Effective Project SchedulingKey Concepts for Schedule Foundation

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Speaker-Introduction

A practitioner of Analytics, Productivity,

Information Modelling, Enterprise

Project\Program\Portfolio Management &

Execution Management.

Project Management Coach/ Trainerfocusing on MS Excel, MS Project and MSEPM product to improve productivity ofmanagement community. Jaiveer Singh (MBA,PMP)

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www.singhjaiveer.blogspot.com

www.project-management-practice.blogspot.com

@ singhjaiveerHaving 18 years work experienceincluding 10 years in Project/Program &Portfolio management roles for globalMNCs. http://www.slideshare.net/Jaiveer

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A walk through of the session outline

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Photo by Tricky at flickr

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Agenda

1. Key Concepts - 20 Min.

2. Q & A - 10 Min.

3. MS Project Demo - 20 Min.

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3. MS Project Demo - 20 Min.

4. Q & A - 10 Min.

Note: Participants can post questions using Chat option

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Key Concepts

�Scheduling is Modelling

�Static & Dynamic Scheduling

�Progressive Elaboration

�Time - Calendars (FY)

� Working Time/ Days

�Duration vs Work Measurement

�WBS & Rolling Wave Planning

�Task Types

Project Schedule

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�Task Types

�Tasks Dependencies

�Project Progress Rate & Project Status

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Scheduling or Multi Player Game

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Master or Assistant

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Scheduling is Modeling

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Static & Dynamic SchedulingOriginal Schedule

Static Schedule

Baseline Schedule

Reference Schedule

Vs

Second Schedule

Dynamic Schedule

Actual task progress

impact successor

tasks

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Dynamic Schedule

Forecast Schedule

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The dates are continually recalculated and

reforecast when you enter progress

information or make other changes.The forecast schedule helps you identify

slippages relative to the original schedule.

Because this is a dynamic model, it also helps

you find ways to quickly reduce slippage.

The Living Project Schedule

• Project planning isn’t

just an activity for

the start of the

project--the project

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project--the project

plan must be a living,

evolving document

that is updated and

changed on a regular

basis.

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Progressive Elaboration– Moving From the Unknown to the Known

Progressive elaboration, is defined by PMBOK*as

“continuously improving and detailing a plan as more detailed and specific

information and more accurate estimates become available as the project

progresses, and thereby producing more accurate and complete plans that result

from the successive iterations of the planning process”.

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Understanding Time - Calendars

Year

Month 1 Month 12

Gregorian/ Hizri/Thai

Buddhist Calendar

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Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

Day 1 Day 7

Hour 1 Hour 24

Week 4

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Project / Resource/ Tasks Calendars

Consultants

Availability

Working Hours [8-5/ 9-6] Holidays

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Offshore Team

Calendar

Project

Calendar

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Duration vs WorkHow Big is Project: Work Size

Time : Person Days, Person Week, Person

Months, Person Years

How Long Project Can Run: Duration

Time : Days, Week, Months, Years

500 person months Duration : 10 months

�25 person working for 20 months = 500 Person Months

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�50 Persons working for 10 months = 500 Person Months

�Work = Duration X Resource Units

�500 = 10 X 50

Project

Dimensions

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WBS- Work Breakdown Structure

A detailed, well-defined WBS is created for immediate period of clarity, and

only milestones are highlighted for the rest of the project.

Level 1

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Rolling Wave Planning – WBS Level

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Level 2

Level 3

Tasks Types

Fixed Duratione.g. wet paint on cars may

take 2-3 hours to dry

before next work can be

done on cars

Fixed Resources/ Efforts/

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Fixed Unit

Fixed Resources/ Efforts/

Budget e.g. To move a long

table, you require 2 people

Fixed Work

Fixed work size which is having

linear relationship to duration

and resources assigned for

execution

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Tasks Types

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Fixed Work

Work = Duration X Resources (units)

50 Person Days = 5 Days X 10 Resources

Change in one unit, trigger re-computation of other factor

while base type column remains fixed

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Tasks Dependencies Concepts

Hard Dependency : Once Paint on walls is dry only

then next work can be done on walls, Another example

- Walls needs to be built first before roof can be made.

Soft Dependency : Once some programmer is

available, previous application defect can be fixed. It’s

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available, previous application defect can be fixed. It’s

about availability of resources.

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Time Lag: Time difference between finish of task 1 and start of

task 2. Task 2 may have to wait post Task 1 completion.

Overlap: Time Period in which both tasks run in parallel. Some

tasks can be started 2-3 days before of previous tasks completion

Tasks Dependencies Types

Finish to Start

Dependencies are the relationships of the preceding tasks to the

succeeding tasks. Tasks may have multiple preceding tasks and multiple

succeeding tasks.

The most common dependency relationship is a finish-to-start

relationship.

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Build Columns/Walls

Build Roof

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Tasks Inter Dependencies

Finish to Start

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Paint a car Polish the car

Time Lag

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Tasks Dependencies Types

Start to Start

10 s

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Fill Car Fuel Tank

Change wheels

Start to Start

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Tasks Dependencies Types

Predecessor task

successor task

[FF] The successor task cannot finish

until the predecessor task finishes.

Finish to Finish

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Predecessor task

successor task

[SF] The successor task cannot finish

until the predecessor task starts.

Start to Finish

Project Baselines

Project Approved Timelines is referred as Project Baseline. Project actual

performance is measured against this (goal).

6878

88 91 94 97 100

80

100

120

% Completion

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3 5 7 9 11 1318

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4858

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Project Progress Rate vs StatusCar Journey – Distance/ Speed/ Fuel

Distance : 300 KM, Speed : 50 KM Per hour, Mileage: 20 KM/ Liter

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Concepts Implementation in MS Project

�Tools/ options [Configuration/ Product Setup]

�Calendar/ Schedule/ View

�Calendar Setup

�Holidays/ Work Weeks

�Project Information

�Timescale [ Bottom/ Middle/ Top Tier]

�Tasks (Duration & Work)

�Tasks Type

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�Tasks Type

�Task Dependencies

�Project Guide

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Select Project Calendar Type

Define Calendar

Type to be used

Tools - > Options

- > View Tab

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Setup Time Units & Working Time

Define First day

of Week and First

Month of a Year

Tools - > Options

- > View Tab

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Define working

time

Define Time Units

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New Calendar Setup

Setup Custom

Calendars

Tools - > Change Working Time

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Define Work

Days in a Week

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Duration/Work Unit Setup

Duration Time

Unit

Tools - > Options

- > Schedule Tab

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Unit

Default Work

Unit (person

hours/ days)

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Customize Time Scale

Select Time Unit

Format- > Time Scale

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Project Information

Project Start

Date

Project - > Project Information

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Project Base

Calendar (Choose

Custom Calendars)

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Setup Default Task TypeTools - > Options

- > Schedule Tab

Default Task

Type

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�Fixed Unit

�Fixed Duration

�Fixed Work

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Task Type relationship to work

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Tasks Dependencies TypesDouble Click on any Task or Press Shift + F2

Click on Predecessors Tab

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Task

Dependencies

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Impact tasks

work/duration of units

re-computation when

any one of them is

modified

Project Guide

View ->

Turn on Project Guide

Follow

recommended

project setup

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project setup

guidelines

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Showing Project Status in Gantt Chart

Status

Date

[Friday]

Current

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Current

Date

[Monday]

MPP Examples

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Next Webinar

• Project Multiple Baselines & Variances

• PERT Estimation

• Assignments

• Critical Path Analysis

Updating Work Progress

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• Updating Work Progress

• Project Status Reports (Weekly Progress)

• Project Status Reports (Milestone Variance)

• And many more ……

Presentation copy available for download at

Presentation is available on http://slideshare.net/jaiveer

http:// project-management-practice.blogspot.com

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