C

CPM
M Sch
hedule Ana
alysis
A
Assessm
ment Points

GOA No.
1.
36
1.1
[9]
i

37
[9]

Criterianame
DataQuality
ActualFinishBeforeActualStart
Checksfortasksthathaveactualfinishdatesbeforetheiractualstartdate.
Anactualfinishdateshouldneverbebeforeanactualstartdate.Intherealworld,youcannotfinishsomethingbeforeyoustart!
Onlyefforttasksareexamined.Thescoreiscalculatedbydividingtaskswithactualfinishdatesbeforetheactualstartdatesbythenumberof
efforttasks.

Requiredresult
0tasks

! Oneorbothofthoseactualdatesmustbeincorrect.NextSteps:
Investigatebycheckingwiththepersonwhoreportedthosedates.
Correcttheactualdatesthatareincorrect.
1.2 ActualStart/FinishDatesintheFuture
Checksfortasksthathaveanactualstartoractualfinishdateinthefuture.
0tasks
i Taskshaveplanneddatesandactualdates.
Anactualstartoractualfinishdateistherecordofwhenataskactuallystartedoffinished,sowecanonlybelievethisifthedateisinthepast.For
example,ifsomeonetellsyouthattheyplantorunfivemilesonMay17th,andMay17thistwodaysfromnow,youwouldprobablybelievethem.
If,however,theytoldyouthattheyactuallyranfivemilesonMay17th(twodaysfromnow),youwouldn'tbelievethem,sincethatdayhasnot
happenedyet.Whileitmayinfacthappentwodaysfromnow,itcannotbetrueatthismoment.
Inthiscontext,wedoneedtodefinewhatthefuturemeans:
TheFutureMeans:
DoestheProjectHaveaStatusDate?
No
Anydateafterrightnow.
Yes
Anydateafterthestatusdate
Whentheprojecthasastatusdate,theschedulerissayingthattheinformationintheschedulewasupdatedatthatpointintime.Whiletimehas
elapsedsincethestatusdate,itispresumedthattheschedulehasnotbeenupdatedinthattime,sothefutureisdefinedasanytimeafterthe
schedulewaslastupdated.

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GOA No.

Criterianame
Requiredresult
! Actualdatesshouldonlyberecordediftheevent(taskstartorfinish)trulyhappened,andforthistobetrue,thedatemustbeinthepast.Ifan
actualdatewasrecordedinthefuture(aftertodayorafterthestatusdate),itshouldbegivenattention.
NextSteps:
Investigatebycheckingwiththepersonwhoreportedthesedates.Wasitadataentryerror?Istheschedulemaintainertrustingthatthedatewill
infacthappenonthefuturedaythatwasentered?
Correcttheactualdatesthatareincorrect.
1.3 BaselineVerticalScheduleIntegration
CheckstoseeiftheBaselineStartandBaselineFinishofSummaryTasksarecorrect.
0tasks
i Mostschedulingprogramsallowyoutoorganizetasksinabranchedtreehierarchy,mirroringtheworkbreakdownstructureifitexists.Inthis
hierarchy,summarytasksserveasparentplaceholdersforthetasksthatarebelowtheminthehierarchy.

Ina"bottomup"schedule(likeMicrosoftProject),theonlyinformationthatshouldbeenteredforasummarytaskis"documentation"information
likeitsname.Everythingelse(dates,cost,duration,work,etc.)shouldbedeterminedbythevaluesofitsimmediatechildrentasks.Forexample,
TheBaselineStartdateofTaskBinthediagramaboveshouldbedeterminedbytheearlieroftheBaselineStartdatesofTasksDandE.The
BaselineFinishofTaskBisdeterminedbythelateroftheBaselineFinishdatesofTasksDandE.Thatway,TaskBrepresentstheBaselineStartand
BaselineFinishofthetasksbelowit;it"summarizes"thosetasks,whichiswhyTaskBiscalledaSummaryTask.
ThedatesfromTasksDandEaresaidto"rollup"totaskB,justasthedatesfromtasksBandCrolluptoTaskA.Schedulingapplicationslike
MicrosoftProjectautomaticallyperformthisrollupcalculation.Itwouldbequitetimeconsumingtodothismanuallyeverytimeachangewas
made.
Theschedulecanbeerroneouslychangedsothatthereisamismatchintherolledupdates.Forexample,ifaschedulermanuallychangesadate,it
maybedifferentfromtheonethatisautomaticallycalculatedbytheschedulingapplication.
ThiscriteriacheckstomakesurethattheBaselineStartandBaselineFinishdatesforeachsummarytaskarecorrect.TheBaselineStartdateofa
summarytaskshouldcorrespondtotheearliestBaselineStartdateofitschildrentasks.Similarly,theBaselineFinishdateofasummarytaskshould
correspondtothelatestBaselineFinishdateofitschildren.
Ifitdoesn't,thesummarytaskwillbeflaggedforinvestigation.
! ForeachSummaryTaskthatisincorrect:
ExaminetheBaselineStartandBaselineFinishdatestoverifythatoneorbothisincorrect.
Checkwiththescheduler;aretheyoverwritingthecalculatedvaluesforthesefields?Ifso,thatpracticeshouldbediscontinued.Baselinedates
shouldnotbemanuallymodified,andsummarytaskvaluesshouldbecalculatedbytheschedulingapplication.
Correcttheactualdatesthatareincorrect.
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GOA No.
34
1.4

Criterianame
Requiredresult
ProjectHasStatusDate
Checkstomakesuretheprojecthasastatusdate.
i Thiscriterioncheckstomakesuretheprojecthasastatusdate.Withoutastatusdate,youdon'tknowwhentheschedulewaslastupdated,orhow
currenttheinformationinthescheduleis.That'sthereasonwhyit'sagoodpracticetosettheStatusDateeverytimethescheduleisupdated.

! Ifthescheduledoesnothaveastatusdate:
Updatethestatusofanytasksthatareinprogressandmakesurethatfuturetasksareinsyncwiththeprojectplan.
Setthestatusdatefortheproject.
1
1.5 TaskswithmissingWBS
ChecksfortasksthataremissingaWBScode.
i EverytaskinyourscheduleshouldhaveaWBScodeassigned.TheWBS(workbreakdownstructure)organizesalloftheworkintoworkpackages.
EachworkpackageshouldhaveauniqueWBScodewhichidentifiesthework.WBScodesareusedtotrackcost,performance,andtechnicaldata
relatedtothework.IfataskismissingaWBScode,it'spossiblethatthetaskwillnotbeincludedinreports,makingthereportsinaccurateand
incomplete.
(ForMicrosoftProjectusers):MicrosoftProjectautomaticallyassignsaWBScodetoeachtask,butifacustomfieldisbeingusedfortheWBScode,
thenit'spossiblethatataskcouldhaveamissingWBScode.
! ForeachtaskthatismissingaWBScode:
LookupthecorrectWBScodeandassignittothetask.
UnderstandwhyandhowtheWBScodewasmissing,andseeifthesameproblemmightbehappeninginotherplacesandhowitmightbe
preventedinthefuture.
14
1.6 TasksWithoutAssignedResources
Checksfortaskswithworkremainingthatdonothaveassignedresources.
[10]
i Thiscriterionchecksfortasksthathaveworkremainingbutdonothaveanyresourcesassigned.
Ifataskinvolvesrealwork,theworkmustbedonebysomeone(aperson),something(e.g.equipment),orboth.Ifnoresourcesareassignedtothe
task,itbearscloserinvestigation.Taskswithoutrealwork(e.g.milestones,summarytasks)areignored,asaretaskswheretheworkisalready
complete.
! Foreachtaskthatisflaggedbythischeck,determinewhichresourcesshouldbeassignedtothetask.Oncethatinformationisknown,makethe
resourceassignments.Followyourorganization'schangecontrolprocessifoneexists.
13
SummaryTaskswithResources
Checksforsummarytaskswithresourcesassigned.
0tasks
i Summarytasksareusedasacontainerforothertasks.Becausetheyaren'treallytasks,theyshouldnothaveresourcesassignedtothem.Another
reasonit'snotagoodpracticetoassignresourcestosummarytasksisthatschedulingapplicationslikeMicrosoftProjectbehaveunpredictably
whenresourcesareassignedtosummarytasks.Thiscancausedisruptiontothecalculationofanaccuratecriticalpath.

<2%
<2%

25%
275%

>5%
>75%

<5%
<5%

510%
575%

>10%
>75%

! Ifsummarytasksareidentifiedthathaveresourcesassignedtothem:
Removetheresourceassignments.
Discontinuethepracticeofassigningresourcestosummarytasks.
Ifnecessary,educateotherschedulersofthepitfallsofthispractice.
42
1.7 TasksMissingBaselineDates
Checksfortasksthataremissingabaselinestartorbaselinefinish.
0tasks
[11]
i Inthesamewaythatyoucannottrackspendingperformancewithoutabudget,tryingtotrackscheduleperformancewithoutabaselineisvery
difficult.ThiscriteriafindsthetasksthataremissingaBaselineStartorBaselineFinishvalue.Withoutbaselinedates,youdon'thavearecordof
datesaccordingtotheofficial"plan",andyoucannoteffectivelycompareactualdatesagainstplanneddates.
! Ifyoudiscoverthatasmallnumberoftasksaremissingabaseline,youshouldattempttofindtheoriginaldatesfromotherprojectdocumentsand
setthebaselinedatesforthosetasks.Ifyoudiscoverthatallofyourtasksaremissingbaselinevalues,youshouldsetthebaselineforalltasksto
theircurrentplannedvalues.Settingabaselineinmidprojectisbetterthannotsettingoneatall.
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GOA No.
19
1.8

8[4]

Criterianame
DanglingActivities
Checksfortasksthataredanglingactivities.
i Adanglingactivityisanactivitythatcangrow(haveitsdurationincrease)withouteasydetection.
Therearetwocaseswhereataskcanbeadanglingactivity:
1NoPredecessorsareStarttoStartorFinishtoStart.Inthiscase,nopredecessorsareconnectedtotheStartDateofthetask.
2NoSuccessorsareFinishtoFinishorFinishtoStart.Inthiscase,nosuccessorsareconnectedtotheFinishDateofthetask.
Inbothcases,thetaskisnotintegratedintotheschedulenetworkadequately,andit'spossiblethatthetask'sdurationcouldincreasewithout
beingdetectedeasily.Danglingtasksmayalsointerferewiththepropercalculationofthecriticalpath.

Requiredresult
0tasks
<2%

>2%

! Foreachtaskthatisflaggedasadanglingtask:
IfnopredecessorsareStarttoStartorFinishtoStart,findtherealworldpredecessorthataffectsthestartdateofthetaskandlinkitproperlyto
thetask.WerecommendusingaFinishtoStartpredecessor.
IfnosuccessorsareFinishtoFinishorFinishtoStart,findtherealworldsuccessorthatwouldbeaffectedbythistaskandlinkitproperlytothis
task.WerecommendusingaFinishtoStartsuccessor.
TasksWithStarttoFinishRelationships
0tasks

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GOA No.
2.
39
2.1
[14]

Criterianame
Performance
BaselineExecutionIndex

TheBaselineExecutionIndex(BEI)isaratiocalculation:thenumberoftasksthatfinished
dividedbythenumberoftasksthatwereplannedtobefinished.
i Thiscriteriaisonewaytoquicklycheckhowaprojectisperforming.Itcountsthetasksthathavefinished(basedontheActualFinishvalue)andthe
tasksthatweresupposedtobefinished(basedontheBaselineFinishvalue).Bydividingthefinishedtasksbythetasksthatweresupposedtobe
finished,yougetacrudebuthelpfulassessmentofthe"ontime"completionrateoftasks.
Whendowecountataskas"shouldbefinished?"WhentheBaselineFinishoccursonorbeforethestatusdate,weincludeitinthecount.When
dowecountataskas"finished?"WhentheActualFinishhasadateset.Summarytasksarealwaysexcludedfrombothcounts.
Doweonlyconsidertasksthatshouldhavefinishedwhencountingtasksthatfinished?No.Ifataskfinished,itwillbeincludedinthecount
whetheritwassupposedtohavefinishedornot.
HowaretaskswithoutaBaselineFinishcounted?Forthepurposesofthecriteriacalculation,theyareexcludedfrombothcounts.Note:The14
PointassessmenttooltreatstasksmissingaBaselineFinishdifferently.
AcoupleofexampleswillillustratehowtheBaselineExecutionIndexiscalculated.
Supposethat100nonsummarytaskshaveabaselinefinishbeforethestatusdate.92nonsummarytaskshaveanActualFinishdateset.The
BaselineExecutionIndexwillbe0.92(92divideby100).
Supposethat2000nonsummarytaskshaveaBaselineFinishbeforethestatusdate,and2300nonsummarytaskshaveanActualFinishdateset.
TheBaselineExecutionIndexwillbe1.15.
WiththeBEI,lowervaluesareworse,andhighervaluesarebetter.Avalueof1.0meansthatthenumberoftasksthatfinishedmatchthenumber
oftasksthatweresupposedtobefinished.Doesthatmeantheprojectisexactlyonschedule?Notnecessarily,becausewe'rejustconsideringtask
counts.Shorttasksthatfinishedaheadofschedulearegiventhesameweight(theycountasonetask)aslongtasksthatarebehindschedule.

Requiredresult
<0,85

0,85
0,95

>0,95

! It'snotuncommonfortheBEItofallbelow1.0,butit'sagoodideatoseta"lowwatermark"thresholdandinvestigatewhentheBEIfallsunder
thatthreshold.Defaultthresholdis0.95.
NextSteps:
IftheBEIisbelowyourthreshold,examinethetasksthatarebehindscheduleandunderstandthecauseofthedelays.
CompareagainstpreviousBEIresultsandunderstandwhetherthereisatrend;areBEIvaluesgettingprogressivelylower?Whatcanbedoneto
improvethesituation?
Iftasksaremissingbaselinevalues,makesurethisiscorrectedthenexttimethescheduleisbaselined.
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GOA No.
2.2
2.3

Criterianame
Requiredresult
CPITooHigh
<0,95
CheckstoseeiftheCPI(CostPerformanceIndex)isaboveorbelowacustomizable
CPITooLow
threshold.
i Aprojectthatisunderbudgetisusuallyagoodthing,butifit'stoomuchunderbudgetoroverbudget,itbearsinvestigation.
TheCPI(CostPerformanceIndex)isanearnedvaluemeasurementthatshowswhetheraprojectisoverbudgetorunderbudget.Itlooksatthe
workthatwasactuallyperformedandcomparestheplannedcostofthatworkagainsttheactualcostofthework.
IftheCPIislessthan1.0,theplannedcostwaslessthantheactualcost,sotheprojectisoverbudget.IftheCPIisgreaterthan1.0,theplannedcost
isgreaterthantheactualcost,sotheprojectisunderbudget.
IftheCPIisafewpercentagepointsunderbudget,it'sprobablyokay,butwhatiftheprojectwas50%underbudget?Youwouldwanttoinvestigate
andunderstandwhy.
! IfthecalculatedCPIwasabovethethreshold,everythingmaybeokay,butyou'llwanttoinvestigateandunderstandthereasonswhytheprojectis
underbudget.
Wasitacaseofoverinflatedestimates?Ifso,canyouadjusttheestimatesofremainingtaskstobemoreinline?
Isqualitysuffering?Waslessskilledlaborbroughtin?Werelowerqualitymaterialsused?
Ifthereasonsforbeingunderbudgetarelegitimate,aretherebestpracticesthatcanbesharedwithotherprojectteamsinyourorganization?

35
[9]

DelinquentTasks
ChecksfortasksthatmissedtheirStartorFinishdates.
0tasks
i DelinquenttasksaretasksthatmissedeithertheirPlannedStartdateortheirPlannedFinishdate(orboth).Theplanneddatesthatareflagged
cannotbetrusted,sincetheyareinthepast.
Summarytasksareexcluded.IfataskhasaPlannedStartbeforethestatusdate,andithasn'tstarted(thereisnoActualStartdate),itiscountedas
adelinquenttask.IfataskhasaPlannedFinishdatebeforethestatusdate,andithasn'tfinished(thereisnoActualFinishdate),itisalsocounted
asadelinquenttask.
Ifthereisnostatusdate,thecalculationisasaboveexceptthestatusdateisconsideredtobethecurrentdate.

2.4

0,95
1,3

>1,3

! Witheachtaskfoundtobedelinquent,therearetwoissues.
1.Thetaskisbehindschedule,andthereasonsforthedelayshouldbeinvestigated.
2.Theschedulecannotbetrusted.ThePlannedStartorFinish(orboth)cannotbemet,becausethedateisinthepast.Thescheduleshouldbe
adjusted(followingproperchangeauthorization)toreflectdatesthatcanbemet.
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GOA No.
38
2.5

40

Criterianame
Requiredresult
OutofSequenceTasks
Checksforsuccessortasksthathaveviolatedarelationshipithaswithapredecessor.
0tasks
i Thiscriterionlooksattherelationships(links)betweentasks.Foreachlink,acheckismadeonthesuccessortasktomakesureithasn'tviolatedits
relationshipwiththepredecessor.Ifitviolatedtherelationship,itissaidtobeoutofsequence.
Thetestforwhetherthesuccessorisoutofsequencedependsontherelationshiptype.
RelationshipType
OutofSequence
FinishtoStart
Thesuccessorstarted,thepredecessorhasnotfinished.
StarttoStart
Thesuccessorstarted,thepredecessorhasnotstarted.
FinishtoFinish
Thesuccessorfinished,thepredecessorhasnotfinished.
StarttoFinish
Thesuccessorfinished,thepredecessordidnotstart.

! Foreachoutofsequencesuccessor,investigatebycheckingwiththepersonresponsibleforthestartofthesuccessor.
Ifthereasonfortherelationshipislegitimate,whataretheconsequencesofTaskBstartingoutofsequence?
Iftherearenoconsequencesofthetaskbeingoutofsequence,arethereotherrelationshipsintheschedulethataren'tnecessary?Cantheybe
removedtosimplifytheschedule?
2.6 PredecessorsComplete,TaskNotStarted
Checksfortasksthathaven'tstartedbutwhosepredecessorsarecomplete.
i Typically,withFinishtoStartrelationships,ataskmaybeginwhenallofitspredecessorshavecompleted.Thischecklooksfortasksthathaven't
starteddespitethefactthatallofitspredecessorsarecomplete.

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

>10% 1015% >15%

>10% 1075% >75%

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GOA No.

Criterianame
! Foreachtaskthatisflagged,investigatebycheckingwiththepersonresponsibleforthestartofthetask.
Arethereasonsforthefinishtostartrelationshipslegitimate?
Whyhasn'tthetaskstarted?
Whenwillthetaskstart?
Whatistheimpactofalatestart?
2.7 ShouldStartTasks
Reportsthenumberoftasksthatwerescheduledtostartinthepast.
i Thiscriterionisactuallyjustastatisticshowingthepercentageoftasksthatwerescheduledtostartinthepast.Itdoesnotdistinguishbetween
whetherthetasksactuallystartedornot.Itcanbeusedasameasureofhowfaralongintotheplannedworkyouare.
NonsummarytasksthathaveaPlannedStartdateinthepastarecounted,aswellassplittasksthathaveaResumedateinthepast.The
percentageisdeterminedbydividingthecountagainstallnonsummarytasks.
Atthebeginningofaproject,thepercentageshouldbezero.Astimepasses,itwillincrease,eventuallyreaching100%attheendoftheproject.

Requiredresult

41

Statistic

2.8
2.9

SPITooHigh
CheckstoseeiftheSPI(SchedulePerformanceIndex)isaboveorbelowacustomizable
SPITooLow
threshold.
i Aprojectthatisaheadofscheduleisusuallyagoodthing,butifit'stoomuchaheadofschedule,itbearsinvestigation.
TheSPI(SchedulePerformanceIndex)isanearnedvaluemeasurementthatshowswhetheraprojectisaheadofschedule,(SPI>1),ontime(SPI=
1),orbehindschedule(SPI<1).
IfSPIis1.2,120%oftheplannedportioninthescheduledtimewascompleted,sotheprojectisrunningaheadofschedule.
IftheSPIisafewpercentagepointsaheadofschedule,it'sprobablyokay,butwhatiftheprojectwas50%aheadofschedule?Youwouldwantto
investigateandunderstandwhy.
! IfthecalculatedSPIwasabovethethreshold,everythingmaybeokay,butyou'llwanttoinvestigateandunderstandthereasonswhytheprojectis
aheadofschedule.
Wasitacaseofoverinflateddurationestimates?Ifso,canyouadjustthedurationestimatesofremainingtaskstobemoreinline?
Isqualitysuffering?
Ifthereasonsforbeingaheadofschedulearelegitimate,aretherebestpracticesthatcanbesharedwithotherprojectteamsinyourorganization?

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

<25% 2575% >75%

<0,95

0,95
1,3

>1,3

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GOA No.
3.
43
3.1

47
20

Criterianame
Statistical
EffortsTasks
Checkstomakesurethereisanadequatepercentageofefforttasksintheschedule.
i Thiscriterionsimplydoesastatisticalcheck.
Efforttasksaretasksthathaverealworkassociatedwiththem.Whilegoodscheduleshavenonefforttasks(e.g.summarytasks,milestones),asa
bestpracticealargeportionofthetasksshouldbeefforttasks.Thiscriteriacheckstomakesuretheportionofefforttasksisaboveanacceptable
threshold.
! Ifthepercentageofefforttasksisflaggedastoolow,askthefollowingquestions:
Isitasmallschedule?Withextremelysmallschedules,evenasmallamountofmilestonesandsummarytaskscancausethischecktotrigger.In
thatcase,thischeckcanprobablybeignored.
Aretheretoomanysummarytasks?Ifso,theschedulemightbe"overorganized."Perhapssomegroupsofactivitiescanbeconsolidated
underneathonesummarytask.
Aretheretoomanymilestones?Ifso,askwhetherallofthemilestonesaremeaningfulandwhethertheyreallyneedtobetracked.
CriticalTasks
Reportsonthepercentageorthenumberofcriticaltasks
3.2 IncompleteCriticalTasks
Reportsonthepercentageofincompletetasksthatarecritical.
i Thiscriterionsimplyreportsastatistic.Itisn'tcheckingthescheduleagainstanycriteria.
Incompletecriticaltasksaretasksthathaven'tfinishedandarepartoftheschedule'scriticalpath.Thisstatisticreportsthepercentageof
incompletetasksthatarecritical.
Thisstatisticisageneralindicatoroftheimportanceoftheremainingwork.

Requiredresult
<64% 6468% 6892% 9296%
<10%

1075% >75%

Statistic
Statistic
<15% 1575% >75%

! It'sagoodpracticetowatchthisstatisticoverthecourseofaproject.Ithelpsyouunderstandthenatureoftheremainingwork.
46

44

3.3

IncompleteTasks
Reportsonthepercentageofefforttasksthatareincomplete.
Statistic
i Thiscriterionsimplyreportsastatistic.Itisn'tcheckingthescheduleagainstanycriteria.
Incompletetasksaretasksthathaven'tfinished.Thisstatisticreportsthepercentageofefforttasksthatareincomplete.
Thisstatisticisageneralindicatorofthepercentageofthetotalworkthatremainstobeperformed.Thescoreshouldstartat100%atthe
beginningoftheprojectandbecomelowerastheprojectprogresses,reaching0%attheendoftheproject.
! It'sagoodpracticetowatchthisstatisticoverthecourseofaproject.Itisonewaytotrackprogressoftheproject.Whencomparedagainst
expectedvalues,youmaydiscoverperformanceproblemsintheproject.
Ifthisscoreeverincreases,investigatetounderstandthereason.Itispossiblethatscopewasaddedtotheproject.
3.4 MilestoneTasks
Checkstomakesurethatthepercentageofmilestonesinthescheduleisn'ttoohigh.
<7% 715% 1525% 2533%
<20% 2075% >75%
i Thiscriterionsimplydoesastatisticalcheck.
Milestonesaretasksthatmarkimportantevents.Whilegoodscheduleshavemilestones,asabestpracticethepercentageofmilestonesshouldnot
betoohigh.Thiscriteriacheckstomakesurethepercentageofmilestonesisbelowanacceptablethreshold.
! Ifthepercentageofmilestonesisflaggedastoohigh,askthefollowingquestions:
Isitasmallschedule?Withextremelysmallschedules,evenasmallamountofmilestonescancausethischecktotrigger.Inthatcase,thischeck
canprobablybeignored.
Areallofthemilestonesnecessary?Canmilestonesberemovedwithoutdecreasingtheabilitytotrackprogressontheschedule?

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GOA No.
45
3.5

Criterianame
Requiredresult
SummaryTasks
Checkstomakesurethereisanadequatepercentageofsummarytasksintheschedule.
<7% 713% 1327% 2733%
<20% 2075% >75%
i Thiscriterionsimplydoesastatisticalcheck.
Summarytasksareusedasacontainerforothertasks.Theyareneededforreportingandtracking.Whilegoodscheduleshavesummarytask,asa
bestpracticethepercentageofsummarytasksshouldnotbetoohigh.Thiscriteriacheckstomakesuretheportionofsummarytasksisbelowan
acceptablethreshold.
! Ifthepercentageofsummarytasksisflaggedastoohigh,askthefollowingquestions:
Isitasmallschedule?Withextremelysmallschedules,evenasmallamountofsummarytaskscancausethischecktotrigger.Inthatcase,this
checkcanprobablybeignored.
Istheschedule"overorganized?"Areallofthesummarytasksnecessary?Perhapssomegroupsofactivitiescanbeconsolidatedunderneathone
summarytask.

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GOA No.
4.
2
4.1
[1]
i

3
[1]

Criterianame
Requiredresult
CriticalPathQuality
MissingPredecessors
Checksfortasksthataremissingpredecessors.
<2%
<2%
Oneofthebasictasksofaschedulingengineistocalculatewhentaskscanbegin.Ittypicallydoesthisbylookingatthepredecessorsofatask.
Typically,ataskcanbescheduledtostartwhenallofitspredecessorsarescheduledtobecomplete.
Whenataskhasnopredecessors,itisn'tpartoftheschedulenetwork.Itsstartdateiseitherenteredmanuallyorassignedtothestartdateofa
project.Therearepotentialproblemswithbothcases.Whetheritisenteredmanuallyorautomaticallyassignedtotheproject'sstartdate,itraises
somequestions.Isthereagoodreasonforatasktostartonthatspecificdate?Isthatthebestuseoftheresourceonthatday?Intherealworld,
arethereinfacttasksthatmustfinishbeforethistaskcanstart?
Insomecases,it'sokayforatasktohavenopredecessors.Ifyoucreateamilestonerepresentingthestartoftheproject,itwillnaturallynothave
anypredecessors.Ingeneral,though,it'saschedulingbestpracticefortaskstohavepredecessors.

! Foreachtaskthatismissingpredecessors:
Investigatewhythetask'sstartdateissettoitspresentvalue.
Identifywhetherthereareactuallytasksthatitdependsonandlinkthemtothetaskbysettingthetask'spredecessors.
Ifthereareinfactnopredecessors,setthepredecessortoamilestonerepresentingthestartoftheproject.Avoidmanuallysettingastartdatefor
thetask.
4.2 MissingSuccessors
Checksfortasksthataremissingsuccessors.
i Whenataskhasnosuccessors,itisn'tcompletelyintegratedintotheschedulenetwork.Theinformationonwhichtasksaredependingonitis
missing.Itraisesanimportantquestion.Ifnotasksaredependingonataskcompleting,thenwhyisbeingcompletedatall?
Insomecases,it'sokayforatasktohavenosuccessors.Ifyoucreateamilestonerepresentingtheendoftheproject,itwillnaturallynothaveany
successors.Ingeneral,though,it'saschedulingbestpracticefortaskstohavesuccessors.

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

<2%
<2%

26%
275%

>6%
>75%

26%
275%

>6%
>75%

Page11of26

GOA No.

6
[5]

Criterianame

! Foreachtaskthatismissingsuccessors:
Identifywhetherthereareactuallyothertasksthatdependonthistaskandlinkthemtothistaskbysettingthistask'ssuccessors.
Ifthereareinfactnosuccessors,setthistask'ssuccessortoamilestonerepresentingtheendoftheproject.
4.3 TaskswithConstrainedDates
Checksfortasksthathaveconstraints.
i Acommonruleofaschedule:anydelaytoataskonthecriticalpathwillcauseadelaytotheprojectsenddate.Thisishowitshouldbe;therule
applieswhenyouhavea"good"schedule.Itapplieswhenyouhaveacriticalpathwhich"flows"properly.
Taskswithhardconstraintscancausethisruletobebrokenandshouldbeavoided.Theyhavetheeffectofanchoringastartorfinishdatetoa
specificdate.Theschedulingenginehastheprimaryjobofcalculatingstartandfinishdatesforthetasks.Itwon'tbeabletodoitsprimaryjob
properlywhenitencountersconstraints.Whenanearliertaskonthecriticalpathslips,latercriticaltaskswithconstraintswon't"move"becauseof
theconstraint.Thecriticalpathwon't"flow"asitshould.Youwon'tlearntherealworldimpactoftheslip.Forthisreason,theuseofconstraints
shouldbeminimalandavoidedwheneverpossible.
Softconstraintsdonotimpactthecriticalpathinthesameway,buttheymaybeusedimproperlyandtheiruseshouldbeinvestigated.

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

Requiredresult

<5% 510% >10%

<15% 1575% >75%

Page12of26

GOA No.

Criterianame
! Foreachtaskwithaconstraint,investigatewhytheconstraintexistsandhowitmightberemoved.Askthefollowingquestions:
Whywastheconstraintadded?
Istherea"realworld"reasonfortheconstraint?
Whatwouldtheeffectbeofremovingtheconstraint?
9[5]
TaskswithHardContraints
11[2/3]
TaskswithPredecessorscontainingLeadsorLags
12[2/3]
TaskswithSuccessorscontainingLeadsorLags
31[7] 4.4 TaskswithTotalFloat<200days
Checksfortasksthathaveatotalfloatvaluebelowacertainthreshold.
33[7] 4.5 TaskswithTotalFloat<20days
Checksfortasksthathaveatotalfloatvaluebelowacertainthreshold.
30[6] 4.6
32[6] 4.7

Requiredresult

<5%
<5%

075%
575%
575%

>75%
>75%
>75%

0tasks

TaskswithTotalFloat>200days
Checksfortasksthathaveatotalfloatvalueaboveacertainthreshold.
0tasks
TaskswithTotalFloat>30days
Checksfortasksthathaveatotalfloatvalueaboveacertainthreshold.
i Thiscriterionchecksfortasksthathaveatotalfloatvalueaboveaspecificthreshold.Thethresholdisspecifiedforthecriterion.
Whenataskhaspositivefloat,theamountofworkremainingislessthantheamountofremainingtime.Thetaskcouldslipbytheamountoftotal
floatwithoutaffectingtheenddateoftheschedule.
Bydefinition,noncriticaltaskshavepositivetotalfloat,andthat'sperfectlyokay.Ifalargenumberofthosetaskshavea"high"totalfloatthat
exceedscertainlevels,it'spossiblethatthereareinefficienciesintheschedule;theremightbeawaytoreordertheschedulethatwillreducecosts
ormakemoresense.

<10% 1015% >15%

<5% 575% >75%
<25% 2570% >70%
<25% 2575% >75%

! Foreachtaskthathasexcessivepositivefloat,askthefollowingquestions:
Whatistheunderlyingreasonforthehightotalfloatvalue?
Couldthetaskbescheduledlateratalowercost?
Isthereissignificantunderutilizationfortheresourcesassignedtothetask,couldotherworkbescheduledduringthatfloatperiod?

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

Page13of26

GOA No. Criterianame

5
4.8 TasksWithoutFinishtoStartPredecessors
Checksfortasksthataremissingfinishtostartpredecessors.
[4]
i Thischeckwilluncovertasksthatdonothaveafinishtostartpredecessor.Thismaybethecaseifthetaskhasnopredecessors,oritmighthave
predecessorsthataren'tfinishtostart.
Ifthetaskhasnopredecessors,seethecheckforMissingPredecessorsforanexplanationofwhythismaypresentaproblem.
Ifthetaskhaspredecessors,butnoneofthemarefinishtostart,thetaskwillbeflaggedinthischeck.Typically,mostpredecessorrelationships
shouldbefinishtostart.Therearesomecaseswhereusinganothertypeofrelationshipiscorrect,butinmanycasesnonfinishtostart
relationshipsareusedimproperly.Whentheyareusedimproperly,thecriticalpathwillnotbecalculatedproperly.
! Foreachtaskthathasnopredecessors:
Investigatewhythetask'sstartdateissettoitspresentvalue.
Identifywhetherthereareactuallytasksthatitdependsonandlinkthemtothetaskbysettingthetask'spredecessors.
Ifthereareinfactnopredecessors,setthepredecessortoamilestonerepresentingthestartoftheproject.Avoidmanuallysettingastartdatefor
thetask.
Foreachtaskthathaspredecessors,butnoneofthemarefinishtostart:
Investigatewhethertherelationshiptype(e.g.starttostart,finishtofinish,starttofinish)isbeingusedproperly.
Ifitisn'tbeingusedproperly,correcttherelationshiptypetotheonethatshouldbeused.
21
ScheduleCriticality
ChecksfortPercentofcriticalactivitieswithrespecttoremainingones
i Ingeneral,assessingthequalityoftheBaseScheduleanditscriticalpathbycountingthenumberofcriticalactivitiesagainstthetotalactivitiesis
notuseful.Thenumberofcriticalactivitieswilldependonthevisibilityrequiredtomanagethescheduleandtheriskprofileofproject.However,as
aguidanceiftheratioofcriticalpathactivitiestothetotalactivitycount(i.e.SCI)ismorethan50percent,thentheschedulemaybeoverlyserial
andresourcelimited.
24[8]
CriticalTaskswithDuration>66days
23[1]
CriticalTasksWithMissingPredecessors
27[1]
CriticalTaskswithMissingSuccessors
22[5]
CriticalTasksWithConstraints
25[2]
CriticalTaskswithPredecessorscontainingLeads
26[2]
CriticalTaskswithSuccessorscontainingLeads
28[3]
CriticalTaskswithPredecessorscontainingLags
29[3]
CriticalTaskswithSuccessorscontainingLags

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

Requiredresult
<10% 1020% >20%
<15% 1575% >75%

<15% 1575% >75%

<75%

>75%

0tasks
0tasks
0tasks
0tasks
0tasks
0tasks
0tasks

Page14of26

GOA No.
5.
10
5.1

Criterianame
Requiredresult
BestPractices
SummaryTasksWithPredecessors
Checksforsummarytasksthatarelinkedwithpredecessors.
0tasks
i Summarytasksareusedasacontainerforothertasks.Becausetheyaren'treallytasks,theyshouldnotbelinkedwithpredecessorsorsuccessors.
Doingsocancauseunpredictableresultsinthecalculationofplannedstartandfinishdates.Thiscaninterferewiththecalculationofanaccurate
criticalpath.

! Ifsummarytasksareidentifiedthathavepredecessorstothem:
Removethepredecessorsfromthesummarytasksandassignthepredecessortothecorrecttask(usuallythefirsttaskunderneaththesummary
task).
Discontinuethepracticeoflinkingpredecessorswithsummarytasks.
Ifnecessary,educateotherschedulersofthepitfallsofthispractice.
5.2 SummaryTasksWithSuccessors
Checksforsummarytasksthatarelinkedwithsuccessors.
0tasks
i Summarytasksareusedasacontainerforothertasks.Becausetheyaren'treallytasks,theyshouldnotbelinkedwithpredecessorsorsuccessors.
Doingsocancauseunpredictableresultsinthecalculationofplannedstartandfinishdates.Thiscaninterferewiththecalculationofanaccurate
criticalpath.

! Ifsummarytasksareidentifiedthathavesuccessorsassignedtothem:
Removethesuccessorsfromthesummarytasksandassignthesuccessortothecorrecttask(usuallythelasttaskunderneaththesummarytask).
Discontinuethepracticeoflinkingsummarytaskswithsuccessors.
Ifnecessary,educateotherschedulersofthepitfallsofthispractice.
ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

Page15of26

GOA No.
16
5.3

Criterianame
Requiredresult
TaskwithDuration<5days
CheckstomakesurethattheDurationsoftasksarenottoosmall.
<25% 2535% >35%
<25% 2575% >75%
i Thiscriterioncheckstomakesurethatthedurationsoftasksarenotbelowacustomizablethreshhold.
Durationisthelengthofworkingtimethattranspiresbetweenthebeginningandendofatask.Ifthedurationsoftasksaretooshort,your
schedulemaycontaintoomuchdetail.Thiscanmakethescheduleunreadable,unmaintainable,andultimatelyunusableasamanagementtool.As
aprojectmanager,youwillspendmoretimemaintainingandupdatingtheschedulethanispractical.

! Ifthedurationofataskisflaggedastoolow,askthefollowingquestions:
Doesitneedtobetrackedasinindividualactivity,orcanitbecombinedwithoneormorelogicallygroupedactivities?
Istheamountofeffortthatwasestimatedtoolow?
15
5.4 TaskwithDuration>20days
CheckstomakesurethattheDurationsoftasksarenottoolong.
[8]
i Thiscriterioncheckstomakesurethatthedurationsoftasksarenotaboveacustomizablethreshhold.
Durationisthelengthofworkingtimethattranspiresbetweenthebeginningandendofatask.
Whenthedurationoftasksistoolong,yourschedulemaycontaintoolittledetail.Inaschedulewithtoolittledetail,realworlddependenciesand
milestonesmightnotberecordedintheschedule.It'salsopossiblethattaskscansliporotherdelayscouldoccurwithoutbeingdetectedearly
enoughbytheprojectmanager.Theprojectmanagermaybecomeawareofdelaysonparticularly"long"taskswhenitistoolatetointerveneand
takecorrectiveaction.
! Ifthedurationofataskisflaggedastoolong,askthefollowingquestions:
Canthetaskbebrokenupintotwoormoresmallertasks?
Istheamountofeffortthatwasestimatedtoohigh?
Ifthetaskcannotbebrokenupintosmallertasks,arethereothermethodsofdetectingwhetherthetaskisslippingintimetotakecorrective
action?
17[8]
TaskwithDuration>44days
Checksthedurationsofataskbasedoncriteriathresholds.
18[8]
TaskwithDuration>66days
Checksthedurationsofataskbasedoncriteriathresholds.

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

<5%
<5%

510%
575%

>10%
>75%

<5%
<5%

575%
575%

>75%
>75%

Page16of26

GOA No.
6.
6.1
i

6.2
i

6.3
i

Criterianame
Requiredresult
MSProject2010+
InactiveTaskCount
Findstasksthataremarkedasinactive(Project2010andafter).
Inactivetasks,afeatureofProject2010andafter,aresimilartotasksthathavebeendeleted,excepttheycanbebroughtbackintothescheduleby
markingthemasactive.Inactivetasksdonotaffectanyothertasksintheschedule,soiftheyweremistakenlymarkedasinactive,theschedule
maynotbeproperlycalculated.
Foranytasksfoundbythiscriterion,askthefollowingquestions:
Shouldthetaskbeinactive?Wasitmistakenlymarkedasinactive?
Canthetaskbedeletedinstead?Inactivetasksarevisible,soifthetaskwon'teverbemadeactiveinthefuture,itmightbebettertodeletethe
taskinstead.
ManualTaskCount
Checksfortasksthataremanuallyscheduled(Project2010andlater).
InProject2010,manuallyscheduledtaskswereintroduced.Amanuallyscheduledtaskisataskthatwasscheduledbyapersonandnotthe
schedulingengineinMicrosoftProject.MicrosoftProjectwillnotcalculatestartandfinishdatesforataskthathasbeenmanuallyscheduled,so
manuallyscheduledtaskscaninterferewiththepropercalculationoftheschedule'scriticalpath.Forthatreason,theyshouldbeavoidedorused
minimally.
Avoidtheuseofmanuallyscheduledtasks.Foreachtaskthatismanuallyscheduled,assigntheproperpredecessorsandsuccessors,andchange
thetaskmodeto"automaticallyscheduled."
Changethedefaultschedulingmodeto"Automatic"inMicrosoftProject'ssettings.
ProjectisManuallyScheduled
Checksfortasksthataremanuallyscheduled(Project2010andlater).
0tasks
InProject2010,manuallyscheduledtaskswereintroduced.Amanuallyscheduledtaskisataskthatwasscheduledbyapersonandnotthe
schedulingengineinMicrosoftProject.Thiscriterioncheckstoseewhetherthesettingforthedefaultschedulingmodeis"manual."Becausethe
datesofmanuallyscheduledtasksarenotcalculatedbyMicrosoftProject,theiruseisdiscouraged,becausetheycaninterferewiththeproper
calculationofthecriticalpath.

! Changethedefaultschedulingmodefornewtasksto"Automatic"inMicrosoftProject'ssettings:

Avoidtheuseofmanuallyscheduledtasks.Foreachtaskthatismanuallyscheduled,assigntheproperpredecessorsandsuccessors,andchange
thetaskmodeto"automaticallyscheduled."
ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

Page17of26

GOA No.
6.4

Criterianame
WarningTaskCount

Requiredresult
Acountofthenumberoftasksintheschedulethathavethewarningflagset.Thewarning
flagisanewfieldinProject2010andlater.

i InProject2010,anewfieldcalled"Warning"wasintroduced.Thewarningflagindicatesthattheremaybeconflictsorotherproblemswiththe
schedulingofatask.Thiscriterioncountsthenumberoftasksthathavewarnings.

! Toseethewarningmessage(s)forthetask,rightclickontaskandselect"FixinTaskInspector."Thetaskinspectorwillshowyouoptionsforthe
repairoftheconflict(s).
Ifthetaskismanuallyscheduled,youshouldavoidtheuseofmanuallyscheduledtasks.Foreachtaskthatismanuallyscheduled,assigntheproper
predecessorsandsuccessors,andchangethetaskmodeto"automaticallyscheduled."
6.5 InvalidDurationTaskCount
Acountofthenumberoftasksintheschedulethathaveadurationthatisn'tnumeric.This
checkonlyappliestoschedulescreatedinMicrosoftProject2010andlater.
i BeforeProject2010,MicrosoftProjectwouldonlyallowvaliddurationstobeenteredintotheDurationfield.Thevalueshadanumericalvalueand
aunitoftime(e.g."3days").BeginningwithProject2010andtheintroductionofmanuallyscheduledtasks,MicrosoftProjectwillacceptanyvalue
intheDurationcolumn,includingsimpletext(e.g."Notyetknown").
Becausethedurationisn'tvalid,thetaskcannotbeproperlyscheduledandincludedinthecalculationofavalidcriticalpath.Thiscriterionwillfind
tasksthatdonotyethaveavalid(numerical)duration.
! Invaliddurationscanonlyoccurwithmanuallyscheduledtasks.Youshouldavoidtheuseofmanuallyscheduledtasks.Foreachtaskthatis
manuallyscheduled,assigntheproperduration,predecessorsandsuccessors,andchangethetaskmodeto"automaticallyscheduled."

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

Page18of26

GOA No. Criterianame

14PointsAssessment
[1] MissingLogic

[2]

HaveLeads(NegativeLag)

[3]

HaveLags

[4]

RelationshipTypes

[5]

HardConstraints

[6]

HighFloat

[7]

NegativeFloat

[8]

HighDuration

[9]

InvalidDates
InvalidForecastDates

Requiredresult
Thismetrichelpsyouseehowwellthetasksintheschedulearelinkedtogether.A
schedulewithmorethan5%ofitstasksmissingpredecessorsorsuccessorsmayindicate
problemswithitslogic.Thelinksshouldbeexaminedtomakesurethattheymakesense.

Havingleads(negativelag)inaschedulemakesithardertoanalyzethecriticalpath,
0%
distortsthetotalfloatinaschedule,andmaycauseresourceconflicts.Forthesereasons,
usingleadsinascheduleisnotencouragedandthegoalis0%.
<=5%
Havinglagsinaschedulemakesithardertoanalyzethecriticalpathandcanbeusedto
manipulatefloatorconstraintheschedule.Thegoalis5%orless.
TheFinishtoStartrelationshipshouldaccountforatleast90%ofthelinksbetweentasks. FS=>90%
FF+SS<=10%
FinishtoFinishandStarttoStartrelationshipsshouldbeusedsparingly(goal:lessthan
SF=0%
10%combined).StarttoFinishrelationshiptypesshouldonlybeusedwithgood
justification (goal: 0%).
TheuseofHardConstraintspreventtheschedulefrombeingdrivenbylinksandshould
<=5%
onlybeusedwithgoodjustification.Thenumberoftaskswithhardconstraintsshouldnot
exceed5%.
<=5%
Ifmorethan5%oftaskshavefloathigherthan44workingdays,thenetworkmightnot
havetheproperlogic.
<=5%
Ifmorethan5%oftaskshavenegativefloat(lessthan0workingdays),thereshouldbea
correctiveactionplantomitigatethenegativefloat.
Ifmorethan5%oftaskshaveabaselinedurationofgreaterthan44days,theprojectmay
<=5%
bedifficulttomanage.Thetasksshouldbebrokenupintotwoormorediscretetasks.
0%
Tasksthathaven'tyetstartedshouldnothaveprojectedstartorfinishdatesbeforethe
statusdate.Iftheydo,weknowalreadythatthey'rewrong.Thegoalis0%.

InvalidActualDates
[10] NoAssignedResources

Thereshouldnotbeanyactualstartdatesafterthestatusdate.Thegoalis0%.
Tasksthathaveatleastonedayofdurationshouldhavebaselineworkand/orcost
assigned.Otherwise,costprojectionsfortheprojectwillnotbevalid.Thegoalis0%.

[11] MissedTasks

Ifmorethan5%oftasksweremissed,thescheduleisnotadequatelymeetingthebaseline
plan.MissedtasksareindicatedwithaFinishVariancegreaterthan0.
ByChangingtheearlyfinish(EF)ofthestateduncompletedactivitywhichhasthelatestEF
toabout600workingdaysextra,anyactivitythatdoesnotslipinproportionmissesa
necessaryrelationship.
Thecriticalpathlengthplusthetotalfloatofthelatestactivitydividedbythecriticalpath
length.
TheBaselineExecutionIndexmeasuresthetasksthatwerecompletedasapercentageof
thetasksthatshouldhavebeencompletedpertheoriginal(baseline)plan.Thegoalisto
haveaBEIof0.95orgreater.

[12] CritcialPathTest

[13] CriticalPathLengthIndex(CPLI)
[14] BaselineExecutionIndex(BEI)

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

<=5%

0%

<=5%

>=1,0
=>0,95

Page19of26

GOA No. Criterianame

BESTPRACTICES
1
ActivityCounts

Requiredresult
Thescheduleshouldreflectallactivitiesasdefinedintheproject'sworkbreakdown
structure(WBS),whichdefinesindetailtheworknecessarytoaccomplishaproject's
objectives,includingactivitiestobeperformedbyboththeownerandcontractors.
Totalcountandcountofremainingtasksbytasktypeof:
Detailtasks
44(3.4) Miletsonetasks
45(3.5) Summarytasks
Thescheduleshouldbeplannedsothatmajorprojecteventsormilestonescanbemet.To
meetthisobjective,activitiesneedtobelogicallysequencedthatis,logicallylinkedinthe
orderinwhichtheyaretobecarriedout.Inparticular,activitiesthatmustbecompleted
beforeotheractivitiescanbegin(predecessoractivities),aswellasactivitiesthatcannot
beginuntilotheractivitiesarecompleted(successoractivities),shouldbeidentified.This
helpsensurethatinterdependenciesamongactivitiesthatcollectivelyleadtothe
accomplishmentofeventsormilestonescanbeestablishedandusedasabasisforguiding
workandmeasuringprogress.
43(3.1)

SequencingAllActivities

2.1 Dependencies

determineiftheactivitiesintheschedulearemissingrelationships.Ifthestartofatask
hasnopredecessorortheendofthetaskhasnosuccessor,itcaneffectivelybestartedor
finishedatanytime.Thiscanbethesourceofflawsinthecriticalpath.
Totalcountandcountofremainingtasksbytasktypeof:
MissingPredecessors
3[1]4.2 MissingSuccessors
MissingBothPredecessorsandSuccessors
determineiftheactivitiesinthescheduleare"openended".Ifthestartofataskhasno
relationshiptoanothertaskinthenetwork,itcaneffectivelybestartedatanytime.If
therearenoactivitiesthatsucceedthefinishoftheactivity,thisisadanglingfinish
activity.
Danglingactivitiesaretypicallyunintentionalandistheresultofanerrorinthenetwork
logic.Theimplicationsofadanglingactivitymightbehardtodetectbecausetheywillnot
pushthescheduledateseventhoughthedurationincreases.
19(1.8) Totalcountandcountofremainingtasksof:
Starthasnopredecessor
Finishhasnosuccessor
DtermineIfanactivityhasStartToFinishlinks.Typically,mostpredecessorrelationships
shouldbefinishtostart.Therearesomecaseswhereusinganothertypeofrelationshipis
correct,butinmanycasesnonfinishtostartrelationshipsareusedimproperly.When
theyareusedimproperly,thecriticalpathwillnotbecalculatedproperly.
2[1]4.1

2.2 Danglingactivities

2.3 SFLinks

8[4]

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

Totalcountof:
ActivitieswithStartToFinishLinks
Page20of26

GOA No. Criterianame

2.4 SummaryLinks

Requiredresult
Summarytasksareusedasacontainerforothertasks.Becausetheyaren'treallytasks,
theyshouldnotbelinkedwithpredecessorsorsuccessors.Doingsocancause
unpredictableresultsinthecalculationofplannedstartandfinishdates.Thiscaninterfere
withthecalculationofanaccuratecriticalpath.
10(5.1)4(5.2)

2.5 Convergence

Maxofcountnumberofpredecessorsfornonsummaryremainingtasks
Maxconvergence
Constraintsandlagsshouldbeusedsparingly.Theremaybelegitimatereasonsforusing
constraints,buteachconstraintshouldbeinvestigated.Constraintsshouldbeminimized,
becausetheyimposeamovementrestrictionontasksandcancausefalsedatesina
schedule.

2.6 Constraints

6[5](4.3)

2.7 ActiveSNETConstraints

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

Totalcountof:
SummaryLinks
Theconvergencechecklooksforseveralparalleltasksthatcometogetheratasingle
successor.Highconvergencemaylenditselftoariskiercriticalpathsinceanynumberof
tasksthatslipcouldputthesuccessorinjeopardy.Pathconvergenceisquitecommonto
findasaprojectunfoldsanditcancauseforconfusionifnothandledcarefullybythe
projectteam.

TotalcountforDetailTaksandMilestonebyConstrainttypeof:
AsSoonAsPossible(noconstraints)
StartNoEarlierThan
FinishNoLaterThan
AsLateAsPossible
MustFinishOn
Startnoearlierthan(SNET)constraintsmightreflecttheavailabilityoffundingora
weatherlimitationandmaybelogical.Besuredocumentationisavailabletojustifythis
constraint.
ASNETconstraintaffectstheearlystartdateanddoesnotallowanactivitytostartbefore
itsconstraintdate.Ifanactivity'sscheduledstartdateisthesameastheSNETdate,then
theSNETconstraintismorethanlikelypreventingtheactivityfromstartingearly.Thisis
whatiscountedasan"active"constraint.
IfaSNETconstraintisearlierthantheactivity'sstartdate,thentheactivityisnotaffected
bytheconstraintdate.Thisisconsidered"notactive".
CountforremainingnonsummaryTaksof:
ActiveSNETConstraint
NotActiveSNETConstraint

Page21of26

GOA No. Criterianame

2.8 ActiveFNETConstraints

Requiredresult
Finishnolaterthan(FNET)constraintsareusuallyartificialandreflectsomepolicyrather
thanaprogramreality.Iftheprogramdoesnotmeetthesedates,imposingthiskindof
constraintinacomputermodeloftheprogramschedulemightmaketheschedulelook
goodinthecomputerwhiletheprogramisintroubleinthefield.
AFNETconstraintaffectstheearlyfinishdateanddoesnotallowanactivitytofinish
beforeitsconstraintdate.Ifanactivity'sscheduledfinishdateisthesameastheFNET
date,thentheFNETconstraintismorethanlikelypreventingtheactivityfromfinishing
early.Thisiswhatiscountedasan"active"constraint.
IfaFNETconstraintisearlierthantheactivity'sfinishdate,thentheactivityisnotaffected
bytheconstraintdate.Thisisconsidered"notactive".
CountforremainingnonsummaryTaksof:
ActiveFNETConstraint
NotActiveFNETConstraint
Constraintsandlagsshouldbeusedsparingly.Lagsshouldrepresentonlythepassingof
timeondetailedprogramschedulesandshouldneverbeusedtoreplaceatask,whereas
insummaryschedulesusedforschedulerisk,thelagsmayhavetobelonger.Totalfloat
thatismorethan5percentofthetotalprogramschedulemayindicatethatthenetwork
scheduleisnotyetmature.

2.9 Lags

1112[2/3]

AssigningResourcestoAllActivities

3.1 WorkResources

3.2 Assignments

CountforremainingnonsummaryTaksof:
ActivitieswithLags
ActivitieswithLeads
Thescheduleshouldreflectwhatresources(e.g.,laborandmaterials)areneededtodo
thework,whetherallrequiredresourceswillbeavailablewhenneeded,andwhetherany
fundingortimeconstraintsexist.
Resourcesarepeople,materialsorcostsrequiredtocompleteatask.Sincethe
relationshipbetweentasksandresourcesismanytomany,theabilitytohaveresources
underoroverallocatedislikely.
Countof:
TotalResources
OverallocatedResources
AnemptyWorkfieldisanindicationofcertainlyanonresourcedschedule,andprobably
unrealisticdurationestimates.

Countof:
ActivitieswithResources
14[10]1.6 ActivieswithoutResources

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

Page22of26

GOA No.
4

Criterianame
EstablishingtheDurationofActivities

4.1 Durations

Requiredresult
Thescheduleshouldrealisticallyreflecthowlongeachactivitywilltaketoexecute.In
determiningthedurationofeachactivity,thesamerationale,historicaldata,and
assumptionsusedforcostestimatingshouldbeused.Durationsshouldbereasonably
short,meaningful,allowfordiscreteprogressmeasurement,(i.e.,44workingdaystwo
workingmonthsorlessforneartermeffort)andhavespecificstartandfinishdates.
However,schedulesthatcontainplanningpackagesandsummaryplanningpackagesas
activitieswillnormallybegreaterthanonemonthindurationuntilbrokenintowork
packagesand/orspecificactivities.
Breaksdownincomplete,detailactivitiesbyduration.Thepurposeistoidentifytaskswith
durationthatwithtoolongortoosshortofaduration.
Thetwothresholdsare44daysand66days.Durationsshouldbereasonablyshort,
meaningful,allowforprogressmeasurement.44workingisapproximatelytwocalendar
months.Taskslessthanorequalto44daysareconsideredreasonable.Tasksbetween44
and66workingdays(3workingmonths)shouldincludejustificationandtasksgreaterthan
66workingdaysshouldbebrokenupintosmallerdiscretetasks.
Countforremainingdetailtasksbythreshold(1and44days)of:
16(5.3)1day LessThanorEqualToThreshold
17[8]44days GreaterThanThreshold

4.2 Calendars

HorizontalandVerticalIntegration

5.1 HorizontalIntegration

5.2 VerticalIntegration

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

displaystheactivitiesthatarescheduledtostartorfinishonaSaturdayorSunday
(occurringonweekendsorholidays).
Countforremainingtasksstartingorfinishingon:
Saturday
Sunday
Thedetailedscheduleshouldbehorizontallyintegrated,meaningthatitshouldlink
productsandoutcomesassociatedwithothersequencedactivities.Theselinksare
commonlyreferredtoas"handoffs"andservetoverifythatactivitiesarearrangedinthe
rightordertoachieveaggregatedproductsoroutcomes.TheIMSshouldalsobevertically
integrated,meaningthattraceabilityexistsamongvaryinglevelsofactivitiesand
supportingtasksandsubtask.Suchmappingoralignmentamonglevelsenablesdifferent
groupstoworktothesamemasterschedule.
displaystheactivitiesthataremissingsuccessorsorpredecessors.Thisisadashboardfor
achievinghorizontalintegration.
Countofremainingnonsummarytasksof:
2[1](4.1) MissingPredecessors
3[1](4.2) MissingSuccessors
BaselineVerticalScheduleIntegrationcheckstomakesurethattheBaselineStartand
BaselineFinishdatesforeachsummarytaskarecorrect.TheBaselineStartdateofa
summarytaskshouldcorrespondtotheearliestBaselineStartdateofitschildrentasks.
Similarly,theBaselineFinishdateofasummarytaskshouldcorrespondtothelatest
Baseline Finish date of its children.
7(1.3) BaselineVerticalScheduleIntegration
Page23of26

GOA No.
6

Criterianame
CriticalPath

Requiredresult
Schedulingsoftwareshouldbeusedtoidentifythecriticalpath,whichrepresentsthe
chainofdependentactivitieswiththelongesttotalduration.Identifyingaprojectscritical
pathisnecessarytoexaminetheeffectsofanyactivityslippingalongthispath.Potential
problemsalongornearthecriticalpathshouldalsobeidentifiedandreflectedin
schedulingthedurationofhighriskactivities.
Thechecksabovearetohelpidentifypossibleconcernsthatmightunderminethecritical
path.
Thechecksaimtoanswerthefollowingquestions.
1.Areanyactivitiesintheschedulemissinglogicorconstrainedwithoutjustification?
2.Isthecriticalpathdrivenbyotherunusuallylongdurationactivities?
3.Isthecriticalpathdriveninanywaybylagsorleads?
22[5]
23[1]
27[1]
24[8]
28[3]
29[3]
25[2]
26[2]

IdentifyingReasonableFloatbetweenActivities

Countofremainingnonsummarycriticaltasksof:
CriticalTaskswithConstraints
CriticalTaskswithMissingPredecessors
CriticalTaskswithMissingSuccessors
CriticalTaskswithDuration>66d
CriticalTaskswithPredecessorscontainingLags
CriticalTaskswithSuccessorscontainingLags
CriticalTaskswithPredecessorscontainingLeads
CriticalTaskswithSuccessorscontainingLeads
Thescheduleshouldidentifythefloat(orslack)theamountoftimebywhicha
predecessoractivitycanslipbeforethedelayaffectsthemajormilestone(s)sothata
schedulesflexibilitycanbedetermined.Asageneralrule,activitiesalongthecriticalpath
havetheleastamountoffloat.Totalfloatindicateshowmuchflexibilitythereisinthe
scheduletothemajormilestone(s).Largetotalfloatonanactivityorpathindicatesthat
theactivityorpathcouldbedelayedbytheamountofthefloatwithoutjeopardizingthe
finishdate.
Todetermineifthetotalfloatvaluescalculatedbytheschedulingsoftwarearereasonable
andaccuratelyreflecttruescheduleflexibility.
Twothresholdsareexamined,0and100.Thetablebreaksouttaskswithfloatgreater
than0and100andtaskswithfloatlessthanorequalto0and100.Thesevaluesattempt
toisolatetaskswithexcessivepositiveandnegativefloatforfurtherexamination.
Negativeslackindicatesthatthereisnotenoughtimescheduledforthetaskandisusually
causedbyconstraintdates.

Countforremainingdetailtasksbythreshold(0and100days)of:
LessThanorEqualToThreshold
30[6]4.7100days GreaterThanThreshold
33[7]4.50day

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

Page24of26

GOA No.
8

Criterianame
ScheduleRiskAssessment

Requiredresult
Ascheduleriskanalysisusesstatisticaltechniquestopredictalevelofconfidencein
meetingaprogram'scompletiondate.Thisanalysisfocusesoncriticalpathactivitiesand
onnearcriticalandotheractivities,sinceanyactivitymaypotentiallyaffecttheprogram's
completiondate.Likeacostestimateriskanduncertaintyanalysis,ascheduleriskanalysis
requiresthecollectionofprogramriskdatasuchas:
risksthatmayjeopardizeschedulesuccess,usuallyfoundintheriskregisterprepared
beforetheriskanalysisisconducted;
probabilitydistributions,usuallyspecifiedbyapointestimateofactivitydurations;
probabilityofariskregisterrisk'soccurringanditsprobabilitydistributionofimpactifit
weretooccur;
probabilitythatabranchofactivitiesmightoccur(forexample,atestfailurecouldlead
toseveralrecoverytasks);and
correlationsbetweenactivitydurations.
ScheduleriskanalysisreliesonMonteCarlosimulationtorandomlyvarythefollowing:
activitydurationsaccordingtotheirprobabilitydistributionsor
risksaccordingtotheirprobabilityofoccurringandthedistributionoftheirimpacton
affectedactivityiftheyweretooccurand
existenceofarisk'soraprobabilisticbranch'soccurring.
Theobjectiveofthesimulationistodevelopaprobabilitydistributionofpossible
completiondatesthatreflecttheprogramanditsquantifiedrisks.Fromthecumulative
probabilitydistribution,theorganizationcanmatchadatetoitsdegreeofrisktolerance.
Forinstance,anorganizationmightwanttoadoptaprogramcompletiondatethat
providesa70percentprobabilitythatitwillfinishonorbeforethatdate,leavinga30
percentprobabilitythatitwilloverrun,giventhescheduleandtherisks.Theorganization
canthusadoptaplanconsistentwithitsdesiredlevelofconfidenceintheoverall
integratedschedule.Thisanalysiscangivevaluableinsightintowhatifdrillsandquantify
theimpactofprogramchanges.
Indevelopingascheduleriskanalysis,probabilitydistributionsforeachactivity'sduration
havetobeestablished.Further,riskinallactivitiesmustbeevaluatedandincludedinthe
analysis.Somepeoplefocusonlyonthecriticalpath,butbecausewecannotknowthe
durationsoftheactivitieswithcertainty,wecannotknowthetruecriticalpath.
Consequently,itwouldbeamistaketofocusonlyonthedeterministiccriticalpathwhen
someoffcriticalpathactivitymightbecomecriticalifariskweretooccur.Typically,three
pointestimatesthatis,best,mostlikelyandworstcaseestimatesareusedtodevelop
theprobabilitydistributionsforthedurationofworkflowactivities.Afterthedistributions
aredeveloped,theMonteCarlosimulationisrun.

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

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GOA No.
9

Criterianame
UpdatingtheSchedulewithLogicandDuration

Requiredresult
Thescheduleshouldbecontinuouslyupdatedusinglogicanddurationstodetermine
realisticstartandcompletiondatesforprogramactivities.Thescheduleshouldbe
analyzedcontinuouslyforvariancestodeterminewhenforecastedcompletiondatesdiffer
fromplanneddates.Thisanalysisisespeciallyimportantforthosevariationsthatimpact
activitiesidentifiedasbeinginaprojectscriticalpathandcanimpactascheduled
completiondate.
listsactivitiesthathavedateanomaliesaccordingtothestatusdate.Ifnostatusdateis
setthesemetricscannotbecalculated.
FinishinPast,NoActualIfataskhasaPlannedFinishdatebeforethestatusdate,and
ithasn'tfinished(thereisnoActualFinishdate),itiscounted.
StartinPast,NoActualIfataskhasaPlannedStartbeforethestatusdate,andithasn't
started(thereisnoActualStartdate),itiscounted.
ProjectHasStatusDateSimplylooksfortheexistenceofastatusdateintheschedule.
IsatleastoneinprogressactivitycriticalExamineseachactivitythathasstarted,but
hasnotyetcompletedtoensurethatitisonthecriticalpath(critical=Yes).
ActivitieswithactualstartorfinishdatesinthefutureAnactualstartoractualfinish
dateistherecordofwhenataskactuallystartedoffinished,sowecanonlybelievethisif
thedateisinthepast.Ifataskcontainsanactualstartorfinishdateinthefuture,itis
counted.

35[9](2.4)
35[9](2.4)
37[9](1.2)
34(1.4)
20(3.2)

ScheduleAnalysisAssessmentPoints

Countforremainingdetailtasksof:
FinishinPast,NoActual
StartinPast,NoActual
Activitieswithactualstartorfinishdatesinthefuture
Check(yes/no)
ProjectHasStatusDate?
Isatleastoneinprogressactivitycritical?

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