Lag and Lead
Jacob Lützhøft Christensen s184113
In the field of project schedule management, the terms lag and lead are widely utilised to maintain project schedule by determining possibilities of schedule advancement or delay. A lead is the amount of time a successor activity can be advanced with respect to a predecessor activity. [1]. A lag is the amount of time a successor activity will be delayed with respect to a predecessor activity. [2] Traditionally the measure of project success has been limited to concepts of time, quality and cost, however these concepts might not provide a full picture of project success. [3] In the traditional sense of project success, lag and lead has had an important role in fulfilling the need of time management in projects, however the terms of lag and lead are not purely schedule management tools. According to the project management standard PRINCE 2, the status of projects are best measured for one point in time by its key performance indicators (KPI), which should be balanced between qualitative and quantitative measures, leading and lagging indicators, and project inputs and outputs. [4]
A key perfomance indicator (KPI) is a measure of performance that is used to help an organization define and evaluate how successful it is in making progress towards its organizational objectives. [5] These indicators are widely used in organisational contexts, to measure, record, predict and improve perfomance. Indicators for future and past performances are time-based indicators which are distinguished by the terms: lag and lead indicators. This means that lag and lead are not limited to scheduling activities in a task sequence format, but can be used as indicators to determine the perfomance of a project's quality and cost at a given time as well.
Reference link EXAMPLE: team, human behaviour, Stephen Covey
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Big Idea
Lag and lead can be powerful tools both for project schedule management and as key perfomance indicators. In order to ensure project success or measure project success it is detrimental to learn how and when to use these terms, and their limitations.
Application
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Using Lag and Lead as Key Performance Indicators
Lag and lead indicators, are what is known as Key Perfomance Indicators (KPI).
A lead indicator, is an indicator which is forward looking. Meaning it attempts to show a future perfomance. These indicators can be difficult to determine, as they are prone to subjectivity and error, and can cause debate as to the validity of the lead indicators measured. [6]. Lagging indicators measure historical perfomance, and tends to focus on outcomes. This makes them easy to record, and they are essential for charting progress, however they do not influence the future as lead indicators do.
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Limitations
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References
Examples
- ↑ Project Management: A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) 6th Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI), 2017
- ↑ Project Management: A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) 6th Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc. (PMI), 2017
- ↑ Project Management: "Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2" 6th Edition, AXELOS and Office Cabinet, 2017
- ↑ Project Management: "Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2" 6th Edition, AXELOS and Office Cabinet, 2017
- ↑ Project Management: "Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2" 6th Edition, AXELOS and Office Cabinet, 2017
- ↑ Lead and Lag Indicators, Intrafocus, Last visited: 14/02/21
