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Chapter 5:
Project Time Management
adopted from PMIs PMBOK 2000 and
Textbook : Information Technology Project Management
(author : Dr. Kathy Schwalbe)
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Contents of time management
definition: charter and scope statement
sequence: mandatory dependencies, discretionary
dependencies, external dependencies
schedule: ADM, PDM
estimation: actual time + elapsed time. An art
require experience.
schedule development: Gantt chart, CPM and
PERT
schedule control and change control: perform
checks, allow contingencies, communicate with
stakeholders regularly
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Project Time Management
Developing the schedule involves
define the scope of the work
define the activities
estimate how long the activities will take
define sequence the activities based on its
relationships
estimate associate costs with the activities.
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Project Time Management
Processes
Project time management involves the processes
required to ensure timely completion of a
project.
5 Processes include:
Activity definition
Activity sequencing planning
Activity duration estimating
Schedule development
Schedule control control
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Activity Definition process
4th planning phase process
It involves identifying and documenting
the specific activities that must be
performed in order to produce the
deliverables and sub-deliverables identified
in the WBS.

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Inputs to Activity Definition
process
WBS
The primary input to Activity Definition. It is scope definition tool that
organizes the work and provides a basis for project estimates.
Scope statement
must be considered explicitly during Activity Definition. Project
justification and objectives are especially important.
Historical information
activities required on similar projects should be considered in defining
project activities.
Constraints
Factors that limit the teams options
Assumptions
factors that, for planning purposes, will be considered to be true, real, or
certain.
Expert judgment
guided by historical information should be used whenever possible.
subject-matter experts can help.
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Tools & techniques for Activity
Definition process
Project schedules grow out of the basic
document that initiate a project
Project charter includes start and end dates and
budget information
Scope statement and WBS help define what
will be done
Activity definition involves developing a
more detailed WBS and supporting
explanations to understand all the work to
be done
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Tools & techniques for Activity
Definition process (2)
Decomposition
dividing project elements into smaller, more
manageable components. Decomposition in Activity
Definition and in Scope Definition differ; the final
outputs in Activity Definition are activities (action
steps) and deliverables (tangible items)
Templates
previous project templates help project team to jump-
start the process.

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Outputs from Activity Definition
process
Activity list
includes all activities that will be performed on the project.
Descriptions of each activity should ensure that stakeholders
understand how the work will be done.
Supporting details
includes assumptions, constraints, and anything else that is
relevant.
WBS update
Missing deliverables, clarifications, or corrections. This output
creates a feedback loop by which you get to tie up loose ends.
Update the WBS and related documents, such as cost estimates.
These updates are often called refinements.
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Activity Sequencing
5
th
planning phase process
Involves reviewing activities and determining
dependencies
Mandatory dependencies: inherent in the nature of the
work; hard logic
Discretionary dependencies: defined by the project
team; soft logic
External dependencies: involve relationships between
project and non-project activities
You must determine dependencies in order to use
critical path analysis
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Inputs to Activity Sequencing
Activities list
includes all activities that will be performed on the project.
Product description
product characteristics. These often affect Activity Sequencing.
Mandatory dependencies
inherent in the nature of the work being done. They often involve
physical limitations. Constraints caused by mandatory dependencies are
call hard-logic.
Discretionary dependencies
defined by the project management team. Constraints caused by
discretionary dependencies are called soft logic.
External dependencies
involve a relationship between project and non-project activities.
Milestones
part of activity sequencing to ensure that requirement for the milestone
events are being met.
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Tools & techniques
Project network diagrams
a schematic display of the logical relationships among, or sequencing of,
project activities
preferred technique for showing activity sequencing
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
constructing a project network diagram to president the activities and
connecting them with arrows to show the dependencies between tasks.
Activities are represented by boxes, arrows show relationships between activities
This charting method is also called activities-on-node (AON)
More popular than ADM method and used by project management software such
as MS-project. better at showing different types of dependencies
There are 4 types of dependencies:
finish-to-start;
finish-to-finish;
start-to-start;
start-to-finish.
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Tools & techniques (2)
Arrow diagramming method (ADM)
constructing a project network diagram by using arrows to
represent the activities and connecting them at nodes to show the
dependencies.
Nodes or circles are the starting and ending points of activities
It is known as activities-on-arrow (AOA). This method uses only
finish-to-start activities.
Conditional diagramming methods
allow for non-sequential activities such as loops or conditional
branches, neither of which is possible in the PDM or ADM.
Network templates
Can expedite the preparation of project network diagrams
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PDM
fundamentals
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Task Dependency Types in PDM
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Sample Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
Network Diagram for Project X
Project 98 file
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AOA
fundamentals
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Sample Activity-on-Arrow (AOA)
Network Diagram for Project X
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Steps for Creating AOA Diagrams
1. Find all of the activities that start at node 1. Draw their finish nodes
and draw arrows between node 1 and those finish nodes. Put the
activity letter or name and duration estimate on the associated arrow
2. Continuing drawing the network diagram, working from left to right.
Look for bursts and merges. Bursts occur when a single node is
followed by two or more activities. A merge occurs when two or
more nodes precede a single node
3. Continue drawing the project network diagram until all activities are
included on the diagram that have dependencies
4. As a rule of thumb, all arrowheads should face toward the right, and
no arrows should cross on an AOA network diagram
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Outputs from Activity
Sequencing
Project network diagram
a schematic delay of the projects activities and the
logical relationships (dependencies) among them.
(note: it is not called a PERT chart)
Activity list update
allow a feedback loop if a network diagram reveals
instances where an activity must be redefined in order
to diagram the correct logical relationships

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Activity Duration Estimating
6
th
of 21 planning phase process
After defining activities and determining
their sequence, the next step in time
management is duration estimating
Duration includes the actual amount of time
worked on an activity plus elapsed time
People doing the work should help create
estimates, and an expert should review
them
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Inputs to Activity Duration
Estimation
Activity list
includes all activities that will be performed on the project.
Constraints
Factors that limit the performance of the project. When constraint are
involved, special considerations are often required for communications.
Assumptions
Factors that for planning purposes are considered to be true, real, or certain.
Resource requirements
controlling factors on activities duration. The duration of most activities will
be significantly influenced by the resources assigned to them.
Resource capabilities
staff and material resources assigned to them will affect the duration of most
activities.
Historical information
may be available for review from project records, commercial duration-
estimating databases, and team knowledge.
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Tools & techniques
Expert judgment
Judgment guided by historical information should be used
whenever possible.
An example is the Delphi Technique, which is a forecasting
technique that relies on gathering expert opinions. After several
iterations, the experts reach consensus of opinions.
Analogous estimating
uses the duration of a previous, similar activity as the basis for
estimating the duration of a future activity.
It is also called top-down estimating.
Simulation
calculates multiple durations with different sets of assumptions.
The most common is the Monte Carlo Analysis.
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Outputs from Activity Duration
Estimation
Activities duration estimation
Quantitative assessments of the likely number of work
periods such as hours, days, weeks, or months that
will be required to complete an activities.
Basis of estimates
includes the assumptions made in developing your
estimates, which must be documented.
Activities list updates
this feedback loop ensures completeness.

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Gantt Charts
Gantt charts provide a standard format for
displaying project schedule information by listing
project activities and their corresponding start and
finish dates in a calendar format
Symbols include:
A black diamond: milestones or significant events on a
project with zero duration
Thick black bars: summary tasks
Lighter horizontal bars: tasks
Arrows: dependencies between tasks

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Schedule development
7th of 21 planning phase process
It is the process of determining the start
and finish dates for all project activities
The activity sequences, activity duration,
and resource requirement are analyzed
together to create the project schedule.

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Schedule Development
7
th
of 21 planning phase process
Schedule development uses results of the other
time management processes to determine the start
and end date of the project and its activities
Ultimate goal is to create a realistic project
schedule that provides a basis for monitoring
project progress for the time dimension of the
project
Important tools and techniques include Gantt
charts, PERT analysis, critical path analysis, and
critical chain scheduling
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Inputs to Schedule development
Project network diagram: A schematic display of the
projects activities and the logical relationships
(dependencies) among them.
Activities duration estimation: Quantitative assessments
of the likely number of work periods such as hours,
days, weeks, or months that will be required to
complete an activities.
Resource requirements: define what physical resources
(people, equipment, and materials) and what quantities of
each are needed to perform project activities.
Resource pool descriptions: identify the required
resources, listing who will be available, when, and in
what patterns, as necessary for schedule development.
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Inputs to Schedule development (2)
Calendars: identify the time when work is allowed.
Project calendars affect all resource. Resource calendars
affect a specific resource or category of resource.
Constraints: constraints to consider during schedule
development include: a) imposed dates; b) key events or
major milestones.
Assumptions: factors that, for planning purposes, are
considered to be true, real, or certain.
Leads and lags: the lead is the minimum necessary lapse
of time between the start of one activity and the start of
an overlapping activity. The lag is the waiting time
between two tasks (negative lead) such as waiting for
concrete to harden or paint to dry.
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Inputs to Schedule development (3)
Risk management plan: A subsidiary part of the
project plan. It documents the procedures to
manage risk throughput the project.
Activity attributes: describes various
characteristics of the activities scheduled
responsibilities, WBS order, the location where
the work will be performed, the level.


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Tools & techniques
Mathematical analysis
Calculating theoretical early and late start and finish dates for all
project activities without any resource pool limitations.
The most common analysis techniques are
Critical path method (CPM);
Graphical evaluation and review technique (GERT);
PERT.
Duration compression methods
ways to shorten the project schedule without changing the project
scope.
Two techniques are used:
crashing;
fast-tracking.
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Tools & techniques (2)
Simulation:
calculates multiple durations with different sets of assumptions.
The most common is Monte Carlo analysis, in which a
distribution of probable results is defined for each activity and
used to calculate a distribution of probable results for the total
project.
Resource level heuristics
use mathematical analysis to produce a preliminary schedule.
Resource leveling heuristics are used when the schedule requires
more resources during certain time periods than are available, or
requires changes in resource level that are not manageable.
Project management software
widely used to assist with schedule development
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Outputs from Schedule
development
Project schedule
includes at a minimum the planned start and expected finish dates
for each detailed activity.
displayed graphically in one of the following formats
project network diagrams (e.g. Gantt Chart)
bar charts
milestone charts
Support details
include at least documentation of all identified assumptions and
constrains. Some examples are resource histograms, alternative
schedules, and cash-flow schedules.
Schedule management plan
defines how changes to the schedules will be managed.
Resource requirement updates
a result of resource leveling and activity list updates.
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Gantt Chart for Project X
Project 98 file
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Gantt Chart for Software Launch Project
Project 98 file
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Sample Tracking Gantt Chart
Project 98 file
white diamond: slipped milestone
two bars: planned and actual times
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Critical Path Method (CPM)
CPM is a project network analysis technique
used to predict total project duration
A critical path for a project is the series of
activities that determines the earliest time by
which the project can be completed
The critical path is the longest path through
the network diagram and has the least
amount of slack or float
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Finding the Critical Path
First develop a good project network
diagram
Add the durations for all activities on each
path through the project network diagram
The longest path is the critical path
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Simple Example of Determining
the Critical Path
Consider the following project network
diagram. Assume all times are in days.
2 3
4
5
A=2 B=5
C=2
D=7
1
6
F=2
E=1
start finish
1. How many paths are on this network diagram?
2. How long is each path?
3. Which is the critical path?
4. What is the shortest amount of time needed to
complete this project?
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Determining the Critical Path
for Project X
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More on the Critical Path
If one of more activities on the critical path takes
longer than planned, the whole project schedule
will slip unless corrective action is taken
Misconceptions:
The critical path is not the one with all the critical
activities; it only accounts for time
There can be more than one critical path if the lengths
of two or more paths are the same
The critical path can change as the project progresses
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Using Critical Path Analysis to
Make Schedule Trade-offs
Knowing the critical path helps you make schedule
trade-offs
Free slack or free float is the amount of time an
activity can be delayed without delaying the early
start of any immediately following activities
Total slack or total float is the amount of time an
activity may be delayed from its early start without
delaying the planned project finish date
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Free and Total Float or Slack for
Project X
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Techniques for Shortening a
Project Schedule
Shortening durations of critical tasks for adding
more resources or changing their scope
Crashing tasks by obtaining the greatest amount of
schedule compression for the least incremental cost
Fast tracking tasks by doing them in parallel or
overlapping them


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Importance of Updating Critical
Path Data
It is important to update project schedule
information
The critical path may change as you enter
actual start and finish dates
If you know the project completion date
will slip, negotiate with the project sponsor
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Multitasking Example
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Program Evaluation and Review
Technique (PERT)
PERT is a network analysis technique
to estimate project duration when there is a high
degree of uncertainty about the individual activity
duration estimates
PERT uses probabilistic time estimates based on
different estimates of activity durations
optimistic estimates (weighting 1)
most likely estimates (weighting 4)
pessimistic estimates (weighting 1)
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PERT Formula and Example
PERT weighted average formula:
optimistic time + 4x most likely time + pessimistic time
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Example:
PERT weighted average =
8 workdays + 4 X 10 workdays + 24 workdays = 12 days
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where 8 = optimistic time, 10 = most likely time,
and 24 = pessimistic time
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Controlling Changes to the
Project Schedule
4
th
of 8 Controlling phase process
It involves managing changes to the schedule.
The major activities include
monitor the schedule performance of project activities
detect variances from the original schedule baseline.
general steps:
Perform reality checks on schedules
Allow for contingencies
Dont plan for everyone to work at 100% capacity all
the time
Hold progress meetings with stakeholders and be clear
and honest in communicating schedule issues
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Inputs to Schedule control
Project schedule
As a part of the integrated project plan, the approved schedule is called
schedule baseline.
Project team/manager re-baseline when the schedule becomes
unrealistic.
Re-baselining occurs when project team/manager do any major update in
order to have a better control the schedule.
Performance reports
provide information on schedule execution showing if planned dates
have been met. These reports also alert project team on issues that may
cause problem in future.
Change requests
any update of schedule, that may require extending or accelerating the
schedule.
Scope management plan
describes how changes will be integrated into the project. It is part of the
project plan.
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Tools & techniques for Schedule
control process
Schedule change control system:
defines the procedures for changing the project schedule. It includes the
paperwork, tracking systems, and approval levels necessary for
authorizing changes.
Performance measurement techniques:
assess the magnitude of any variations that occur in project performance.
An important part of Schedule Control is to decide if the schedule
variation requires corrective action.
Additional planning:
prospective changes may require new or revised activity duration
estimates, modified activity sequences, or analysis of alternative
schedules.
Project management software:
widely used to assist with schedule development and control. In the
context of controlling, it is schedule tracking, and reporting. It helps
levels resources, for schedule alternatives.
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Using Software to Assist in
Time Management
Software for facilitating communications
helps people exchange schedule-related
information
Decision support models help analyze
trade-offs that can be made
Project management software can help in
various time management areas
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Outputs from schedule control
process
Schedule updates:
include any modification to the schedule used to manage the
project. A special category of schedule updates, revisions,
describes changes to start and finish dates in the approval project
schedule.
Corrective action:
encompasses anything that brings your expected future schedule
back in line with the project plan. These actions are outputs from
the other knowledge areas.
Lessons learned:
document causes of variances, the reasoning behind corrective
actions, and other lessons learned from schedule change.
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Working with People Issues
Strong leadership helps projects succeed
more than good PERT charts
Project managers should use
empowerment
incentives
discipline
negotiation
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Summary
importance of project schedules: IT project
always over-run
Time management process
definition (planning)
sequence (planning)
schedule estimation (planning)
schedule development (planning)
schedule control (control)

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Summary (2)
definition: charter and scope statement
sequence: mandatory dependencies, discretionary
dependencies, external dependencies
schedule: ADM, PDM
estimation: actual time + elapsed time. An art
require experience.
schedule development: Gantt chart, CPM and
PERT
schedule control and change control: perform
checks, allow contingencies, communicate with
stakeholders regularly