PMBOK Chapter 6 5th (project time management) – Flashcards

The processes required to manage the timely completion of the project.

Free float is the amount of time that an activity can be delayed without delaying the Early Start of its successor activity.

You can calculate the free float by subtracting the Early Finish date of the activity from the Early Start date of next activity (ES of next Activity - EF of current Activity - 1 (if start on day 1 and not day 0).

For control and management communications, the broader, more comprehensive summary activity, sometimes referred to as a hammock activity, is used between milestones or across multiple interdependent work packages, and is displayed in bar chart reports.

1. Plan Schedule Management 2. Define Activities 3. Sequence Activities 4. Estimate Activity Resources 5. Estimate Activity Durations 6. Develop Schedule 7. Control Schedule

Establishing the policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, developing, managing, executing, and controlling the project schedule. The key benefit of this process is that it provides guidance and direction on how the project schedule will be managed throughout the project.

1. Project Management Plan 2. Project Charter 3. Enterprise Environmental Factors 4. Organizational Process Assets

1. Expert Judgment 2. Analytical Techniques 3. Meetings

Schedule Management Plan

The schedule management plan can establish the following: - Project schedule model development. The scheduling methodology and the scheduling tool to be used in the development of the project schedule model are specified. - Level of accuracy. The acceptable range used in determining realistic activity duration estimates is specified and may include an amount for contingencies. - Units of measure. Each unit used in measurements (such as staff hours, staff days, or weeks for time measures, or meters, liters, tons, or cubic yards for quantity measures) is define for each of the resources. - Organizational procedures links. The WBS provides the framework for the schedule management plan, allowing for consistency with the estimates and resulting schedules. - Project schedule model maintenance. The process used to update the status and record progress of the project in the schedule model during the execution of the project is defined. - Control thresholds. Variance thresholds for monitoring schedule performance may be specified to indicate an agreed-upon amount of variation to be allowed before some action needs to be taken. Thresholds are typically expressed as percentage deviations from the parameters established in the baseline plan. - Rules of performance measurement. Earned value management (EVM) rules or other physical measurement rules of performance measurement are set. For examples the schedule management plan may specify: • Rules for establishing percent complete • Control accounts at which management of process and schedule will be measures • Earned value measurement techniques to be employed • Schedule performance measurements such as schedule variance (SV) and schedule performance index (SPI) used to assess the magnitude of variation to the original schedule baseline. - Reporting formats. The formats and frequency for the various schedule reports are defined. - Process description. Descriptions of each of the schedule management processes are documented.

Identifying and documenting the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables. The key benefit of this process is to break down work packages into activities that provide a basis for estimating, scheduling, executing, monitoring, and controlling the project work.

1. Schedule Management Plan 2. Scope Baseline 3. Enterprise Environmental Factors 4. Organizational Process Assets

1. Decomposition 2. Rolling Wave Planning 3. Expert Judgment

An iterative planning technique in which the work to be accomplished in the near term is planned in detail, while the work in the future is planned at a higher level. It is a form of progressive elaboration.

1. Activity List 2. Activity Attributes 3. Milestone List

The activity list is a comprehensive list that includes all schedule activities required on the project. The activity list also includes the activity identifier and a scope of work description for each activity in sufficient detail to ensure that project team members understand what work is required to be completed. Each activity should have a unique title that describes its place in the schedule, even is that activity title is displaced outside the context of the project schedule.

Activities, distinct from milestones, have durations, during which the work of that activity is performed, and may have resources and costs associated with that work. Activity attributes extend the descriptions of the activity by identifying the multiple components associated with each activity. The components for each activity evolve over time. Activity attributes are used for schedule development and for selecting, ordering, and sorting the planned schedule activities in various ways within reports.

A milestone is a signification point or event in a project. A milestone list is a list identifying all project milestones and indicates whether the milestone is mandatory, such as those required by contract, or optional, such as those based upon historical information. Milestones are similar to regular schedule activities, with the same structure and attributes, but they have zero duration because milestones represent a moment in time.

Identifying and documenting relationships among the project activities. The key benefit of this process is that it defines the logical sequence of work to obtain the greatest efficiency given all project constraints.

1. Schedule Management Plan 2. Activity List 3. Activity Attributes 4. Milestone List 5. Project Scope Statement 6. Enterprise Environmental Factors 7. Organizational Process Assets

1. Precedence Diagramming Method 2. Dependency Determination 3. Leads and Lags

A technique used for constructing a schedule model in which activities are represented by nodes and are graphically linked by one or more logical relationships to show the sequence in which the activities are to be performed.

1. Finish-to-start (FS) - a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has finished. Most Common PDM. 2. Finish-to-finish (FF) - a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has finished. 3. Start-to-start (SS) - a successor activity cannot start until a predecessor activity has started. 4. Start-to-finish (SF) - a successor activity cannot finish until a predecessor activity has started.

Dependencies may be characterized as: mandatory or discretionary, internal or external. Dependency has four attributes, but two can be applicable at the same time in following ways: mandatory external dependencies, mandatory internal dependencies, discretionary external dependencies, or discretionary internal dependencies.

Those that are legally or contractually required or inherent in the nature of the work. They can also be referred to a hard logic or hard dependencies.

They are established based on knowledge of best practices within a particular application area or some unusual aspect of the project where a specific sequence is desired, even though there may be other acceptable sequences. They are sometimes referred to as preferred logic, preferential logic, or soft logic.

They involve a relationship between project activities and non-project activities. These dependencies are usually outside the project team's control.

They involve a precedence relationship between project activities and are generally inside the project team's control.

The amount of time whereby a successor activity can be advanced with respect to a predecessor activity. Lead is an acceleration of the successor activity and can be used only on finish-to-start activity relationships. In other words, the second activity can begin (and be conducted in parallel) as the first activity. This can be used to fast track activities. a - is used for lead

The amount of time whereby a successor activity will be delayed with respect to a predecessor activity. Lag is the delay of a successor activity and represents time that must pass before the second activity can begin. There are no resources associated with a lag. Lag may be found in activities with all relationship types: finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish, and start-to-finish. a + is used for lag

1. Project Schedule Network Diagrams 2. Project Documents Updates

A graphical representation of the logical relationships, also referred to as dependencies, among the project schedule activities.

Activity resource requirements identify the types and quantities of resources required for each activity in a work package. These requirements then can be aggregated to determine the estimated resources for each work package and each work period. The amount of detail and the level of specificity of the resource requirement descriptions can vary by application area. The resource requirements documentation for each activity can include the basis of estimate for each resource, as well as the assumptions that were made in determining which types of resources are applied, their availability, and what quantities are used.

The resource breakdown structure is a hierarchical representation of resources by category and type. Examples of resource categories include labor, material, equipment, and supplies. Resource types may include the skill level, grade level, or other information as appropriate to the project. The resource breakdown structure is useful for organizing and reporting project schedule data with resource utilization information.

Estimating the type and quantities of material, human resources, equipment, or supplies required to perform each activity. The key benefit of this process is that it identifies the type, quantity, and characteristics of resources required to complete the activity which allows more accurate cost and duration estimates.

1. Schedule Management Plan 2. Activity List 3. Activity Attributes 4. Resource Calendars 5. Risk Register 6. Activity Cost Estimates 7. Enterprise Environmental Factors 8. Organizational Process Assets

1. Expert Judgment 2. Alternative Analysis 3. Published Estimating Data 4. Bottom-Up Estimating 5. Project Management Software

1. Activity Resource Requirements 2. Resource Breakdown Structure 3. Project Documents Updates

Estimating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources. The key benefit of this process is that it provides the amount of time each activity will take to complete, which is a major input into the Develop Schedule process.

1. Schedule Management Plan 2. Activity List 3. Activity Attributes 4. Activity Resource Requirements 5. Resource Calendars 6. Project Scope Statement 7. Risk Register 8. Resource Breakdown Structure 9. Enterprise Environmental Factors 10. Organizational Process Assets

1. Expert Judgment 2. Analogous Estimating 3. Parametric Estimating 4. Three-Point Estimating 5. Group Decision-Making Techniques 6. Reserve Analysis

Analogous, parametric, and three-point estimating techniques are all accepted practices for determining the correct amount of time required for a portion of the project. The Critical Path Analysis techniques evaluate the whole project schedule.

A technique for estimating the duration or cost of an activity or a project using historical data from a similar activity or project. Analogous estimating uses parameters from a previous, similar project, such as duration, budget, size, weight, and complexity, as the basis for estimating the same parameter or measure for a future project.

A technique in which an algorithm is used to calculate cost or duration based on historical data and project parameters. Parametric estimating uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables (e.g., square footage in construction) to calculate an estimate for activity parameters, such as cost, budget, and duration.

This concept originated with the program evaluation and review technique (PERT). PERT uses three estimates to define an approximate range for an activity's duration: - Most likely (tM) - Optimistic (tO) - Pessimistic (tP) Depending on the assumed distribution of values within the range of the three estimates the expected duration, tE, can be calculated. - Triangular Distribution. tE = (tO + tM + tP) / 3 - Beta Distribution. tE = (tO + 4tM + tP) / 6

1. Activity Duration Estimates 2. Project Documents Updates

Activity duration estimates are quantitative assessments of the likely number of time periods that are required to complete an activity. Duration estimates do not include any lags. Activity duration estimates may include some indication of the range of possible results. For example: 2 weeks plus or minus 2 days, which indicates that the activity will take at least eight days and not more than twelve

Analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints to create the project schedule model. The key benefit of this process is that by entering schedule activities, durations, resources, resource availabilities, and logical relationships into the scheduling tool, it generates a schedule model with planned dates for completing project activities.

1. Schedule Management Plan 2. Activity List 3. Activity Attributes 4. Project Schedule Network Diagrams 5. Activity Resource Requirements 6. Resource Calendars 7. Activity Duration Estimates 8. Project Scope Statement 9. Risk Register 10. Project Staff Assignments 11. Resource Breakdown Structure 12. Enterprise Environmental Factors 13. Organizational Process Assets

1. Schedule Network Analysis 2. Critical Path Method 3. Critical Chain Method 4. Resource Optimization Techniques 5. Modeling Techniques 6. Leads and Lags 7. Schedule Compression 8. Scheduling Tool

A technique that generates the project schedule model. It employs various analytical techniques, such as critical path method, critical chain method, what-if analysis, and resource optimization techniques to calculate the early and late start and finish dates for the uncompleted portions of project activities.

A method used to estimate the minimum project duration and determine the amount of scheduling flexibility on the logical network paths within the schedule model. This schedule network analysis technique calculates the early start, early finish, late start, and late finish dates for all activities without regard for any resource limitations by performing a forward and backward pass analysis through the schedule network.

The sequence of activities that represents the longest path through a project, which determines the shortest possible project duration.

A schedule method that allows the project team to place buffers on any project schedule path to account for limited resources and project uncertainties.

1. Resource leveling - start and finish dates are adjusted based on resource constraints with the goal of balancing demand for resources with the available supply. Resource leveling can often cause the original critical path to change, usually to increase. 2. Resource Smoothing - adjusts the activities of a schedule model such that the requirements for resources on the project do not exceed certain predefined resource limits. In resource smoothing, the project's critical path is not changed and the completion date may not be delayed. Thus activities may only be delayed within their free and total float. Thus resource smoothing may not be able to optimize all resources.

1. What-if scenario analysis - the process of evaluating scenarios in order to predict their effect, positively or negatively, on project objectives. 2. Simulation - calculating multiple project durations with different sets of activity assumptions, usually using probability distributions constructed from the three-point estimates to account for uncertainty.

Techniques that are used to shorten the schedule duration without reducing the project scope, in order to meet schedule constraints, imposed dates, or other schedule objectives.

1. Crashing - used to shorten the schedule duration for the least incremental cost by adding resources. 2. Fast tracking - activities or phases normally done in sequence are performed in parallel for at least a portion of their duration.

1. Schedule Baseline 2. Project Schedule 3. Schedule Data 4. Project Calendars 5. Project Management Plan Updates 6. Project Documents Updates

1. Bar charts 2. Milestone charts 3. Project schedule network diagrams

Is the approved version of a schedule model that can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as a basis for comparison to actual results.

The schedule data for the project schedule model is the collection of information for describing and controlling the schedule. The schedule data includes at least the schedule milestones, schedule activities, activity attributes, and documentation of all identified assumptions and constraints. The amount of additional data varies by application area. Information frequently supplied as supporting detail includes, but is not limited to: Resource requirements by time period, often in the form of a resource histogram Alternative schedules, such a best-case or worst-case, not resource-leveled, or resource-leveled, with or without imposed dates and Scheduling of contingency reserves

Monitoring the status of project activities to update project progress and manage changes to the schedule baseline to achieve the plan. The key benefit of this process is that it provides the means to recognize deviation from the plan and take corrective and preventive actions and thus minimize risk.

1. Project Management Plan 2. Project Schedule 3. Work Performance Data 4. Project Calendars 5. Schedule Data 6. Organizational Process Assets

A project calendar identifies working days and shifts that are available for scheduled activities. It distinguishes time periods in days or parts of days that are available to complete schedule activities from time periods that are not available. A schedule model may require more than one project calendar to allow for different work period for some activities to calculate the project schedule. The project calendars may be updates.

1. Performance Reviews 2. Project Management Software 3. Resource Optimization Techniques 4. Modeling Techniques 5. Leads and Lags 6. Schedule Compression 7. Scheduling Tool

They measure, compare, and analyze schedule performance such as actual start and finish dates, percent complete, and remaining duration for work in progress.

1. Trend analysis 2. Critical path method 3. Critical chain method 4. Earned value management

1. Work Performance Information 2. Schedule Forecasts 3. Change Requests 4. Project Management Plan Updates 5. Project Documents Updates 6. Organizational Process Assets Updates

Trend analysis examines project performance over time to determine whether performance is improving or deteriorating. Graphical analysis techniques are valuable for understanding performance to date and for comparison to future performance goals in the form of completion dates.

The calculated SV and SPI time performance indicators for WBS components, in particular the work packages and control accounts, are documented and communicated to stakeholders. SV = EV - PV SPI = EV/PV

The date through which the project has provided actual status and accomplishments is called the data date (DD). It is also known as the as-of date or the status date