Manage Project Time Introduction to Time Diploma of Project Management 17872 Qualification Code BSB51507 Unit Code BSBPMG503A

Definitions for Project Time Covers all aspects of time and duration, from how long it takes to complete one activity right through to the timeframe for the entire project Project Schedule - Comprises the planned dates for performing project activities, completing deliverables and meeting milestones Normally represented as a GANTT chart using MS Project or a similar project scheduling tool Project Time Management – The processes required to manage the timely completion of a project Adapated from PMBOK 4th Edition

What is a GANTT chart? Gantt charts are named after their creator, an American engineer Henry Laurence Gantt, who created the first bar charts in the early 1910’s. It converts the Work Breakdown Structure into a graphical display of a project schedule It displays the durations of all scheduled activities including the interdependencies Often also includes information on project milestones and resource allocation to activities It has become one of the most widespread project management tools due to the prevalence of MS project

Sample GANTT Charts

What is a PERT chart? PERT stands for Programme Evaluation and Review Technique It was created by a Naval scientist, Frederick Taylor, in the 1950’s It is a project management technique for determining how much time a project needs before it can be completed. Each activity is assigned a best, worst and most probably completion time estimate. These estimates are then used to determine the average completion time and are represented graphically in a network diagram

Sample PERT Charts

What is a Critical Path? Was developed in the 1950s by the Dupont Corporation The Critical Path Method, abbreviated CPM, or Critical Path Analysis, is a mathematically based algorithm for scheduling a set of project activities. It takes the activities in the Work Breakdown Structure, the durations and the interdependencies, and calculates the longest path through the project. It is the shortest total duration of all the activities required to complete a project

Importance of Time Project Managers often cite delivering projects on time as one of their biggest challenges. Schedule issues are one of the main reason for conflicts on projects. There will be constant pressure from your Project Sponsor and other stakeholders to accelerate delivery In the relationship between Scope, Time, Cost and Quality, Time normally has the least amount of flexibility Cost Scope Time Quality

Staying on Schedule To stay on schedule, Project Managers must – Diligently control Project Scope Re-baseline the project schedule after any Change Requests are approved Closely monitor the Critical Path activities Urgently resolve or escalate risks and issues that relate to activities on the Critical Path Renegotiate the baseline Project Schedule whenever it changes due to external factors Manage stakeholder expectations closely Evaluate performance against the agreed and re-baselined Project Schedule

An Analogy Staying on schedule is like piloting a plane that is on auto pilot You will always get from point A to point B but at any point in time you are normally off course You need to constantly correct your course Point B Most direct route Critical Path given weather and other air traffic Point A

Characteristics of Project Time Project timeframes are one of the primary sources of conflict on projects Timeframes are often artificially imposed on projects due to other factors such as business plan cycles, sales targets, performance objectives etc Project timeframes are hard to predict when there is high risk Assumptions often required High level becoming detailed Measures project success Refined during the project Constraints will be applied Changes need to be monitored

Project Time Interrelationships Time is one of the “triple constraints” to Project Scope Normally the least flexible Often imposed on the project based business priorities and other dependencies When the timeframe is fixed then Scope and Quality will need to be sacrificed when additional time is required due to invalid assumptions, missed deadlines or additional effort High Risk projects normally exceed original timeframes! Cost Scope Time Quality

Next Steps Please proceed to Time Processes Part 1 in the Learning Program. Best of Luck! 13