Engineering Management Tidbits! © Washington State University James R. Holt, Ph.D., PE Professor Engineering Management Buffer Management in Projects A Game using Critical Chain Project Management. View this document in Slide- Show mode.

Preparations for Game Director: 2 Printing Sheets for Manual CCPM Buffer Management Game Print pages on card stock (one set per team). -- One slide is the initial project (before CCPM leveling) -- One slide is the Tasks sized at 1” per week with some too-long buffers they can cut to size. -- One slide is a Percent Calculator sheet (so you don’t need calculators) -- One slide is the Fever Chart for tracking the Buffer Status of projects over time. Give each team a pair of scissors so they can cut out their own pieces from slide 14. Use 1” square grid Easel Paper to arrange the projects. You will need some tape to stick down the buffers (there rest of the tasks will move during simulation). Note: There is a second, small project at the end (slides 18-19) if you want another example (though more difficult to schedule) to schedule before or after your larger project. There are Extra Buffer strips at slide 20.

3 Project BufferFeeder Buffer A3 15 A2 10 C3 15 A1 5 B2 10 B3 10 A4 10 A5 10 A6 15 B4 5 C4 10 D3 20 D4 5 C7 5 C6 15 Project Complete Original Project (Before CCPM Leveling) The times are already Aggressive (50% estimates). Days  Weeks 

Your Plan (Task durations are Aggressive Times) Cut out and Lay out your plan using the colored strips provided on a large sheet of graph paper (Scale 1” Square is 5 days). Remove conflicts between resources. Select the Critical Chain. Add a Project Buffer. Insert needed Feeder Buffers. Adjust the schedule if needed. Determine your Promised Delivery Date (the Number the weeks of your project from 1 to the end of the Project Buffer). Tape down the Buffers (they don’t move). Assign individuals to Resource Colors (one person per Color) 4 A3 15 C4 10 D4 5 A1 5 B2 10 A5 10 C7 5 C3 15 B3 10 D3 20 A4 10 A6 15 B4 5 C6 15 Project Buffer Feeder Buffer A2 10

To play! 5 Each week, Resources which have work will work on their own active tasks. (A week is 5 days or one square on the paper) Each Resource can only work on one task at a time. Select the active task for that resources (a task that has all preceding work completed) before starting to roll. The Resource rolls one fair die once each day (for a maximum of five days per week) to determine if the Task is complete or not during that week (it’s binary, the resource either completes the tasks that week or not). If the Resource rolls a Six during the five day week, one weeks worth of work is completed for the active task. If no Six is rolled after five rolls (by the end of the week) that task slides (moves) to the right one square and pushes any follow-on work ahead – to the right (usually into the Project Buffer). (Note: If the Resource rolls a Six early in the week AND there is currently additional active work for that same Resource immediately available, then that Resource can spend the rest of the week working on a second, or even third task during the same week up to the maximum five rolls per week.)

Management Decisions 6 The goal is to complete your project by the delivery date you promised. Use Buffer Management to determine the best place and time to use your resources. NOTE: Your Project Manager has ONE extra Die that can be used to assist any Resource for one week at a time. This is like “Over-Time” for that resource for a week. The extra die can be assigned at the beginning of the week and rolls five times during the week along with the color Resource working overtime that week. The number of sixes rolled by the resource and the extra die are both counted towards completion of that Resource’s Task for that week. The Project Manager keeps track of the Number of Weeks the Extra Die was used.

7 How the Time Clock Moves Along …. Project BufferFeeder Buffer A3 15 A2 10 C3 15 A1 5 B2 10 B3 10 A4 10 A5 10 A6 15 B4 5 C4 10 D3 20 D4 5 C7 5 C6 15 Project Complete Moving Time Line End of Week 1 End of Week 2 End of Week 3 End of Week 4 End of Week 5 … Each week, move your current Time Line Days  Weeks  Feeder Buffer Note: This is not a good CCPM schedule. It’s just thrown in here to show the movements of time.

8 How the Project Might Look Over the Length of the Project Project Buffer A3 15 A2 10 A1 5 B2 10 B3 10 A6 15 B4 5 D3 20 C7 5 Project Complete Moving Time Line Each week, move your current Time Line Days  Weeks  Feeder Buffer FBFB Note: This is not a good CCPM schedule. It’s just thrown in here to show the movements of time.

9 This is how it might look over time. Project Buffer A3 15 A2 10 A1 5 B2 10 B3 10 A6 15 B4 5 D3 20 C7 5 Project Complete Moving Time Line End of Week 1 Each week, move your current Time Line Days  Weeks  Feeder Buffer FBFB Week 1 Blue Rolls one six in 5 days Note: This is not a good CCPM schedule. It’s just thrown in here to show the movements of time.

10 This is how it might look over time. Project Buffer A3 15 B2 10 B3 10 A6 15 B4 5 D3 20 C7 5 Project Complete Moving Time Line End of Week 2 Each week, move your current Time Line Days  Weeks  Feeder Buffer FBFB Week 2 Blue Rolls no six in 5 days A2 10 A1 5 Note Feeder Buffer Consumption Note: This is not a good CCPM schedule. It’s just thrown in here to show the movements of time.

11 This is how it might look over time. Project Buffer A3 15 B2 10 B3 10 A6 15 B4 5 D3 20 C7 5 Project Complete Moving Time Line End of Week 3 Each week, move your current Time Line Days  Weeks  Feeder Buffer FBFB Week 3 Blue Rolls no six in 5 days A2 10 A1 5 Note Feeder Buffer Consumption Note Project Buffer Consumption Note: This is not a good CCPM schedule. It’s just thrown in here to show the movements of time.

12 This is how it might look over time. Project Buffer A3 15 B2 10 B3 10 A6 15 B4 5 D3 20 C7 5 Project Complete Moving Time Line End of Week 4 Each week, move your current Time Line Days  Weeks  Feeder Buffer FBFB Week 4 Blue Rolls two sixes in 5 days A2 10 A1 5 Note Feeder Buffer Consumption Note Project Buffer Regained Note: This is not a good CCPM schedule. It’s just thrown in here to show the movements of time.

13 Project BufferFeeder Buffer A3 15 A2 10 C3 15 A1 5 B2 10 B3 10 A4 10 A5 10 A6 15 B4 5 C4 10 D3 20 D4 5 C7 5 C6 15 Project Complete Original Project (Before CCPM Leveling) The times are already Aggressive (50% estimates). Days  Weeks 

A3 15 C4 10 D4 5 A1 5 B2 10 A5 10 C7 5 C3 15 B3 10 D3 20 A4 10 A6 15 B4 5 C6 15 Project Buffer Feeder Buffer <-- A2 --> A4 <-- B2 --> D4 --> A5 --> B4 <-- B3 <-- C3 --> C6 <-- D3 <-- a5 --> C7 <-- C4 D4 --> A5 <-- A3 --> A6 <-- A3 B4 --> C4 --> A2 --> B3 <-- C6 A2 10 <-- A1 --> A3 Feeder Buffer Large Project LPLP LPLP LPLP LPLP LPLP LPLP LPLP LPLP LPLP LPLP LPLP LPLP LPLP LPLP LPLP

Percentage Calculation Chart Weeks WeeksDays Example: If the Critical Chain time is 80 days and you have completed 50 of the Critical Chain days, then you have completed 63% of the Critical Chain. Use this row for 80 days. Example: If the Project Buffer is 40 days, and you have consumed 15 days of Buffer, then you have consumed 38% of your Buffer. Use this row for 40 days.

Fever Chart

Go! 17 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Week 14 Week 15 Week 16 Week 17 Week 18 Week 19 Week 20 Week 21 Week 22 Week 23 Week 24 Week 25 Week 26 Week 27 Week 28 Week 29 Week 30 Week 31 Week 32 Week 33 Week 34 Week 35 Week 36 Week 37 Week 38 Week 39 Week 40 (Use this animated slide to keep teams all on the same week).

Small Project A-2 15 A-4 10 C-2 15 C-4 5 B-6 10 E-2 15 G-2 15 G-4 15 F-6 5 E-4 5 Project Complete

C-2 15 F-6 5 Project Buffer Feeder Buffer --> C-4 <-- E-4 G-4 A > B-6 Feeder Buffer Small Project SP C > B-6 E > F-6 E > E-4 SP G-4 15 <-- G-2 --> F-6 SP B-6 10 <-- A-4 C-4 A-2 15 SP G-2 15 SP <-- A-2 <-- C-2 <-- E-2 --> A-4 --> G-4 SP

Project Buffer Feeder Buffer A few extra Buffer Strips