Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Michelle Colodzin
PMP, PMI-SP, MCTS, MS Project Black Belt
Introduction
What is a good project schedule?
A good project schedule is one that accurately models the work of the project, encapsulates the full scope and nothing extra and which maintains a consistent and appropriate level of detail
What is the role of the PMO in developing and maintaining good project schedules?
The PMO can develop, champion and support good scheduling practices, provide templates, train schedulers and project managers and perform project and portfolio analysis on an organization-wide basis
Taking full advantage of these secrets requires a centralized group such as a PMO - overseeing and enforcing their use throughout the organization
Since each project is unique there is no single level of detail that is appropriate for all projects or project schedules The level of detail required for a particular project must be defined prior to the start of scheduling and followed consistently throughout the life of the project
The first step in developing a regular update and reporting process is to work with the project manager and key stakeholders to determine the reporting requirements and expectations
Scheduling standards help ensure consistency when schedules are created by multiple schedulers and/or project managers.
Scheduling standards provide the PMO with objective measures to evaluate, monitor and provide feedback on specific schedules and scheduling practices
Develop and distribute tools and templates whenever possible Train project managers in scheduling practices and tools If possible, centralize scheduling services within the PMO and provide scheduling resources to projects
Using the Five Secrets for the First Time When implementing these secrets for the first time: start small and focus on the strengths of the organization Develop a small set of scheduling standards, simple processes, tools and templates Capture lessons learned and build a repository where schedulers and project managers can:
document and share their experiences and knowledge Store and retrieve schedules which worked well in similar situations build and share new processes, tools and templates
Conclusion
These secrets are not new concepts however, many organizations overlook or downplay their importance Using the five secrets requires discipline and consistency this can best be provided through a PMO Developing, championing and managing scheduling processes through a PMO:
accelerates organizational learning improves schedule quality improves the likelihood of project success throughout an organization
For further information contact Michelle Colodzin via e-mail or phone mcolodzin@metavista.com 530-798-1656