Planning, Scheduling,

Monitoring and Control

The Practical Project Management
of Time, Cost and Risk
 Contents
List of figures and tables xviii
Foreword xxiv
Preface xxvi
Acknowledgements xxviii
Peer review xxx
Purpose xxxi
The PSMC process map xxxii
  1 Overview 1
1.1 Part One: Definition 1
1.2 Part Two: Planning 2
1.3 Part Three: Scheduling 3
1.4 Part Four: Monitoring and control 4
1.5 Part Five: Record keeping and learn­ing 6
1.6 A note on the Contents, Index and Gloss­ary 7
1.7 Management issues 7
1.7.1 Behaviour and resources 7
1.7.2 Processes and tools (schedul­ing soft­ware) 8
1.7.3 Common sense 8

Part One: Definition 9

  2 Business case 11
2.1 Definition of the busi­ness case 11
2.2 Purpose of a busi­ness case 11
2.3 Contents of the busi­ness case 12
2.3.1 Structure of the busi­ness case 12
2.3.2 Planning inform­a­tion 15
2.3.3 Funding require­ments 16
2.3.4 Resource require­ments 16
2.4 Acceptance criteria in the busi­ness case 16
2.5 Benefits real­isa­tion in the busi­ness case 17
2.6 Procurement strategy 17
2.7 Project review and assur­ance process of the busi­ness case 19

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  3 Scope manage­ment 21
3.1 Definition of scope manage­ment 21
3.2 Purpose of scope manage­ment 21
3.3 The scope manage­ment process 22
3.3.1 Defining the scope 22
3.3.2 Describing the scope 22
  4 Requirements manage­ment 25
4.1 Definition of require­ments manage­ment 25
4.2 Purpose of require­ments manage­ment 25
4.3 Process of defin­ing require­ments 25
4.3.1 Requirement descrip­tion 26
4.3.2 Factors to consider when defin­ing
require­ments 26
4.3.3 Inputs into require­ments manage­ment 27
4.4 The require­ments manage­ment process 27
4.4.1 Capture and define require­ments from all
stake­hold­ers 27
4.4.2 Link require­ments to the product break­down
struc­tures and work break­down struc­tures
where appro­pri­ate 27
4.4.3 Decompose require­ments 28
4.5 Works inform­a­tion (WI) 29
4.6 Statement of work (SOW) 30
  5 Stakeholder management 31
5.1 Definition of stake­holder manage­ment 31
5.2 Purpose of stake­holder manage­ment 31
5.3 Managing stake­hold­ers through the project 31
  6 Project famil­i­ar­isa­tion 33

Part Two: Planning 35

  7 Introduction to plan­ning 37
7.1 Definition of plan­ning 37
7.1.1 Definition of the plan­ning role 37
7.2 Purpose of plan­ning 38
7.2.1 Benefits of plan­ning 39
7.2.2 Success in plan­ning 40
7.3 The differ­ence between plan­ning and schedul­ing 41

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7.4 Principal schedul­ing compon­ents 42

7.4.1 Process step sched­ules 42
7.4.2 Time-based sched­ules 42
7.4.3 Schedule narrat­ive 43
7.5 Approaches to plan­ning 43
7.5.1 Top-down plan­ning 43
7.5.2 Bottom-up plan­ning 44
7.5.3 Agile plan­ning in the soft­ware industry 47
7.6 Planning strategies 49
7.7 Allowing for risk 51
  8 Breakdown struc­tures 53
8.1 Definition of break­down struc­tures 53
8.2 Purpose of break­down struc­tures 53
8.3 Creating break­down struc­tures 53
8.3.1 Level 1 53
8.3.2 Level 2 53
8.3.3 Level 3 and beyond 55
8.4 Product break­down struc­ture (PBS) 57
8.4.1 What is a ‘product’ in plan­ning terms? 57
8.4.2 Definition of a PBS 57
8.4.3 Purpose of a PBS 57
8.4.4 Constructing a PBS 57
8.5 Work break­down struc­ture (WBS) 59
8.5.1 Definition of a WBS 59
8.5.2 Purpose of a WBS 59
8.5.3 Constructing a WBS 60
8.5.4 Principles of design­ing a WBS 60
8.5.5 WBS diction­ar­ies 61
8.6 Organisational break­down struc­ture (OBS) 64
8.6.1 Definition of an OBS 64
8.6.2 Purpose of an OBS 64
8.6.3 Constructing an OBS 65
8.7 Responsibility assign­ment matrix (RAM) 65
8.7.1 Definition of a RAM 65
8.7.2 Purpose of a RAM 65
8.7.3 Constructing a RAM 66
8.7.4 The step-­by-­step approach to construct­ing
a RAM 67

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8.8 RACI matrix 68

8.8.1 Definition of a RACI matrix 68
8.8.2 Purpose of a RACI matrix 68
8.8.3 Constructing a RACI matrix 68
8.9 Cost break­down struc­ture (CBS) 69
8.9.1 Definition of a CBS 69
8.9.2 Purpose of a CBS 69
8.10 Resources break­down struc­ture (RBS) 70
8.10.1 Definition of a RBS 70
8.10.2 Purpose of a RBS 71
  9 Dependency manage­ment 73
9.1 Definition of depend­ency manage­ment 73
9.2 Purpose of depend­ency manage­ment 73
9.3 Interface scope 74
9.4 Schedule impact 74
10 Health, safety and envir­on­mental 75
10.1 HSE issues at stra­tegic level (plan­ning) 75
10.2 HSE issues at tactical level (schedul­ing and method state­ments) 76
11 Cost estim­at­ing 77
11.1 Definition of cost estim­at­ing 77
11.2 Purpose of a cost estim­ate 77
11.3 Cost estim­at­ing and the project life cycle 77
11.4 Estimate types 78
11.4.1 Scope devel­op­ment estim­ates 78
11.4.2 Other types of estim­ate 79
11.5 Contents of an estim­ate 80
11.6 Estimating meth­od­o­lo­gies 80
11.6.1 Approximate estim­at­ing methods 80
11.6.2 Definitive estim­at­ing methods 82
12 Budgeting 83
12.1 Definition of budget­ing 83
12.2 Purpose of budget­ing 83
12.3 Funding and budgets 83
12.4 Producing a cost budget 84
12.4.1 Cost breakdown struc­ture 84
12.4.2 Cash-flow state­ments 84
12.5 Budget trans­fers 87

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Part Three: Scheduling 89

13 Introduction to schedul­ing 91
13.1 Definition of schedul­ing 91
13.2 Purpose of schedul­ing 91
13.3 The schedul­ing process 92
13.3.1 Steps in estab­lish­ing the sched­ule 92
13.3.2 Once the sched­ule is created 93
13.4 Schedule struc­ture 94
13.4.1 Sched­ule density 94
13.4.2 Detail density: consid­er­a­tions 98
13.4.3 Network templates (frag­nets) 99
14 Types of sched­ule 101
14.1 Schedule types: time-based 101
14.1.1 Development or stra­tegic sched­ule 101
14.1.2 Tender sched­ule (or ‘bid sched­ule’) 102
14.1.3 Contract sched­ule 102
14.1.4 Baseline sched­ule 103
14.1.5 Summary sched­ule 103
14.1.6 Working sched­ule or ‘fore­cast sched­ule’ 103
14.1.7 Target sched­ule 104
14.1.8 Short- and medium-term sched­ules 104
14.1.9 As-built sched­ule 105
14.1.10 Post-build sched­ule 106
14.1.11 ‘What ifs’ (scen­ario plan­ning) 107
14.2 Schedule types: tracker sched­ules 107
14.2.1 Procurement sched­ules 107
14.2.2 Design deliv­er­ables tracker 109
14.2.3 Other tracker sched­ules 109
15 Schedule design 113
15.1 Definition of sched­ule design 113
15.2 Purpose of sched­ule design 113
15.3 Elements of sched­ule design 113
15.3.1 Activity iden­tity numbers (IDs) 113
15.3.2 Activity descrip­tions 114
15.3.3 Different activ­ity types 115
15.3.4 Activity steps 116
15.3.5 Time units 118

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15.3.6 Calendars 118

15.3.7 Project, activity and resource coding 120
16 Building the sched­ule 121
16.1 Creating a crit­ical path network 121
16.1.1 Definition of crit­ical path method 121
16.1.2 Purpose of crit­ical path network 121
16.1.3 Methods of construct­ing a crit­ical path 122
16.1.4 Inputs into a crit­ical path analysis 123
16.1.5 Introduction to creat­ing a network analysis 124
16.1.6 Step 1: Create a logical network 125
16.1.7 Step 2: Forward pass 125
16.1.8 Step 3: Backward pass 126
16.1.9 Step 4: Calculation of total float 127
16.1.10 Step 5: Identification of crit­ical path 128
16.1.11 Training in network analysis: a note 130
16.1.12 Float 130
16.1.13 Types of logic linking 132
16.1.14 Lags and leads 135
16.1.15 Use of constraints 136
16.1.16 Types of constraints 138
16.1.17 Displaying networks on bar charts 147
16.2 Estimation of dura­tions 147
16.2.1 Three-point estim­ates 148
16.2.2 PERT (programme eval­ua­ tion review tech­nique) 148
16.2.3 Comparative 149
16.2.4 Benchmarked data 149
16.2.5 Resource-dependent 150
16.2.6 Expert opinion 150
16.2.7 Personal exper­i­ence 150
16.2.8 Social media 151
16.3 Resourcing the sched­ule 151
16.3.1 Definition of resources 152
16.3.2 Purpose of resourcing the sched­ule 152
16.3.3 Process of resourcing the sched­ule 153
16.3.4 Resource smooth­ing 154
16.4 Horizontal and vertical integ­ra­tion of sched­ules 156
16.4.1 Horizontal integ­ra­tion 156
16.4.2 Vertical integ­ra­tion 157

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16.5 Scheduling interfaces and depend­en­cies 157

16.5.1 Identification 157
16.5.2 Coding 158
16.5.3 Integration and impact analysis 159
16.5.4 Impact resol­u­tion 163
16.6 Time contin­gen­cies 164
16.6.1 Definition of buffers 164
16.6.2 Use of buffers 164
17 Communicating the sched­ule 167
17.1 Bar charts 167
17.1.1 Presentation consid­er­a­tions 167
17.1.2 An alternative to bar chart report­ing 170
17.2 Line of balance 172
17.2.1 Creating a line of balance chart 172
17.2.2 Advantages of line of balance 173
17.2.3 Limitations of line of balance 174
17.3 Time chain­age 174
17.3.1 Definition of time chain­age charts 174
17.3.2 Explanation of the time chain­age tech­nique 175
17.3.3 Advantages of time chain­age 177
17.3.4 Limitations of time chain­age 177
17.4 Schedule narrat­ive 177
17.4.1 Scope 179
17.4.2 Health, safety and envir­on­mental
consid­er­a­tions 179
17.4.3 Risks, oppor­tun­it­ies and contin­gen­cies 179
17.4.4 Breakdown struc­tures 179
17.4.5 Project phasing 179
17.4.6 Stakeholders 179
17.4.7 Resources 179
17.4.8 Critical path(s) 180
17.4.9 Assumptions 180
17.4.10 Calendars 180
17.4.11 Activity codes 180
17.4.12 Details of any posses­sions, shut-downs or other
special working condi­tions 181
17.4.13 Consents required 181
17.4.14 Permits and licences 181

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18 Schedule review 183

18.1 Definition of sched­ule review 183
18.2 Purpose of sched­ule review 183
18.3 Checking the sched­ule 183
18.3.1 Understanding the project sched­ule 184
18.3.2 Components of the sched­ule display 184
18.3.3 Critical matters not included in the display 187
18.4 Planning checks 188
18.4.1 Administration 188
18.4.2 Management issues 188
18.4.3 Contract require­ments 188
18.4.4 Scope 189
18.4.5 Associated docu­ments 189
18.4.6 Planning issues 189
18.4.7 Progress update 190
18.4.8 Communication of the schedule 190
18.5 Scheduling checks 190
18.5.1 Activity checks 191
18.5.2 Logic checks 193
18.5.3 Float and crit­ical path checks 196
18.5.4 Resources checks 198
18.5.5 Review of sched­ule risk 198
19 BIM (Building inform­a­tion model­ling) 199
19.1 Definition of BIM 199
19.2 Purpose of BIM 200
19.3 BIM tech­no­logy 201
19.4 The BIM culture 201
20 Agile 203
20.1 Definition of agile 203
20.2 Purpose of agile 203
20.3 Methods 204
20.3.1 Advantages 205
20.3.2 Limitations 206

Part Four: Monitoring and control 207

21 Baseline 209
21.1 Definition of the project baseline 209

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21.2 Purpose of a project baseline 211

21.3 Principles of project baselin­ing 211
21.4 When to set the baseline 212
21.5 Establishing the baseline sched­ule 212
21.6 Definition and purpose of baseline main­ten­ance 213
21.6.1 Definition of baseline main­ten­ance 213
21.6.2 Purpose of baseline main­ten­ance 213
21.6.3 Baseline main­ten­ance as a result of sched­ule changes 213
21.6.4 Illustration of the prin­ciple of baseline
main­ten­ance 214
21.7 Re-baselining: re-planning 216
21.7.1 When to consider re-planning 217
21.8 Re-baselining: re-programming 218
21.8.1 When to consider re-programming 218
21.9 Notes and rules for sched­ule main­ten­ance, re-planning and
re-baselining 220
21.10 The link between change manage­ment and the project
baseline 220
22 Performance report­ing 221
22.1 Definition of perform­ance report­ing 221
22.2 Purpose of perform­ance report­ing 222
22.3 Evaluating and record­ing progress 223
22.3.1 Progress assess­ment 223
22.3.2 What needs to be recor­ded in the sched­ule? 223
22.3.3 What else needs to be recor­ded in a report? 224
22.3.4 How often is progress recor­ded? 224
22.4 Variance analysis methods of progress monit­or­ing 224
22.4.1 Drop line method 224
22.4.2 Activity weeks method 226
22.4.3 Milestone monit­or­ing 228
22.4.4 Progress on a line of balance chart 229
22.4.5 Cash-flow monit­or­ing 230
22.4.6 Resource monit­or­ing 230
22.4.7 Cost value analysis 231
22.4.8 Quantity track­ing 231
22.5 Performance analysis methods of progress monit­or­ing 234
22.5.1 Network analysis and meas­ure­ment of float usage 234
22.5.2 Earned value analysis 235

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23 Cost control 251

23.1 Definition of cost control 251
23.2 Purpose of cost control 251
23.3 The cost control process 252
23.3.1 Performance meas­ure­ment baseline (PMB) 252
23.3.2 The link between cost control and change control 252
23.3.3 Performance meas­ure­ment 253
23.4 Learning lessons from cost control 253
24 Short-term plan­ning 255
24.1 Definition of short-term plan­ning 255
24.2 Purpose of short-term plan­ning 255
24.3 The short-term plan­ning process 255
24.3.1 Make ready needs 257
24.3.2 Coordination meeting 257
24.3.3 Performance report­ing 257
25 Change manage­ment 259
25.1 Definition of change manage­ment 259
25.2 Purpose of change manage­ment 259
25.3 Principles of change manage­ment 260
25.4 Change control 260
25.4.1 Why change control is needed 260
25.4.2 Change control consid­er­a­tions 261
25.5 Project-level change: process over­view 261
25.6 Raising a change request 263
25.6.1 Drafting a change request 263
25.7 The change log 263
25.8 Initial eval­u­ation of the change request 264
25.9 Estimating impact of change 264
25.10 Detailed eval­ua­ tion of change request 264
25.10.1 Rejected request 265
25.10.2 Deferred request 265
25.11 Approved request 266
25.11.1 Change orders 266
25.11.2 Scope trans­fers 267
25.11.3 Schedule revi­sions 267
25.11.4 Corporate governance 267
25.12 Implementing the change 267
25.12.1 Adjusting sched­ule in line with change 268

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25.13 Communicating the change 269

25.14 Monthly change report­ing require­ments 269
25.14.1 Managing the sched­ule change process 271
26 Risk manage­ment 273
26.1 Definition of risk manage­ment 273
26.2 Purpose of risk manage­ment 273
26.3 Risk manage­ment plan 274
26.4 The risk manage­ment process 274
26.4.1 Planning 274
26.4.2 Risk iden­ti­fic­a­tion 276
26.4.3 Risk assess­ment 277
26.4.4 Risk response 280
26.4.5 Risk review 280
26.4.6 Risk report­ing 281
26.5 Risk draw down 281
26.5.1 When risks are mitig­ated 283
26.5.2 When risks are real­ised 283
26.5.3 When risks are closed 283
26.5.4 When oppor­tun­it­ies are real­ised 283
26.5.5 Documenting changes in the risk budget 284
26.6 Quantitative sched­ule risk analysis (QSRA) 284
26.6.1 Definition of QSRA 284
26.6.2 Purpose of QSRA 285
26.6.3 Key require­ments for a QSRA 286
26.6.4 The stages of sched­ule risk analysis 286
26.6.5 Distribution types 288
26.6.6 Application of risks to sched­ule activ­it­ies 291
26.6.7 QSRA output 292
26.6.8 Reporting 294
26.7 Quantitative cost risk analysis (QCRA) 296
26.7.1 Definition of QCRA 296
26.7.2 Purpose of QCRA 296
26.7.3 The QCRA process 297
27 Forensic analysis 303
27.1 Definition of forensic analysis 303
27.2 Purpose of forensic analysis 303
27.3 Methods of forensic analysis 303
27.3.1 As-planned versus as-built method (AP v AB) 304

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27.3.2 Impacted as-planned method (IAP) 305

27.3.3 Collapsed as-built method or as-built but
for (CAB) 306
27.3.4 Time impact analysis method (TIA) 307
27.3.5 Windows analysis 309
27.3.6 Other consid­er­a­tions 309

Part Five: Record keeping and learn­ing 311

28 Record keeping 313
28.1 Definition of record keeping 313
28.2 Purpose of record keeping 313
28.3 How to record 313
28.4 What to record 314
28.5 Methods of keeping records 315
29 Document manage­ment 317
29.1 Definition of docu­ment manage­ment 317
29.2 Purpose of docu­ment manage­ment 317
29.3 Document control systems 318
29.4 Version control 318
29.5 Handover of docu­ment­a­tion 318
30 Handover and clos­eout 319
30.1 Handover 319
30.1.1 Definition of handover 319
30.1.2 Purpose of the handover process 319
30.1.3 Planning handover 320
30.1.4 Issues in the manage­ment of handover 321
30.2 Project clos­eout 322
30.2.1 Definition of project clos­eout 322
30.2.2 Purpose of project clos­eout 322
30.2.3 The project clos­eout process 322
31 Lessons learned 325
31.1 Definition of lessons learned 325
31.2 Purpose of lessons learned 325
31.3 Productivity data 325
31.4 Qualitative lessons learned 326
31.4.1 Stakeholders involved in a lessons learned review 326
31.4.2 Considerations 327

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The final word 329

Glossary 331
Acronyms 343
Index 345

xvii
 1

Overview

Effective project manage­ment requires effect­ive plan­ning and control. Effective

plan­ning and control requires:

• the clear defin­i­tion of the project;

• a robust approach to plan­ning the project;
• selec­tion and use of the appro­pri­ate schedul­ing tech­niques;
• rigor­ous monit­or­ing that enables proact­ive control of the project;
• a sound basis for this is good record keeping, which also facil­it­ates the virtu­ous
feed­back and learn­ing cycle.

This book offers tried and tested tech­niques and prin­ciples cover­ing these aspects
of project manage­ment. It intro­duces some lesser-known and emer­ging prac­tices,
some of which will move into main­stream project manage­ment in the years
to come.
The book is struc­tured into five main sections reflect­ing these require­ments,
and a brief intro­duc­tion to each section and chapter follows.

1.1  Part One: Definition

At a stra­tegic level, there are a number of funda­mental ques­tions that need
address­ing:

• Why is the project required?

• What does the customer want the project to deliver?
• How will the success of the project be meas­ured?
• How will the project be procured?
• What is the atti­tude of its custom­ers (or its funders) to risk?
• Similarly, what is their atti­tude to quality (includ­ing scope)?
• When does the client want the capab­il­ity delivered by?

Part One of this guide describes the prin­cipal processes that define the project,
and answers these ques­tions.

1
Planning, Scheduling, Monitoring and Control

The first topic dealt with is the creation of the busi­ness case (Chapter 2). This
is the start­ing point in the life of any project, and it is a vital step in ensur­ing that
the project is viable, afford­able and desir­able. It sets the scene for all that follows
– the plan­ning, schedul­ing, monit­or­ing and control, and, not least, the deliv­ery of
the project.
Assuming the busi­ness case is approved, the scope of the project must be
defined and agreed with all stake­hold­ers (Chapter 3). Defining the scope will
begin the process of making key decisions about the project, defin­ing and
select­ing from various options until a preferred solu­tion is agreed and approved.
Once the scope has been agreed, the details of the require­ments are
determ­ined. See Chapter 4 (Requirements management).
Stakeholder manage­ment (Chapter 5) is dealt with briefly, as the respons­ib­il­ity
for this falls mainly on the project manager (see Soft Issues – Project Management
Time in Figure 1.1).
Chapter 6, the final chapter in Part One (Project familiarisation), is a check­list
of the project docu­ment­a­tion that has been created during the defin­i­tion stage.
These are the key docu­ments that must be read and under­stood to enable the
plan­ning – and subsequent processes detailed in the guide – to be carried out in
an informed way.

Figure 1.1  The import­ance of plan­ning and control in project manage­ment

1.2  Part Two: Planning

The plan­ning phase of the project needs to answer some funda­mental ques­tions,
such as:

2
 Overview

• How much will the project cost?

• How long should the project take?
• Are there bene­fits to finish­ing early, and what are they?
• What are the costs of an earlier comple­tion, and do they outweigh the bene­fits?
• On the other hand, how is funding released, and are there any limits on this?
• How will the perform­ance of the project be meas­ured, through all its phases?
• Can the project be delivered safely?

Chapter 7 intro­duces plan­ning – the team approach to working out how to deliver
the project. After discuss­ing and defin­ing the differ­ence between plan­ning and
schedul­ing (a point worth making to help define the two terms) – these terms
are often used inter­change­ably, but they are two very differ­ent processes and
require differ­ent skill sets – the opening chapter of this section goes on to discuss
the prin­cipal compon­ents that will make up the overall project plan – the various
sched­ules and narrat­ives. It is import­ant to under­stand these at the plan­ning
stage, and, whilst they are intro­duced here, they will be covered in further detail
in Part Four.
Chapter 8 defines and discusses the purpose of the various break­down
struc­tures that are used in project manage­ment. We also propose a method of
creat­ing these struc­tures. Chapter 9 intro­duces the concept of depend­ency
manage­ment. This theme is returned to in Part Four, when the specif­ics of
sched­ule depend­en­cies are defined in greater detail.
A crit­ical concern of all project manage­ment must be the highest stand­ards of
health, safety and envir­on­mental manage­ment (Chapter 10). We cannot do
justice to this topic in a book aimed across all indus­tries, but it is a very import­ant
aspect when plan­ning any project. It will have a funda­mental influ­ence on the
project – how it is planned, designed/engin­eered and construc­ted.
Finally, in Chapters 11 and 12, we discuss the cost-estimating process and the
budget­ing process that follows it. The former is an essen­tial step in the defin­i­tion
and plan­ning (and, indeed, schedul­ing) of the project. The latter is essen­tial in the
creation of targets and baselines that will form the basis of monit­or­ing and control.

1.3  Part Three: Scheduling

A funda­mental ques­tion is: who owns the sched­ule? The answer is, of course,
that it is the project manager, with the support of the whole project team. The
sched­ule is created by collat­ing the thoughts of many people; the special­ist

3
 Part Two

Planning

‘Failing to plan is plan­ning to fail.’

Alan Lakein
7.1  Definition of plan­ning
Planning is the process of identi­fy­ing the methods, resources and activ­it­ies
neces­sary to accom­plish the project’s object­ives. It achieves this by drawing on
the expert­ise, exper­i­ence and know­ledge of organ­isa­tions and indi­vidu­als
(includ­ing the lessons that it has learned from previ­ous projects), and on external
parties if appro­pri­ate, in order to:

• under­stand the need, problem or oppor­tun­ity that the project will address and
the bene­fits that it will deliver;
• define what has to be accom­plished and delivered, typic­ally stated in terms of
scope, time, budgets and quality;
• develop a plan to deliver the project.

Planning is the activ­ity of determ­in­ing how raw mater­i­als and other resources are
delivered into a desired outcome. It is also the process that will deliver a compet­
it­ive edge to organ­isa­tions compet­ing to win contracts to deliver work.

7.1.1  Definition of the plan­ning role

Planning is an art rather than a science; it is based on exper­i­ence, industry or
sector know­ledge and tech­nical skill, and a key ingredi­ent is innov­at­ive think­ing.
Planning is the activ­ity of a team working together to determ­ine the strategy for
deliv­er­ing the project. To achieve this, the project team determ­ines the method
or methods that will be used to deliver the project as well as how the project is to
be procured.

37
Planning, Scheduling, Monitoring and Control

The best plans will be created by a team of project managers, engin­eers,

produc­tion/design managers and commer­cial managers working together.
Specialist plan­ners may guide and facil­it­ate the process. In prin­ciple, plan­ning is
an activ­ity that precedes schedul­ing.
During the plan­ning process, the main inter­faces will be iden­ti­fied. It is
import­ant that during this process the assump­tions made, the risks, oppor­tun­it­ies
and issues are iden­ti­fied and recor­ded.
At the plan­ning stage of the project, it is import­ant that the project control and
report­ing meth­od­o­lo­gies that will be used are defined so that decisions around
the methods of plan­ning effort and tool­sets adopted will be adequate.
The outputs of plan­ning are there­fore:

• overall strategy for the project;

• overall meth­od­o­logy for the project;
• break­down struc­tures for managing the project;
• the iden­ti­fic­a­tion of key depend­en­cies;
• contri­bu­tions to the project risk and oppor­tun­it­ies register and issues log;
• the iden­ti­fic­a­tion of inter­faces.

7.2  Purpose of plan­ning

Planning is used to determ­ine how, when and which project deliv­er­ables must
be achieved in order to deliver the products (or actions) needed for the
project’s success. This includes record­ing any organ­isa­tional or manage­ment
approaches and processes that will be used. The plan­ning discip­line assesses
how and when activ­it­ies need to take place and defines the accept­able stand­ard
required for comple­tion, as well as balan­cing stand­ards and targets within
agreed time, cost and quality para­met­ers. The manage­ment approach inform­a­
tion will be recor­ded within the project manage­ment plan (PMP) – also known
as the project execu­tion plan (PEP) – and the relev­ant timings for the
activ­it­ies iden­ti­fied will be recor­ded within a project sched­ule, included within
the PMP/PEP.
Planning enables the project manager and their team to determ­ine what
methods and tech­niques they intend to use to deliver the required outputs,
products and activ­it­ies. Adding the activ­it­ies to a sched­ule helps to under­stand
the logical rela­tion­ships between activ­it­ies, the impact on resource distri­bu­tion,
the expendit­ure profile and report­ing implic­a­tions. In a well-planned project,

38
 Introduction to plan­ning

the means of achiev­ing the well-defined outputs, to an agreed stand­ard, have

been examined, thought about, optim­ised and recor­ded, and are regu­larly
reviewed.
Planning and schedul­ing are essen­tial to the author­isa­tion of the project
deliv­ery stages. Without a robust and real­istic PMP and sched­ule, advance­ment
through the project stages should not be approved. The approval at each stage
will look closely at the plan and sched­ule and consider whether the project is on
course to deliver its inten­ded busi­ness bene­fits in accord­ance with the busi­ness
case.
Once agreed and author­ised, plans and sched­ules are an essen­tial mech­an­ism
for commu­nic­at­ing the project strategy and the deploy­ment and tasking of staff,
contract­ors and other resources.

7.2.1  Benefits of plan­ning

• A well-planned project will identify and docu­ment the right activ­it­ies and
products to achieve the outputs and will secure the optimum resource level to
support this.
• Planning determ­ines what activ­it­ies and products need to be carried out,
when, to what stand­ard and using which resources, includ­ing monet­ary funds.
Well-planned projects, where the tasks that need to be under­taken, how and
when have been care­fully considered, are much more likely to success­fully
deliver desired outcomes.
• Comprehensive schedul­ing ensures the optimal alloc­a­tion and release of
resource and the effect­ive control of project activ­it­ies within time constraints.
• Planning is central to the control of the project and early iden­ti­fic­a­tion of where
the project might be start­ing to fail.
• Planning is an integ­ral part of problem solving at all stages of the project.
• The project sched­ule, risk and budget are used to form a baseline against
which the posi­tion of the project in terms of cost, time and risk, and there­fore
the perform­ance of the project, can be managed.
• Establishing a baseline enables the project team to check the progress of
the project, to measure success, and to identify and assess the impact of
devi­ation from the baseline. Early iden­ti­fic­a­tion of devi­ation will allow the
maximum time for correct­ive action and assess­ment of impact on other
planned activ­it­ies.
• With good plan­ning, it is possible to predict whether the project remains on
target to deliver its outputs within the time, cost or perform­ance constraints.

39
Planning, Scheduling, Monitoring and Control is
a comprehensive guide for anyone involved in
planning, scheduling and controlling projects.

Written to be accessible to all levels – from student

to senior project managers – it gives practical
guidance on all planning aspects of preparing to
undertake a project, executing a project, controlling
its delivery to budget, time and quality, and
delivering it safely.

Association for Project Management

Ibis House, Regent Park Telephone +44 (0) 845 458 1944
Summerleys Road Facsimile +44 (0) 845 458 8807
Princes Risborough Email [email protected]
Buckinghamshire HP27 9LE Web apm.org.uk