Effective Project Schedule Control Techniques

1. Chapter 7Schedule Control

2. Learning Objectives • Perform the steps in the project control process • Determine the effects of actual schedule performance on the project schedule • Incorporate project changes into the schedule • Calculate an updated project schedule • Control the project schedule 2 2

3. Real World Example • Vignette: Mars Pathfinder • Motto: Better, faster, cheaper • Three year development cycle with a $150 million cost cap, managed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory. • Critical 30 day launch window occurs only every 26 months. • Project completed on-time and under-budget. • 2.5 gigabytes of data; nearly 17,000 camera images; and 8.5 million individual temperature, pressure, and wind measurements were recorded. 3 3

4. Real World Example • Vignette: Pinnacol Assurance – A Denver-based Medical Insurance Provider • Current system was a disaster with huge backlogs and daily overpayments of more than $5,000. • A new project was started with a six month time frame and a development staff of two dozen. • No project management principles were applied and the project spiraled out of control. Twelve months later nothing had been delivered and jobs were on the line. • A project re-start was initiated with clear objectives and controls. This time the deadline never budged! 4

5. Project Control Process • The key to effective project control is to measure actual progress and compare it to planned progress on a timely and regular basis and to take necessary corrective action immediately. • Establish a regular reporting period. • During each reporting period, collect: • data on actual performance • information on any changes to project scope, schedule and budget. • If changes are incorporated, a new plan must be established. 5

6. Effects of Actual Schedule Performance • Actual finish times (AFT) of completed activities will determine the earliest start and earliest finish times for the remaining activities. 6

7. Incorporating Project Changes into the Schedule • Changes might be initiated by the customer or the project team, or they might be the result of an unanticipated occurrence. • The degree of impact may depend on when the changes are requested. • When the customer requests a change, additional costs might need to be charged. 7

8. Updating the Project Schedule • An updated project schedule can be calculated based on actual finish times of completed activities 8

9. Approaches to Schedule Control Four Steps • Analyze the schedule • Decide what corrective actions should be taken, if any • Revise the plan • Recalculate the schedule 9

10. Approaches to Schedule Control (Cont.) • A change in the estimated duration of any activity will cause a corresponding change in the slack for that path. • When a path of activities has negative slack, focus on: • Activities that are near term. • Activities that have long estimated durations. 10

11. Reducing the Estimated Durations • Apply more resources. • Assign a person with greater expertise to perform or help with the activity. • Reduce the scope or requirements for an activity. • Totally eliminate some activities. • Increase productivity through improved methods or technology. 11

12. Approaches to Schedule Control (Cont.) • Reducing durations of activities usually results in an increase in costs or a reduction in scope. • The key is to effectively address paths with negative or deteriorating slack values as soon as they are identified. 12

13. Schedule Control for Information Systems Development • Common necessary changes during IS development projects: • Changes to input screens • Changes to reports • Changes to on-line queries • Changes to database structures • Changes to software processing routines • Changes to processing speeds 13

14. Project Management Software • The software allows you to perform various control functions. • The percent complete for each task can be entered. • Changes to the duration estimates can be entered. • The software will automatically revise the project schedule and the corresponding network diagrams. 14