Question

describe the key processes you would follow when managing the project schedule, including how much oversight each project team member may require, again based on their behavior.

Answer 1

Project scheduling is the most crucial process in project management. This is the largest and most visible aspect of project management.

The six processes that are involved in project scheduling are:

1. Plan Schedule Management

2. Define Activities

3. Sequence Activities

4. Estimate Activity Resources

5. Estimate Activity Durations

6. Develop Schedule

Step 1: The first step is to define the policies, procedures, and documentation that governs the production of the project schedule.

The following can be addressed in the plan:

Contingencies- How they will be calculated?

Resources- Are there any resources whose availability creates major impact on the schedule?

Task Dependencies- Are there any major task dependencies the project depends on?

Organisational Procedures- May be there is a software used for standard procedures for updating the schedule

Stakeholders- Who must approve the schedule, or to whom it should be distributed?

Step 2: Define Activities

The activity list is known as "Work Breakdown List." This is the process of identifying and documenting the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables. The key benefits include breakdown work packages into activities that provide a basis for estimating, scheduling, executing, monitoring and controlling the project work.

Step 3: Sequence Activities

This is the process of identifying and documenting relationships among project activities. The benefit is that it defines the logical sequence of work to obtain the greatest efficiency.

There are four types of task dependencies between any two tasks. Finish to Start, Finish to Finish, Start to Start, Start to Finish.

Step 4: Estimate Activity Resources

This is the process of analysing the type and quantities of the resources required to perform a project that includes material, human resources, equipment or supplies that is required to perform each activity.

There are four main resources:

1. Manpower

2. Tools and Equipment

3. Facilities

4. Fixed cost items like subcontractors

Step 5: Estimate Activity Durations

This is the process of estimating the no of workperiods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources. This provides the amount of time each activity will take to complete which is the major input for developing the schedule.

Step 6: Develop Schedule

This is the process of analysing the activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, schedule constraints to create the project schedule model. By entering these in Scheduling tool, it generates a schedule model with planned dates for completing project activities.

While designing Step 4, 5 & 6 i.e., while estimating the activity resources, I would keep in mind about the role of each project team members and their capabilities. Depending on their ability to work, the tasks will be developed and allocated to each of them. I would make sure that everyone is clear with the responsibilities and timelines. I will make sure that each member coordinates well with the other and also the impact caused due to delay from one person will be major and there might be changes in the project schedule. Hence, there will be a constant updates taken. I would mostly follow scrum methods in allocating the tasks followed by the scrum meetings.