PMP Project Management Professional Study Guide, Fourth Edition (Certification Press)

1. Project Time Management: The Foundation of Project Success

"Projects, especially projects that are running behind schedule, fail at the beginning, not at the end."

Time is critical. Project time management is essential for successful project completion. It involves planning, estimating, scheduling, and controlling project activities to ensure timely delivery. Effective time management requires balancing the project's scope, resources, and constraints while maintaining flexibility to adapt to changes.

Key components include:

• Developing a schedule management plan
• Defining and sequencing project activities
• Estimating activity durations
• Creating a project schedule
• Monitoring and controlling the schedule

Challenges to overcome:

• Unrealistic deadlines
• Scope creep
• Resource constraints
• Unforeseen risks and changes

By mastering project time management, project managers can significantly increase the likelihood of project success and stakeholder satisfaction.

2. Developing the Schedule Management Plan: A Roadmap for Timely Delivery

"The schedule management plan defines and directs the process of defining the project activities."

A comprehensive guide. The schedule management plan is a crucial component of the overall project management plan. It outlines the approach, tools, and techniques that will be used to develop, manage, and control the project schedule.

Key elements of the schedule management plan:

• Scheduling methodology and tools
• Level of accuracy and units of measure
• Organizational procedures and links
• Schedule maintenance and control processes
• Performance measurement metrics
• Reporting formats and frequency

By creating a detailed schedule management plan, project managers establish a clear framework for time-related decision-making throughout the project lifecycle. This proactive approach helps identify potential scheduling issues early and provides a basis for consistent schedule management across the project team.

3. Defining and Sequencing Project Activities: Building the Project Backbone

"The WBS describes the components of the deliverables; the activity list defines the actions to create the deliverables."

From scope to action. Defining and sequencing project activities is the process of breaking down the project scope into manageable tasks and determining their logical order. This step is crucial for creating an accurate and realistic project schedule.

Key steps in this process:

1. Decompose work packages from the WBS into activities
2. Create a comprehensive activity list
3. Document activity attributes (e.g., duration, resources, constraints)
4. Identify activity dependencies and relationships
5. Create a project network diagram

Types of activity dependencies:

• Mandatory dependencies (hard logic)
• Discretionary dependencies (soft logic)
• External dependencies
• Internal dependencies

By carefully defining and sequencing activities, project managers create a solid foundation for estimating durations, allocating resources, and developing the project schedule.

4. Estimating Activity Durations: The Art and Science of Prediction

"When the only source of activity duration estimates is the project team members instead of expert judgment and historical information, your estimates will be uncertain and inherently risky."

Balancing precision and practicality. Estimating activity durations is a critical step in project scheduling that requires a combination of historical data, expert judgment, and analytical techniques. Accurate estimates are essential for creating a realistic project schedule and managing stakeholder expectations.

Common estimation techniques:

• Analogous estimating (top-down)
• Parametric estimating
• Three-point estimating (PERT)
• Expert judgment
• Reserve analysis

Factors influencing duration estimates:

• Resource availability and skill levels
• Activity complexity and risk
• Historical data and lessons learned
• Project constraints and assumptions

To improve estimation accuracy, project managers should use multiple techniques, involve the project team and subject matter experts, and continuously refine estimates as more information becomes available throughout the project lifecycle.

5. Creating the Project Network Diagram: Visualizing the Project Flow

"Network diagrams visualize the project work and show the relationship of the work activities and how they will progress from start to completion."

A visual roadmap. The project network diagram is a powerful tool for visualizing the flow of project activities and their interdependencies. It serves as the foundation for schedule development and analysis.

Key components of a network diagram:

• Activities (represented as nodes)
• Dependencies (represented as arrows)
• Milestones
• Activity durations

Common network diagramming methods:

• Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
• Activity-on-Arrow (AOA)

By creating a comprehensive network diagram, project managers can easily identify critical paths, analyze scheduling options, and communicate the project flow to stakeholders. This visual representation helps in understanding the impact of changes and making informed decisions about resource allocation and schedule optimization.

6. Calculating Float and Identifying the Critical Path: Managing Project Flexibility

"The critical path is the path with the longest duration to completion."

Balancing flexibility and urgency. Calculating float and identifying the critical path are essential techniques for understanding project flexibility and prioritizing activities. Float represents the amount of time an activity can be delayed without impacting the project end date, while the critical path represents the sequence of activities that determines the project's minimum duration.

Types of float:

• Total float
• Free float
• Project float

Critical path analysis benefits:

• Identifies activities that require close monitoring
• Helps prioritize resource allocation
• Provides a focus for schedule compression efforts
• Allows for better risk management

By understanding float and the critical path, project managers can make informed decisions about schedule adjustments, resource allocation, and risk mitigation strategies to keep the project on track.

7. Resource Optimization and Schedule Compression: Balancing Time, Cost, and Quality

"Crashing and cost both begin with C—we're adding resources, and too many people will 'crash' into each other. Fast-tracking is about speeding things up: Haste makes waste—risky."

Accelerating wisely. Resource optimization and schedule compression techniques are used to shorten the project duration or improve resource utilization. These methods often involve trade-offs between time, cost, and quality, requiring careful analysis and decision-making.

Resource optimization techniques:

• Resource leveling
• Resource smoothing

Schedule compression techniques:

• Crashing: Adding resources to critical path activities
• Fast-tracking: Performing activities in parallel

Considerations for compression:

• Impact on project costs
• Effect on project risks
• Quality implications
• Resource availability and skills

When applying these techniques, project managers must carefully weigh the benefits against potential drawbacks and ensure that compression efforts align with project constraints and objectives.

8. Developing and Controlling the Project Schedule: From Plan to Reality

"Schedule control is part of integrated change management, as discussed in Chapter 4."

Adapting to reality. Developing and controlling the project schedule is an ongoing process that involves creating a baseline schedule, monitoring progress, and making adjustments as needed. Effective schedule control is crucial for keeping the project on track and managing stakeholder expectations.

Key elements of schedule development and control:

• Creating a baseline schedule
• Tracking actual progress against the baseline
• Analyzing schedule variances
• Implementing corrective actions
• Managing change requests
• Updating the schedule and communicating changes

Schedule control tools and techniques:

• Performance reviews
• Variance analysis
• Schedule compression (when necessary)
• What-if scenario analysis
• Adjusting leads and lags
• Schedule model maintenance

By actively developing and controlling the project schedule, project managers can proactively address issues, optimize performance, and increase the likelihood of project success.

Last updated: August 16, 2024