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  preparepm: Tutorial Project Time Management
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preparepm.com Tutorial - Project Time Management

This chapter covers key concepts related to Project Time Management.
  1. The knowledge area of Project Time Management consists of the following processes -

    Time Management Processes
    Process Project Phase Key Deliverables
    Activity Definition Planning Activity List, Milestone list
    Activity Sequencing Planning Project Schedule network diagrams
    Activity Resource Estimating Planning Activity resource requirements,
    Resource breakdown structure
    Activity Duration Estimating Planning Activity duration estimates,
    Activity attributes (updates)
    Schedule Development Planning Project Schedule, Schedule model data
    Schedule Control Control Performance measurements,
    Requested changes

  2. Inputs to Activity Definition process are -
    • Enterprise environmental factors
    • Organizational process assets
    • Project Scope Statement
    • WBS
    • WBS Dictionary
    • Project Management Plan

  3. The Activity Sequencing process has the following inputs and Tools and Techniques -

    Activity Sequencing Process
    Inputs Tools and Techniques
    Project scope statement Precedence diagram method (PDM) or AON
    Activity List Arrow diagram method (ADM) or AOA
    Activity attributes Schedule Network Templates
    Milestone list Dependency determination
    Approved change requests Applying leads and lags

  4. Tools and Techniques for Activity Duration Estimating process are -
    • Expert Judgment
    • Analogous Estimating
    • Parametric estimating
    • Three point estimating
    • Reserve analysis

  5. The Schedule Development process has the following inputs and Tools and Techniques -

    Schedule Development Process
    Inputs Tools and Techniques
    Organizational process assets Schedule network analysis
    Project scope statement Critical path method
    Activity List Schedule Compression
    Activity attributes What-if scenario analysis
    Project Schedule Network diagram Resource levelling
    Activity Resource requirements Critical chain method
    Resource Calendars Project Management Software
    Activity duration estimates Applying calendars
    Project Management Plan -
    Risk Register    		 Adjusting Leads and Lags
    Schedule Model

  6. Bar charts (or Gantt charts) are used to display tasks and their dates in a graphical fashion. They are used to display information of the type task 1 is scheduled from date A to date B. Typically the date range is displayed in the X-axis and the tasks on the Y-axis. Bar charts do not show task dependencies. They are generally used to track progress and show to the team.

  7. Milestone charts are similar to bar charts but display only major events. They display major milestones (for example bridge design completed). They are used to report status to Management.

  8. Network diagrams are used to display activities and their dependencies. Network diagrams can be used to perform critical path analysis. Network diagrams can also be used to perform crashing and fast tracking of the project.
    There are two type of network diagrams -
    • Activities on Node (or Precedence)
    • Activities on Arrow (or AOA)
    Precedence is most commonly used. AON and AOA cannot have loops or conditional relationships.

  9. An activity in a network diagram is displayed as shown below.
    Activity name
    Activity Number Estimate

    As an example -
    Documentation
    2 5 days
    In the above example Documentation is activity number 2 and is estimated to last 5 days.

  10. Precedence (or Activity on Node) diagrams can be used to display four type of relationship between activities. These are
    • Finish-To-Start
    • Start-To-Start
    • Start-To-Finish
    • Finish-To-Finish

    Finish-to-start relationship means the dependent activity cannot start until the first activity is finished. This is the most common way to represent relationships between activities.

  11. Activity on Array (AOA) network diagrams have the following characteristics.
    • AOA only uses Finish-To-Start relationship between tasks.
    • PERT and CPM can only be used with AOA.
    • Dummy events are shown with dotted lines. They do not take any time. They show dependencies between tasks.

  12. Longest path through the network diagram is called the critical path. The activities on the critical paths are called critical activities.

  13. Lags are inserted waiting times in between tasks. For example Task B cannot start until three days after task A completes.

  14. Slack or Float is the amount of time a task can be delayed without delaying the project. Tasks on the critical path have zero float.

  15. Critical Path Method (CPM) has the following characteristics.
    • It uses one time estimate per activity
    • It can be drawn only using AOA diagrams
    • It can have dummy events

  16. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) has the following characteristics.
    • It uses three estimates per activity - optimistic, pessimistic and most likely
    • It can be drawn only using AOA diagrams
    • It can have dummy events

  17. PERT utilizes more information than CPM as it considers the "Pessimistic" and "Optimistic" values in addition to the "Most Likely" value in its calculations. The following are formulae used by PERT -
     Mean = (P + 4M + O)/6
     Standard Deviation = (P-O)/6
     Variance = ((P-O)/6)2
    Here P is the pessimistic estimate, O is the optimistic estimate and M is the most likely estimate.

  18. GERT is another type of network diagram. It can support looping.

  19. If a project has more than one critical paths then the risk to the project increases.

  20. Resource levelling refers to keeping the resources same across the duration of the project.

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