Fundamentals of Scheduling

Presented to the Cascadia Chapter,

SAVE International
January 12, 2011
by: John Langer AVS, Principal
John Langer Consulting
www.johnlangerconsulting.com
425-422-6986

© 2011 John Langer Consulting

 Purpose of a Project
 The purpose of a project is to bring about change
 Fundamentals

 Scheduling Philosophy
 Scheduling Terms and Definitions
 Types of Schedules
 Relationships
 Resources

“When you don’t know where you are going, it is hard to tell
when you get there”. Yogi Berra
 Scheduling Philosophy
 Why do you schedule?
 What do you schedule?
 When do you schedule?
 Scheduling Philosophy (cont’d)
 Why do you schedule?
 Better manage the project

 Control change

 Satisfy customer or contractual requirements

 Monitor and measure progress against goals

 A schedule is a formalized method of managing

time and resources
 Scheduling Philosophy (cont’d)
 What do you schedule?
 Milestones

 Activities required by contract or customer

 Activities critical to the performance of the

project
 Changes to the original plan

 A simple schedule that is used is far more valuable

than the most detailed schedule created to satisfy
a contractual requirement!
 Scheduling Philosophy (cont’d)
 When do you schedule?
 Prior to, or at the beginning of a project. This

schedule is referred to as the “baseline”

 At periodic intervals during the project. This is

commonly referred to “updating”

 If there are changes in the scope of the project

 If the project is substantially behind or ahead of

the baseline
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if
you just sit there”. Will Rogers
 Scheduling Terms and
Definitions
 Common scheduling terms and what they
mean
 Project

 Activity (Schedule or Task)

 Duration

 Relationship

 Bar Chart (Gantt)

 Scheduling Terms and
Definitions (cont’d)
 Lag
 Critical Path

 Milestone

 Float

 Work breakdown Structure (WBS)

 Resource
 Scheduling Terms and
Definitions (cont’d)
 Project
 A project is finite, it has a specific
beginning and endpoints
 A project contains resources, typically

time, money and people

 A project is measurable
 Scheduling Terms and
Definitions (cont’d)
 Activity (Schedule or Task)
 The activity is the basic building block of

a schedule
 An activity defines a measurable quantity

of work
 Scheduling Terms and
Definitions (cont’d)
 Duration
 Measurable unit to perform an activity

 Typically, durations are in work hours

or work days

 Relationship
 The interdependency of one activity to
another
 Scheduling Terms and
Definitions (cont’d)
 Bar Chart (Gantt)
 Graphical representation of a group of
activities making up a project, represented by
bars along the horizontal time axis. Shows
duration and planned sequence of activities
 Lag
 The time associated in the relationship
between two activities. For example,
stripping forms can not be completed until 10
days after concrete is placed. In this case,
there is a 10 day lag between the activities
 Scheduling Terms and
Definitions (cont’d)
 Critical Path
 The path or paths which are the series of
activities having zero float and must be
completed on their scheduled dates or the
project is in jeopardy
 Milestone
 A point in time that signifies either the
beginning or the end of a series of related
activities. A milestone has zero duration
 Scheduling Terms and
Definitions (cont’d)
 Float
 A measure of leeway in activity performance.
Typical float types are “free float” and “total
float”
 Free float is the amount of time that an
activity’s start can be delayed without
affecting the early start of successor
activities
 Total float is the amount of time in starting
or finishing an activity that will not affect
the completion of the project
 Scheduling Terms and
Definitions (cont’d)
 Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
 Framework for organizing activities that
make up a project
 Resource
 Anything needed to complete an activity:
labor, materials, equipment, design, etc.
 Types of Schedules
 Milestone
 Time Scaled Logic Network
 Bar or Gantt Charts
 PERT
 Types of Schedules
 Milestone (Level 1)
 List of milestones and dates

 Used to report at the summary level

 Time Scaled Logic Network (Level 2)

 Graphical presentation of the schedule

 Lists activities and durations

 Shows logic ties and constraints

 Milestone Chart
D1 D3 D5 D7 D9

Design Kitchen

Designer Selected

Plans Completed

Finalize Design
 Types of Schedules (cont’d)
 Program Evaluation & Review Technique
(PERT) Level 2
 Graphic view that allows for easy

evaluation of the flow of a project

 Basic Logic Network
Task J
Task P
Task E
Task K Task Q

Task F
Task O
Task B

Task A Task R
Task C Task I

Task L
Task G Task N
Task D
Task H Task M
 Types of Schedules (cont’d)
 Bar or Gantt Chart (Level 3)
 Graphical presentation of the schedule

 Lists activities and durations

 May show logic

 Used for small projects

 Bar (Gantt) Chart
D1 D3 D5 D7 D9 D11

Design Kitchen

Select Designer

Create Plans

Finalize Design
 Types of Schedules (cont’d)
 Short duration schedules
 Derived from the master schedule

 Typically a bar chart

 Used for near-term planning

 Shows 2 weeks past, current week and 2

weeks forward
 Relationships
 Relationships are the interdependencies
between one activity and another or group
of activities
 The four types of relationships are:
 Finish-to-Start

 Start-to-Start

 Finish-to-Finish

 Start-to-Finish
 Relationships (cont’d)
 Finish-to-Start
 The most common type of scheduling

activity relationship. Simply stated, the

start of the next activity is dependent
upon the completion of the previous
activity
 For example, on a construction project
you can’t pour the concrete until the
reinforcing steel is in place
 Relationships (cont’d)
 Start-to-Start
 Start-to-Start relationship implies that an
activity can start once another specified
activity has started
 For example, the design phase can start
as soon as the permitting process has
started
 Relationships (cont’d)
 Finish-to finish
 Finish-to-Finish relationship implies that
the completion of an activity is dependent
upon the completion of another activity.
This relation ship is commonly used with
start-to-start relationships
 For example, the software user’s manual
can be started after the start of coding
and testing but can’t be completed until
coding and debugging is completed
 Relationships (cont’d)
 Start-to-Finish
 Start-to-Finish relationship implies that
an activity can’t be completed until the
predecessor activity has started
 This type of relationship is very rarely
used
 Resources
 All projects consume resources!
 Resources are not just people:
 resources can include money, material,
equipment, and more.
 How well these resources are allocated
and monitored is a key measure of any
project’s success or failure
 Resources (Cont’d)
 Assigning resources to a project and
monitoring and reporting against the
schedule provides the project manager with:
 Ability to estimate remaining work

 Ability to prepare accurate progress

payments
 Ability to provide historical data

 Ability to address changes

Steps in Creating a Project
Schedule
Schedule
Control
Schedule
Development
Estimating Activity
Duration
Activity
Sequencing
Activity
Definition
Developing a Project Schedule
 Activity Definition
 An activity must have a definable start
and end
 An activity is used to develop a plan for
completing a project that sequences and
schedules each activity
 An activity is quantifiable and
measurable
 Developing a Project Schedule
(Cont’d)
 Activities shall relate to the WBS and allow
for ease in quantifying and reporting
 For example, in a construction schedule the
activity might be F/R/P Slab-on-Grade,
where F = form, R= place reinforcing, and
P = place concrete. Breaking down the
activity further would require additional
resources to monitor for no additional
return
 Sample WBS for a
Construction Project
Project
2000

Startup &
Design Procurement Construction Completion
Commissioning
100 200 300 500
400

Sitework Warehouse Plant Office Complex

310 320 330 340

Concrete Floor Exterior Steel Roofing Interior

Footings Mechanical Electrical
Slab Masonry Walls Construction Systems Construction
03301 15000 16000
03005 04000 05100 07000 09000

Place Concrete - Steel Trowel

Fine Grade Edge From Place Reinforcing Embeds Cure and Protect
Pumped Finish
02310 03105 03205 05510 03410
03305 03402

Resources Labor Consumables Material Subcontract Equipment

 Developing a Project Schedule
(Cont’d)
 Logic and relationships
 Develop actual logic not placeholder
logic
 Use conventional Finish-to-Start logic to
develop relationships. This is the first
pass at developing a schedule. As you
refine the schedule you will incorporate
Start-to-Start and Finish-to-Finish
relationships
 Developing a Project Schedule
(Cont’d)
 Calendars
 Is the project going to be scheduled in
hours or days?
 Will there be work activities that are
outside the normal work periods of the
project?
 Will the project include week-ends and
holidays?
 Developing a Project Schedule
(Cont’d)
 Durations
 Does the duration of each activity seem
practical and achievable?
 Nature of the task critical to the project

or fill-in work?
 Durations should be no less than 2-3 days
nor longer than 15 days
 Developing a Project Schedule
(Cont’d)
 Resources
 What resources should be incorporated?

 Tie resources to the level of the activities

 A good place to begin assigning

resources is from the budget or cost
estimate
 Advanced Scheduling Topics
 Resource Allocation
 Constraints
 Baselining the Plan
 Updating / Reporting Progress
 Controlling Change
 Resource Allocation
 Team Building
 Matching Skills to Activities
 Estimating Hours
 Assigning to Activities
 Over allocated?
 Resource Histogram
b er D ecemb er Janu ary F eb ruary March
11/17 11/24 12/1 12/8 12/15 12/22 12/29 1/5 1/12 1/19 1/26 2/2 2/9 2/16 2/23 3/2 3/9 3/16 3/23
300%

250%

200%

150%

100%

50%

30 100 170 200 224.96 235 268.1 88.81 50 96.85 6.29

Graphics Support Ov erallocated: Allocated:

 Shows the group and/or individual workload

against available resources
 Helps assess if the work can be done based on
people involved
 Constraints
 Time
 Dependencies
 Assumptions
 Physical
 Time Constraints
 No Constraint – Early Date
 Start No Earlier Than
 Finish No Later Than
 As Late As Possible - JIT
 Start No Later Than
 Finish No Earlier Than
 Dependency Constraints
 Mandatory Dependencies
 Discretionary Dependencies
 External Dependencies
 Baselining the Plan
 Original Plan = Baseline
 Baseline vs. Current Schedule
 Changes to Baseline
 Performance Measurement
 Earned Value
 Updating / Progressing
 Percent Complete
 Time

 Budget

 Physical

 Remaining Duration
 Remaining Work
Outputs From Progressing

 “Schedule updates”

 “Corrective action”

 “Lessons learned”
 Change Control Management

 A famous general once

said “To win the war,
you must know the
enemy.”
 A famous project CHANGE
manager once said
“We have met the
enemy and the enemy
is change.”
Manage change, or it will manage you!!!
 Change Requests

 A result of most ongoing projects

 Change in scope
 Change in schedule
 Change in cost (on cost type contracts)

Change is inevitable on ALL projects

 Change Control Bottom Line

Dropped Balls =
Proper Change Control
Failed Project
THAT’S IT