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Time Management Process

This

Project Time Management


Process describes how to monitor and control time spent within a project.
It describes each of the Time Management procedures step-by-step, explaining how to use
Timesheets and Time Management Logs to record time spent.
By using this Time Process, you can control the amount of time that it takes staff to build
deliverables within a project, increasing your chances of delivering "on time" and to
schedule. Now includes both English and !

This Project Time Management process will help you to:

Put in place a process for recording time within projects

Use Timesheets to monitor the time spent by staff

Identify and resolve time management issues

Keep your Project Plan up-to-date at all times

This Project Time Management process is unique as it:

Lists the key steps taken to manage time within a project

Includes a process diagram, showing when those steps are taken

Describes each of the roles and responsibilities involved

Is pre-completed and ready to use on projects now

If you are looking for a Project Time Management process that can be used immediately, with
little customization, then this time process will meet your need. It describes how to manage
time and deliver projects on schedule. Save time by using this Project Time Management
process now.

What is Time Management?


Project Time Management is all about recording the time spent by people on a project. To
record time spent, the team implement a Project Time Management Process (or "Time
Process"). This time process involves recording the time spent on tasks, using Timesheets.
The time process helps the manager know which tasks has been worked on, when and for
how long.
Time management is another key aspect of managing a project. As such, it is considered to be
a core knowledge area, and is closely knit to scope and cost areas. The main purpose of this
knowledge area, as it name suggests, is to build processes and outputs into the project that
assist the manager and team to complete the project in a timely manner. During the planning
process, outputs are created to illustrate how project tasks will be sequenced and allocated.
The controlling and monitoring process is concerned with tracking and reporting on the
progress of work, as well as adjusting time outputs to address shifts and changes in the
project plan. Finally, the closing process includes an audit of time targets. Project managers
reflect on what contributed to time estimates being accurate, too liberal, or conservative. This
reflective process helps them to build better time plans for future projects.
Time management can be divided into following:

Control schedule

Develop schedule

Define activities

Sequence activities

Estimate activities resources

Estimate activities duration

Contents

1 Planning
o

1.1 Inputs

2 Scheduling

3 Tools of Time Planning


o

3.1 Activity Logs

3.1.1 Tools and techniques for precedence

3.1.2 Using Activity Logs

3.1.3 Action Plans

3.1.3.1 Action Plans Key Points

3.1.4 Task Lists

3.1.4.1 Task Lists Estimate

3.1.4.2 Task Lists Prioritization

3.1.4.3 Task Lists Key Points

3.1.5 Gantt Charts

3.1.2.1 Activity Logs Key Points

3.1.5.1 Gantt Charts Key Points

3.2 Techniques

4 Further Reading

Planning

Time Management is also among the first processes to be completed. It is necessary because
a team needs to be organized to meet deadlines and to streamline collaboration.
Past experience is one of the best guides to creating a plan. Objectives are taken from the
project charter and subdivided down into manageable subsections and deadlines are attached.
They are prioritized and given the amounts of time needed to complete the objective with
extra time added for troubleshooting. The objectives are then put together and each team
member is assigned to the different subsections.
The team uses time management tools to focus priorities, and give clear, detailed deadlines.
For the stakeholders it gives them a date that they will receive the project as well as when
different prototypes or earlier objectives will be completed.
Times are for the most part determined by the team, with the final deadline negotiated with
the stakeholders, allowing room to negotiate deadlines for other deliverables.
Inputs
The project managers must identify the specific schedule activities that need to be performed
and document dependencies among these activities. They must also estimate the types and
quantities of resources required and the number of work periods that will be needed to
perform and complete each of the scheduled activities. This will assist them in creating and
controlling the project schedule.
The inputs involved in time planning are: Enterprise Environmental Factors, Organizational
Process Assets, the Project Scope Statement, Work Breakdown Structure, Project

Management Plan, Activity List and Attributes, Approved Change Requests, Activity
Resource Requirements, Resource Calenders, Activity Duration Estimates.
Scheduling

According to PMI, these are main tools used for time management:

Schedule network analysis: this analysis can be done through:


o

CPM: technique based on network than is used to determine critical


path. Normally critical path determines when your project ends. If
you get late in any tasks in critical path, your project will be late
independently of other tasks finishin on time or not.

Critical chain method: technique based on network changes


project schedule taking into account scarce resources.

What-if analysis: series of questions in a "what-if" style. These


questions will help you to find risks.

Resource levelling: technique used to find unbalanced use of


resources over time, and for resolving over-allocation conflicts.

Schedule compression: when your tasks are running late, you may use
two techniques below. Just avoid using those techniques under political
pressure, because they have their own risks. It would not be a good idea
to incur in those risks without being really necessary.
o

Crashing: consists in decreasing total period of time by assigning


more people to that task or working over time. This is quite risky
and you may find that task took longer than expected.

Fast tracking: consists in start a task before last task really


finished. This is risky because you may have to redo some work, as
one task should starts only when other tasks finishes.

Schedule control:
o

Performance reviews: this can be done using EVM or SPI.

Variance analysis: this can be done using SV or SPI.

Project management software: use of specific software for


project management.

Tools of Time Planning

Activity Logs
Activity logs help you to analyze how you actually spend your time. The first time you use an
activity log you may be shocked to see the amount of time that you waste. Memory is a very
poor guide when it comes to this, as it can be too easy to forget time spent on non-core tasks.

These activities must be smaller than work packages, and this decomposition can be done
with help of subject-matter experts. It's also possible to use activities templates, when your
projects are quite similar by nature.
You may define all your activities in a up-front style, or define them in a rolling wave plan.
You define required activities for next milestone when you are reaching end of current
milestone. This can be in milestone basis, or monthly basis. What makes your planning
easier.
Tools and techniques for precedence

For determining precedence is possible to use:

PDM: Precedence Diagram Method, is a diagram where is possible to


visualize precedence among tasks.
o

Depencency determination: a dependency may be mandatory,


discretionary or external. Mandatory dependency may be due to
resource constraints or due to task nature. Discretionary
dependency is more about a preference, e.g. I'd like you start
painting the room after you finish dining room.

Leads and Lags: there are four possible relationships among tasks
are: finish-to-start, start-to-start, start-to-finish and finish-to-finish.
Most used precedence is finish-to-start.

Schedule network templates: standardized schedule network diagram


that can be used to expedite preparation of networks of project activities.

Using Activity Logs

Keeping an Activity Log for several days helps you to understand how you spend your time,
and when you perform at your best. Without modifying your behavior any further than you
have to, note down the things you do as you do them on this template. Every time you change
activities, whether opening mail, working, making coffee, gossiping with colleagues or
whatever, note down the time of the change.
Learning from Your Log

Once you have logged your time for a few days, analyze your daily activity log. You may be
alarmed to see the amount of time you spend doing low value jobs. You may also see that you
are energetic in some parts of the day, and flat in other parts. A lot of this can depend on the
rest breaks you take, the times and amounts you eat, and quality of your nutrition. The
activity log gives you some basis for experimenting with these variables.
Your analysis should help you to free up extra time in your day by applying one of the
following actions to most activities:

Eliminate jobs that your employer shouldn't be paying you to do. These
may include tasks that someone else in the organization should be doing,
possibly at a lower pay rate, or personal activities such as sending nonwork e-mails.

Schedule your most challenging tasks for the times of day when your
energy is highest. That way your work will be better and it should take you
less time.

Try to minimize the number of times a day you switch between types of
task. For example, read and reply to e-mails in blocks once in the morning
and once in the afternoon only.

Reduce the amount of time spent on legitimate personal activities such as


making coffee (take turns in your team to do this - it saves time and
strengthens team spirit).

Activity Logs Key Points

Activity logs are useful tools for auditing the way that you use your time. They can also help
you to track changes in your energy, alertness and effectiveness throughout the day. By
analyzing your activity log you will be able to identify and eliminate time-wasting or lowyield jobs. You will also know the times of day at which you are most effective, so that you
can carry out your most important tasks during these times.
Action Plans

An Action Plan is a simple list of all of the tasks that you need to carry out to achieve an
objective. Wherever you want to achieve something significant, draw up an Action Plan. This
helps you think about what you need to do to achieve that thing, so that you can get help
where you need it and monitor your progress. To draw up an Action Plan, simply list the tasks
that you need to carry out to achieve your goal, in the order that you need to complete them.
This is very simple, but is still very useful. Keep the Action Plan by you as you carry out the
work and update it as you go along with any additional activities that come up. If you think
you'll be trying to achieve a similar goal. Maybe colleagues would have been able to follow
up on the impact of your newsletter on clients if you have communicated with them about
when it would be hitting clients' desks.
Action Plans Key Points

An Action Plan is a list of things that you need to do to achieve a goal. To use it, simply carry
out each task in the list.
Task Lists

One of the basics of effective time management is to be aware of all that needs to be done.
Though many people keep track of day-to-day activities in their heads, effective time
managers facilitate planning and productivity by making a task list. If you develop the skill of
listing tasks regularly, you'll benefit in several ways:

You will be less likely to forget even minor tasks.

You may procrastinate less when you have a realistic idea of the work that
needs to be done, and the time available to do it.

You'll have more flexibility when deciding what to do and when to do it


because you determine which tasks have high priority.

You'll have both a short- and long-range view of the work coming up.

The first step is to write down all the related tasks that need to be done. For most people this
is just an extension of what they're already doing. Almost everyone uses a calendar of some
sort to jot down due dates and appointments. The key differences are that you do it regularly
usually once a week works well and that all the study tasks you have, everything from
day-to-day work to writing reports or major projects, are put on the list.
Task Lists Estimate

This second step is critical, but very few people do it. For each task on the list, estimate the
amount of time it will take you to complete it. At first you may find this difficult, and your
guesses may be way off. With practice, however, your accuracy will quickly increase. Major
tasks which span several weeks may pose a problem, but by breaking the work down into
steps, estimating becomes much easier. A report, for example, could break down like this:

Do bibliographic search to make sure enough information is available on


topic.

Finalize topic and do research.

Organize and categorize research material and create an outline.

Write rough copy.

Get feedback on rough copy and revise.

Edit, polish, and print good copy.

Do references and footnotes.

Estimate how long each step will take, and then total the estimations. Next, add a safety
margin to the total. This "red zone" allows for all the unexpected things that can happen over
the course of several weeks everything from your getting sick to not finding a source you
need. Fifty percent over the initial estimate is commonly used, but the more experience you
have, the less safety margin you'll need.
Divide the new total by the number of weeks you have to do the task. For example: Estimated
time for work: 10 hours x 1.5 (sanity zone) = 15, 15 hours divided by 5 weeks to do
assignment = 3 hours per week.
You would then put 3 hours for this task on your task list for each of the next five weeks. If
you need to compromise a few hours somewhere, assignment time is usually a safe choice if
the due date is far enough away.
Although at first it may be wild guessing, estimating how long study tasks will take is one of
the few ways of getting a realistic picture of how much work you really have to do.

Task Lists Prioritization

The next step is to prioritize decide what tasks are most important to do first and number
them in rank order. Sometimes (particularly if you've been procrastinating) there will be more
items on the list than can be realistically completed in a week. If time is tight you can
delegate certain tasks or postpone low priority items. Prioritizing forces you to weigh the
importance of each item on the task list, and to make a conscious, thoughtful decision about
what to do when.
Task Lists Key Points

Task lists are a great way to setup and plan your work. Prioritizing and time estimation help
to maximize your work potential.
Gantt Charts

Gantt Charts are useful tools for analyzing and planning complex projects. They can:

Help you to plan out the tasks that need to be completed

Give you a basis for scheduling when these tasks will be carried out

Allow you to plan the allocation of resources needed to complete the


project, and

Help you to work out the critical path for a project where you must
complete it by a particular date.

When a project is under way, Gantt Charts help you to monitor whether the project is on
schedule. If it is not, it allows you to pinpoint the remedial action necessary to put it back on
schedule.
An essential concept behind project planning is that some activities are dependent on other
activities being completed first. As a shallow example, it is not a good idea to start building a
bridge before you have designed it!
These dependent activities need to be completed in a sequence, with each stage being moreor-less completed before the next activity can begin. We can call dependent activities
'sequential' or 'linear'.
Other activities are not dependent on completion of any other tasks. These may be done at
any time before or after a particular stage is reached. These are non-dependent or 'parallel'
tasks.
Gantt Charts Key Points

Gantt charts are useful for planning and scheduling projects. They allow you to assess how
long a project should take, determine the resources needed, and lay out the order in which
tasks need to be carried out. They are useful in managing the dependencies between tasks.
Techniques
Here are some Techniques that would help manage your time more effectively.

Make a Plan
Planning is one of the most important project management and time management techniques.
Planning is preparing a sequence of action steps to achieve some specific goal. If you do it
effectively, you can reduce much the necessary time and effort of achieving the goal.
Prioritizing effectively
Prioritizing skills are your ability to see what tasks are more important at each moment and
give those tasks more of your attention, energy, and time.
Eliminate procrastination
Ability to beat procrastination and laziness is among the most important time management
skills to learn.
The Steps of the Time Management Process

Following are the main steps in the project time management process. Each addresses a
distinct area of time management in a project.
1. Defining Activities
When it comes to a project, there are a few levels for identifying activities. First of all, the
high-level requirements are broken down into high-level tasks or deliverables.
Then, based on the task granularity, the high-level tasks/deliverables are broken down into
activities and presented in the form of WBS (Work Breakdown Structure).
2. Sequencing Activities
In order to manage the project time, it is critical to identify the activity sequence. The
activities identified in the previous step should be sequenced based on the execution order.
When sequencing, the activity interdependencies should be considered.
3. Resource Estimating for Activities
The estimation of amount and the types of resources required for activities is done in this
step. Depending on the number of resources allocated for an activity, its duration varies.
Therefore, the project management team should have a clear understanding about the
resources allocation in order to accurately manage the project time.
4. Duration and Effort Estimation
This is one of the key steps in the project planning process. Since estimates are all about the
time (duration), this step should be completed with a higher accuracy.
For this step, there are many estimation mechanisms in place, so your project should select an
appropriate one.

Most of the companies follow either WBS based estimating or Function Points based
estimates in this step.
Once the activity estimates are completed, critical path of the project should be identified in
order to determine the total project duration. This is one of the key inputs for the project time
management.
5. Development of the Schedule
In order to create an accurate schedule, a few parameters from the previous steps are
required.
Activity sequence, duration of each activity and the resource requirements/allocation for each
activity are the most important factors.
In case if you perform this step manually, you may end up wasting a lot of valuable project
planning time. There are many software packages, such as Microsoft Project, that will assist
you to develop reliable and accurate project schedule.
As part of the schedule, you will develop a Gantt chart in order to visually monitor the
activities and the milestones.
6. Schedule Control
No project in the practical world can be executed without changes to the original schedule.
Therefore, it is essential for you to update your project schedule with ongoing changes.

SCOPE MANAGEMENT:
Project Scope Management refers to the set of processes that ensure a project's
scope is defined and mapped accurately. Scope Management techniques allow
project managers and supervisors to allocate just the right amount of
work necessary to complete a project successfully. It is primarily concerned with
controlling what is and what is not part of the project
What is Scope?
Scope refers to the detailed set of deliverables or features of a project. These
deliverables are derived from a projects requirements.
The PMBOK defines Project Scope as the "The work that needs to be accomplished to
deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions."
The definition of Scope follows from the decision of setting out the work to be
completed during the lifecycle of a project. Included in this is also the

identification of work that will not be counted in the ongoing round of the
service/product development.
The 3 Facets of Scope Management
Three processes form part of Project Scope Management - planning, controlling,
and closing.
Planning
The planning process is when an attempt is made to capture and define the work
that needs competition.
Controlling
The controlling and monitoring processes are concerned with documenting
tracking, scope creep, tracking, and disapproving/ approving project changes.
Closing
The final process, closing, includes an audit of the project deliverables and an
assessment of the outcomes against the original plan.

The Scope Statement


The scope of a project is the clear identification of the work that is required to
successfully complete or deliver a project. One of the project managers
responsibilities is to ensure that only the required work (the scope) will be
performed and that each of the deliverables can be completed in the allotted
time and within budget.
The documentation of the scope of the project will explain the boundaries of the
project, establish the responsibilities of each member of the team and set up
procedures for how work that is completed will be verified and approved. This
documentation may be referred to as the scope statement, or the statement of
work, or the terms of reference.

Steps Involved in Project Scope Management


As a project manager, you'll need to define project scope no matter what
methodology you choose to use.
A systematic process to capture, define, and monitor scope follows.
Step #1 - Define the needs
Defining the needs of the project is the first step toward the establishment of a
project timeline, allocation of project resources and setting project goals. Only
with these steps defined will you be able to understand the work that needs to
be done in other words, the scope of the project needs to be defined. Once that
is done, team members can be allocated tasks, and provided direction to deliver
a project in the given time and budget.

tep #2 - Understand the Project Objectives


To define the project scope, it is important to first establish the objectives of the
project, which may include a new product, creating a new service within the
organization, or developing a new piece of software. There are a number of
objectives that could be central to a project and it becomes the role of the
project manager to ensure that the team delivers that result according to the
specified features or functions.

How do you define the project scope?


The resources and work that goes into the creation of a product or service is
essentially what defines the scope of the project. The scope generally outlines
the goals to be met to achieve a satisfactory result. It is important for project
managers to understand how to define the scope of the project.
Steps for defining the scope of a project
To define the scope of the project, it is important to identify the following:

Project objectives

Goals

Sub-phases

Tasks

Resources

Budget

Schedule

Once these parameters are established, the limitations and parameters of the
project need to be clarified and the aspects that are not to be included in the
project identified. When doing this, the project scope will make clear to the
stakeholders, senior management, and team members what will and will not be
included in the final product or service.
Along with this, the scope of the project must have a tangible objective for the
organization that is undertaking the project. This is integral for the scope of the
project, since it will play a vital role in how project methodologies are applied to
complete it.
The Project Scope Management Processes

Plan Scope Management:


This is the first process in the Project Scope management process. The PMBOK
Guide, Fifth Edition, adds several processes to separate the initial planning
activities from other activities. This process creates the scope management
plan. The scope management plan describes the project scope and documents
how it will be further defined, validated, and controlled.
The table below shows the Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs of the Plan

Scope Management Process.

The Scope management plan covers how the scope will be defined, validated, and controlled.
It also includes information on preventing or dealing with scope creep, handling of change
requests, the escalation path for any disagreement on the scope elements between
stakeholders, the process for the creation of the scope statement, the WBS, and how the
deliverables will be accepted.
Collect Requirements
This process involves the documentation of the stakeholders' needs with the
stated intent of meeting the project's objectives. In this process, managers use
several techniques and tools for collecting project requirements from
stakeholders. The process attempts to leave no stone unturned, resulting in an
in-depth list of project requirements. If this process if performed thoroughly and
correctly, it eliminates the possibility of nasty surprises as the project moves
toward completion.
The table below shows the Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and the Outputs of the
Collect Requirements process.

Define Scope
This process involves the preparation of a detailed description of the project and
its major deliverables.
The scope clearly states what the project is supposed to achieve and what it
cannot accomplish. The supporting documents are reviewed to ensure that the
project will deliver work in line with the stated goals. The scope that results will
then state the stakeholders' needs and communicate the expectations for the
performance of the project.
The table below shows the Inputs, Tools and Techniques and the Outputs of the
Defining process.

Create Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)


The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is an important element of the Scope
management process and the PMI lays great emphasis on this as many project
maangers often skip this step, leading to inaccurate plans. The WBS provides the
project manager and his team with the opportunity to break down a high-level
scope statement to smaller, manageable units of work, called work packages.
The resulting WBS should provide a complete list of all work packages required to
complete the project
The table below shows the Inputs, Tools and Techniques and the Outputs of the
WBS process.

Scope Verification
The Validate Scope process focuses mainly on customer acceptance. It is when
the project customer formally accepts all the project deliverables. This process
occurs at the end of each phase. During the process, the customer gives their
feedback on the work that was performed.
The table below shows the Inputs, Tools and Techniques and the Outputs of the
Scope Verification process.

Scope control
The Scope Conrol process involves the monitoring of the status of the project and
management of changes to the scope.

This process involves the assessment of additional requirements from the customer or
proactively overlooking the project scope. Managers will measure the work product against
the scope baseline to ensure that the project stays on track to prevent any unnecessary
changes.
The table above shows the Inputs, Tools and Techniques and the Outputs of the Scope
Control process.

Common problems with Project Scope Management to


avoid
Often, when performing Scope Management, project managers bump into issues along the
way. The problems that may arise when defining and documenting Project Scope are:
1. Ambiguity: Ambiguity in scope often leads to unnecessary work and confusion. To
avoid this, the scope needs to be clearly defined and to the point.
2. Incomplete definition: Incomplete scopes lead to schedule slips which lead to cost
overruns. To avoid this, the scope needs to be complete and accurate.

3. Transience: Transient scopes lead to scope creep which is the primary cause of late
deliveries and "never ending" projects. To avoid this, the scope document needs to be
finalized and remain unaltered for the duration of the project.
4. Un-collaborative scope: A scope that is not collaboratively prepared causes
misinterpretations in requirements and design. To avoid this, the scope document
should be shared with all stakeholders at every step of the scope definition process
Why project managers need Scope Management
Effective scope management requires good and clear communication, as this
ensures that members on the team understand the scope of the project while
agreeing on how the project goals will be met.
Scope management helps avoid the challenges that a project might face with
bloating scope and an unruly requirements list. Project scope clearly sets out
what is or is not included in the project, and controls what gets added or
removed as the project is executed. Scope management establishes control
mechanisms to address factors that may result in changes during the project lifecycle.
Without defining the project scope, the cost or time that the project will take up
cannot be estimated. At times, due to a lack of communication, scope may need
to change. This directly affects the cost and disturbs the schedule of the project,
causing losses.

OR
SCOPE MANAGEMENT
1. The knowledge area of Project Scope Management consists of the following
processes Scope Management Processes
Process

Project Group

Key Deliverables

Plan Scope Management

Planning

Collect Requirements

Planning

Requirements document

Define Scope

planning

project scope statement

Create WBS

planning

WBS, WBS dictionary

Validate Scope

Monitoring and Controlling

Acceptance deliverables

Control Scope

Monitoring and Controlling

Change Requests

2. The knowledge area of Scope Management includes the processes required to ensure
that the project includes all the work, and only all the work required to complete the

project successfully. It is primarily concerned with controlling what is and what is not
in the scope.
3. Project Portfolio Management is the process of project selection. It involves making a
decision about which project an organization should execute.
4. There are two types of project selection methods. These are
o Benefits Measurement
o Constrained Optimization
5. Benefits Measurement project selection methods involve comparing the values of one
project against another. There are the following type of Benefit Measurement project
selection techniques o Murder Boards - This involves a committee asking tough questions from each
project
o Scoring Models - Different projects are given scores based on certain defined
criteria. Project with higher score is selected.
o Benefits Cost Ratio - This technique involves computing benefits to cost ratio
(BCR) for a project. Project with higher BCR is selected.
o Payback period - This technique involves considering how long it takes back
to "pay back" the cost of the project. Inflation or interest earned in not
considered in this technique. A project with lower pay back period is better.
o Discounted Cash Flow - This technique takes into account the interest earned
on the money. The Future Value (FV) of projects is compared.
FV=PV(1+i)n

PV is the present value of the project. A project with higher present value is
better.
o Internal Rate of Return (IRR) - A project that has higher IRR is better, as it is
giving higher return on money.
6. Constrained Optimization Project selection methods are used for large projects. These
are techniques based on mathematical models. The Constrained Optimization
techniques are o Linear Programming
o Non-Linear Programming
o Integer Algorithm
o Dynamic Programming

o Multi-objective Programming
7. Expected monetary value of a project (or expected value) is equal to
probability*impact. So if probability of a project's success is 20% and revenue
earned if successful is $100000, then the net value of the project will be $20,000. A
project with higher net value should be selected when performing project selection.
8. Management by Objective (MBO) is a management philosophy with three
objectives o Establish unambiguous and realistic objectives
o Periodically Evaluate if objectives are being met
o Take corrective actions.
MBO works only if management supports it.
9. Collect Requirements process involves documenting stakeholders needs to meet
project objectives. The Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs of Collect
Requirements process are given below.
Collect Requirements Process
Inputs
Project charter

Tools & Techniques


Interviews

Outputs
Requirements documentation

Stakeholder register Focus groups

Requirements management plan

Facilitated workshops

Requirements traceability matrix

Group creativity techniques


Questionaires and surveys
Observations
Prototypes
Group decision-making techniques
10. The Define Scope process involves defining detailed description of the project and
major deliverables. The Input, Tools and Techniques and Output of the Define Scope
process are:
Define Scope Process
Inputs

Tools & Techniques

Outputs

Project charter

Expert judgment

Project scope statement

Requirements documentation

Product analysis

Project document updates

Organizational process assets

Alternative identification
Facilitated workshops

11. Create WBS is the process of dividing the project deliverables into smaller
components. The Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs of Create WBS process
are:
Create WBS Process
Inputs
Project Scope Statement

Tools & Techniques


Decomposition

Outputs
WBS

Requirements documentation

WBS dictionary

Organizational process assets

Scope baseline
Project document updates

12. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is an important part of the exam. It is a graphical
representation of the hierarchy of the project. The WBS template can be reused across
projects. WBS forces the project team to think through all the levels of the project. If
a task is not in the WBS, then it is not part of the project.
13. 8/80 rule for WBS - No task should be less than 8 hours or more than 80 hours.
14. WBS dictionary explains all the WBS components. Also WBS is input to most of the
planning processes. Specifically WBS is input to the following processes o Cost Estimating
o Cost Budgeting
o Scope control
o Activity Definition
o Plan Purchases and Acquisitions
15. The Validate Scope is the process in which the project customer formally accepts the
project deliverables. Scope Validation happens at the end of each phase. During the
Validate Scope process customer gives feedback on work performed. While Validate
Scope process focuses on customer acceptance, Perform Quality Control process
focuses on correctness of work.
16. The table below gives inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs of the Validate Scope
process.
Validate Scope Process
Inputs
Project management plan
Requirements documentation

Tools & Techniques


Inspection

Outputs
Accepted Deliverables
Change requests

Requirements traceability matrix

Project document updates

Validated deliverables

17. Control Scope process involves monitoring the status of project and managing scope
changes. The Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs of Control Scope process are:
Control Scope Process
Inputs
Project management plan

Tools & Techniques


Variance analysis

Outputs
Work performance measurements

Requirements documentation

Change requests

Requirements traceability matrix

Project management plan updates

Organizational process assets

Organizational process assets


updates

Work performance information

Project document updates

Tools

Two important tools for completing the scope management plan include Statement of Scope
(SOS) and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) templates. Of course, the most important
template for completing this planning process is a template for the overall scope management
plan. In this book, we outline what is typically covered in a SOS and WBS.
Statement of Scope(SOS)
The SOS usually opens with a problem statement. This statement captures a description of the
catalysts which are related to the projects rationale and a summary of the new
product/service that is being created. This section of the SOS often reads like an executive
summary of the entire project.
An important content area of the SOS is the list of product/service characteristics/
requirements and features. This section often reflects the shared vision that was negotiated
between the project manager, stakeholders, and team members. Product services listed here
not only reflect what is being included in the project, but how it will be implemented (i.e.
level of complexity, functionality, depth etc.). This section can also include statements about
the items that will not be addressed in the current scope of the project.

Other sections in a SOS may include a list of anticipated benefits and project success criteria.
There may also be a section which summarizes the list of deliverables that will be included in
the scope of the project.
Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
As the name implies, a WBS lists all of the work that needs to be completed to address items
listed in the SOS. It organizes the list of work by using a tree structure (chart or list). This
means that the tool is hierarchical in nature. As mentioned previously in this book, IT projects
will sometimes structure the WBS by SDLC phase. The phases often make up the root
nodes or parent items, and underneath each phase all of its related tasks are listed (usually
organized by deliverables).
Explaining better deliverable and work packages. Let's suppose that your WBS is a tree with
three levels. First level is tree root and is about your project. Second level are project's
deliverables, and third level are work packages. Work packages may be controlled,
monitored, cost estimated and scheduled. They may have control accounts for performance
management and earned value estimation.
When decomposing work that is needed don't forget to include all project management
activities. This is known as 100% rule.
Do not forget WBS dictionary, that contains a textual explanation for WBS components including deliverables and work packages. This dictionary may include:

Code of account identifier

Description of work

Responsible organization

List of schedule milestones

Associated schedule activities

Resources required

Cost estimate

Quality requirements

Acceptance criteria

Technical references

Contract information

Scope creep (also called requirement creep, function creep and feature creep) in project
management refers to uncontrolled changes or continuous growth in a projects scope. This
can occur when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled. It is
generally considered harmful.[1]
If budget, resources, and schedule are increased along with the scope, the change is usually
considered an acceptable addition to the project, and the term "scope creep" is not used.
Scope creep can be a result of:

poor change control

lack of proper initial identification of what is required to bring about the project
objectives

weak project manager or executive sponsor

poor communication between parties

lack of initial product versatility

What Does It Contain?


The scope baseline includes the project scope statement, the work breakdown structure
(WBS) and WBS dictionary. If there are work packages that do not get performed or if they
do not fulfill the requirements set out for them, then the scope baseline is not met. The
performance of the PM as well as the rest of the team is derived from how well the project
conforms to this baseline.
How Does the WBS Fit Into This?
The work breakdown structure is how the work on the project is decomposed. A project may
be summarized in a sentence or two, but the work to complete the project must be broken
down into much smaller and more manageable pieces. As the pieces are broken down, they
finally get to a point where realistic and manageable estimates of time and cost can be made.
This juncture in the work breakdown structure is called the control accounts. A summary of

the control accounts should result in concise estimates of time and cost for the project. The
work, however, may still be broken down further. The next recognizably different
decomposition will be the work packages. Because the work packages are small and conform
to the graphical layout of the WBS, the details of the packages are kept separately on
individual forms in the WBS dictionary. The next step is to decompose the packages into
activities, now the activities can be performed by the project team.
To summarize, baselines are the standards to which the performance of the PM, the project,
and the team are measured against. The scope baseline is made up of the project scope, the
WBS, and the WBS dictionary. Project Management training will educate PMs in the
essential tools such as the Scope Baseline and tools that will make the Project Manager more
effective and showcase the performance of the team. Many Project Management Options
exist for teaching the essential tools that will improve projects.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5935548

The precedence diagram method (PDM) is a tool for scheduling activities in a project plan.
It is a method of constructing a project schedule network diagram that uses boxes, referred to
as nodes, to represent activities and connects them with arrows that show the dependencies. It
is also called the activity-on-node (AON) method.

Critical tasks, noncritical tasks, and slack time

Shows the relationship of the tasks to each other

Allows for what-if, worst-case, best-case and most likely scenario

Key elements include determining predecessors and defining attributes such as

early start date..

late start date

early finish date

late finish date

duration

activity name

WBS reference

What Is the Precedence Diagram Method?

According to the Project Management Institute, the precedence diagram method (PDM) is a
technique used for constructing a schedule in which activities are represented by nodes and
linked by one or more logical relationships to show the sequence in which the activities are to
be performed. This is also known as activity on the node diagrams.
Inputs into PDM

The inputs that go into scheduling include scope and deliverables. A project manager should
gather his team for a schedule planning meeting. During the meeting, the project manager
will review scope, deliverables, and any dates of importance. The project management team
will list each activity needed to complete the project.
Outputs of the PDM Meeting

The project manager and the project management team will have a list of activities and
milestones. Milestones are items of significance for the project. A milestone could be the first
prototype rolling off the assembly line or an inspection that is tied to funding, such as a
framing inspection can be tied to a loan draw when building a house.
Types of Dependencies in PDM
The first and most common dependency is finish to start. This is where one activity cannot
start until another finishes.
The next most common dependency is start to start. This is where an activity cannot start
until another activity starts.
Next dependency would be finish to finish. This is where the completion of an activity
depends on another activity finishing.
The final dependency is start to finish. This is where one activity cannot start finish until
another activity starts.
Each of these dependencies can be mandatory, discretionary, external or internal. Depending
on the type of dependency, a lead or lag may be needed to help schedule activities. A lead, for
example on a finish to start dependency, would allow an activity to start 'X' days prior to the
activity completing. A lag, for example on a start to start, would be starting an activity 15
days after the predecessor starts.
Elements of PDM

Activities are represented pictorially by nodes


Each node will have:

Early Start Date (ES or ESD)

Late start date (LD or LSD)

Early finish date (ED or EFD)

Late finish date (LD or LFD)

Duration (d)

WBS Reference or description

Float

Network diagram types: Activity On Node (AON) and Activity On Arrow


(AOA)
There are many kinds of network diagram, but the classic ones are AON and AOA
diagrams.
AOA diagram
AOA diagram is drawn using circles as the nodes , with nodes represents the
beginning and ending points of the arrows or tasks. Arrows act as activities or
tasks in AOA diagram. Even though AOA is a good approach to draw a network
diagram, it has its own drawbacks too. The following are the drawbacks of AOA
network diagram conventions identified by Taylor (2008):

The AOA network diagram can only show Finish to start relationships. It is
not possible to show lead or lag time except by adding or subtracting
time . This makes project tracking difficult.

There are instances where "dummy activities" can occur in AOA diagram.
(dummy activities are activities which does not have duration but simply
there to show dependency of one task on other task)

AOA networks are not supported by many software tools, thus it is not
widely used.

AON diagram
AON network diagram is where circles are used to represent an activity, with
arrows linking them together to show the sequence in which they are performed.
The following are the advantages of AON network diagram identified by Taylor
(2008):

AON does not have dummy activities as the arrows represents only
dependencies.

AON can accommodate any types of relationship ( Finish to Start, Finish to


Finish, Start to Start, Start to finish, Lead and Lag)

AON is widely as it is supported by almost all the project management


software tools.

Comparison Chart
Basis for
Comparison

PERT

CPM

Meaning

PERT is a project management


technique, used to manage
uncertain activities of a
project.

CPM is a statistical technique of


project management that
manages well defined activities
of a project.

What is it?

A technique of planning and


control of time.

A method to control cost and


time.

Focus on

Event

Activity

Model

Probabilistic Model

Deterministic Model

Estimates

Three time estimates

One time estimate

Appropriate for High precision time estimate

Reasonable time estimate

Management of Unpredictable Activities

Predictable activities

Nature of jobs

Non-repetitive nature

Repetitive nature

Critical and
Non-critical

No differentiation

Differentiated

Basis for
Comparison

PERT

CPM

activities
Suitable for

Research and Development


Project

Non-research projects like civil


construction, ship building etc.

Crashing
concept

Not Applicable

Applicable

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