Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved. 1 Five Ways to Build a Microsoft Project Schedule Lynn Frock, PMP 513-321-3187 Phone

Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved. 1

Five Ways to Builda

Microsoft Project Schedule

Lynn Frock, PMP513-321-3187 Phone

www.lynnfrock.com

[email protected]


Table of Contents

1. Presentation Assumptions.

2. The Five Ways to Build a Schedule.

3. Comparison Criteria.

4. Constraint Based

5. Project Network Diagram Only

6. Project Network Diagram with Contacts

7. Project Network Diagram with Leveled Resources

8. Portfolio / Program with a Resource Pool


Presentation Assumptions

• Schedule variance requires timely analysis & response. – Minimize negative variance.

– Maximize positive variance.

• Stakeholders need fact based status.

• Requested change requires accurate analysis.– Impacts on time, cost and quality compared to baseline.

• Efficient and current resource forecasting & deployment.

• The team is accountable to the current agreed baseline.


The Five Ways to Build a Schedule

1. Constraint Based <<== (not recommended).

2. Project Network Diagram Only.

3. Project Network Diagram with contact information.

4. Project Network Diagram with leveled resources.

5. Portfolio / Program with a Resource Pool.


Comparison Criteria

• Management needs.

• When appropriate.

• Advantages.

• Disadvantages.

• Construction and update techniques.

• Skills required.


1. Constraint Based **not recommended**

• Management needs:– A sufficiently detailed, accurate project schedule.

– May or may not need resource assignment detail.

• Appropriate when:– Almost never.

• Advantages:– Little understanding of Microsoft Project modeling required.

– No understanding of the Precedence Diagramming Method (activity sequencing) required.



(Continued)

• Disadvantages– No Project Network Diagram.

– No Critical Path – all tasks marked as on the Critical Path.

– Difficult to predict impacts of task slippage.

– Changes can require manual recalculation.

– Microsoft Project leveling feature much less useful.

– Very difficult to model different scenarios for evaluation.

– Very time consuming.



(Continued)

• Construction and update techniques:– Set the Project start date and working time definitions.– Enter task, duration and milestone data.– Manually calculate and set each task & milestone date.– Manually adjust impacted dates after entering actuals and

approved changes.– Manually adjust dates, as needed, to resolve resource

overloads.

• Skills required:– Entering basic project, working time and task data.– Setting task constraints.– Workflow analysis modeling.



• Management needs:– A sufficiently detailed, accurate project schedule.– Do not need resource assignment details.

• Appropriate when:– Resource schedules are managed in some other way.– Perhaps each task represents a sub-project.

• Advantages:– Microsoft Project re-calculates start/finish dates and duration

when a modification potentially affects any of those values.– Impacts of variance are quickly available.– Easier to create alternative schedule scenarios.


2. Project Network Diagram Only

(Continued)

• Disadvantages– No resource assignment schedule.

– No ability to understand resource capacity or find over-assignments and overloads.

• Construction and update techniques:– Set the Project start date & define the project working time.

– Enter task, duration and milestone data.

– Define the Project Network Diagram (internal & external links).

– Enter actuals (could include cost data).


2. Project Network Diagram Only (Continued)

• Skills required:– Workflow analysis & modeling.

– Activity sequencing (Precedence Diagramming method).

– Entering basic project, working time, task data and actuals.

– Using Microsoft Project to entering the Precedence Diagramming Method’s internal & external links.


3. Project Network Diagram with Contact Information

• Management needs:– A sufficiently detailed, accurate project schedule.– The name of the person, department or organization

responsible for the task (or deliverable).

• Appropriate when:– Resource schedules are managed in some other way.– Perhaps each task represents a sub-project.

• Advantages– Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.– Plus: A contact is listed for task information.


3. Project Network Diagram with Contact Information (Continued)

• Disadvantages– Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.

• Construction techniques:– Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.

– Plus: A contact name is added to the Contact field or a user defined field.

• Skills required:– Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.

– Plus: Adding the contact name without causing work to be calculated.


4. Project Network Diagram with Leveled Resources

• Management needs:– A sufficiently detailed, accurate, realistic project schedule

(no over-assigned resources.)

– The name (or type) and quantity of each assigned resources.

• Appropriate when:– Resource shortages might not be discovered in time.

– Resource overloads could harm the project.

– Costs will be forecast and tracked using Microsoft Project.

– Earned Value is used.


4. Project Network Diagram with Leveled Resources (Continued)

• Advantages– Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.– Plus: Understand which and how many resources are needed

when.

• Disadvantages– More modeling time is required.– Balancing resources can be tedious.

• Construction techniques:– Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.– Plus: Assign resources to tasks with accurate work (hours)

and duration estimates.– Plus: Enter actual work (hours) or actual duration.


4. Project Network Diagram with Leveled Resources (Continued)

• Skills required:– Same as the Project Network Diagram based approach.

– Plus: Ability to define and assign resources.

– Plus: Ability to model resource work - understand & use the duration / units / work relationship.

– Plus: Use Microsoft Project features to balance resources as per management decisions.


5. Portfolio / Program with a Resource Pool

• Management needs:– How much capacity is available for additional projects?

– What happens to delivery if project priorities are changed?

– Same as the Project Network Diagram Method with Resources, but across a portfolio of projects.

• Appropriate when:– Resources are shared across projects.

– Resource skill shortages and overloads are difficult to discover in a timely way.

– Resources must be efficiently utilized.


5. Portfolio / Program with a Resource Pool (Continued)

• Advantages:– Resources are not over assigned.

– Resource capacity and load is known to some future time.

– The impact of adding projects or changing priorities can be analyzed.

• Disadvantages– Requires a defined, disciplined administrative process to

maintain an updated and resource leveled portfolio.


5. Portfolio / Program with a Resource Pool (Continued)

• Construction Techniques:– Establish a resource pool.– Add chartered projects to the portfolio (connect to the pool).– Define relative project priorities.– Balance resources across the portfolio.– Remove completed projects from the portfolio.

• Skills required:– Resource pool definitions.– Connecting to the pool.– Resource leveling procedures.


The Five Ways to Build a Schedule

1. Constraint Based <<== (not recommended).


3. Project Network Diagram with contact information.

4. Project Network Diagram with leveled resources.

5. Portfolio / Program with a Resource Pool.

Documents

Copyright 2003 Lynn Frock & Company. All Rights Reserved. 1 Five Ways to Build a Microsoft Project Schedule Lynn Frock, PMP 513-321-3187 Phone