Chapter 5: Developing the Schedule

Teaching Strategies
There are two vignettes featured in this chapter. (See Premium Deck for Slides.)
The first vignette reinforces the need to plan for contingencies when developing the
schedule to avoid delays that cause the project to go over time.
The second vignette reinforces that project managers need to pay attention to the
lessons learned from previous projects when planning the project schedule.
Sometimes, when planning the schedule, calculated times are for activity completion
are not accurate. This can become a problem when no one takes the time to examine
the actual time it takes to complete activities.
Have students plan the amount of time that it would take to travel between two
cities that are near campus. After they calculate the time to travel, have them
think about how they would factor in extenuating circumstances (like a flat tire,
the need to refill the fuel tank, the need to stop for food, or a traffic-blocking
accident).
Have students calculate the ES, EF, LS, and LF times in class to be sure they
understand what it means to calculate forward and to calculate backward.
The ES, EF, LS, LF times on the network diagram for the consumer market study are
included in the chapter materials. Have the students compare the textbook diagram
with the schedule table in Microsoft Project.
Have the students report on the similarities and the differences.
Chapter Concepts
This chapter discusses monitoring and controlling the progress of the project, re-
planning, and updating the project schedule.
Once a project actually begins, it is necessary to monitor progress to ensure that
everything goes according to schedule. This involves measuring actual progress and
comparing it to the schedule.
If at any time during the project, it is determined that the project is behind schedule,
corrective action must be taken to get back on schedule, which becomes increasingly
difficult as a project falls further behind.

Based on the material in this chapter, students will become familiar with:
Estimating the resources required for each activity
Estimating the duration for each activity
Establishing the estimated start time and required completion time for the overall
project
Calculating the earliest times at which each activity can start and finish, based on the
project estimated start time
Calculating the latest times by which each activity must start and finish in order to
complete the project by its required completion time
Determining the amount of positive or negative slack between the time each activity
can start or finish and the time it must start or finish
Identifying the critical (longest) path of activities
 Performing the steps in the project control process
Determining the effects of actual schedule performance on the project schedule
Incorporating changes into the schedule
Developing an updated project schedule
Determining approaches to controlling the project schedule
Learning Outcomes
After studying this chapter, students should be able to:
Estimate the resources required for activities
Estimate the duration for an activity
Determine the earliest start and finish times for activities
Determine the latest start and finish times for activities
Explain and determine total slack
Prepare a project schedule
Identify and explain the critical path
Discuss the project control process
Develop updated schedules based on actual progress and changes
Discuss and apply approaches to control the project schedule
Project Management Knowledge Areas from PMBOK Guide
Concepts in this chapter support the following Project Management Knowledge Areas of
the PMI Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide):
Project Integration Management
Project Time Management
Estimate Activity Resources
It is necessary to estimate the types and quantities of resources that will be required to
perform each specific activity in a project.
Resources include people, materials, equipment, facilities, and so forth.
Having this information is essential in estimating how long it will take to perform
each activity and the project as a whole.
A number of factors influence the duration of an activity:
Availability of the resources
Types of resources
Sufficient quantities of resources for the durations of the activities
Potential conflicts with other projects that may cause a delay
When estimating the types and quantities of resources required for each specific
activity, it is valuable to involve a person who has expertise or experience with the
activity.
Estimated activity resources will also be used later for estimating activity costs and
determining the project budget.
Estimate Activity Durations
Once the types and quantities of resources are estimated for each activity, estimates
can be made for how long it will take to perform the activities.
The estimated duration for each activity must be the total elapsed timethe time for
the work to be done plus any associated waiting time.
The figure above depicts the activity estimated duration for varnishing floors.
It is a good practice to have the person who will be responsible for performing a specific
activity estimate the duration for that activity.
Builds buy-in from the person and generates commitments
Avoids bias that may be introduced by having one person estimate the durations
for all of the activities
It is important to designate an experienced individual to estimate the durations for all
the activities for which the organization or subcontractor is responsible in large
projects.
Historical data can be used as a guide in estimating the durations of similar activities.
Estimated duration should be aggressive yet realistic.
Inflating estimated durations in anticipation of the project manager negotiating shorter
durations is not a good practice.
Throughout the performance of the project, some activities will take longer than their
estimated duration, others will take less time than estimated, and a very few may
conform to the estimated duration exactly.
At the beginning of the project, it may not be possible to estimate the durations for all
activities with a high level of confidence.
The project team can progressively elaborate the estimated durations as more
information is becomes available to allow for more accurate estimated durations.
This figure depicts the network diagram for a consumer market study, with the estimated
durations in days for each activity.
What are the realistic estimates for the activities shown?
What happens if an activity is delayed and will be its impact on the project?
What happens if an activity finishes early?
Establish Project Start and Finish Times
It is necessary to select an estimated start time and a required completion time for the overall
project. This is important in order to establish a basis from which to calculate a schedule using
the estimated durations for the activities.
Define the overall window, or envelope, of time in which the project must be
completed.
The contractor may not want to commit to completing the project by a specific
date until the customer has approved the contract.
A delay in signing will likely impact the start date of the project.
The finish time should be stated as a number of days from the start of the project.
Develop Project Schedule
Once you have an estimated duration for each activity in the network must determine (based
on durations and sequence) whether the project can be realistically finished by the required
completion time.
In order to do this, the contractor should estimate the duration of each activity.
He or she should establish an overall window of time for the project.
Develop a project schedule that provides a timetable for each activity and shows:
The earliest times (or dates) at which each activity can start and finish, based on the
project estimated start time (or date)
The latest times (or dates) by which each activity must start and finish in order to
complete the project by its required completion time (or date)
A. Earliest Start and Finish Times
Earliest start time (ES) is the earliest time at which a specific activity can begin
It is calculated on the basis of the project estimated start time and the estimated
durations of preceding activities.
Earliest finish time (EF) is the earliest time by which a specific activity can be completed
It is calculated by adding the activitys estimated duration to the activitys earliest start
time
EF = ES + Estimated Duration
Calculate forward through the network diagram from the beginning of the project to the
end of the project.
Earliest Start and Finish Time Calculation
This figures depicts the three activities that go into the production of a Dress
Rehearsal for a play. You will note that Practice Skit has an EF of day 5; Make
Costumes has an EF of day 10; and Make Props has an EF of day 4.
Dress Rehearsal cannot start until all three of these activities are finished, so the
latest of the EFs for these three activities determines the ES for Dress Rehearsal.
The latest of the three EFs is day 10the earliest finish time for Make Costumes.
Therefore, Dress Rehearsal cannot start any earlier than day 10. That is, its ES must
be day 10 or later.
Even though Practice Skit and Make Props may finish sooner than Make
Costumes, Dress Rehearsal cannot start because the network dependent
relationships indicate that all three activities must be finished before Dress Rehearsal
can start.
Identify Target Consumers
In the following slides we will see the different activities and forward calculations that
go into a consumer market study project.
The project estimated start date is 0 and the duration is three days.
 Therefore, the earliest Identify Target Consumers can start is time 0, and the earliest
it can finish is 3 days later (because its estimated duration is 3 days).
Develop Draft Questionnaire
When Identify Target Consumers is finished on day 3, Develop Draft Questionnaire
can start. It has an estimated duration of 10 days, so its ES is day 3 and its EF is day
13.
Pilot-Test Questionnaire
When Develop Draft Questionnaire is finished on day 13, Pilot-Test Questionnaire
can start. It has an estimated duration of 20 days, so its ES is day 13 and its EF is day
33.
Review Comments & Finalize Questionnaire
When Pilot-Test Questionnaire is finished on day 33, Review Comments & Finalize
Questionnaire can start. It has an estimated duration of 5 days, so its ES is day 33 and
its EF is day 38.
Prepare Mailing Labels, "Print Questionnaire," "Develop Data Analysis Software,"
and "Develop Software Test Data"
When Review Comments & Finalize Questionnaire is finished on day 38, Prepare
Mailing Labels, "Print Questionnaire," "Develop Data Analysis Software," and "Develop
Software Test Data" can all start.
The ES for each activity is 38, but they each have different EFs.
Prepare Mailing Labels, has an estimated duration of 2 days, so its EF is day 40.
"Develop Data Analysis Software" has an estimated duration of 10 days, so its EF is day
48.
"Develop Data Analysis Software" has an estimated duration of 12 days, so its EF is day
50.
"Develop Software Test Data" has an estimated duration of 2 days, so its EF is day 40.
Mail Questionnaire & Get Responses
When Prepare Mailing Labels and "Print Questionnaire" are finished, Mail
Questionnaire & Get Responses can start.
The later of the two EF times for Prepare Mailing Labels and "Print Questionnaire" is
48, therefore this is the ES.
Mail Questionnaire & Get Responses has an estimated duration of 65 days, so its ES is
day 48 and its EF is day 113.
Test Software
When "Develop Data Analysis Software" and "Develop Software Test Data" are finished,
Test Software can start.
The later of the two EF times for Develop Data Analysis Software" and "Develop
Software Test Data" is 50.
"Test Software" has an estimated duration of 5 days, so its ES is day 50 and its EF is
day 55.
Input Response Data
 When Mail Questionnaire & Get Responses and "Test Software" are finished, Input
Response Data can start.
The later of the two EF times for Mail Questionnaire & Get Responses and "Test
Software" is 113.
"Input Response Data" has an estimated duration of 7 days, so its ES is day 113 and its
EF is day 120.
Analyze Results
When Input Response Data is finished on day 120, Analyze Results can start.
It has an estimated duration of 8 days, so its ES is day 120 and its EF is day 128.
Prepare Report
When Analyze Results is finished on day 128, Prepare Report can start.
It has an estimated duration of 10 days, so its ES is day 128 and its EF is day 138.
The required completion time for this entire project is 130 days. 138 days is 8 days
beyond the required completion time, therefore the project was not completed in the
required time.
Schedule Table ES and EF
This figure depicts the ES and EF times for the consumer market study project we just
analyzed, in a schedule table format.
Latest Start and Finish Times
Latest start time (LS) is the latest time by which a specific activity must be started in order for
the entire project to be finished by its required completion time.
It is calculated by subtracting the activitys estimated duration from the activitys latest
finish time.
Latest finish time (LF) is the latest time by which a specific activity must be completed in
order for the entire project to be finished by its required completion time.
It is calculated on the basis of the project required completion time and the estimated
durations of succeeding activities.
LS = LF Estimated Duration
Calculate backward through the network diagram from the end of the project to the beginning
of the project.
Latest Start and Finish Times Calculation
These figures show two activities that emerge directly from an activity labeled, Print Posters
& Brochures.
This project is required to be completed by day 30. Therefore, Distribute Posters must
be started by day 20 because it has an estimated duration of 10 days, and Mail
Brochures must be started by day 25 because it has an estimated duration of 5 days.
The earlier of these two LSs is day 20. Therefore, the latest that Print Posters &
Brochures can finish is day 20, so that Distribute Posters can start by day 20.
Even though Mail Brochures does not have to start until day 25, Print Posters &
Brochures must finish by day 20, or else the entire project will be delayed.
If Print Posters & Brochures does not finish until day 25, then Distribute Brochures
will not be able to start until day 25.
 Because Distribute Brochures has an estimated duration of 10 days, it will not finish
until day 35, which is 5 days beyond the project required completion time.
Prepare Report
Now let us look at how to set up the backward calculations for the consumer market study
project we just analyzed.
The required completion time for the project is 130 working days.
Therefore, the latest that Prepare Report, the last activity, can finish is day
130, and the latest that it can start is day 120 because its estimated duration is
10 days.
In order for Prepare Report to start on day 120, the latest that Analyze Results can
finish is day 120. If the LF for Analyze Results is day 120, then its LS is day 112
because its estimated duration is 8 days.
Analyze Results
In order for Prepare Report to start on day 120, the latest that Analyze Results can
finish is day 120.
If the LF for Analyze Results is day 120, then its LS is day 112 because its
estimated duration is 8 days.
In order for Analyze Results to start on day 112, the latest that Input Response Data
can finish is day 112.
Input Response Data
If the LF for Input Response Data is day 112, then its LS is day 105 because its
estimated duration is 7 days.
In order for Analyze Results to start on day 112, the latest that Input Response Data
can finish is day 112.
If the LF for Input Response Data is day 112, then its LS is day 105 because its
estimated duration is 7 days.
Test Software and Mail Questionnaire & Get Responses
In order for Input Response Data to start on day 105, the latest that Mail
Questionnaire & Get Responses and "Test Software" can finish is day 105.
If the LF for Mail Questionnaire & Get Responses is day 105, then its LS is day
40 because its estimated duration is 65 days. If the LF for "Test Software" is day
105, then its LS is day 100 because its estimated duration is 5 days.
"Develop Data Analysis Software" and "Develop Software Test Data"
In order for Test Software to start on day 100, the latest that "Develop Data Analysis
Software" and "Develop Software Test Data" can finish is day 100.
If the LF for Develop Data Analysis Software is day 100, then its LS is day 88
because its estimated duration is 12 days.
If the LF for Develop Software Test Data is day 100, then its LS is day 98
because its estimated duration is 2 days.
Prepare Mailing Labels and "Print Questionnaire
In order for Mail Questionnaire & Get Responses to start on day 40, the latest that
Prepare Mailing Labels and "Print Questionnaire" can finish is day 40.
 If the LF for Prepare Mailing Labels is day 40, then its LS is day 38 because its
estimated duration is 2 days.
If the LF for Print Questionnaire is day 40, then its LS is day 30 because its
estimated duration is 10 days.
Review Comments & Finalize Questionnaire
Look at Review Comments & Finalize Questionnaire.
In order for the four activities emerging from this activity to start by their LS
times (so that the project can finish by its required completion time of 130 days),
Review Comments & Finalize Questionnaire must be finished by the earliest LS
of all four activities, according to Rule 2.
The earliest of the four LSs is day 30, the latest time by which Print
Questionnaire must start.
Therefore, the latest that Review Comments & Finalize Questionnaire can finish
is day 30.
If the LF for Review Comments & Finalize Questionnaire is day 30, then its LS is
day 25 because its estimated duration is 5 days.

Pilot-Test Questionnaire
In order for Review Comments & Finalize Questionnaire to start on day 25, the latest
that Pilot-Test Questionnaire can finish is day 25.
If the LF for Pilot-Test Questionnaire is day 25, then its LS is day 5 because its
estimated duration is 20 days.
Develop Draft Questionnaire
In order for Pilot-Test Questionnaire to start on day 5, the latest that Develop Draft
Questionnaire can finish is day 5.
If the LF for Develop Draft Questionnaire is day 5, then its LS is day -5 because
its estimated duration is10 days.
Identify Target Consumers
In order for Develop Draft Questionnaire to start on day -5, the latest that Identify
Target Consumers can finish is day -5.
If the LF for Input Response Data is day -5, then its LS is day -8 because its
estimated duration is 3 days.
Therefore, the consumer market study project must start 8 days earlier than the
planned start date in order to finish in the required 130 days.
Schedule Table LS and LF
Here you see a figure that depicts the schedule table with the LS and LF values added.
Total Slack
Total slack is sometimes called float.
It is the difference between EF time of last activity and the project required
completion time.
Total slack is calculated for each of the activities by finding the difference between the
EF time of the activity and the LF of the activity.
 You also look at the difference between the ES and LS of the activity.
Negative slack indicates:
A lack of slack over the entire project
The amount of time an activity must be accelerated to complete the project by
the required completion time
Positive slack indicates the maximum amount of time that the activities on a particular
path can be delayed without jeopardizing completion of the project by the required
completion time.
If the total slack is zero, the activities on the path do not need to be accelerated,
but cannot be delayed.
Critical Path
The critical path is this longest path in the overall network diagram.
One way to determine which activities make up the critical path is to find which ones
have the least amount of slack.

Critical Path Through a Project

This table shows slack values for each activity in the consumer market study project we
just analyzed.
Those with -8 as the total slack are the activities on the critical path.
The figure on the bottom of the slide depicts the critical path through the network
diagram for the consumer market study project.
Change in Slack for Critical Path
This figure depicts the change in the critical path if the estimated duration of the Mail
Questionnaire & Get Responses task is reduced from 65 days to 55 days.
Note that the tasks on the critical path now have a total slack of 2, the least amount
slack in the project.
Free Slack
Free slack is the amount of time a specific activity can be postponed without delaying the
earliest start time of its immediately succeeding activities.
Free slack is calculated by:
Finding the lowest of the values of total slack for all the activities entering into a
specific activity
Then subtracting that value from the values of total slack for the other activities also
entering into that same activity
Total Slack compared to Free Slack
Lets look at an example of free slack.
Activities 7 and 8 are predecessors for Activity 10 in the figure above.
The values of total slack for activities 7 and 8 are 50 and 60 days, respectively.
The lesser of these two values is 50 days.
 Therefore, activity 8, Develop Software Test Data, has a free slack of 10 days (60 50
= 10) and can slip by up to that amount without delaying the earliest start time of
activity 10, Test Software.
Bar Chart Format
A Gantt chart is the name commonly used for the type of bar chart tool employed in
planning and scheduling.
As you can see in the Gantt chart on this slide, the activities are listed on the
left-hand side and there is a time scale along the bottom or the top.
The estimated duration for each activity is indicated by a bar spanning the
period during which the activity is expected to be accomplished.
Gantt charts often also have a column that indicates who is responsible for each task.
This Gantt chart depicts the consumer market study project that we have been
analyzing.
You can probably see how this is an easy way to visually represent when
activities are scheduled to occur during a project.
A Gantt chart is a traditional bar chart in that it does not graphically display the
dependent relationships of activities.
Be sure to create the network diagram and connect the bars in the Gantt chart with
arrows to show relationships.
Project management software can automatically generate a time-scaled bar chart from
the schedule table that is based on the network diagram.
Project Control Process
Here you see a figure that illustrates the steps in the project control process.
The project control process starts with establishing a baseline plan that shows how the
project scope will be accomplished on schedule and within budget.
Once this baseline plan is agreed upon by the customer and the contractor or project
team, the project work can be performed.
It is necessary to monitor the progress to ensure that everything is going according to
the plan.
The project control process involves regularly gathering data on project performance,
comparing actual performance to planned performance, and taking corrective action
immediately if actual performance lags behind planned performance.
This process must occur regularly throughout the project.
Establish regular reporting meetings to compare actual to planned progress.
Gather data on actual performance.
Record information on changes to the project scope, schedule, and budget.
The key to effective project control is measuring actual progress and comparing it to
planned progress on a timely and regular basis and taking any needed corrective action
immediately.
Project management is a proactive approach to controlling a project to ensure that the
project objective is accomplished, even when things do not go according to plan.
Effects of Actual Schedule Performance
As you probably know from real-life experience, some activities get completed on time, some
are finished ahead of schedule, and others are completed later than scheduled.
The actual finish times (AFs) of completed activities will determine the earliest start and
earliest finish times for the remaining activities in the network diagram, as well as the
total slack.
This figure depicts the planned and actual performance of a project to remove old
wallpaper and install new wallpaper.
Part (a) of the figure is a network diagram for a simple project. It shows that the earliest
the project can finish is day 15 (the sum of the estimated durations of the three
activities, 7 + 5 + 3).
Since the required completion time is day 20, the project has a total slack of +5
days.
Suppose that activity 1, Remove Old Wallpaper, is actually finished on day 10,
rather than on day 7 as planned, because it turns out to be more difficult than
anticipated.
Part (b) of the figure depicts this deviation from the original plan.
The earliest start and finish times for activities 2 and 3 will be 3 days later than
on the original schedule.
Because Remove Old Wallpaper is actually finished on day 10, the ES for
Patch Walls will be day 10 and its EF will be day 15.
Following through with the forward calculations, we find that Put Up New Wallpaper
will have an ES of day 15 and an EF of day 18.
Comparing this new EF of the last activity to the required completion time of day
20, we find a difference of 2 days. The total slack got worseit changed in a
negative direction, from +5 days to +2 days.
This example illustrates how the actual finish times of activities have a ripple effect,
altering the remaining activities earliest start and finish times and the total slack.
Incorporate Changes into Schedule
Throughout a project, changes may occur that impact the schedule.
Changes might be initiated by the customer or the project team, or they might be the
result of an unanticipated occurrence.
Changes requested early in the project may have less of an impact on schedule and
budget than those requested later in the project.
When the customer requests a change, the contractor or project team should estimate
the impact on the project schedule and budget and then obtain customer approval
before proceeding.
If the customer approves the proposed revisions to the project schedule and
budget, then any additional activities, revised estimated durations, and revised
estimated resources and associated costs should be incorporated into the project
schedule and budget.
With respect to the project schedule, changes can result in the addition or deletion of
activities, re-sequencing of activities, changes to estimated durations for specific
activities, or a new required completion time for the project.
Update Project Schedule
An updated project schedule should be generated regularly that forecasts whether the project
will finish ahead of or behind its required completion time, or on time.
Once data have been collected on the actual finish times of completed activities and
the effects of any project changes, an updated project schedule can be calculated.
Earliest start and finish times for the remaining, uncompleted, activities are calculated
by working forward through the network.
They are based on the actual finish times of completed activities and the
estimated durations of the uncompleted activities.
The latest start and finish times for the uncompleted activities are calculated by
working backward through the network.
An important part of updating project schedules is determining if any changes have
occurred on the critical path.
Control Schedule
Schedule control involves four steps:
1. Analyzing the schedule to determine which areas may need corrective action
2. Deciding what specific corrective actions should be taken
3. Revising the plan to incorporate the chosen corrective actions
4. Recalculating the schedule to evaluate the effects of the planned corrective actions
If the planned corrective actions do not result in an acceptable schedule, these steps
need to be repeated.
A concentrated effort to accelerate project progress must be applied to the paths with
negative slack.
Activities that are near term (that is, that are in progress or to be started in the
immediate future)
Activities that have long estimated durations
The amount of slack should determine the priority with which these concentrated
efforts are applied.
A change in the estimated duration of any activity on that path will cause a
corresponding change in the slack for that path and may shift the critical path.
Eliminating negative slack by reducing durations of activities will involve a trade-off in
the form of an increase in costs or a reduction in the scope of the project.
Scheduling for Information Systems Development
Scheduling the development of an information system is a challenging process.
Scheduling is often done in a haphazard manner, and, as a result, a large number of IS
projects are finished much later than originally promised or never finished at all.
Among the common problems that often push IS development projects beyond their required
completion time are:
Failure to identify all user requirements
Failure to identify user requirements properly
Continuing growth of project scope
Underestimating learning curves for new software packages
 Incompatible hardware
Logical design flaws
Poor selection of software
Failure to select the best design strategy
Data incompatibility issues
Failure to perform all phases of the SDLC
IS Example: Activities, Predecessors, Durations
This figure depicts a list of activities, immediate predecessors, and estimated durations
for the web-based reporting system project.
The project is required to be completed in 50 days, and it needs to be started as soon
as possible.
Ask: Do you think the project can be completed in 50 days?
IS Example: ES and EF Times
Here you see the ES and EF times for each activity in the web-based reporting system
project.
Ask: Can you explain the different ES and EF values for the activities?
IS Example: LS and LF Times
This figure depicts the LS and LF times for each activity.
Ask: Can you explain the LS and LF values for the activities?
IS Example: Schedule Table
This table depicts the project schedule table with the calculated total slack values for
each activity.
Ask: Take a minute to analyze this. What is the critical path? How can the project be
finished in 50 days?
IS Example: Critical Path
This figure provides you with a visual representation of the critical path for the development
project.
The team must determine a way to reduce the development time by 9 days, request
that the project completion date be extended from 50 to 59 days, or find some
compromise.
After extensive discussions with upper management, in which she stressed the importance of
developing the system right the first time and not having to rush through some critical phases
of the SDLC, Beth convinced her superiors to extend the project completion time to 60 days.
IS Example: Updated Network Diagram
Beth and her team proceeded with the project and completed activities 1 through 6:
Activity 1, Gather Data, actually finished on day 4
Activity 2, Study Feasibility, actually finished on day 4
Activity 3, Prepare Problem Definition Report, actually finished on day 5
Activity 4, Interview Users, actually finished on day 10
 Activity 5, Study Existing System, actually finished on day 15
Activity 6, Define User Requirements, actually finished on day 18
They then discovered that, by using some existing software for the database, they could
reduce the estimated duration of activity 9, Processing & Database, from 10 days to 8 days.
The figure above shows the updated network diagram.
IS Example: Updated Schedule Table
Here you see the updated project schedule.
Note that the critical path has now been reduced to zero with the updates and changes.
Project Management Information Systems
Almost all project management information systems allow you to perform the
scheduling functions identified in this chapter.
Software will also calculate ES, EF, LS, and LF times, total and free slack, and the
critical path
It is important, however, for the project manager to understand what these terms
are and what the calculations mean
Do not rely on computers too much!
Virtually all project management information systems also allow you to perform the
control functions identified in this chapter.
While an activity is in progress or once an activity has been completed, current
information can be entered into the system and the software will automatically
revise the project schedule.
Critical Success Factors
The person who will be responsible for performing the activity should estimate the
duration for that activity. This generates commitment from the person.
The estimated duration for an activity must be based on the types and quantities of
resources required to perform the activity.
Activity estimated durations should be aggressive yet realistic.
Activities should not be longer in estimated duration than the time intervals at which
the actual progress will be reviewed and compared to planned progress.
Project management involves a proactive approach to controlling a project to ensure
that the project objective is accomplished even when things do not go according to
plan.
Once the project starts, it is important to monitor progress to ensure that everything is
going according to plan.
The key to effective project control is measuring actual progress and comparing it to
planned progress on a timely and regular basis and taking any needed corrective action
immediately.
The key to effective schedule control is to address any paths with negative or
deteriorating slack values aggressively as soon as they are identified. A concentrated
effort to accelerate project progress must be applied to these paths.
The amount of negative slack should determine the priority for applying these
concentrated efforts.
 When attempting to reduce the duration of a path of activities that has negative slack,
focus on activities that are near term and on activities that have long estimated
durations.
Addressing schedule problems early will minimize the negative impact on scope and
budget.
If a project falls too far behind, getting it back on schedule becomes more difficult, and
usually requires spending more money or reducing the scope or quality.
If corrective actions are necessary, decisions must be made regarding a trade-off of
scope, time, and cost.
A regular reporting period should be established for comparing actual progress to
planned progress.
The shorter the reporting period, the better the chances of identifying problems early
and taking corrective actions.
During each reporting period, data on actual performance and information on changes
to the project scope, schedule, and budget need to be collected in a timely manner and
used to calculate an updated schedule and budget.
Summary
The scheduling function depends on the planning function.
The estimated types and quantities of resources required for an activity, together with
the availability of those resources, will influence the estimated duration for how long it
will take to perform the activity.
The estimated duration for each activity must be the total elapsed timethe time for
the work to be done plus any associated waiting time.
The estimate should be aggressive yet realistic.
It may be easier to estimate the durations for near-term activities, but as the project
progresses, the project team can progressively elaborate the estimated the durations
as more information becomes known to allow for more accurate estimated durations.
A project schedule provides a timetable for each activity and shows the earliest start
(ES) and earliest finish (EF) times and the latest start (LS) and latest finish (LF) times
for each activity.
The total slack for a particular path of activities through the network is common to and
shared among all activities on that path.
The critical path is the longest (most time-consuming) path of activities in the network
diagram.
The key to effective project control is measuring actual progress and comparing it to
planned progress on a timely and regular basis and taking any needed corrective action
immediately.
Actual progresswhether faster or slower than plannedwill have an effect on the
schedule of the remaining, incomplete activities of the project.
Any type of changewhether initiated by the customer, the contractor, the project
manager, a team member, or an unanticipated eventwill require a modification to the
plan in terms of scope, schedule, and/or budget.
Schedule control involves four steps: analyzing the schedule to determine which areas
may need corrective action, deciding what specific corrective actions should be taken,
 revising the plan to incorporate the chosen corrective actions, and recalculating the
schedule to evaluate the effects of the planned corrective actions.
One of the most important factors in effective scheduling is estimating activity
durations that are as realistic as possible.