Different sides of Project Management Scheduling

In each project, after coming up with an idea there is time for creating process and some plan is need to be done. To reach the goal without bigger problems and unexpected barriers project scheduling is a tool that every creating process need. There are many kinds and ways how we can set a plan of work and set our deadlines. Each type has its pros and cons, which depends on its structure and way how it should be implement, but most important thing is to determine what are our goals and how they should be reached before we start creating a schedule. Main purpose and milestones during the creation process can be set by time, date deadlines, depend on different stages of project or work of individual people. In general scheduling tool in project managment was implemented to help in organizing group of people who have different working styles or approach.

Most Common Scheduling Tools

Task List (The Milestone Chart)

Most common in use and the simplest technique. It is the list with pointed out things to do, this method is familiar to most people, even not connected with managing because it is the same thing as the shopping list. This technique is mostly used for individual or small group projects, because with larger group of people, many tasks and dependencies controlling the project can be problematic and overall view can be unsettled. Currently project schedules are based in company web so that each employee or group member has access to it. However when the schedule, especially task list is not web-based there are firmly limitations when it comes to collaborating and updating the schedule. Another flaw of this method is impossibility of tracking the progress of the project when it has to be uptaded manualy.

Calendar

Compilation of gantt chart and task list, it is simple and logical way of scheduling and there is no need to appling any special software for company to place it in the web. Tasks can be add as events in the calendar and each project or its part can has separate calendar with special name, so it is easy to controll the progress and track by the group members. Only limitations of the calendar is impossibility of assigning tasks to certain people and describing tasks dependencies.

Gantt Chart

This is method focused on the best possible preview of progress tracking. The biggest advance of this technique for managers is clear vizualization of time which is needed for individual tasks to be done. It is represented by bars placed one under the other from the top to the bottom (sequence of the respective tasks, top - beginning of the project, bottom - the end if it) and with adequate lenght showing the time needed for complete the given task. This method is easy to apply in different industries, but it has to be done carefully and thought through because it has similar limitations like task list and can not be changed easily.

Full Wall Scheduling

This technique is focused on interaction between co-workers or groups of the project. What is need to create this kind of schedule is large wall in some room in the office, where will be place for all people interested in the project, on which chequered pattern with appriopriate spaces between lines have to be made. Spaces between each pir of vertical lines repreent one week of work. When the wall is prepared, project manager has to set milestones of the project and assign project members tasks they are responsible. Each task is written on two index cards, one on them labeled as ”start” and second one as ”finish” and they are handed-in to the appriopriate team member. The project team is gathered in mentioned ”wall room” and they starts by ticking their cards under the weeks they select. When the scheduling process proceeds, additional task did not forecast by the project manager can be add or the existing ones can be divided into subtasks or better defined. The arrangement of the cards proceeds until all of the participants are satisfied. Advantege of creating the schedule together as a team is quick leveling of the conflicts which will occure during scheduling and they can be disscused and resolved. This is also good exercise for team to integrate and improve relatioships between group members in the beginning of the project. The biggest problem of this method is firmly difficult to arrange such meeting in companies with multiple offices and gather the team together.

Application

Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

No matter what method will be used to schedule the project, segments with tasks and milestones of the project must be determined with a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). This is vizualization of all tasks whiach are need to be done in hierarchy of its deadlines.

Most common approach in creating a WBS is to start from the peak of our hierarchy, so from our goal of the project. When the final product description is known, most important thing is to designate what objectives it is expected to fulfill.

Further levels after defining the peak of the project mountain in the WBS are more and more detailed and created by so called decomposition. Decomposition in project management is the process of breaking the work into smaller parts which are need to be manage in the whole project.

Number of breakdowns and levels of the WBS hierarchy depends on how the project manager wants to arrange the work. Project Insight supports as many levels of hierarchy as are needed. It is expected that each task will be conduct and delivered by single owner who is managing and reporting the work need to be done. That division of work is called the ”task owner” and if it is impossible to assign single owner to the task, another decomposition should be done.

When all of the project deliverables have been described, task should be set in order to to create its deliverables. Sometimes those deliverables are just the work which need to be done without any physical representation, but in some cases it will be the part of the final product.