1. Schedule Status Reporting Using MS Project
Presented by:
Ric Albani, PMP, PMI-SP
PMI Scheduling Forum
May 4, 2010

2. Purpose
Demonstrate techniques for reporting schedule information using MS Project.

3. Background
Common shortfalls with reporting schedule information include:
-Too much text/narrative
-Difficulty associating the information being reported against the schedule
-WBS is not conducive to reporting
-Lack of credible critical path/chain
-Lack of baseline and/or variance analysis and corrective action

4. Sample Schedule Status Report
MS Word document containing extracts from MS Project including:
-Accomplishments Last Week
-Work in Progress
-Two-week Look Ahead
-Variance Summary
-Variance Detail
-Corrective Action
-Critical Path

5. Sample Schedule Status Report Accomplishments Last Week Tasks Started and/or Finished last week (4/19/10 – 4/23/10):

6. Sample Schedule Status Report Work In Progress

7. Sample Schedule Status Report Two-Week Look Ahead Tasks Scheduled to Start and/or Finish in next two weeks (4/26/10 – 5/7/10):

8. Sample Schedule Status Report Variance Summary Variance Report Summary (Finish Variance: Green = 0 days; Yellow = 1-5 days; Red = >5 days):

9. Sample Schedule Status Report Variance Detail
Variance Report Summary (Finish Variance: Green = 0 days; Yellow = 1-5 days; Red = >5 days):
The ‘Yellow’ one-day finish variances were a result of the cutover dates for all four Phase 1 terminals being rescheduled from Monday to Tuesday. The ‘Red’ finish variances were primarily caused by rescheduling the start of MPLS Readiness (Phase 1, Part 4) from 6/28/10 to 8/2/10. This rescheduling was a result of the three-week IOS-XR feature upgrade to v3.9.1 which needs to occur prior to MPLS.
Variance Report Detail (Yellow/Red):
No detail is provided since the cause for the ‘Yellow’ and ‘Red’ variances are described in the above section.
Corrective Action (Yellow/Red):
Two options exist for correcting the ‘Red’ variances, as described above, include: 1) reset the baseline for the Deployment Phase 2 milestones since the rescheduling was a result of a management decision to implement the three-week IOS-XR feature upgrade prior to MPLS Readiness; or 2) leave ‘as is’ for now, and defer the decision to re-baseline, or not, pending the results of Deployment Phase 1.

10. Sample Schedule Status Report Critical Path

11. Sample Schedule Status Report Construction
Demonstration of the views, tables, filters, custom fields, and ‘copy picture’ function used to create the following items:
-Accomplishments Last Week
-Work in Progress
-Two-week Look Ahead
-Variance Summary
-Critical Path

12. Sample Schedule Status Report Construction
Accomplishments Last Week

13. Sample Schedule Status Report Construction
Work in Progress
-Use the ‘In Progress Tasks’ standard filter
Critical Path
-Use the ‘Critical Path’ standard filter

14. Sample Schedule Status Report Construction
Two-week Look Ahead

15. Sample Schedule Status Report Construction
‘Copy Picture’ Function
-Report (Menu)/Copy Picture…

16. Sample Schedule Status Report Construction
Variance Summary
-Requires creation of custom number (VarSum, Number1) and duration (Finish Var Ind, Duration1) fields

17. Sample Schedule Status Report Construction
Variance Summary
-Finish Variance Indicator (Duration1)

18. Sample Schedule Status Report Construction
Variance Summary
-Finish Variance Indicator (Duration1)

19. Summary Enhance schedule status reporting by using:
-More graphics, less text/narrative
-Status report information that is easily associated with the project schedule
-A WBS that is well-organized and conducive to status reporting
-A credible critical path/chain
-A baseline to perform variance analysis and corrective action (as needed)

20. Ric Albani