Scheduling 101: Credibility

  Requirements Management   ProjectsAtWork  

In his latest course, an experienced project management trainer makes the case for a durable but resilient schedule model that accounts for requirements, dependencies and uncertainties as fully as possible.

On any project, good practice dictates that once project sponsorship and charter have been arranged, stakeholder expectations and requirements must be gathered (complete, accurate and prioritized); scope determined; and a Work Breakdown Structure created by phase or component, including decisions of what to make or buy. This foundation provides the basis for a good schedule, allowing the project scheduler to determine which skilled resources and equipment are needed.

To be successful, in addition to competence in the use of a scheduling tool, a scheduler should follow a process, and apply systems thinking.

A project network schedule represents a highly interdependent system of information that attempts to forecast the future. A good schedule is predicated upon knowing what needs to be done, by whom, and how. Thinking about everything that is needed to begin an activity and properly complete it is vital. A good schedule must model all critical dependencies and inputs.

The early involvement of appropriately-skilled individuals predictably improves the accuracy of work and duration estimates. Even for a small project, we must ask good questions to identify what…

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