Project Management – PTM721S Faculty of Computing and Informatics 14 August 2017 Project Management – PTM721S Lesson 6 – Project time management

Introduction to information systems (IS) in organisations Faculty of Computing and Informatics Introduction to information systems (IS) in organisations Project time management processes Activity definition Activity sequencing Activity duration estimating Project scheduling control Project scheduling control software

Project time management processes Faculty of Computing and Informatics Project time management processes Project time management involves processes required to ensure the timely completion of a project There are 5 processes of project time management Activity definition Activity sequencing Activity duration estimating Schedule development Schedule control

Project time management processes Faculty of Computing and Informatics Project time management processes Activity definition – identifying specific activities that the project team members and stakeholders must perform to produce project deliverables Activity sequencing – identifying and documenting the relationship between project activities

Project time management processes Faculty of Computing and Informatics Project time management processes Activity duration estimating – estimating the number of work periods that are needed to complete individual activities Schedule development – analyzing activity sequences, activity duration estimates and resource requirements to create the project schedule Schedule control – controlling and managing changes to the project schedule

Project time management processes –activity definition Faculty of Computing and Informatics Project time management processes –activity definition Triple constraint – scope, time and cost goals Reflect three (3) processes in project time management Activity definition (further defining scope) Activity sequencing (further defining time) Activity duration estimating (further defining cost)

Project time management processes –activity sequencing Faculty of Computing and Informatics Project time management processes –activity sequencing Activity sequencing is reviewing the activities in the detailed WBS, detailed product descriptions, assumptions and constraints to determine relationships between activities Consists of: Network diagrams

Activity sequencing – Network diagram Faculty of Computing and Informatics Activity sequencing – Network diagram Network diagrams are the preferred technique for showing activity sequencing A network diagram is a schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project activities Two main formats are the arrow and precedence diagramming methods

Activity sequencing – Network diagram Faculty of Computing and Informatics Activity sequencing – Network diagram

Schedule development: Activity duration estimating– Gantt charts Faculty of Computing and Informatics Schedule development: Activity duration estimating– Gantt charts Gantt charts provide a standard format for displaying project schedule information by listing project activities and their corresponding start and finish dates in a calendar format Symbols include: Black diamonds: milestones Thick black bars: summary tasks Lighter horizontal bars: durations of tasks Arrows: dependencies between tasks

Schedule development: Activity duration estimating – Gantt charts Faculty of Computing and Informatics Schedule development: Activity duration estimating – Gantt charts

Faculty of Computing and Informatics Schedule development: Activity duration estimating– Critical path method CPM is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration A critical path for a project is the series of activities that determines the earliest time by which the project can be completed The critical path is the longest path through the network diagram and has the least amount of slack or float Slack or float is the amount of time an activity may be delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the project finish date

How to calculate critical path: First develop a good network diagram Faculty of Computing and Informatics Schedule development: Activity duration estimating – Critical path method How to calculate critical path: First develop a good network diagram Add the duration estimates for all activities on each path through the network diagram The longest path is the critical path If one or more of the activities on the critical path takes longer than planned, the whole project schedule will slip unless the project manager takes corrective action

Faculty of Computing and Informatics Schedule development: Activity duration estimating – Critical path method

Schedule development: Activity duration estimating– PERT Faculty of Computing and Informatics Schedule development: Activity duration estimating– PERT PERT is a network analysis technique used to estimate project duration when there is a high degree of uncertainty about the individual activity duration estimates PERT uses probabilistic time estimates Duration estimates based on using optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic estimates of activity durations, or a three-point estimate

Schedule development: Activity duration estimating – PERT Faculty of Computing and Informatics Schedule development: Activity duration estimating – PERT PERT weighted average = optimistic time + 4X most likely time + pessimistic time 6 Example: 8 workdays + 4 X 10 workdays + 24 workdays = 12 days 6 where optimistic time = 8 days most likely time = 10 days, and pessimistic time = 24 days NB: Consider as risk Therefore, you’d use 12 days on the network diagram instead of 10 when using PERT for the above example

Project scheduling control Faculty of Computing and Informatics Project scheduling control Realistic schedule expectations – time constraints People issues – determine failure/success – good network diagram Refer to project charter for initial project expectations Prepare detailed schedule Get stakeholder approval Reality check from progress meetings with stakeholders Illustrate progress with a tracking Gantt chart showing key deliverables and activities Leadership qualities for Project Manager to control schedule – empowerment, incentive, discipline, negotiation

Project scheduling control software Faculty of Computing and Informatics Project scheduling control software Software for facilitating communication to exchange schedule-related information with stakeholders Decision support models to analyse various trade-offs related to the schedule Microsoft project software – to draw network diagrams, determine critical path, create Gantt charts, Report, view and filter specific project management information

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