The Five Secrets of Project

Scheduling

Michelle Colodzin, PMP, MCTS, MS Project Black Belt

MetaVista Consulting Group
Introduction
• What is a good project schedule?
– A good project schedule is one that accurately models the work
of the project and which maintains a consistent and appropriate
level of detail

• Common pitfalls of project scheduling

– Creating activities-based schedules
– Creating schedules without sufficient logic
– Creating schedules which are difficult to maintain
– Inconsistent schedule update cycles
– Abandoning a schedule during project execution
• Most schedules are abandoned at some point during a project
• Abandoning a project schedule results in an increased likelihood of
project failure

• Applying these secrets consistently will increase the

likelihood of project success
The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling
1. Create deliverables-based project schedules

2. Determine the appropriate level of detail

3. Implement a regular status update and reporting

process

4. Review and adjust the schedule regularly

5. Create and follow project scheduling standards

Secret # 1: Create Deliverables-based
Project Schedules
Deliverables vs. Activities
– Deliverables are products produced by a project – all
projects have deliverables
• Deliverables are tangible: documentation, physical computer
hardware, application accessible by users, etc.

– Activities are performed by team members in order to

create a deliverable
• Activities consist of one or more tasks: gather system
requirements, install hardware, install software, test system
access and features
How to Create A Deliverables-Based
WBS
• WBS = Work Breakdown Structure
– See PMBOK for further definition and purpose of WBS

• There are two steps to creating a deliverables-based

project schedule:
1. Identify all deliverables and their “owners”
- Necessary to determine what is in and out of scope
- Owner can be individual or role (e.g., “Infrastructure
Manager”)
- Must have single primary owner – even when many people will
be working together to complete a deliverable

2. Build a deliverables-based work breakdown structure (WBS)

- Scheduler facilitates session w/leads to build a network
diagram listing all deliverables, their inputs and outputs
- Scheduler uses network diagram to create WBS
Deliverables-based Network Diagram Example

Simple example of system implementation project deliverables,

owners and dependencies
Creating a Deliverables-based WBS
• Group the deliverables listed in the network diagram into
logical areas
– Often grouped by functional area
– Frequently determined by project organizational structure
– Optimally it will determine project organizational structure
– Groups from example network diagram
1. Infrastructure
2. Application
3. Business Processes

• List each group with its associated deliverables

• Tasks and activities necessary to create each deliverable

are listed under each deliverable
SIMPLE WBS EXAMPLE
Basic Software Implementation Project
Software Implementation
Project
0.0

Business
Infrastructure Applications Process
1.0 2.0 X.0
Install H/W 1.1 Install Apps 2.1 Document Req’d
Task A 1.1.1 Task A 2.1.1 Changes X.1
Task B 1.1.2 Task B 2.1.2 Task A X.1.1
Task B X.1.2
Task X 1.1.x Task X 2.1.x
Make Config./Code Task X X.1.x
Install S/W 1.2 Document Process
Changes 2.2
Update Plan X.2
Establish NW Connectivity 1.3 Conduct Training 2.3
Document App Maintenance
Establish Monitoring 1.4 Plan X.3

2.X
1.X X.X
Sample High-Level Schedule
Built from Sample WBS
ID WBS Task Name Duration Work Predecessors Resource Names

1 1 Infrastructure 14 days 112 hrs

2 1.1 Install Hardware 6 days 48 hrs
3 1.1.1 Task A 2 days 16 hrs John Doe
4 1.1.2 Task B 4 days 32 hrs 3 John Doe
5 1.2 Install OS / System SW 2 days 16 hrs 2 Hardware Mgr
6 1.3 Establish Network Connectivity 1 day 8 hrs 5 Mary Smith
7 1.4 Establish Infrs. Monitoring 5 days 40 hrs 6,2,5 Infras. Manager
8 1.5 Infrastructure Established 0 days 0 hrs 7
9 2 Applications 24 days 192 hrs
10 2.1 Install Apps 4 days 32 hrs
11 2.1.1 Task C 2 days 16 hrs 8 Joe Jones
12 2.1.2 Task D 2 days 16 hrs 11 Joe Jones
13 2.2 Perform Config/Code Chgs 10 days 80 hrs 12 Joe Jones
14 2.3 Conduct Training 10 days 80 hrs 13,20,21 Terri Trainer
15 2.4 Applications Ready 0 days 0 hrs 14
16 3 Business Process 4 days 48 hrs
17 3.1 Document Bus Process Chgs 2 days 16 hrs
18 3.1.1 Task E 1 day 8 hrs 8 Terri Trainer
19 3.1.2 Task F 1 day 8 hrs 18 Terri Trainer
20 3.2 Document Process Update Plan 2 days 16 hrs 19 PMO Manager
21 3.3 Document Appl. Maintenance Plan 2 days 16 hrs 19 Applications Mgr
22 3.4 Business Process Documentation Complete 0 days 0 hrs 17,20,21
Secret # 2: Determine the Appropriate
Level of Detail
• The best project schedules are those which contain all of
the required information and nothing more
– There must be sufficient detail to accurately track and manage the
project’s activities
– There must not be so much detail that the schedule becomes
unmanageable

• Since each project is unique there is no single level of

detail that is appropriate for all projects or project
schedules

• The level of detail required for a particular project must be

defined prior to the start of scheduling and followed
consistently throughout the life of the project
 What Type of Details Should be
Included?
The type of acceptable tasks must also be defined up front
– Will you include administrative activities such as meetings, status
reporting, people management, etc.?
• If yes, how will they be represented?
– A single task representing all administrative activities?
– Tasks for each type of admin activity; meetings, status reporting, resource
leveling, etc.?
• If no, how will the time be accounted for?
– Reduce available work hours by x%
– Assume resources are fully loaded at x%

– Will you include activities performed by those outside of the project

team?
• If yes – who will be the task owner?
• If no – how will out-of-project dependencies be managed?
 How Much Detail is Too Much?
• The level of detail required may be defined as a
range of acceptable task durations and/or work
effort
– A good rule of thumb is the a “1% - 10%” Rule* which
states that the duration of any detail task should be
between 1% and 10% of the total project duration
• For example, if the project duration is expected to be 100
days, then all detail tasks should have a duration between 1
and 10 days
– This rule can also be applied to the total work hours
instead of total duration

* “1% -10% Rule” developed by Eric Uyttewaal, PMP in his book ‘Dynamic Scheduling with
Microsoft® Office Project 2003’. Referenced with permission of the author.
How Do I Know Whether to Include a
Task?
• To determine whether a task should be included in a
project schedule, the scheduler should ask the
following four questions:
1. Does this task directly contribute to the completion of one or more
specific deliverables?

2. Is the task at an appropriate level of detail?

3. Does this task have at least one named or generic resource

assigned?

4. Does this task have at least one predecessor and/or one

successor?

• If the answer to any of these questions is “No” it should

not be included in the schedule
Secret # 3: Implement a Regular Schedule
Status Update and Reporting Process
• A project schedule must be updated regularly to ensure
ongoing integrity and to enable monitoring of project
progress

• The project scheduler is responsible for determining how

to gather task status information, how often the information
will be collected and the method for collecting and
validating the information

• The first step in developing a regular update and reporting

process is to work with the project manager and key
stakeholders to determine the reporting requirements and
expectations
 General Reporting Guidelines
For most projects, the following is a list of minimal reporting requirements:

• Executive Overview – overview of project status at a high level. This report

frequently shows the actual status of key deliverables compared against the
baseline schedule
• Duration and/or Work Variance – specific tasks, activities and/or deliverables
that are taking significantly more (or less) time than expected and/or are
requiring significantly more (or less) work than anticipated. The level of detail of
this report will often be dictated by the audience receiving it.
• “Look-ahead” – a listing of deliverables and associated tasks either currently
active or becoming active in a specific “look-ahead” window (number of days,
weeks, months, etc.)
• Resource Utilization – the number of hours each resource is scheduled to work
during the next period (week, month, quarter, etc.) This is often used in
conjunction with the “Look-ahead” report to ensure assigned resources are
available to complete the work assigned in a given time period while
maintaining a realistic workload
• Schedule Issues/Risks – a listing/description and status of issues or risks
related to the project schedule. These should be linked to the specific task(s)
associated with the issue/risk.
Secret # 4: Review and Adjust the
Schedule Regularly
• A good project schedule must not be static - it must reflect
actual changes occurring on the project

• All projects experience unexpected events – successful

projects have a process for incorporating these events into
the project schedule

• All projects should establish and follow a schedule change

control process

• For smaller projects, this may be informal and occur on an

as-needed basis

• For larger projects, this must be formal and occur regularly

Schedule Change Control
• There are two types of schedule changes: Major and Minor
– Minor schedule change control should consist of a clearly defined set of,
usually minor, changes that may be made without going through the
change control process (e.g., adding or modifying resource assignments)
– Major changes (those which do not meet the criteria defined for minor
changes) must follow a formal change control process

• A good schedule change control process consists of:

– A formal schedule change request process which includes:
• a summary of the change request (including the business reason)
• an analysis of the impact of the change on the schedule and/or budget
• the implications of rejecting the change

– A finite set of people who are authorized to approve changes to the project
schedule
– All approved major changes must well documented as to the reason(s) and
the expected outcome of the change
– A lessons-learned capture process and/or repository
– An archive of earlier versions of the project schedule to show the evolution
of the schedule and to retain historical information
Secret # 5: Create and Follow Scheduling
Standards
• The use of scheduling standards can significantly
reduce the time required and eliminate some of
the complexity involved in developing a realistic
and maintainable project schedule.

• Scheduling standards help ensure consistency

when schedules are created by multiple
schedulers and/or project managers.

• Scheduling standards are particularly important in

a PMO environment
Scheduling Standards
• Scheduling standards are specific guidelines for
creating and maintaining project schedules within a
single or multiple related organizations
• Scheduling standards are created or adopted by an
organization which then champions, supports and
monitors their use within the project schedules
developed for projects under their sphere of
influence or control.
• It is a good practice to base specific scheduling
standards on an industry-accepted document such
as the PMICOS standard and/or industry-accepted
best practices.
Why Follow Scheduling Standards?
• They contribute to the development of realistic
and manageable project schedules
• They help ensure consistency in the structure
and level of detail across project schedules
• They help ensure information reported from
schedules built using consistent standards can
be more easily compared and leveraged
• They help ensure consistency in schedule-
related processes (such as reporting and
change control)
How Scheduling Standards Improve the
Project Success Rate
• They can reduce the time required to create and
maintain project schedules by defining up front the
schedule’s structure and level of detail
• Standard processes help facilitate the ongoing capture
and application of lessons learned
• The processes defined to ensure adherence to
standards contribute greatly to an environment where
project managers, project schedulers and other
stakeholders receive consistent, trusted information
which can be used to continually improve the process
of project scheduling and overall project management
across the organization
• They help ensure project success by making it easier to
identify potential problems in advance
Using the Five Secrets for the First Time
• When implementing these secrets for the first
time:
– start small and focus on the strengths of the
organization
– Develop a small set of scheduling standards and simple
processes, tools and templates
– Capture lessons learned and build a repository where
schedulers and project managers can:
• document and share their experiences and knowledge
• Store and retrieve schedules which worked well in similar
situations
• build and share new processes tools and templates
Using the Five Secrets in a Mature PMO
Environment
• Create a Centralized Scheduling Practice
– Train project managers how to build and use a good project
schedule
– Take on responsibility for scheduling all projects or providing
project schedulers to other parts of the organization

• Benefits of Centralizing Scheduling in the PMO

– Centralizing schedulers and scheduling helps ensure that
standards and processes are followed consistently
– It offers better visibility into what is working well and where
improvements are needed
– Increased overall project success rates due to better schedules
that are followed and managed consistently throughout the
organization
Conclusion
• These secrets are not new concepts – however,
many organizations overlook or downplay their
importance
• Using the five secrets requires discipline and
consistency
• Following the five secrets results in:
– Schedules which are easier to manage and update
– Reporting consistency and faster identification of
potential schedule and/or budget slippage
– Schedules which are more likely to be used throughout
the life of a project
– Increased likelihood of project success
Contact Information

Michelle Colodzin, PMP

MetaVista Consulting Group

Direct: 530-798-1656
Main Office: 916-932-7186
Email: mcolodzin@metavista.com