SCHEDULING AND TIME MANAGEMENT. Project Management and Leadership 2015D, PhD, PMP

Transcription

1 SCHEDULING AND TIME MANAGEMENT Project Management and Leadership 2015D, PhD, PMP

2 Our PROGRAMME: 1. INTRODUCTION TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT 2. STARTING A PROJECT 3. WORK MOTIVATION 4. COMMUNICATION 5: TEAMS AND TEAMWORK 6: LEADERSHIP 7: SCHEDULING AND TIME MANAGEMENT 8: MONEY AND CONTRACTS 9: QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE IN PROJECTS 10: RISKS AND CRISES 11: PROJECT EXECUTION AND CLOSURE 12: THINKING IN A PROJECT January 15 Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su February 15 Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su February 9,

3 To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time. Leonard Bernstein ( )

4 TIME can be 1. ONTOLOGICAL (CLOCK) 2. COGNITIVE

5 How enterprise workers spend their time* *

6 The PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM model Small scale (4-12 people); different time frames: 1h 6mo Midpoint: a major transition dropping of old norms + emergence of new behavior Each group experienced its transition at the same point in its calendar (!) By imposing a series of deadlines associated with important milestones, it is possible to create multiple transition points for natural group development. (GERSICK 1988 in mod. LARSON 2009, p.379)

7 PLANNING FALLACY A phenomenon in which predictions about how much time will be needed to complete a future task display an optimistic bias. This phenomenon occurs regardless of the individual's knowledge that past tasks of a similar nature have taken longer to complete than generally planned.

8 EXPLANATIONS OF A PLANNING FALLACY FOCUS on the most optimistic scenario ENGAGE in wishful thinking ARE PRONE to self-serving bias FORGET durations in the past FALL FOR authorization imperative

9 HIGHLIGHTS: 1. WE PERCEPT TIME DIFFERENTLY 2. WE USE JUST A FRACTION OF OUR WORK TIME TO WORK 3. WE BECOME MORE ACTIVE IN THE SECOND HALF OF ANY TERM 4. WE ARE POOR PLANNERS

10 WBS an outline of a project WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE (WBS). A hierarchical decomposition of the total scope of work to be carried out by the project team to accomplish the project objectives and create the required deliverables. (PMBOK 2013, p.567) Basically, the WBS is an outline of the project with different levels of detail. (LARSON 2011, p.108)

11 WORK PACKAGE. The work defined at the lowest level of the work breakdown structure for which cost and duration can be estimated and managed. (PMBOK 2013, p.567)

12 From WBS you must be able to DESCRIBE the whole project LINK logically objectives to resources ESTABLISH responsibilities for each element PERFORM planning TRACK time, cost and performance (mod. KERZNER 2009, p.434)

13 PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENT PROCESSES 1. DEFINE ACTIVITIES: identify and document the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables 2. SEQUENCE ACTIVITIES: identify and document relationships among the activities 3. ESTIMATE activity RESOURCES: estimate the type and quantities of resources, equipment, or supplies required to perform each activity 4. ESTIMATE activity DURATIONS: estimate the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources 5. DEVELOP schedule: analyze activity sequences, durations, resource requirements, and schedule constraints to create the project schedule model. 6. CONTROL schedule: monitor the status of project activities to update project progress and manage changes to the schedule baseline to achieve the plan.

14 ACTIVITY is the effort needed ACTIVITY. A distinct, scheduled portion of work performed during the course of a project. Activities represent the effort needed to complete a work package. ACTIVITY ATTRIBUTES. Multiple attributes associated with each schedule activity that can be included within the activity list. Activity attributes include activity codes, predecessor activities, successor activities, logical relationships, leads and lags, resource requirements, imposed dates, constraints, and assumptions. (PMBOK 2013, pp.151, 526)

15 HOW TO DEFINE ACTIVITIES Decomposition Rolling wave planning Expert judgment

16 ROLLING WAVE PLANNING NICHOLAS 2012, p

17 MILESTONE is a time point in a project MILESTONE. A significant point or event in a project, program, or portfolio. MILESTONE LIST. A list identifying all project milestones and normally indicates whether the milestone is mandatory or optional. MILESTONE SCHEDULE. A summary-level schedule that identifies the major schedule milestones. (PMBOK 2013, p.546)

18 HOW TO SEQUENCE ACTIVITIES Precedence diagramming method (PDM) Dependency determination

19 PRECEDENCE DIAGRAMMING METHOD (PDM) A technique used for constructing a schedule model in which activities are represented by nodes and are graphically linked by one or more logical relationships to show the sequence in which the activities are to be performed. (PMBOK 2013, p.551)

20 The four types of logical relationships in PDM: Finish-to-start (FS):the initiation of the successor activity depends upon the completion of the predecessor activity. Finish-to-finish (FF): the completion of the successor activity depends upon the completion of the predecessor activity. Start-to-start (SS): the initiation of the successor activity depends upon the initiation of the predecessor activity. Start-to-finish (SF): the completion of the successor activity depends upon the initiation of the predecessor activity.

21 Construct an ACTIVITY-ON-NODE NETWORK 1. Draw a node for each network activity. 2. Draw an arc for each immediate precedence relation between two activities.

22 HOW TO ESTIMATE RESOURCES 1. Expert judgment 2. Alternative analysis 3. Published estimating data 4. Bottom-up estimating

23 HOW TO ESTIMATE DURATIONS Expert judgment Analogous estimating Parametric estimating Three-point estimating most likely (tm) optimistic (to) pessimistic (tp) Expected (te) = (to + 4tM + tp)/6 Group decision-making techniques Reserve analysis

24 DURATION IS A STOCHASTIC VARIABLE The required input to obtain a deterministic schedule is a single duration estimate for each activity of the project. Nevertheless, this duration is a stochastic variable, which is assumed to be independent of the other activities. Most often, such durations have a probability density function that is skewed to the right (NICHOLAS 2012, p.247) (VANHOUCKE 2012, p.187)

25 MONTE CARLO SIMULATION CAN HELP MC simulation creates artificial futures by generating thousands of sample paths of outcomes and analyzes their prevalent characteristics.

26 ACTIVITY NETWORK

27 FLOATS in a schedule FREE FLOAT. The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed without delaying the early start date of any successor or violating a schedule constraint. TOTAL FLOAT. The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed or extended from its early start date without delaying the project finish date or violating a schedule constraint. (PMBOK 2013, pp.541, 565)

28 HOW TO DEVELOP A SCHEDULE (TRADITIONAL) Schedule network analysis Critical Path Method (CPM) Resource leveling What-if scenario analysis Schedule compression

29 CRITICAL PATH. The sequence of activities that represents the longest path through a project, which determines the shortest possible duration (PMBOK 2013, p.536)

30 TIME BUFFERS PROJECT BUFFER. Comprised of aggregated contingency reserves taken from activities on the critical chain; provides a contingency reserve between the earliest completion date possible and the committed date. MILESTONE BUFFER. Similar to a project buffer but used when a project phase or milestone has a fixed due date.

31 The more activities the more buffers The amount by which the duration can be reduced is proportional to the square root of the number of activities in the chain (NICHOLAS 2012, p.262)

32 PLANNING POKER

33 PROJECT SCHEDULE As a minimum, the project schedule includes a planned start date and planned finish date for each activity. Often presented graphically, using one or more of the following formats: Milestone charts Bar charts Project schedule network diagrams

34 PROJECT SCHEDULE (A GANTT CHART)

35 MASTER SCHEDULE A summary-level project schedule that identifies the major deliverables and work breakdown structure components and key schedule milestones (PMBOK 2013, p.546)

36 MASTER SCHEDULE

37 HIGHLIGHTS: 5. ACTIVITY DURATIONS FORM BASIS FOR A PROJECT SCHEDULE 6. THE DURATIONS ACTUALLY ARE STOCHASTIC VARIABLES 7. PLANNING POKER, MONTE CARLO DURATION SIMULATIONS, CRITICAL CHAIN METHOD CAN HELP YOU DEVELOP A FUNCTIONAL PROJECT SCHEDULE

38 DEVELOP A SCHEDULE February 15 Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su March 15 Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su April 15 Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su

39 THE ACTIVITIES A. Share raw data B. Analyze raw data get results C. Return results D. Check results E. Send to the statistician F. Do stats G. Return results H. Analyze the returned results I. Write IM J. Write RC K. Submit a manuscript

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41 PERSONAL TIME MANAGEMENT

42 The THREE WAYS TO SPEND TIME 1. THOUGHTS 2. CONVERSATIONS 3. ACTIONS

43 The TIME TRAPS Management by crisis/inadequate planning Procrastination and leaving tasks unfinished Inability to say NO Poor communication Poor delegation and training Information overload and the paper chase Surfing the Web The untamed telephone Socializing and drop-in visitors Attempting too much Poorly run meetings

44 MEETINGS. THE TIME-WASTERS

45 The average manager spends ten hours a week in meetings This is more than a day per week, hours a year The majority complained that nearly half that time bled away through poor organization and execution (MACKENZIE and NICKERSON 2009, p.124)

46 Meetings are of TWO TYPES TYPE A: those events you produce to sell; persuade; inform an audience about a policy, need, or technology. TYPE B: someone else produces an event designed to do ditto about ditto, and you are earmarked as one of the persuadees.

47 DO NOT GO TO MEETINGS YOU DO NOT CONTROL Not only will this save valuable time, but it will enhance your reputation. Too much out time marks you as a meetings junkie not a serious contender. (ALEXANDER and DOBSON 2009 p.62)

48 Ways to conserve time if you must go Go for just the part that relates to you Use your boss as an excuse Decide things without a meeting (e.g. Can t we just do it now on the phone? ) Send a written statement instead Take control if the chair is late Take control if the chair arrives but does not start right away (ALEXANDER and DOBSON 2009 p.62-63)

49 The TIME TIPS Sleep at least 7-8 hours Do not start your day without a time plan Have a diary of time spending Get an early start Complete most important tasks first Delegate Batch similar tasks together Schedule time for interruptions Block out distractions like FB Plan your interactions before, reflect on them after It will never be possible to get everything done

50 HIGHLIGHTS: 8. ESTIMATE YOUR TIME EXPENDITURE HAVE A TIME DIARY 9. VERY CAREFULLY SELECT MEETINGS TO GO TO 10. SLEEP WELL!