1. The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling A PMO Approach
Michelle Colodzin, PMP, MCTS, MS Project Black Belt
MetaVista Consulting Group

2. MetaVista Consulting Group
May 17, 2018
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
How is a good schedule built and maintained?
The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling provide a framework and methodology for consistently producing and maintaining good project schedules
How can a good schedule improve project performance?
A good schedule can provide advanced warning of possible schedule slippage, resource issues, cost overruns and general project risks – giving the project manager time to avoid or mitigate the problem
What is the role of the PMO in developing and maintaining good project schedules?
The PMO can develop, champion and support good scheduling practices, provide templates, train schedulers and project managers and perform project and portfolio analysis on an organization-wide basis

3. The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling
MetaVista Consulting Group
May 17, 2018
The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling
The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling are five factors (or “secrets”) that will help project managers and project schedulers consistently produce and maintain good project schedules
These secrets are not new concepts - they provide a context, framework and methodology, which when followed consistently, result in better project schedules that are easier to maintain and analyze
Taking full advantage of these secrets requires a centralized group – such as a PMO - overseeing and enforcing their use throughout the organization

4. The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling
MetaVista Consulting Group
May 17, 2018
The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling
Create deliverables-based project schedules
Determine the appropriate level of detail
Implement a regular status update and reporting process
Review and adjust the schedule regularly
Create and follow project scheduling standards

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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 provide the PMO with objective measures to evaluate, monitor and provide feedback on specific schedules and scheduling practices

10. What Are 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 (such as a PMO) 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.

11. 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)

12. The Role of the PMO in Project Scheduling
The PMO can by a key enabler of good project scheduling – the more active and widespread the influence of the PMO the better the results from a centralized approach to scheduling
Key PMO Responsibilities related to Scheduling:
Define and enforce scheduling standards
Define and document schedule-related processes
Length of reporting cycle
Triggers and/or time interval for reviewing and updating schedules
Specific reports to be submitted to the PMO
Develop and distribute tools and templates whenever possible
Train project managers in scheduling practices and tools
If possible, centralize scheduling services within the PMO and provide scheduling resources to projects

13. The Benefits of an Active PMO in Project Scheduling
The PMO can by a key enabler of good project scheduling practices – the more active and widespread the influence of the PMO the more likely project performance and success rates will improve throughout the organization
Use of standard practices, tools and templates reduces the time required to create and maintain project schedules
Standard processes help facilitate the ongoing capture and application of lessons learned across the organization
Standard report formats and content enable faster and more accurate comparison of status and issues across multiple projects – this is vital for organizations doing portfolio management

14. 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

15. 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

16. Conclusion
These secrets are not new concepts – however, many organizations overlook or downplay their importance
Using the five secrets requires discipline and consistency – this can best be provided through a PMO
Developing, championing and managing scheduling processes through a PMO accelerates organizational learning, improves schedule quality and improves the likelihood of project success throughout an organization

17. For further information contact Michelle Colodzin via or phone