Martin Training Associates

A Step-by-Step Approach to Scheduling

Scheduling Workshop Overview

The project schedule is the most visible portion of the project management process in most organizations and one of the most important aspects. This workshop introduces a step by step process to use for creating and maintaining the project schedule. Participants will learn the concepts of scheduling and the prerequisites for creating manageable schedules. Participants will apply the principles using both group techniques and using Microsoft Project. This course will integrate the scheduling concepts into the C.O.R.E. Method.

The intermediate level scheduling workshop teaches the participant to identify potential risks, analyze and quantify the risks, determine the risk response, create a contingency reserve, create and monitor risk metrics and much more. Participants will learn the tools they need to minimize risk in any project. They will practice what they learn using a case study exercise or they can substitute their own project for the case study and practice the methodology on their own project.

The scheduling method taught in this course is consistent with the Project Managmement Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) - Fourth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2008– and it provides a firm foundation for preparing for the PMP® exam. Creating a sound schedule that can be tracked and monitored is one of the keys in any project management system. The Martin Training Associate’s approach to scheduling is simple to learn, easy-to-apply and can be used by teams or by individuals.

Target Workshop Audience

Project leaders who already have core skills, and wish to enhance their project management knowledge in the area of scheduling and/or are preparing for the PMP® exam; project office personnel; functional managers

Length of Workshop

2 Days

The major learning objectives for the workshop include:

  • Learn how to create an Activity Schedule that is integrated with the Deliverable and Milestone Schedules
  • Learn how to create schedules that facilitate changes in the project plan and model the impact of those changes
  • Learn how to estimate effort and duration for project activities and deliverables
  • Learn how to apply project status information to the project schedule
  • Learn how to identify and eliminate bottlenecks in the project schedule
  • Learn how to use Microsoft® Project to effectively model and track projects based on the C.O.R.E. Method

Benefits of Workshops

  • Develop schedules that facilitate understanding and coordination of project resources
  • Craft realistic and maintainable project schedules understood by the project team as well as the sponsor and customer
  • Develop a common understanding of the impact on the project schedule of impacts on individual activities or deliverables
  • Avoid the trap of maintaining multiple schedules by integrating summary and detail schedule information
  • Track project status by effectively managing the schedule during the execution phase
  • Provide historical information necessary to generate better estimates on future projects

What You Will Learn

The workshop emphasizes many practical techniques, including:

  • Define an Activity schedule and how to integrate this with the Milestone and Deliverable Schedules
  • Present the project schedule using standard formats for displaying schedule information
  • Understand the use of the four predecessor/successor relationship types used in the precedence network
  • Utilize date constraints appropriately to model real world date constraints and understand the improper use of date constraints
  • Define key concepts of scheduling, including priority, float, critical path, forward and backward pass, duration, and effort
  • Understand the use of flexible and inflexible constraints on the project schedule
  • Define the Single Source Schedule approach
  • Identify the impact of changes to the project activities to the critical path of the project
  • Define the difference between Duration and Effort based events
  • Describe the Scheduling Process
  • Define Activities
  • Develop effort and duration estimates
  • Define contingency and its various components
  • Define resource types and how they are used
  • Define resource calendars
  • Utilize resource calendars to account for the impact of non-project work
  • Adjust schedule based on multi-project assignments
  • Adjust effort and duration estimates as a result of resource assignments (account for the impact of skill level variations)
  • Create an Activity schedule at the subproject level
  • Define and utilize a risk management process to adjust the schedule (introduce principles of uncertainty)
  • Identify techniques useful for managing vendors
  • Identify guidelines for crashing the schedule
  • Define the difference between bottlenecks and contingencies
  • Estimate the amount of contingency needed in the schedule
  • Create a schedule baseline
  • Understand the impact on scheduling of using the throughput model vs. the cost model
  • Reduce project uncertainty by grouping activities
  • Learn the basics of the critical chain method
  • Apply the key concepts and techniques of the Critical Chain method to estimates, contingency, and resource utilization
  • Monitor the schedule
  • Define the change management process and create multiple baseline versions
  • Manage the contingency reserve, both internal and external
  • Develop project manager and project team views of the schedule
  • Develop the management and customer views of the project schedule

Detailed Agenda

DAY ONE

  1. Introduction & the C.O.R.E. Method
  2. C.O.R.E. Method Scheduling
  3. Scheduling & Microsoft Project
  4. The Scheduling Process
  5. Resources

DAY TWO

  1. Estimating
  2. Reviewing the Schedule
  3. Refining the Schedule
  4. Managing the Schedule
  5. Close-out

PDU's

14 Units

Prerequisites

None

Materials Provided

Workshop notebook, Facilitation at a Glance!™

 

 

PMBOK and PMP are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.