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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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)

7. 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

8. 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

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

10. 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

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

12. 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

13. 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

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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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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Faculty of Computing and Informatics
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