1. Schedule Management Plan
Presenter: Latrece Cotton
April 7, 2009
5 minutes
Introduction of Self – Work experience. Bad writer, good writer.
Introduction of Topic
Tie to Previous Topics
Schedules – The under valued tool. Plan increases use and validity of the schedule. Not just documentation, but a planning and management tools.
Some information is true for all project management documentation, some specific to schedule management.
Expectation Setting
Information you would like to know

2. Purpose And Value Why are you writing this document?
What are you intending to accomplish?
What are you going to do with it once written?
Who is your audience?
Client or contractor?
Project team or executive management?
What is your expectation of the readers?
Feedback
Roles and responsibilities
5 Minutes
Establish how you will manage the schedule activities and changes to the project schedule throughout the project life cycle.
Outline approach to ensure timely efficient and effective schedule updates to drive the project team toward completion of activities and to establish status and progress reporting documentation.
Provide and explanatory reference document for those who are new to the project or who are unfamiliar with schedule activities to become quickly familiarized with the process, procedures and expectations.
Is this a theoretical document?
Are these goals, but not actually intending to adhere to them
This is a planning document used to drive the process and how you will manage
Documentation of methodology
Who is this written for
Team Communication
Decision Making Process. Assumptions and Constraints

3. Integration With PM Approach
The project schedule is tied to all aspects of the project and must support the project management efforts.
Plan is not for the benefit of the scheduler. It is for the benefit of the Project Manager. What does my PM need to be successful? Information in from others. Understanding what changed. Answers for the boss.
Staff – Are they available for other assignment. How may hours is Joe working?
Scope – When will X be available
Risk – Do you see any problems in meeting our commitment?
Change – What impact will this change order have?

4. Schedule Management Plan
How is it different from other plans?
Why would anyone read it?
What are the challenges with this plan?
Daily execution of specific activities
What is the relationship to the triple constraint?
Different: MS Project Also,
Triple Constraint:: Scope, Schedule, Cost come together in a concrete representation. Data source. How to manage that data source and report on it.
Drives the activities of the project
What to include
Assumptions and Constraints
One of the key plans for determining the health of the project
Daily execution of specific activities
Challenge – Don’t get mixed up with managing the schedule. (e.g. in synch with implementation plan)
If you need to answer questions to anyone regarding when something will get done, when we are getting paid; why we are working so many hours, then you need a plan.

5. Writing a Bad Plan Do not follow your purpose
Don’t convey an integrated approach
Don’t address the plan and the schedule
Provide random information
Make unclear or empty statements
Omit data gathering and information sharing
Easy to forget your purpose
Random - And your telling me this why – its in your head but not on the page.
Empty - That said nothing: Calendar – So you’ve won the British Avant-Garde Hairdresser of the Year Award. What does that mean? Well, it means I’m the British Avant-Garde hairdresser of the Year. Words inside the terminology or topics
Don’t account for schedule dynamics

6. Writing a Good Plan Is the outlined approach achievable?
Have you identified success factors?
Is the plan directed to the current project?
Have you addressed your audience(s)?
Does the plan support project success?
Flow
Examples
Support project success: Task work orders and stops?
Are you creating unnecessary work?
Success of the Plan – How do you know you are completing/achieving each goal. Is the plan helping anyone?
Are you writing theory? Have you considered the project characteristics (e.g. iterative, waterfall)
Does each audience know what they need to do or where to get information?

7. What to Include Assumptions and constraints
How you will build the schedule and why
Your methodology for managing the plan
Your methodology for managing the schedule
Roles and Responsibilities
Reporting mechanism and usage
The plan also serves as your explanation of your though process. The method to your madness. People take the schedule for granted. Historical so why planning for it.
Assumptions – 6 hour work day. Everyone at 100% time on project. Blackout periods
Methodology – Process and Practices - Best Practices (John Simko)
How and when you will baseline. How going to use the schedule
Tools – What tools you will use and how. not just MS Project. Not just applications
Visual as well as text
What am I trying to share about the plan. What is the plan trying to share.

8. What’s Next Distribute and communicate the plan
Get buy-in and follow the plan
Update the plan or approach as needed
Hold the executors accountable
Can’t just hand it out anymore than you can just put on a shelf and expect it to work.
Should have been collaborative or at least considerate of others contribution and needs
Draft review to ensure familiarity and opportunity for input.
Tie to what people know. Not everyone is a PMP
Everyone is accountable, including yourself. Also work with IVV and IPOC

9. Wrap Up Where’s the bang for your buck?
Tell me something I don’t know?
Why would anyone read this?
Greater compliance because people understand what, how, why?
Hardest to manage. First thing to go when things get tough is the schedule and schedule management. On top of it, everyone is OK with it because “We all know what needs to get done”
What’s in it for me or what is the impact to me.
Depends on PMO culture of value and enforcement

10. Questions