Question

How the time management: Project Schedule, Schedule Monitoring, and Approval of Schedule Changes be used in the real project management?

Answer 1

A project is temporary in that it has a defined beginning and end in time, and therefore defined scope and resources.And a project is unique in that it is not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a singular goal. So a project team often includes people who don’t usually work together – sometimes from different organizations and across multiple geographies.The development of software for an improved business process, the construction of a building or bridge, the relief effort after a natural disaster, the expansion of sales into a new geographic market — all are projects.And all must be expertly managed to deliver the on-time, on-budget results, learning and integration that organizations need.

Project management, then, is the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements.

Project management processes fall into five groups:

1. Initiating
2. Planning
3. Executing
4. Monitoring and Controlling
5. Closing

Project Schedule:

Project scheduling is a mechanism to communicate what tasks need to get done and which organizational resources will be allocated to complete those tasks in what timeframe. A project schedule is a document collecting all the work needed to deliver the project on time.But when it comes to creating a project schedule, well, that’s something few have deep experience with.

What and who is being scheduled, and for what purposes, and where is this scheduling taking place, anyway?

A project is made up of many tasks, and each task is given a start and end (or due date), so it can be completed on time. Likewise, people have different schedules, and their availability and vacation or leave dates need to be documented in order to successfully plan those tasks.

Whereas people in the past might have printed calendars on a shared wall in the water-cooler room, or shared spreadsheets via email, today most teams use online project scheduling tools. Typically, project scheduling is just one feature within a larger project management software solution, and there are many different places in the software where scheduling takes place.

For example, most tools have task lists, which enable the manager to schedule multiple tasks, their due dates, sometimes the planned effort against that task, and then assign that task to a person. The software might also have resource scheduling, basically the ability to schedule the team’s availability, but also the availability of non-human resources like machines or buildings or meeting rooms.

Because projects have so many moving parts, and are frequently changing, project scheduling software automatically updates tasks that are dependent on one another, when one scheduled task is not completed on time. It also generates automated email alerts, so team members know when their scheduled tasks are due or overdue, and to let the manager know when someone’s availability has changed.

MONITOR PROJECT-SCHEDULE PERFORMANCE

Regularly monitoring your project’s schedule performance can provide early indications of possible activity-coordination problems, resource conflicts, and possible cost overruns. To monitor schedule performance, you need to know how to collect information and evaluate it and how to ensure its accuracy.

The lowest level of detail of each branch of the WBS is a work package, and each work package, in turn, is composed of activities (pieces of work performed during the project).

You can describe an activity’s schedule performance either by noting the dates it began and ended or by describing how much of it has been done.

If you choose to describe your project’s schedule performance by noting the status of individual activities, collect either or both of the following data items to support your analyses:

• The start and end dates for each activity in your project
• The dates when milestones (such as contract signed, materials received, or environmental test completed) are reached

Changes to the baseline schedule represent significant changes and require more than a simple "yes" or "no" approval process. A schedule change control system is a collection of formal, documented procedures defining the steps involved when contemplating a schedule baseline change.

Schedule change control system:

• defines schedule change procedures
• is a decision-making guide for the project management team
• enables your company to assess project changes
• helps your company track project changes.

Schedule change control systems are facilitated by a change control board (CCB) that is responsible for the approval or rejection of change requests. Senior management takes on this decision-making role, in the absence of a CCB.

The schedule change control system itself is a 5-step process.

Step 1: Initiate the change request. - The change request may be initiated either internally or externally. It may take the form of a written or oral request. The change request may be legally mandated or discretionary.

Step 2: Record specifics of project changes. - The recording phase requires the specifics of the change request to be recorded, preferably in a change request log where they can be easily managed. Enough detail must be recorded so that anyone related to the project can understand it.

Step 3: Conduct an assessment. - At the assessment stage, someone is identified as the change request "owner," and must conduct an assessment. Assessment consists of estimating the work involved in implementing the change and quantifying the impact on the remainder of the project as well as on the project's objectives.

Step 4: Recommend a course of action. - A recommendation to accept, reject or modify the change request, is based on the information provided via the assessment. Recommendations should be based on an objective time/cost/benefit analysis.

Step 5: Make a decision. - Recommendations are presented to management for decisions. If the change request is rejected, it is closed and documentation is filed. If accepted, the project budget, schedule, and scope must be adjusted to incorporate the approved change.