Project Management ToolBox, 3rd Edition

7SCHEDULE DEVELOPMENT

Project scheduling involves the planning of timelines for completing the work and establishing dates when project resources will be needed to perform the work.

The project schedule is the cornerstone of project work, and as such, serves as the working tool for project planning, performing, and tracking. By developing a project schedule, a project manager is planning the time element of the project. Comparing the actual dates of the tasks with the scheduled dates, a project manager tracks the performance and when actual performance deviates from the scheduled dates the project manager can take corrective action.

The process of schedule development involves the integration of multiple aspects, including the ensuring the needed resources are available, estimating the effort and duration of tasks, and balancing the constraints imposed by the budget and expected due dates. The goal of schedule development is to be able to answer the following questions:

1. If performed to plan, when will the project be completed?
2. What is the best way to sequence the work?
3. When should each task begin and end?
4. Which tasks are more critical to ensure timely completion of the project?
5. Which tasks can be delayed, if necessary, without delaying the project completion date?
6. When are project resources needed and when will they be released?

The project schedule can be presented in various ways as demonstrated in this chapter. The schedule type is often driven by the preferences and needs ...