6 Project Schedule Management

Question	Answer
Activity list	The primary output of breaking down the WBS work packages.
Alternative analysis	The identification of more than one solution. Consider roles, materials, tools, and approaches to the project work.
Analogous estimating AKA top down estimating	A somewhat unreliable estimating approach that relies on historical information to predict what current activity durations should be. Analogous estimating is more reliable, however, than team member recollections. Analogous estimating is also known as top-down estimating and is a form of expert judgment.
Bottom-up estimating	The most accurate time-and-cost estimating approach a project manager can use. This estimating approach starts at “the bottom” of the project and considers every activity, its predecessor and successor activities, and the exact amount of resources needed to complete each activity.
Control account	A WBS entry that considers the time, cost, and scope measurements for that deliverable within the WBS. The estimated performance is compared against the actual performance to measure overall performance for the deliverables within that control account. The specifics of a control account are documented in a control account plan.
Control threshold	A predetermined range of acceptable variances, such as +/–10 percent off schedule. Should the variance exceed the threshold, then project control processes and corrected actions will be enacted.
Crashing	A schedule compression approach that adds more resources to activities on the critical path to complete the project earlier. When crashing a project, costs are added because the associated labor and sometimes resources (such as faster equipment) cause costs to increase.
Critical path	The path in the project network diagram that cannot be delayed, otherwise the project completion date will be late. There can be more than one critical path. Activities in the critical path have no float.
Discretionary dependencies	These dependencies are the preferred order of activities. Project managers should use these relationships at their discretion and should document the logic behind the decision. Discretionary dependencies allow activities to happen in a preferred order because of best practices, conditions unique to the project work, or external events. Also known as preferential or soft logic.
Early finish	The earliest a project activity can finish. Used in the forward pass procedure to discover the critical path and the project float.
Early start	The earliest a project activity can begin. Used in the forward pass procedure to discover the critical path and the project float.
External dependencies	As the name implies, these are dependencies outside of the project’s control. Examples include the delivery of equipment from a vendor, the deliverable of another project, or the decision of a committee, lawsuit, or expected new law.
Fast tracking	A schedule compression method that changes the relationship of activities. With fast tracking, activities that would normally be done in sequence are allowed to be done in parallel or with some overlap. Fast tracking can be accomplished by changing the relation of activities from FS to SS or even FF or by adding lead time to downstream activities. However, fast tracking does add risk to the project.
Finish-to-finish	An activity relationship type that requires the current activity to be finished before its successor can finish.
Finish-to-start	An activity relationship type that requires the current activity to be finished before its successor can start.
Fragnet AKA Subnet	A representation of a project network diagram that is often used for outsourced portions of a project, repetitive work within a project, or a subproject. Also called a subnet.
Free float	This is the total time a single activity can be delayed without affecting the early start of its immediately following successor activities.
Hard logic	Logic that describes activities that must happen in a particular order. For example, the dirt must be excavated before the foundation can be built. The foundation must be in place before the framing can begin. Also known as a mandatory dependency.
Internal dependencies	Internal relationships to the project or the organization. For example, the project team must create the software as part of the project’s deliverable before the software can be tested for quality control.
Lag time	Positive time that moves two or more activities further apart.
Late finish	The latest a project activity can finish. Used in the backward pass procedure to discover the critical path and the project float.
Late start	The latest a project activity can begin. Used in the backward pass procedure to discover the critical path and the project float.
Lead time	Negative time that allows two or more activities to overlap where ordinarily these activities would be sequential.
Management reserve	A percentage of the project duration to combat Parkinson’s Law. When project activities become late, their lateness is subtracted from the management reserve.
Mandatory dependencies	These dependencies are the natural order of activities. For example, you can’t begin building your house until your foundation is in place. These relationships are called hard logic.
Monte Carlo analysis	A project simulation approach named after the world-famous gambling district in Monaco. This predicts how scenarios may work out, given any number of variables. The process doesn’t actually churn out a specific answer, but a range of possible answers. When Monte Carlo analysis is applied to a schedule, it can examine, for example, the optimistic completion date, the pessimistic completion date, and the most likely completion date for each activity in the project and then predict a mean for the project schedule.
Parametric estimate	A quantitatively based duration estimate that uses mathematical formulas to predict how long an activity will take based on the quantities of work to be completed.

Next up

6 Project Schedule Management

Description

Resource summary

Similar

	Created by Daniel Gomez-Windshuttle over 5 years ago