knowledge of the project scheduling theory
– the ultimate users and owners of the project schedule
– facilitate schedule development and monitor the data furnished by team members for completeness and
feasibility to control the project- have to see the Gantt chart
– use the schedule to monitor and control progress to plan time to time to confirm that we are in where we are
suppose to be
– Work with the functional managers to make schedule modifications when needed
– need a decent amount of knowledge about scheduling theory
■ The project office (or the scheduling group)
– scheduling experts who are capable of designing and maintaining a project scheduling
4
system
Goals of Scheduling

■ Better control techniques to cope with:

– complexities, masses of data, and tight deadlines
■ Better methods for presenting technical and cost data to customers
– The schedule type is often driven by the preferences and needs of the various
project players
Examples: a single Gantt chart is not sufficient as different project players have different needs and
preferences
– A functional manager - A schedule type that show the resource allocation
requirements
– The senior sponsor - A schedule that shows only major project events and
milestones
– The project manager - A detailed schedule showing each WBS element

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 5

Questions to Answer in Scheduling

■ If performed to plan, when will the project be completed?

■ At what dates should each task begin and end?
■ Which tasks are more critical to ensure timely completion of the project?
■ Which tasks can be delayed, if necessary without delaying the project completion date?
■ When are project resources needed and when will they be released?
■ Which resources are most constrained according to their task load?

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 6

 Using the WBS

■ The WBS should always be developed before the schedule is worked out but without
trying to identify the sequence of activities
■ Stop breaking down work when you reach a low enough level to do an estimate of
the desired accuracy
■ Once the work is broken down, you can estimate time. costs, and resources

without the WBS can not schedule the project, sequence is different. just from the WBS can not sequence the tasks. it
just give a whole picture about the project.
sequence is part of scheduling.
dont break down the project too much

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 7

Common Scheduling Techniques

■ Gantt or bar charts

■ Milestone charts
■ Line of balance (where a finite number of deliverables must be produced in a given
time period)
■ Network scheduling techniques
– Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
– Arrow Diagram Method (ADM) (Sometimes called the Critical Path Method
[CPM])
– Precedence Diagram Method (PDM)
– Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT)

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 8

 The Gantt Chart
Inputs
■ Project scope
■ Project WBS
■ Responsibilities
■ Available resources
■ Schedule management system
– Some companies use this to ensure that the process of developing and using schedules is
well-planned and organized
– Helps to determine:
o What schedules are needed?
o How will the schedules be used?
o How much detail is needed?
o What tools will be appropriate?
o When will the schedules be prepared?
o How will the schedules be monitored and updated?
DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 9
Example - Gantt Chart

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 10

Developing a Gantt Chart

1. Determine Level of Detail and Identify Activities

■ How many line items should there be in the Gantt chart?
– This will be determined by the level of detail used in the WBS and the number of
activities required to create each project outcome.
– If there are too few activities - break down some of them to hit the desired level of
detail
– If there are too many activities - combine activities to arrive at the desired level
2. Sequence Activities
■ Arranging the activities in a logical order of execution
– Requires a good knowledge of the workflow and priorities of the project
– Ensures that we first perform activities that need to produce outputs necessary for
work on the subsequent activities
– Illogical sequencing cause rework and additional cycle time
DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 11
 Developing a Gantt Chart
3. Estimate Activity Durations
■ Resources, human and material, drive the process of estimating activity durations
4. Draft and Refine the Gantt Chart
■ Horizontal time scale and the list of activities across the vertical axis
■ List all activities on the vertical axis per determined sequence
Step 1: Draw a bar representing each activity, with its length proportional to its duration on the time
scale.
Step 2: For multiple activities that form a phase of work, add a summary bar, called a hammock (A
hammock begins when the first of the activities begins and ends when the last of the activities ends)
■ Check whether all necessary activities are there? Logically sequenced? With appropriate timescale
and reasonable durations? Make any changes necessary to finish refining the chart and get ready
to use it.
DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 12
Tips for Gantt Charts

■ Rely on the Gantt chart as long as it has fewer than 100 activities.
■ Use a single Gantt chart as a primary scheduling tool in small, simple projects.
■ In large, complex, cross-functional projects rather, utilize multiple, integrated Gantt charts.
■ Team-developed Gantt charts lead to higher quality, better buy-in (purchase of shares), and
stronger commitment of team members

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 13

Gantt Chart Exercise
■ Produce a Gantt chart from the data in the following table regarding the
refurbishment of a small workshop.

Activity Activity description Duration Precedent(s)

ID (Days)
1 Refurbish workshop - -
(NB - Summary task/ workpackage)
2 Recruit new staff 6 -
3 Choose new basic equipment 2 -
4 Choose new special equipment 4 -
5 Draw new layout 3 -
6 Train new staff 10 2
7 Order new basic equipment 2 3
8 Order new special equipment 8 4
9 Make structural alterations 8 5
10 Unpack and inspect equipment 2 7,8
11 Install services 4 9
12 Install and commission equipment 6 10,11
13 Begin workshop operations 0.1 All

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 14

 similarity between Gantt chart and milestone chart

The Milestone Chart show the deadlines

no all activities
difference between Gantt chart and milestone chart,
precise details
use the activities specified in WBS
■ Shows milestones against a time scale in order to signify key project events and to draw
stakeholder attention to them
■ A milestone is a point in time or event whose importance lies in it being the climax point for many
converging activities
Examples for milestones:
– “Requirements Document Complete” - for software development projects
– “Market Requirements Document Complete” - a characteristic milestone for product
development projects
■ Milestone charts are used in both large and small projects to demonstrate actual progress against
plan
■ Have to use the chart in conjunction with another schedule that show activity dependencies
can not make effective decisions along with the milestone chart
can identify deadlines, busy months
DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 15
Example - Milestone Chart

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 16

Developing a Milestone Chart
1. Select Milestone Chart Type
■ High-level milestone chart with only a few high-profile milestones intended to inform managers or
other stakeholders
■ Detailed milestone chart designed to help manage the work necessary to accomplish a project
deliverable or complete a project phase
■ The selection depends on the situation and purpose
2. Identify Key Milestones
3. Sequence the Milestones
4. Draft and Refine the Milestone Chart
5. Finalize the Chart
■ list milestones on the vertical axis
■ draw the time scale across the horizontal axis
■ select symbols for milestones (e.g., diamond),
■ place the symbols across the time scale
DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 17
 Advantages of Network Scheduling Techniques
■ Form the basis for all planning and predicting and help management decide how to use its resources to
achieve time and cost goals.
■ Provide visibility and enable management to control
■ Help management evaluate alternatives by answering questions:
– How time delays will influence project completion?
– Where slack exists between elements
– What elements are crucial to meet the completion date.
■ Provide a basis for obtaining facts for decision making. material, man requirement, capital requirement can be
identified using the network scheduling techniques
■ Utilize a so-called time network analysis as the basic method to determine manpower, material, and capital
requirements, as well as to provide a means for checking progress.
■ Provide the basic structure for reporting information.
■ Reveal interdependencies of activities.
■ Facilitate “what if” exercises.
■ Identify the longest path or critical paths.
■ Aid in schedulingDSC3343-Project
risk analysis identify the risk and the impact of the risk
Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 18
Management Information that can be
Obtained from Network Representations
■ Interdependencies of activities
■ Project completion time
■ Impact of late starts
■ Impact of early starts
■ Trade-offs between resources and time
■ “What if” exercises
■ Cost of a crash program
■ Slippages in planning/performance
■ Evaluation of performance

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 19

Helpful Terms in Understanding Networks

■ Milestone – An event that represents a point in a project of special significance.

Usually, it is the completion of a major phase of the work.
■ Activity – The element of work that must be accomplished.
■ Duration – The total time required to complete the activity.
■ Critical path:
– The longest path through the network
– Determines the duration of the project
– The shortest amount of time necessary to accomplish the project

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 20

Critical Path Method (CPM) Diagramme
■ Provides a means of:
– representing project activities as nodes or arrows
– determining which of them are “critical” in their impact on project completion time,
and
– scheduling them in order to meet a target date at a minimum cost
■ Originally developed for use in large, complex, and cross-functional projects, and now
employed in smaller projects as well
■ Helps the project manager to:
– see the total completion time,
– understand the sequencing of activities,
– ensure that resources are available when needed,
– monitor those that are critical, and
– measure progress
DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 21
 Program Evaluation and Review
Technique (PERT)
■ The CPM diagram is very similar to the PERT diagram, but while CPM’s activity duration estimate is
deterministic, PERT uses a weighted average to calculate the expected time (μ)
𝑜+4𝑚+𝑝 2 𝑝−𝑜 2
where, 𝜇 = and 𝜎 =
6 6
Most likely estimate (m) = estimate of the most likely value of the duration,
Optimistic estimate (o) = estimate of the duration under the most favorable conditions,
Pessimistic estimate (p) = estimate of the duration under the most unfavorable conditions.
■ These times are estimated by the person(s) most familiar with the activity
■ The PERT diagram has been used primarily in R&D projects where,
– the risks in calculating time durations have a high variability and
– percent complete is almost impossible to determine except at completed milestones
■ CPM was originally developed for construction projects (has spread across other industries) where
– resource dependent and based on accurate time estimates and
– percent complete can be determined with reasonable accuracy 22
Graphical Evaluation and Review Technique (GERT)
■ Similar to PERT but have the distinct advantages of allowing for looping, branching, and multiple
project end results.
■ Problems in PERT are easily overcome using GERT.
– With PERT we cannot easily show that if a test fails, we may have to repeat the test several
times.
– With PERT, we cannot show that, based upon the results of a test, we can select one of
several different branches to continue the project

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 23

Scheduling Projects with MS Project
■ Changing default project scheduling options
– Scheduling from start date or finish date
– Manual or auto scheduling
■ Creating a Gantt chart
■ Adding resources and assigning them to tasks
■ Calculating costs
■ Creating network diagrammes

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 24

Scheduling Projects with MS Project…
■ Changing default project scheduling options
Project → Project Information
Task → Information (You should do this for each task separately)

■ Setting task information

Task → Information → General
Options available:
Schedule mode/Start and finish dates

Task → Information → Advanced

Options available:
Constraints/Mark task as milestone

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 25

Scheduling Projects with MS Project…
■ Adding resources to the project
Entering resources
View → Resource Sheet
Resource → Assign Resources
Report → Resource Overview
■ View Gantt Chart/Network Diagram
View → Gantt Chart
View → Network Diagram
■ Format Gantt Chart/Network Diagram
– First view the Gantt chart or Network diagram
– Then use the options available on Gantt Chart Format or Network Diagram Format
menu
DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 26
Summary
■ Who Is Involved in Scheduling?
■ Goals of scheduling
■ Using the WBS in scheduling
■ Common project scheduling techniques (Gantt chart/milestone
chart/networks)
■ Network scheduling techniques (CPM/PERT/GERT)
■ Scheduling Projects with MS Project

DSC3343-Project Management [Dr Chathurani Silva] 27