Manage Project Time Project Time Processes Part 1 Diploma of Project Management 17872 Qualification Code BSB51507 Unit Code BSBPMG503A

Project Time Processes – Part 1 PMBOK Project Time Management Processes - 6.1 Define Activities 6.2 Sequence Activities 6.3 Estimate Activity Resources 6.4 Estimate Activity Duration 6.5 Develop Schedule 6.6 Control Schedule Related processes from Project Integration Management – 4.1 Develop Project Charter 4.2 Develop Project Management Plan

Learning Objectives – Part 1 Understand of the processes required to manage define all the activities that contribute to the completion of the deliverables in the Work Breakdown Structure Understand how to sequence the activities to create the project schedule Understand the different types of relationships that can be used between activities Explain the project scheduling process and several tools and techniques used to estimate activity resourcing and duration

4.1 Develop Project Charter The process of developing a document that formally defines and authorises a project by documenting the initial requirements that will satisfy the needs of the Project Sponsor and stakeholder The high level Project Timeframe is often specified during this process Any Project Timeframes specified at this stage are predictions or preferences only, they have been subject to detailed planning and scheduling processes Assumptions should be documented and formal commitments avoided Occurs during the Initiation Phase Initiation Planning Execution Close Monitor Control Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

4.1 Develop Project Charter Inputs into the Project Charter that have a major impact on Project Timeframe - Business need or rationale Strategic Plan Business Case assumptions Contractual requirements Methodologies, policies and procedures The output at this stage is a preferred Project Timeframe It is best specified as a range estimate eg 6 months +/- 4 weeks Assumptions made with respect to Time must be documented to prevent misunderstandings and conflict

4.2 Develop Project Management Plan This is the process of defining and documenting the actions necessary to prepare and integrate all subsidiary plans for each of the 8 key knowledge areas of project management. Good practice dictates that the Project Management Plan is baselined at the end of the Planning Phase, particularly in the areas of scope, cost and time It is progressively updated during project execution via the Perform Integrated Change Control process (PMBOK 4.5) Initiation Planning Execution Close Monitor Control Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

4.2 Develop Project Management Plan The planning processes for all project management key knowledge areas are normally performed at the same time and during this process, or expanded upon shortly afterwards The relationship to Scope, Time and Cost is slightly different to the other areas of Communication, Risk, Human Resources, Quality and Procurement There are no stand alone Scope, Time or Cost Planning processes, they contained within the Develop Project Management Plan process The other key knowledge areas have discrete processes for planning that are defined in their process groups Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

Schedule Management Plan The Schedule Management Plan is a critical output of this process and is critically connected to all the Project Time Management processes that occur within the Planning phases – (6.1 to 6.5) Often called the Time Management Plan and very often overlooked entirely, which is unfortunate as it is a critical management tool for the Project Schedule Common inclusions in the Schedule Management Plan – Schedule baseline Processes, tools and techniques used to estimate activity duration Processes to Monitor and Control time Change Control process Assumptions, dependencies and constraints Initiation Planning Execution Close Monitor Control Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

6.1 Define Activities The process of identifying the specific activities to be performed to produce the project deliverables All activities should relate to a project deliverable Takes the deliverables and work packages defined in the WBS and decomposes them into activities Activities provide the basis for estimating, scheduling, executing, and monitoring and controlling the project work Links back to the Project Objectives Occurs during Planning Initiation Planning Execution Close Monitor Control Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

6.1 Define Activities Inputs to Define Activities Scope Baseline Project Management methodologies and procedures Standard project schedules and activities Historical data on similar projects Tools and techniques to Define Activities Decomposition Expert Judgement Rolling Wave Planning Templates Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

6.1 Define Activities Decomposition – Templates Involves sub dividing the project and deliverables into smaller pages of work known as activities or tasks Activities should only be undertaken if they contribute to the production of a deliverable within the Work Breakdown Structure Templates Often lists of activities and milestones from previous, similar projects Start planning a project by finding a similar project that has been completed previously Initiation Planning Execution Close Monitor Control Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

6.1 Define Activities Rolling Wave Planning – Progressively elaborate on the project plan and schedule Plan near term activities in detail and later activities at a high level Sometimes used on very long projects where the future activities are unclear Initiation Planning Execution Close Monitor Control Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

6.1 Define Activities Outputs of this process include – Activity List Includes scope of work description for each activity Activity Attributes Progressively fleshed out during time planning processes Milestone List Highlight significant points in project execution to focus attention on the project schedule Can be related to contract obligations, external dependencies, completion of major deliverables or phases Can be mandatory or for information purposes Often used for summary level reporting Initiation Planning Execution Close Monitor Control Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

6.2 Sequence Activities The process of identifying and documenting relationships between the project activities Every activity, except the first and last, must be connected to at least one predecessor and one successor Milestones are generally connected to predecessor and successor activities with some exceptions, particularly when the milestone denotes an external dependency or a major event that is outside of the project Simplified by using project management software Occurs during Planning Initiation Planning Execution Close Monitor Control Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

6.2 Sequence Activities Inputs to Sequence Activities Activity List and Attributes Milestone List Project Scope Statement Work Breakdown Structure Learning from past projects Tools and techniques to Sequence Activities Lead & Lag Times (advanced technique) Precedence Diagramming Schedule Templates Dependency Determination Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

Precedence Diagramming Method This is one of the key techniques used to sequence activities in projects It has become an industry standard and underpins project management software that produces both GANTT and PERT charts Defines 4 types of logical relationships between activities Finish-to-start (FS) Finish-to-finish (FF) Start-to-start (SS) Start-to-finish (SF) Initiation Planning Execution Close Monitor Control Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

Application of Interdependencies Rule of Thumb Application Finish to Start 95% Start to Start 2.5% Finish to Finish Start to Finish Not applicable Many finish to start relationships are used in sequencing activities Start to start and finish to finish are sometimes used to assist with planning

Finish-to-Start Relationships The initiation of the successor activity depends on the completion of the predecessor activity Translated this means…the start of the second activity is dependent on the completion of the first activity In a GANTT chart this is depicted as an arrow from the end of the first activity pointing to the start of the second activity Most common type of logical relationship between activities, sometimes this is a mandatory dependency, but often it is a preference for planning purposes Activity 1 Finish-to-start Activity 2 Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

Finish-to-Finish Relationships The completion of the successor activity depends on the completion of the predecessor activity Translated this means…the completion of the second activity is dependent on the completion of the first activity It does not necessarily mean that both activities need to finish at the same time In a GANTT chart this is depicted as an arrow from the end of the first activity pointing to the end of the second activity and the end dates need to be the same Activity 1 Finish-to-finish Activity 2 Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

Start-to-Start Relationships The initiation of the successor activity depends on the initiation of the predecessor activity Translated this means…the first activity must start before the second activity can start Many people incorrectly assume that the activities need to start at the same time In a GANTT chart this is depicted as an arrow from the start of the first activity pointing to the start of the second activity and the start dates need to be the same Activity 1 Start-to-start Activity 2 Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

Start-to-Finish Relationships The completion of the successor activity depends on the initiation of the predecessor activity Translated this means…the second activity can’t finish until the first activity starts Very RARE and not available in some project management software, can normally be replanned as a finish to start relationship In a GANTT chart this is depicted as an arrow from the start of the first activity pointing to the end of the second activity Activity 1 Start-to-finish Activity 2 Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

Example Relationships Finish-to-start Finish-to-finish This means that Activity B cannot start until Activity A has completed. This is by far the most common relationship between multiple activities. Activity A is “Create the Project Charter” Activity B is “Obtain Project Charter approval from the Project Sponsor” This finish-to-start relationship would say that we must create the Project Charter before we obtain Project Charter approval from the Project Sponsor This means Activity A must finish before Activity B can finish. Assume you’re cooking dinner and you want the turkey to finish cooking before the potatoes. Activity A is “Cook turkey” Activity B is “Cook potatoes” The finish-to-finish relationship says that the turkey must finish cooking (activity A) before the potatoes finish cooking (activity B). This relationship is based on the end times. They can each start whenever they need to, as long as they finish in this order. Start-to-start Start-to-finish This means Activity A must start before Activity B can start. Assume that you are having your walls painted in one room and wallpaper is being hung in another room. You want to minimize the total disruption by having both activities happen at the same time. Activity A is “Paint the walls” Activity B is “Hang the wallpaper” The wallpaper hangers may be ready to go (activity B). However, the start-to-start relationship says that they cannot start until the painting starts (activity A). This relationship is based on the activity start times. The end times of each activity are not related and, in fact, one activity could end at a much later time than the other. Let’s assume that you want to fertilize your garden, but the plants must all be wet when the fertilizer is applied. Activity A is to “fertilize the garden.” Activity B is to “water the garden” The start-to-finish relationship says we need to start watering the garden (activity B) first to get the plants wet. This activity must continue until the fertilizing starts (activity A). This will ensure the plants remain wet until the fertilizer is ready to be applied. Note that you can start watering at any time and you can finish fertilizing at any time. The relationship only ties the start of activity A to the completion of activity B.

Types of Dependencies Mandatory Discretionary External Contractually required or inherent in the nature of the work Often involve physical limitations Discretionary Based on preferences and knowledge of best practice Can be reviewed if fast tracking of project schedules is required External A relationship between project activities and activities outside of the project and outside of the project team’s control Often regulatory Initiation Planning Execution Close Monitor Control Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

6.2 Sequence Activities Outputs of this process include – Draft Project Schedule – Most Common High level project schedule with phases, deliverables, activities and interdependencies Project Network Diagrams High level PERT chart excluding time estimates, shows interdependencies between all activities Project Document Updates Changes to Activity Lists and Attributes Changes to the Risk Register Changes to the Work Breakdown Structure Changes to Project Scope via Change Requests Initiation Planning Execution Close Monitor Control Adapted from PMBOK 4th Edition

Activity Relationships Forum Take some time to reflect on the 4 different types of interrelationships that are possible between project activities. Reflect on projects that you have been involved with, or do some online research, to find your best examples, one for each of the 4 relationship types (FF, SF, FS, SS) Write up your examples and provide comment on the examples provided by others. Research Practice Comment

Next Steps Please proceed to Time Processes Part 2 in the Learning Program. Best of Luck! 26