LYNX Quick Start Manual

Transcription

1 LYNX Quick Start Manual Critical Chain (Multi-) Project Management Quick Start Manual Critical Chain (Multi-)Project Management with LYNX Enterprise Version 4.0 A-Dato Scheduling Technology Rotterdam, The Netherlands A-dato, 2014

2 1 TABLE OF CONTENT 1 Table of Content Introduction Set-up of the manual LYNX Working Modes Focus of this Manual Structure of this Manual Installation and 1 st time Set-Up Install LYNX via the web-site of A-Dato Dual Monitor Configuration First time Set-up Your space and the Desktop Window (Dashboard) LYNX WorkSpace Concept SHaring and Roles within LYNX LYNX Desktop Window CCPM Example Project CC1 Design Equipment LYNX Project Window Hotkeys and Filters Hotkeys Use of Filters Create your own Demo Project in Chapter Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle Introduction Working with a CCPM Project in LYNX Configuration Options Setting the (tentative) Project Due-date and Start-date Automatic detection of the Critical Chain Identification of resource contention Apply task time reduction Tasks with a Fixed Duration Insert Buffers Review Resource Load Releasing (or activating) of a project Progress and Buffer Consumption Use of Filters Progress Monitoring Dashboard and Fever Chart Reviewing the Resource Load More CCPM Configuration Options Feeding Buffer Gap Expected Buffer Consumption Control Contractual Milestones Milestone Buffers Assignment of taskmanagers Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start Create a new (Sandbox) space (optional) Add a new Project Editing / assigning a calendar Add a tentative Due-Date and start-date Chapter: Table of Content 2

3 5.2.3 Determine Scheduling Parameters Create Tasks and a Network Create Tasks and Task Relations Assign Skills and Resources Ready Go to Chapter Multi-Project Release Management Staggering Critical Chain Multi-Project Staggering Principles Monitoring progress of the multi-project Pipeline Identification of the Virtual Drum (Skill Configuration) Multi-Project Resource Load Analysis Status and Release Management Release and Status Management Via Project Properties Status management LYNX Release and Pipeline Wizard for Staggering Release Wizard Overview Resource Load Analysis within the Release Wizard Automatic Prevention of Resource Overload Suggestest Staggering Process Select/De-select Staggering by Skill Rescheduling start-date or due-date Releasing the project Resource Buffering release Wizard Work-in-Progress Management Multi-Project Portfolio Management Progress or Fever Charts Multi-Project Resource Load Evaluation The Work-in-Progress Trendline Graph Monitoring Notes and Messages Task Management and Progress Introduction Task Progress List by Date and Priority Which Tasks to start first Managing started tasks - Work-in-Progress My Activities Tab Selecting and starting Tasks Reporting Progress Estimated Time To Complete Full-Kit Criteria and LYNX Notes System Time Keeping via My Activities Resource Assignment Process Resource Assignment via Task Properties Pre-Selection of Resources Working with a Core Team Assignment via the Progress Tasklist and Dialogue Box Update and assign via the Progress Dialog Working with Virtual Skills Assignment to tasks/projects planned by resource name Chapter: Table of Content 3

4 9 ATTACHMENTS Editor Windows Calendar Editor Window Skill Editor Windows Resource Editor Window Resource-Management Resource modelling within LYNX The resource Skill matrix Roles & capabilities (Specializations) Adding Skills Adding Resources via the Resource Editor Linking Users as members to a Workspace LYNX Calendar Management Standard Calendar Additional Calendar Rules Parent and sub-calendars Assigning Calendars to Resources Assigning Calendars to Projects Scheduling Strategies Properties on Workstream (Project) Level Properties on Skill Level working with Projects and Activities Introduction Project Properties Working with Projects in the Project Window Adding New Tasks (Insert Tasks) Task Relations Duration of Tasks within LYNX Lag and Lead times Task Properties Assignment of Skills and Resources to tasks Chapter: Table of Content 4

5 2 INTRODUCTION SET-UP OF THE MANUAL 2.1 LYNX WORKING MODES FOCUS OF THIS MANUAL LYNX has the following planning and working-modes: Pipeline Management Mode Critical Chain Planning Mode Load-Factor Scheduling Mode This Quick Start Manual focuses on working with LYNX in the Critical Chain Mode for (Multi-)Project Planning and Scheduling, Multi-Project Staggering, Execution, Resource and Task Management. The processes for Pipeline Planning and Load Factor Scheduling are described in separate Quick Start Manuals, which can be found on the A-dato website. This manual is not intended as an implementation manual for the introduction of CCPM into your organisation. 2.2 STRUCTURE OF THIS MANUAL This manual has the following chapters: Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Chapter 5: Chapter 6: Chapter 7: Chapter 8: Installation and 1 st time set-up Working with a CCPM project in LYNX a CCPM project life-cycle Create your own CCPM project and Workspace Multi-Project Release Management & Staggering Work-in-Progress Management Resource Assignment Process Chapter: Introduction Set-up of the manual 5

6 3 INSTALLATION AND 1 ST TIME SET-UP 3.1 INSTALL LYNX VIA THE WEB-SITE OF A-DATO LYNX is using the Microsoft Click-Once technology for fast and easy installation on the computer of the user. Just a light client application is installed, which is connected with the online server infrastructure of LYNX. This architecture of LYNX makes easy online collaboration and sharing of information possible between all members of the project organisation (both internal as external). All information is always complete and up-to-date and any time available, at any location with an internet connection. Multiple users can work simultaneously within the same project, where any change is directly carried through and visible for every member. Go to the website of A-dato: Double Click on the Start icon. The LYNX client application will now be installed on your computer. You may also try this link as an alternative for the link mentioned above: PLEASE NOTE: Contact A-dato if you intend to work in the Load-Factor mode. This mode is not automatically available via the standard download described above. 3.2 DUAL MONITOR CONFIGURATION All windows in LYNX can be opened simultaneously. The LYNX windows can be displayed across a configuration with multiple monitors. Chapter: Installation and 1st time Set-Up 6

7 3.3 FIRST TIME SET-UP LYNX will ask you to create a new account and also choose a password. The next screen that is displayed is the LYNX Introduction screen. This screen allows you to enter account information. You can do this also later. Chapter: Installation and 1st time Set-Up 7

8 3.4 YOUR SPACE AND THE DESKTOP WINDOW (DASHBOARD) LYNX WORKSPACE CONCEPT A workspace in LYNX holds a set of projects, skills and resources. Typically it contains the resource pool of a (project) organisation in combination with a portfolio of projects. A LYNX workspace is typically the equivalent of a project portfolio and a set of resource pools, which is managed or used by a project organisation. The selected and active workspace is displayed the bottom of the Desktop window. You can define multiple workspace and also clone or copy a space. Change the default name of a space, to any name of your preference. See picture below SHARING AND ROLES WITHIN LYNX LYNX is an open system, which encourages sharing data and collaboration. This means that in principle all information is available to each user. Of course there is the concept of ownership of data and projects. A project manager is owner of the data related to his project, and is normally the only person who can change this data. Chapter: Installation and 1st time Set-Up 8

9 Within LYNX roles are as follows: LYNX DESKTOP WINDOW The Desktop Window has several tabs, including the Project Portfolio tab. The portfolio tab contains your list with projects. The left-side of the desktop window contains the objects and configuration items. The following items are displayed: Chapter: Installation and 1st time Set-Up 9

10 Objects: Calendars : allows to set-up a calendar(s), with specific rules and exceptions Skills : for adding all relevant skills. Skills are implemented by Resources Resources : for adding all available (named) resources to execute the projects and project portfolio Share : via this option users can be invited and get access to LYNX Configuration: My Profile : for adding and changing account data and an overview of the roles that have been assigned to you Unit of Measure : intended to be the basis for an additional selection criterion when assigning resources to tasks, for example a minimum number of years of experience CCPM EXAMPLE PROJECT CC1 DESIGN EQUIPMENT 3.5 LYNX PROJECT WINDOW After selecting your project from the Desktop window, you will enter the Project Window. This window is by default divided into the following three sections: Top Left: Window with project tasks and network (the schedule) Top Right: Statistics window Bottom: Tasks Properties window Chapter: Installation and 1st time Set-Up 10

11 In the picture below some of the available controls are high-lighted. Chapter: Installation and 1st time Set-Up 11

12 This screenshot shows the control buttons for Critical Chain Project Management. 3.6 HOTKEYS AND FILTERS HOTKEYS Most of the windows can be opened by using the so-called Hotkeys. This allows navigation between various open windows fast and easy: Chapter: Installation and 1st time Set-Up 12

13 You can also copy (all) tasks from one project and paste into a new project. You can also copy any project via the desktop/project portfolio Tab see picture below USE OF FILTERS In almost all screens and windows of LYNX you can find Filters to select relevant data. Also many columns have filters and sorting options. Chapter: Installation and 1st time Set-Up 13

14 3.7 CREATE YOUR OWN DEMO PROJECT IN CHAPTER 5 IN CASE THE DEMO PROJECT IS NOT DISPLAYED, WE RECOMMEND GOING TO CHAPTER 5 FIRST AND TO CREATE A COPY OF THE EXAMPLE PROJECT. THIS HELPS YOU TO GET QUICKLY ACQUAINTED WITH LYNX AND LEARN QUICKLY HOW TO ADD A NEW PROJECT, INSERT TASKS, ASSIGN RESOURCES AND SKILLS AND BUILD A PROJECT NETWORK. Chapter: Installation and 1st time Set-Up 14

15 4 WORKING WITH A CCPM PROJECT - THE LIFE-CYCLE 4.1 INTRODUCTION In the chapter we will use the CCPM sample project CC1 in the Default Space, which was downloaded together with the first time installation. A-dato may also have the Default Space and the CC1 project set-up for you separately and per your request. We will use this example project as starting point, to take you through the following steps and to illustrate how LYNX is supporting the CCPM methodology: 1. Setting an initial start date and due-date 2. Change the Critical Chain 3. Apply task time reduction 4. Insert buffers 5. Review Resource Load for this project 6. Release the project for execution 7. Progress & Buffer-consumption 8. Progress Monitoring Fever Chart 9. Special Configuration options: a. Preventing (Feeding) Buffer Gaps b. Buffer Consumption Control c. Milestones and Milestone buffers d. Assignment of Task managers In this chapter we do not change the project network, tasks properties or any skill or resource assignments. Starting points for the CC1 project are: NOTES: 12 tasks Total workload of 364 resources hours You can also go to the CHAPTER 5 first, which guides you through the process of creating a project schedule yourself, using the CC1 project as an example We recommend to change the name of the space from default to a name of your preference, like [My Company] Portfolio see paragraph Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 15

16 4.2 WORKING WITH A CCPM PROJECT IN LYNX CONFIGURATION OPTIONS There are several ways for configuring your Critical Chain Project. These configuration options can be found under Project Properties and then the Scheduling tab SETTING THE (TENTATIVE) PROJECT DUE-DATE AND START-DATE LYNX will calculate the Critical Chain of the project automatically, as is displayed in the Statistics Box. Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 16

17 You can change the required or planned due-date of the project via project properties. You can do the same for the anticipated start-date, in case you know a project would need to start at some point in the future. Please not the real due-date and start-date are to be determined as a result of the staggering and pipelining process, which will be explained later. In case your project is scheduled just in time, all tasks will be moved forward, taking the current due-date as a starting point for backward scheduling. See below the result of changing the due-date. Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 17

18 NB: go to project properties to switch the CC1 project to Schedule as soon as possible again AUTOMATIC DETECTION OF THE CRITICAL CHAIN LYNX will continuously identify the Critical Chain. As illustration we have extended the duration of task 5 from 4 days to 7 days. For the next paragraphs we have changed the duration back from 7 to 4 days again IDENTIFICATION OF RESOURCE CONTENTION While creating the schedule, LYNX keeps track of Resource Contention, as displayed below. This information allows you to quickly identify the opportunities to make your project faster, by adding more resource or an extra team. Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 18

19 4.2.5 APPLY TASK TIME REDUCTION Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 19

20 In the examples below we have not applied task time reduction TASKS WITH A FIXED DURATION You want to decide that certain tasks need to have a fixed duration, and that a task should not be included in case of automatic task-time reduction. See example below. Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 20

21 4.2.7 INSERT BUFFERS As next step we are going to insert buffers, both feeding buffers as a project buffer. In this example we do not have a Milestone buffer. After confirmation with OK the project will look as follows: REVIEW RESOURCE LOAD You can review the resource load via the resource load button. Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 21

22 In the screen below we have selected 4 weeks as time-window. The work-load is offset against the available time in this window RELEASING (OR ACTIVATING) OF A PROJECT There are 2 ways of releasing a project: Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 22

23 Change Project Status from Not Started to Released via the Project Properties (the fast release method) Release a project via the Release Wizard this process is also called Staggering. In this case the multi-project resource load and pipeline impact is evaluated FAST RELEASE VIA PROJECT PROPERTIES The first possibility for releasing or activating the project is through Project Properties. In this scenario the project will be released, without evaluating impact on a multiproject pipeline. It will not take into account other projects that may have been released before and are already in progress. Note that you can change the project status at any time. You can also give the project the status not started again RELEASE WIZARD REVIEW PIPELINE IMPACT If you are working in a multi-project environment, where your projects are making use of the same resource pool, you will be able to control the release and evaluate the impact on the total project pipeline. The project pipeline contains the set of projects that have been released earlier and represent the work in progress. Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 23

24 Since this is the first project we will not describe the complete working of the Release Wizard at this point (see the chapter about Staggering, Pipeline Management and the LYNX Release Wizard). This is how your project will look like after releasing PROGRESS AND BUFFER CONSUMPTION The amount of buffer-consumption is the key-progress indicator within projects that are managed and modelled as a Critical Chain Project. LYNX has three buffer types: Project Buffer Feeding Buffer Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 24

25 Milestone Buffer In our example we have released the project. We will simulate the following scenarios: Project Buffer Consumption Feeding Buffer Consumption For simulation of the buffer consumption we will move time ahead and also will start working on the project tasks MOVING TIME AHEAD See also previous example. LYNX allows you to change current time on your local session any time. You can do this as follows: PROJECT BUFFER CONSUMPTION In this example we have moved the current date 2 days ahead, without making progress on any task in the project. The result is a project buffer consumption of 14 %. Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 25

26 RESOURCE ASSIGNMENT (NAMES) Before tasks can be started resources (names) need to be assigned to a task, i.e. the person(s) or resource(s) who will be responsible for executing the task. In this case we are going to assign resources via the task-properties / resource requirements tab MAKING PROGRESS COMPLETING A TASK There are several options for tracking progress. We now will use the progress tracking options via the Task Property Window only. Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 26

27 Let s assume the current date has been moved to Thursday 10 January 2013 and the following tasks have been completed during these 3 days: Task 1: validation of concept (executed by Jack Morgan) Task 5: review of concept (executed by Carl Brandon) Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 27

28 In the picture below task 1 and 5 are displayed as completed tasks MAKING PROGRESS FEEDING BUFFER PENETRATION Task 5 and 6 on the feeding chain have delays. As a result there is penetration of the feeding buffer with 25 % USE OF FILTERS Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 28

29 PROGRESS MONITORING DASHBOARD AND FEVER CHART We go back to the Desktop window (use F5), where we see the dashboard with all projects that have been defined. Select the CC1 project by positioning on this project REVIEWING THE RESOURCE LOAD Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 29

30 You can open the Resource Load window, both from the Desktop dashboard window as from the project window (after selecting and opening a project for review). Here we opened the resource load window from the desktop. You can also open resource load window from the project window and/or leave open while you open the project as well. Double click for example on project CC1. Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 30

31 4.3 MORE CCPM CONFIGURATION OPTIONS FEEDING BUFFER GAP Inserting feeding buffers might cause gaps on your critical chain (= extend the critical chain). The value displayed under Feeding buffer gap displays the total size of these gaps. To demonstrate these Critical Chain Gaps, we have first modified the durations of task 5, 6 and 10. See example below. As a next step we are going to insert the Feeding Buffers (we leave task time reduction switched off). Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 31

32 You can prevent feeding buffer gaps, by selecting Consume Feeding Buffers. The effect of eliminating the feeding buffer gap is displayed as follows: Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 32

33 4.3.2 EXPECTED BUFFER CONSUMPTION CONTROL Expected Buffer Consumption Control controls how Lynx calculates the expected finish date. Setting this value to 80% for example tells Lynx to expect 80% of the buffer to be consumed over the course of the project. LYNX will therefore calculate an expected finish date, which assumes 80 % duration of the buffer, with as starting point the start date of the buffer CONTRACTUAL MILESTONES MILESTONE BUFFERS So-called contractual milestones in a project schedule can be protected through special Milestone Buffers ADDING A MILESTONE Milestones can be set using constraints like must finish on or finish no later than. See the example below. Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 33

34 INSERTING A MILESTONE BUFFER You can insert a milestone buffer also via the CCPM dialogue box or Insert Buffers box. In this example we are going to insert a milestone buffer of 25 %. LYNX will insert now a milestone buffer before the task Assembly and has calculated a length of 6,3 days. Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 34

35 4.3.4 ASSIGNMENT OF TASKMANAGERS Tasks can be assigned to a Task-Managers, via drag & drop or via the task properties window in the general tab. Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 35

36 In the screen below a tasmanager is selected via the General Tab in the taskproperties: Chapter: Working with a CCPM Project - the Life-Cycle 36

37 5 CREATING A NEW CCPM PROJECT QUICK START To get you quickly familiar with LYNX we are going to create the same project (CC1), as has been used in the previous chapter. Creating a new project will take the following steps: 1. Create a new space (optional) 2. Add a new CCPM project 3. Assigning a calendar 4. Create tasks 5. Add dependencies 6. Add skills and resources 7. GO TO CHAPTER 4 for explanation of working with a CCPM project This is how the new demo project, that we are going to create in this chapter, would look like: Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 37

38 In this project we have a Critical Chain of 34 days and a Shortest Path of 28 days. Total workload (resource hours) is 464 hours. 5.1 CREATE A NEW (SANDBOX) SPACE (OPTIONAL) As a first step you may decide to create a new sandbox space, in which you can create your own: Calendars Skill Table Resource Table Example Projects The example in this chapter takes your though these steps. 5.2 ADD A NEW PROJECT Go the Desktop window (F8) and add a new project as follows: Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 38

39 Assign a calendar to the project. If a calendar does not exist yet, we have to create one first. Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 39

40 5.2.1 EDITING / ASSIGNING A CALENDAR I n the previous paragraph we have added a new calendar, called standard. This is required because for this new workspace a calendar was not defined yet. We want to edit the calendar here a little bit. And at least declare Saturday and Sunday as non-working days. Therefore choose edit calendar from the General Project Properties Tab. The following window opens, which will allow you to add rules for your standard calendar. The rule we are adding excludes Saturday as working day. We add the same rule for Sunday: And finally we need to add a rule that reflect the normal working hours. We do this through the button Working hours. Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 40

41 5.2.2 ADD A TENTATIVE DUE-DATE AND START-DATE The next step is to give your project an initial first Due-Date: For pipelining purposes we also recommend to add a (tentative) start date to the project, which gives the project an initial slot in the multi-project planning and staggering process. This done via selecting a fixed date for the start date (also this date can always be updated later). Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 41

42 5.2.3 DETERMINE SCHEDULING PARAMETERS Under the scheduling tab you can see that you project is by default scheduled as a CCPM project. After confirmation with OK you can see that your project has been created. To continue working with the project open the project by double clicking. 5.3 CREATE TASKS AND A NETWORK CREATE TASKS AND TASK RELATIONS After opening you get an empty screen, since no tasks and task relations have been created yet. Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 42

43 In the screen below we have added the 12 tasks: Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 43

44 In this example we only will use Finish-Start relations. To add relations between tasks select at least 2 tasks. You can also select more than 2 tasks. In this case the same relation type (finish-start) will be added between all selected tasks. Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 44

45 NOTE: although not used in our example project it is also possible to add finish-start relationship between a lower and a previous upper task. See example ASSIGN SKILLS AND RESOURCES At this point no skills and resources have been defined yet. Therefore we must first add the appropriate skills and resources. In our example we have the following skills: Skills Design Development Engineering Resources Jack Morgan Carl Brandon Barry Huberts Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 45

46 Note: in the example we only have one resource per skill. In reality you have obviously for many skills multiple resources that can fulfil the skill ADD SKILLS In order to add skills we need to open the skill-editor, from the main menu on the desktop or via the fast button F ADD RESOURCES To add resources open the resource-editor from the main menu on the desktop or via the fast button F8. Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 46

47 Step 2: link resources and skills ASSIGN SKILLS/ RESOURCES TO TASKS Open your project using one of the options as displayed below: Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 47

48 Once you open the project, you will see a panel at the right site, which also has the resource/skill/taskmanager window The skills and resources that were added are now available and ready to be assigned to tasks. The easiest way of doing this is via drag & drop. You can select multiple skills (hold down the control key) at the same time and drop them on a selected task. When creating and working with projects it is recommended to check the messages window regularly. Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 48

49 5.4 READY GO TO CHAPTER 4 We now have created a project that is the same/simialar as in chapter 4, with: 12 tasks A critical chain of 34 days Shortest path of 28 days (2 days resource contention) You can now go back to Chapter 4 again. In Chapter 4 we are going to work with this project as a CCPM project. Chapter: Creating a new CCPM Project Quick Start 49

50 6 MULTI-PROJECT RELEASE MANAGEMENT STAGGERING LYNX helps the planner to manage the work-in-progress in a multi-project environment, by a staggering process. In this process each new project is released against a current set of active projects that a have been released previously, representing the current work in progress or the pipeline. The Release Wizard helps the planner to control the release process and evaluate the impact of setting various release parameters, when adding the new project to the pipeline with active projects. Also it is possible to update or change, or rebuild, the pipeline at any time. For example, active projects can be taken out of the pipeline (by changing the status to pause or notstarted again), in favor of other project(s) or a new project that is to be released. LYNX is supporting the following concepts, to manage both the Release and Pipeline management process in a multi-project environment: 1. Skill Editor: Configuration of virtual drum or capacity constrained resources 2. The Release Wizard for each project that is added to the pipeline: a. Control Staggering by Skill b. Control Resource buffering by Skill 3. Work-in-Progress Management by single priority based on buffer consumption 6.1 CRITICAL CHAIN MULTI-PROJECT STAGGERING PRINCIPLES The starting point in a Critical Chain multi-project environment during the staggering process is to keep an existing pipeline, containing the active projects as stable as possible. When a new project is staggered on top of a pipeline, the first objective is therefore to fit the new project on top of existing projects, and minimise the impact on existing projects. Another key-objective is to keep a Critical Chain Project Schedule intact and compact, after it has been released into the pipeline, so it can be executed as fast as possible. The duration of the plan should stay the same as before release. To support the decision making process LYNX provides several possibilities to: Analyse and identify problems and resource- and due-date conflicts Suggest possible solutions to eliminate resource levelling and due-date conflicts Evaluate scenario s After release of the new project to the pipeline, also the new project will have a startdate and due-date, including the appropriate buffer sizes. These parameters will in principle not be changed after the new project has been staggered and during the lifecycle of a CCPM project. Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 50

51 Of course, there may be special business driven reasons that require modifying or rebuilding the pipeline. LYNX has several features to easily modify or rebuild a pipeline again. 6.2 MONITORING PROGRESS OF THE MULTI-PROJECT PIPELINE In the multi-project pipeline CCPM world, each project is managed and claiming resources individually on a project by project basis, where the buffers protect each project, feeding chain and milestone against variations and uncertainty. But obviously, it is also required to monitor the overall progress of projects from a portfolio perspective, and to be able to quickly identify which projects are progressing as expected and which projects need (extra) attention and measures for buffer recovery. To make this possible, LYNX is providing the multi-project Progress Chart. The multi-project Progress Chart can be opened from the top menu in the Desktop window (F5). Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 51

52 6.3 IDENTIFICATION OF THE VIRTUAL DRUM (SKILL CONFIGURATION) In a multi-project environment CCPM advocates staggering the release of projects around a designated resource or resource group that acts as a virtual drum or is regarded as the Capacity Constrained Resource. Focus on the virtual drum ensures flow, prevents excessive multi-tasking and prevents missed due dates by avoiding too many open projects or activities at the same time. Lynx supports this concept by allowing you to set your drum resources on the skill level as a default: The two options are: Level resources and prevent resource conflicts across all projects Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 52

53 o Select this option for your drum resources. During project release, LYNX will level and prevent over-allocation on the this skill Level resources on a project to project basis o Select this option for non-critical resources. Resource leveling will only occur within the scope of activities on project level In the example below we have taken as a starting point that all 3 skills (Design, Development and Engineering) multi-project resource leveling is set to Resolve conflicts across all projects as a default. NB: this default can be overruled during the staggering process within the Release Wizard! 6.4 MULTI-PROJECT RESOURCE LOAD ANALYSIS The Resource Load Window shows the resource load by skill and named resource per selected period. It allows the planner to detect possible resource load issues early, and take appropriate measures. The resource load information is also very useful in the process of identification and nominating the typical Constrained Resources or drum resources for the organistion. Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 53

54 6.5 STATUS AND RELEASE MANAGEMENT LYNX has two possibilities for Releasing a project: Direct Release, via Project Properties by changing status to Released Release of a project, using the Release Wizard Releasing a project via Project Properties is typically used in a single-project environment. In a multi-project environment it is important to assess the impact of release of a new project on the current pipeline containing the Work in Progress (WiP). The release wizard helps you to add a new project to the pipeline containing already 1 or more active projects. The status of a project can be changed any time via Project Properties RELEASE AND STATUS MANAGEMENT VIA PROJECT PROPERTIES A project can simply be released by changing the status in the Project Properties window. You can do this from the desktop, but also via Project Properties button in the project activity window. Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 54

55 The same Project Properties window is available in the Project Activity window: STATUS MANAGEMENT The status of a project can be changed any time. The following statuses are available: Not Started Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 55

56 Released Paused Completed Aborted The effect of both status Paused and Aborted is that project is still kept in LYNX, but that the resource load for a project with one of these statuses is not taking into account anymore. Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 56

57 6.6 LYNX RELEASE AND PIPELINE WIZARD FOR STAGGERING The LYNX Release Wizard helps the planner to take decisions on how the new project should or can be staggered on top of the current pipeline. LYNX will present all relevant information, but also will show possible solutions to consider RELEASE WIZARD OVERVIEW The release wizard can be opened from the Project Activity Window: The Release Wizard will show when tasks can be executed, taking into account the multiproject resource conflict resolution rules, as have been defined via the Skill Editor (F7). NOTE: As mentioned, in this example below we have taken as a default that all 3 skills (Design, Development and Engineering) multi-project resource leveling is set to Resolve conflicts across all projects. This means LYNX is preventing over-allocation on al the 3 skills. NB: this default can be overruled during the staggering process within the Release Wizard! Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 57

58 To help the planner identity allocation and availability issues, tasks that are causing the delay due to resource conflicts are marked with a green outline: RESOURCE LOAD ANALYSIS WITHIN THE RELEASE WIZARD Open the Resource Load tab on the right side in the Release Wizard. Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 58

59 6.6.3 AUTOMATIC PREVENTION OF RESOURCE OVERLOAD In the example below is explained how LYNX first solves existing overload conflicts, before positioning the tasks of the new project (in this example project is project D3 added to a pipeline, in which project D1 and D2 are already released) SUGGESTEST STAGGERING PROCESS LYNX provides the following options to the planner: Select/De-select Staggering options (resource load leveling) by Skill Change start date (or due-date) of the project and reschedule the project to a better position in time Consider impact of adding additional skills/ resources The feasibility of positioning a new plan into the pipeline is mainly driven by the resource load impact per planning horizon. For example: if the overall load during a period is less than 80 %, it can be safely assumed that the project will fit. Therefore we recommend the following steps: 1. Select/De-select Staggering options decide to work with a drum-resource(s) or not 2. Review impact on overall Resource Load level 3. Change start date (or due-date) of the project, in case this helps to create acceptable resource load levels We will demonstrate this process, by adding a second project to the pipeline. Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 59

60 6.6.5 SELECT/DE-SELECT STAGGERING BY SKILL In general it can be stated that trying to resolve each and every potential resource conflict is not only complex, but also will not reflect reality. Actual task durations will vary and will be subject to uncertainty. Another approach is therefore to assess the resource load per period, allowing formal over-allocations within boundaries. As long as the average resource load and peak loads are within acceptable boundaries, a project can be added safely to the project pipeline. This approach is supported by LYNX through the staggering options within the Release Wizard. The planner can select or de-select staggering options under the staggering tab. By default these boxes have the values configured for each skill (see the Skill Editor). Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 60

61 If we deselect staggering for all skill the effect is as follows: The above scenario is not feasible given the overloading on the skills Development and Engineering. If we declare now the skill Development as the critical skill and apply staggering on this skill only, the result is as follows: Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 61

62 In the example above we may find that an average load of 94 % is too high. As a next step we can therefore consider changing the start or due-date of the project. We are going to change the start-date of this project, since we have planned this project as As soon as possible RESCHEDULING START-DATE OR DUE-DATE We will move the start date with an extra week, in order to lower the average resource load during the planning window. We are now satisfied with the result and ready for releasing the project. Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 62

63 6.6.7 RELEASING THE PROJECT The released project will look now as follows: RESOURCE BUFFERING RELEASE WIZARD LYNX is supports working with and adding an additional resource buffers. These resource buffers are used to ensure the availability of identified drum resource in the multi-project environment. Resource buffers de-couple a resource from other tasks and projects. Also they compensate for the process of task time reduction and expected buffer consumption. The staggering tab in the Release Wizard also contains the controls for Resource buffering. Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 63

64 Resource Buffers are added between tasks at the moment a skill/resource starts working on another task (within the same project or a task of another project). This mechanism prevents that tasks are planned to tight to the previous task. It is protecting the critical resources, by preventing that empty spaces are directly claimed by a new task. The size of the resource buffers is determined as a percentage. Example: Assume that a resource is completing a task of 8 hours and a resource buffer is set of 50 %. LYNX will first plan 4 hours buffer, before planning the next task. Use reschedule (F3) to update the schedule and include the impact of resource buffering. Chapter: Multi-Project Release Management Staggering 64

65 7 WORK-IN-PROGRESS MANAGEMENT In a multi-project environment the work-in-progress is managed as follows: Multi-Project Portfolio Management Perspective: Priority by relative buffer consumption (project buffers and milestone buffers) Multi-Project Resource Load, to evaluate bottlenecks and work-distribution across resources Work-in-Progress Trend-line, which anticipates upcoming resource bottlenecks likely to cause extra buffer consumption Monitoring Notes and Messages and Full-Kit adherence Project & Task Execution Perspective: Task Management & Progress the project manager or task-manager Task Selection, progress tracking and time keeping by the resource Full-Kit and Task communication notes 7.1 MULTI-PROJECT PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT PROGRESS OR FEVER CHARTS MULTI-PROJECT PROGRESS (FEVER) CHART LYNX provides a multi-project progress chart, where for each project its current position is displayed. Buffer recovery measures should be taken to ensure projects move from status red to status green again. Chapter: Work-in-Progress Management 65

66 SINGLE PROJECT PROGRESS (FEVER) CHART Chapter: Work-in-Progress Management 66

67 7.1.2 MULTI-PROJECT RESOURCE LOAD EVALUATION Chapter: Work-in-Progress Management 67

68 7.1.3 THE WORK-IN-PROGRESS TRENDLINE GRAPH Chapter: Work-in-Progress Management 68

69 7.1.4 MONITORING NOTES AND MESSAGES 7.2 TASK MANAGEMENT AND PROGRESS INTRODUCTION LYNX offers various possibilities to select and report progress on tasks. Progress can be reported by the project manager, on behalf of the team, but also directly by the resource responsible for the task, provided the resource has access to the system as a user of LYNX. Of course tasks need to be started first. Chapter: Work-in-Progress Management 69

70 7.2.2 TASK PROGRESS LIST BY DATE AND PRIORITY All active tasks are displayed in the Progress Task-list and sequenced by date and priority WHICH TASKS TO START FIRST The progress tab shows various views on active tasks that have been released and that can be started. It also shows task that already have been started and now have the status Work in Progress. The view Tasks to start shows all tasks that can be started (today) and do not have a dependency preventing the start of the task (other work that must be completed first). These tasks are Ready-to-Start (RTS)! Chapter: Work-in-Progress Management 70

71 7.2.4 MANAGING STARTED TASKS - WORK-IN-PROGRESS The Work-in-Progress allows to monitor and focus on all ongoing work. In general the number of tasks that are in progress should be minimalized and completed as fast as possible MY ACTIVITIES TAB SELECTING AND STARTING TASKS Under My Activities each user can find the tasks that he needs to start and are assigned to him or her. Resources that have a login and are defined as a user in LYNX can always see which tasks they have to start. Chapter: Work-in-Progress Management 71

72 Also it very easy to filter all tasks that have status started REPORTING PROGRESS ESTIMATED TIME TO COMPLETE For (starting tasks) and reporting progress LYNX has several possibilities: o o o Via the My activities tab in the Desktop View Via the Desktop View Via the Project View and the Task Properties window METHOD 1 VIA MY ACTIVITIES BY THE PROJECT RESOURCE Each resource with a login is able to report the ETTC and the time spend on a task (time reporting) METHOD 2 PROJECT WINDOW TASK PROPERTIES Select a task in the project window and choose resource requirements. Depending on the situation or your preference you can first update the status to started. In this case LYNX will automatically enter the expected time to complete. If you enter a value in the ETTC column, LYNX assumes that task has started anyhow. Chapter: Work-in-Progress Management 72

73 METHOD 3 VIA THE DESKTOP PROGRESS DIALOGUE This view typically will be used by the project manager. He will in this case report progress for all tasks in his project in one session, on behalf of his team resources. Chapter: Work-in-Progress Management 73

74 7.2.7 FULL-KIT CRITERIA AND LYNX NOTES SYSTEM Chapter: Work-in-Progress Management 74

75 7.3 TIME KEEPING VIA MY ACTIVITIES Chapter: Work-in-Progress Management 75

76 8 RESOURCE ASSIGNMENT PROCESS The most common way of planning a Critical Chain Project is to plan the activities and assign resources by Skill. This results in a *soft-allocation. This implies that before any task can be started, a resource assignment process needs to take place, where named resources are actually assigned to tasks. This results in a hard-allocation. There are various possibilities for (soft)-assigning named resources to skills and tasks. These are: Before and After Release: Via Task-Properties in the Project Activity Window and the Resource Assignment tab Pre-selection of resources or selection of a Core Team via the Resource Availability tab in the project properties NB: When a project is planned by resource : in this case resources are directly assigned by name to a task and not via the skill. After release of a project: Via the Desktop Progress Tab and Progress Dialogue Box - this is possible for all projects that are released Please note that only ASSIGNED (hard-allocated) tasks will show up in the My Activities task lists for resources. 8.1 RESOURCE ASSIGNMENT VIA TASK PROPERTIES In the example below Jack Morgan is assigned as designer to task 1. Via this window a resource can be assigned, regardless the status of a project: During the modelling process (upfront) After the project has been released Chapter: Resource Assignment Process 76

77 8.2 PRE-SELECTION OF RESOURCES WORKING WITH A CORE TEAM When designing a new network schedule you can narrow the availability of resources. The motivation for this is twofold: The initial plan will look more realistic, since it almost never will be the case that the planner has the luxury that all identified resources can be assigned to his project It gives the project manager the possibility to nominate a core team for the project and maintain project related know-how better, while executing the project The project manager has through the Resource Availability tab the possibility to create a treshhold, with (critical) resources, he wants to use when designing his initial plan. The options he has are the following: Use all available resources Select from all available resource, however with a maximum OR: the project manager can identify resources by name by ticking the names in the list with available resources Chapter: Resource Assignment Process 77

78 8.2.1 ASSIGNMENT VIA THE PROGRESS TASKLIST AND DIALOGUE BOX Go to the Desktop window (F5) and open the progress tab and then the progress Dialogue box UPDATE AND ASSIGN FROM THE PROGRESS TASKLIST Chapter: Resource Assignment Process 78

79 8.2.2 UPDATE AND ASSIGN VIA THE PROGRESS DIALOG With the Dialog box it is possible to make changes for multiple tasks in one session. 8.3 WORKING WITH VIRTUAL SKILLS Within LYNX it is possible to work with so-called Virtual Skills. Typically this type of skill is used to monitor for example tasks that are executed by other parties, like suppliers. Chapter: Resource Assignment Process 79

80 It is also possible to model and monitor the execution of a Critical Chain Project complete with virtual skills. Virtual Skills are defined via the Skill Editor: Virtual Skill can be assigned to tasks in the same way as normal skills and named resources. LYNX will also maintain the resource load for virtual skills assigned to tasks. Chapter: Resource Assignment Process 80

81 8.3.1 ASSIGNMENT TO TASKS/PROJECTS PLANNED BY RESOURCE NAME As mentioned, typically Critical Chain projects are first planned by skill, before assigning actual resource names. However, it also possible to directly link named resources to tasks, when building the project. In the task properties box a direct assignment of a named resource is preceded by a R. Chapter: Resource Assignment Process 81

82 9 ATTACHMENTS 9.1 EDITOR WINDOWS CALENDAR EDITOR WINDOW This window looks as follows: SKILL EDITOR WINDOWS An example of the editor window with the General tab is displayed below: Chapter: ATTACHMENTS 82

83 The next window shows the scheduling parameters, available under the Scheduling tab RESOURCE EDITOR WINDOW This window looks as follows: Chapter: ATTACHMENTS 83

84 9.2 RESOURCE-MANAGEMENT RESOURCE MODELLING WITHIN LYNX THE RESOURCE SKILL MATRIX LYNX separates resources, skills and properties. The available capacity can be defined on these levels accordingly: resource, skill and/or property (capability). A key-advantage of this model and the ability to assign resources by skill is that during the scheduling phase LYNX drives the assignment to tasks on skill level and ensures selection of qualified resources for a task. And at the same time LYNX maintains a lot of room to optimise the planning and consider more alternative staffing options. Example: the developer Sven Cramer can do development work but also design work. He has as specialisation C# and Java as development languages. As designer he can do both database as UI design. NB: This model is based on the so-called ISA-95 standard. Chapter: ATTACHMENTS 84

85 9.2.2 ROLES & CAPABILITIES (SPECIALIZATIONS) In this example we assume a team of developers (resources), with multiple roles and capabilities. The matrix looks as follows: Skill Skill Property Property Values Developer Seniority Junior Medior Senior Specialization C# JAVA C++ Oracle Forms A developer can have 2 main skill properties: Seniority Specialisation A developer can have as specialisation one or more programming languages: C# JAVA C++ Oracle Forms During the skill/resource assignment process LYNX will link unique skill properties and property values to tasks that have these specific requirements. Also LYNX will prevent that resources with scarce and unique capabilities are assigned to work that can be done by other standard developers ADDING SKILLS Select in the Desktop view the menu option Skills. This opens the Skill editor. In the Skill Editor all relevant skills can be added: Chapter: ATTACHMENTS 85