Project Time Management - Develop Schedule

This process analysis activity sequences, durations, resource requirements and schedule constraints to create the project schedule model. This schedule model will have the planned dates and planned milestones for completing project activities listed. As the work is in motion you will have to update the project schedule model to keep it accurate for analysis.

Lets take a look at the Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs of this process.

1) Schedule Management Plan

• Identifies the scheduling method and tool used to create the schedule and how the schedule is to be calculated

2) Activity List

• Identifies the activities that will be included in the schedule model

3) Activity Attributes

• Provide the details used to build the schedule model

4) Project Schedule Network Diagrams

• Contains logical relationships of predecessors and successors that will be used to calculate the schedule

5) Activity Resource Requirements

• Identify the types and quants of resources required for each activity to create the schedule model

6) Resource Calendars

• Contains information on the availability of resources 

7) Activity Duration Estimates

• Contains the quantitative assessments of the likely number of work periods that will be required to complete an activity that will be used to calculate the schedule.

8) Project Scope Statement

• Contains assumptions and constraints that can impact the development of the schedule

9) Risk Register

• Provides details of all identified risks and their characteristics 

10) Project Staff Assignments

• Specifies which resource is assigned to which activity

11) Resource Breakdown Structure

• Provides the details by which resource analysis and organizational reporting can be done

12) Enterprise Environmental Factors

• Factors may include:
• Standards
• Communication channels
• Scheduling tool to be used

13) Organizational Process Assets

• Factors may include:
• Scheduling methodology
• Project calendars

14) Schedule Network Analysis

• A technique to generate the schedule model by using various analytical techniques. 
• Critical path method (CPM) - used to estimate the minimum project duration and determine the amount of scheduling flexibility on the logical network paths within the schedule model
• Critical chain method - Schedule method that allows the project team to place buffers on any project schedule path to account for limited resources and project uncertainties
• What-if analysis -Process of evaluating scenarios in order to predict their effect on project objectives
• Resource optimization techniques - technique used to adjust the start and finish dates of activities that adjust planned resource use to be equal or less than resource availability

15) Critical Path Method

• Technique used to estimate the minimum project duration and determine the amount of scheduling flexibility on the logical network paths within the schedule model. 
• This schedule analysis calculates the early start, early finish, late start and late finish dates for all activities without regards to limitations
• The path indicates the time periods which the activity can be executed
• Total float - the amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed or extended from its early start date without delaying the project finish date or violating a schedule constraint.
• Free float - the amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date or any successor or violating a schedule constraint

16) Critical Chain Method (CCM) 

• Is a schedule method that allows the project team to place buffers on any project schedule path to account for limited resources and project uncertainties
• It is developed from the Critical Path Method and considers the following:
• effects of resource allocation
• resource optimization
• resource leveling
• activity duration uncertainty on the critical path
• Also known as resource-constrained critical path
• Feeding buffers are placed at each point where a chain of dependent activities, that are not on the critical chain, feeds into the critical chain protecting from slippage 

17) Resource Optimization Techniques

• Technique used to adjust the start and finish dates of activities that adjust planned resource use to be equal or less than resource availability
• Resource leveling - technique in which start and finish dates are adjusted based on resource constraints with the goal of balancing demand for resources with the available supply. It usually changes the critical path and increases it. 
• Resource smoothing - technique which adjusts the activities of a schedule model such that the requirement for resources on the project do not exceed certain predefined resource limits. The project's critical path is not changed and the completion date may not be delayed. 

18) Modeling Techniques

• What-If Scenario Analysis 
• the process of evaluating scenarios in order to predict their effects, positively or negatively on the objectives of the project
• Scenarios include delaying a major component or introducing external factors
• The outcome of the analysis helps prepare contingency and response plans
• Simulation
• Involves calculating multiple project durations with different sets of activity assumptions, usually using probability distributions constructed from the three-point estimates to account for uncertainty 
• Monte Carlo analysis is the most commonly used - distribution of possible activity durations are defined for each activity and used to calculate a distribution of possible outcomes for the total project

19) Leads and Lags

• Lead is the amount of time whereby a successor activity can be advanced with respect to a predecessor activity. 
• Lag is the amount of time whereby a successor activity will be delayed with respect to a predecessor activity. 

20) Schedule Compression

• Used to shorten the schedule duration without reducing the project scope
• Crashing - technique used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental cost by adding resources and may result in increase risk or cost
• Fast tracking - technique in which activities or phases normally done in sequence are preformed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration resulting in rework and increased risk

21) Scheduling tool 

• Tools that contain the schedule model and generate start and finish dates based on the inputs of activities, network diagrams, resources and activity durations. 

22) Schedule baseline

• This is the approved version of the schedule model and is used as a basis for comparison to actual start and finish dates results. 

23) Project Schedule

• presents linked activities with planned dates, durations, milestones and resources
• planned start and end date for each activity
• also known as the master schedule or milestone schedule
• presented in a graphical form
• Bar charts - known as Gantt charts which plots out all the activities with their durations and planned start and end dates
• Milestone charts - similar to Gantt charts but only shows the milestones
• Project schedule network diagram - A graphical representation of the logical relationships among the project schedule activities. It can be created manually or using project management software. A summary narrative and any unusual activity sequence may be included with this diagram.

24) Schedule Data

• Collection of information for describing and controlling the schedule and includes the following:
• Schedule milestones
• Schedule activities
• Activity attributes
• documentation of all identified assumptions and constraints

25) Project calendars

• Identifies working days and shifts that are available for scheduled activities

26) Project Management Plan Updates

• Plans that may get updated include:
• Schedule baseline
• Schedule management plan

27) Project Document Updates

• Documents that may get updated include:
• Activity resource requirements
• Activity attributes
• Calendars
• Risk register

Source: PMBOK 5th ed.