Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Executive Summary There is a saying failing to plan is planning to fail, but what if the plan itself is a failure? The scheduling of project plans is an integral part of the project planning process and the practices adopted by project planners and schedulers can often determine whether or not it is a good plan or not-so-good plan. In 5, Project Forecast called for responses for a survey on Good Scheduling Practices. The survey sought the views on what are good practices when creating new time schedules (also known as plans and programmes) using predominately the Critical Path Method (CPM). Invitations to participate in the survey were sent to planners and schedulers known by Project Forecast. This survey has found: Half of the survey respondents start preparing schedules by creating the WBS structure, and the other half start with identification of critical milestones. Two-thirds of respondents indicated they would like to have a scope statement and understanding of project objectives and purpose prior to starting to prepare a schedule. Not all respondents include a start milestone, although all respondents include a finish milestone. A majority of respondents rarely, if at all, use Start-to-Finish (SF) activity relationships. More than half of respondents seek a third party or peer review of the schedule, compare or benchmark the schedule against other similar project schedules. When preparing schedules, a lack of or poorly designed work breakdown structures (WBS) and review of the scope of work is one of the top things planners and schedulers get wrong, closely followed by poor sequencing. When statusing or updating schedules, only two thirds of respondents indicated they checked that all activities in progress show some percentage (%) complete. More than two thirds of respondents indicated that the percentage complete should rarely be based on cost complete, and it should, mostly, be based on the quantity of material installed. More than two thirds of respondents indicated that for activities in progress the completion date should mostly or always be based on the performance (productivity) of the activity, and only sometimes be based on experience. When updating or statusing a schedule, relying on activity owners progress updates, and not validating the progress with measurable objective facts is one of the top things that planners and schedulers get wrong, closely followed by not updating the forecast to reflect reality. All respondents indicated that the completion date should only sometimes, if not then rarely, be based on their experience. It is recommended: The findings of this survey are used to prepare a good scheduling practices checklist; and The survey is release again in the near to solicit a greater response and to identify any change trends in good scheduling practices. www.projectforecast.com.au
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Contents Executive Summary... Introduction... Abbreviations... Survey Questions Asked... 5 Who Responded to the Survey... 7 The Survey Responses... 8 Key Findings and Recommendation... 8 www.projectforecast.com.au
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Introduction There is a saying failing to plan is planning to fail, but what if the plan itself is a failure? The scheduling of project plans is an integral part of the project planning process and the practices adopted by project planners and schedulers can often determine whether or not it is a good plan or not-so-good plan. In 5, Project Forecast called for responses for a survey on Good Scheduling Practices. The survey sought the views on what are good practices when creating new time schedules (also known as plans and programmes) using predominately the Critical Path Method (CPM). Invitations to participate in the survey were sent to planners and schedulers known by Project Forecast. This report summarises the responses from the survey. Abbreviations The following abbreviations and acronyms have been used in this report. Abbreviation CBS CPM FF FS MS SF SS WBS Definition Cost Breakdown Structure Critical Path Method Finish-to-Finish (an activity relationship type) Finish-to-Start (an activity relationship type) Microsoft Start-to-Finish (an activity relationship type) Start-to-Start (an activity relationship type) Work Breakdown Structure For other planning and scheduling terms and definitions please view Project Forecast s Glossary of planning and scheduling terms at https://projectforecast.com.au/glossary/. www.projectforecast.com.au
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Survey Questions Asked The survey sought the responses to nine (9) questions. The questions were designed to identify the steps that the respondents take and the information they like to have available when preparing project time schedules, the steps taken when reviewing schedules and the top things that they consider planners and schedulers get wrong. The questions were: Q. Generally the steps I take when creating a new schedule are... (rank each step from to 7, with being the first step) [rank the order from to 7, with being the first step]. create working calendars establish the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) identify the project critical milestones create the list of activities or tasks estimate the duration(s) for activities or tasks establish the dependencies between activities, tasks and milestones assign resources Q. Before starting a schedule I like to have... [rank either Always, Mostly, Sometimes, Rarely or Never] a scope statement a drawing or layout plan an execution strategy a contract and/or procurement strategy a cost estimate a cost estimate with man hours an agreed corporate/project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS) a list of target and/or contract milestone dates an understanding of the project objectives and purpose Q. When preparing a schedule I... [rank either Always, Mostly, Sometimes, Rarely or Never] include a start milestone include a finish milestone avoid using constraints use a structure activity numbering system, based on either the WBS or activity coding use activity coding agree the general project execution methodology with the project manager agree the contracting and procurement strategy with the project manager establish durations using productivity rates and material or man hour estimates establish durations using the knowledge and experience of the team like to keep the duration for the majority of activities less than work days for design activities include allowances for peer reviews for design activities include allowances for discipline coordination reviews include allowances for client and owner approvals www.projectforecast.com.au 5
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 include allowances for government and authority approvals include allowances for inclement weather delays keep a record of all the assumptions and base information I have relied upon to prepare the schedule compare or benchmark the schedule against other similar project schedules establish unique resource calendars name activities using a verb and noun use leads and lags use finish to start (FS) relationships use start to start (SS) relationships use finish to finish (FF) relationships use start to finish (SF) relationships name activities so that the activity is easily identifiable if the schedule is filtered structure the schedule so that it can be easily rolled up into a Level, Level or Level schedule Q. Before I issue a schedule I... [rank either Always, Mostly, Sometimes, Rarely or Never] make sure that all activities, other than the start milestone, has a predecessor make sure that all activities, other than the finish milestone, has a successor check working calendar assignments for all activities review the longest path review the critical path review activities with excessive total float review activities with excessive free float review all activities with constraints seek a third party or peer review of the schedule compare or benchmark the schedule against other similar project schedules check the key project milestone dates review the resource profile check there is no dangling logic Q5. I believe the top things planners and schedulers get wrong the most when preparing schedules are... Q6. When updating or statusing a schedule I... [rank either Always, Mostly, Sometimes, Rarely or Never] check that the data date has been updated check that all activities in progress show some percentage (%) complete check to make sure there are no activities with actual dates later than the data date or status date check that we have a saved baseline www.projectforecast.com.au 6
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Q7. The percentage (%) complete for activities should be... [rank either Always, Mostly, Sometimes, Rarely or Never] based on man hours complete based on material quantities installed agreed progress gates / milestone gates what I am told by the activity owner what I estimate (or guestimate) based on my experience based on the number of days complete / planned number of days based on cost complete Q8. For activities in progress, the completion date should be... [rank either Always, Mostly, Sometimes, Rarely or Never] based on the percentage (%) complete based on what the activity owner tells me based on my experience based on the performance (productivity) on the activity to date Q9. I believe the top things planners and schedulers get wrong the most when statusing/updating schedules are... Who Responded to the Survey The survey had six (6) respondents. One respondent did not answer Q6, Q7 and Q8. Two respondents did not answer Q9. www.projectforecast.com.au 7
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 The Survey Responses The following is a summary of the responses from the survey. Q. Generally the steps I take when creating a new schedule are... (rank each step from to 7, with being the first step) [rank the order from to 7, with being the first step]. create working calendars establish the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) identify the project critical milestones create the list of activities or tasks estimate the duration(s) for activities or tasks establish the dependencies between activities, tasks and milestones assign resources 5 6 7 Total Score 5 5 6.67% 5 6.67% 6.67% 6.67% 6.67% 6.67% 5 6.67% 8.% 5 6.67% 5 6.5 6 5.8 6 6. 6 5. 6. 6. 6 6. The table above shows the that half of the respondents start with establishing the work breakdown structure, and the other half of the respondents start with identification of critical milestones. Assigning resources is the last step undertaken by all respondents. www.projectforecast.com.au 8
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Q. Before starting a schedule I like to have... a scope statement a drawing or layout plan an execution strategy a contract and/or procurement strategy a cost estimate a cost estimate with man hours an agreed corporate/project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS) a list of target and/or contract milestone dates an understanding of the project objectives and purpose Always Mostly Sometimes Rarely Never Total 6.67% 6.67% 6.67% 6.67% 8.% 5 5 6.67% 5 6.67% 6.67% 6.67% 6.67% 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 Two thirds of respondents indicated they would like to have a scope statement and an understanding of the project objectives and purpose before starting preparation of the project time plan or schedule. Two thirds of respondents indicated that a cost plan with man hours was rarely required before starting preparation of the project time plan or schedule. One respondent also made the comment that they like to have a list of constraints and assumptions. www.projectforecast.com.au 9
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Q. When preparing a schedule I... include a start milestone include a finish milestone avoid using constraints use a structure activity numbering system, based on either the WBS or activity coding use activity coding agree the general project execution methodology with the project manager agree the contracting and procurement strategy with the project manager establish durations using productivity rates and material or man hour estimates establish durations using the knowledge and experience of the team like to keep the duration for the majority of activities less than work days for design activities include allowances for peer reviews Always 6 6.67% 6.67% 5 5 6.67% 6.67% Mostly 5 5 6.67% 5 8.% 5 6.67% 6.67% Sometim es 6.67% 6.67% 6.67% 5 5 Rarely Never Don t Total Know 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 www.projectforecast.com.au
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 for design activities include allowances for discipline coordination reviews include allowances for client and owner approvals include allowances for government and authority approvals include allowances for inclement weather delays keep a record of all the assumptions and base information I have relied upon to prepare the schedule compare or benchmark the schedule against other similar project schedules establish unique resource calendars name activities using a verb and noun use leads and lags use finish to start (FS) relationships use start to start (SS) relationships use finish to finish (FF) relationships use start to finish (SF) relationships Always 6.67% 6.67% 6.67% 5 Mostly 6.67% 5 5 6.67% 5 5 Sometim es 6.67% 6.67% 5 6.67% 5 8.% 5 6.67% Rarely 6.67% 6.67% 5 6.67% 6.67% 6.67% Never 5 Don t Know Total 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 www.projectforecast.com.au
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 name activities so that the activity is easily identifiable if the schedule is filtered structure the schedule so that it can be easily rolled up into a Level, Level or Level schedule Always Mostly Sometim es Rarely Never Don t Know Total 6 6 All respondents include a finish milestone in their project time plans or schedules. Half of the respondents do not use Start-to-Finish (SF) relationships, with only one respondent using the SF relationship sometimes. Q. Before I issue a schedule I... make sure that all activities, other than the start milestone, has a predecessor make sure that all activities, other than the finish milestone, has a successor check working calendar assignments for all activities Always 8.% 5 6 5 Mostly Sometim es 6.67% Rarely 6.67% Never Don t Know Total 6 6 6 review the longest path 6 review the critical path 6 6 www.projectforecast.com.au
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Always Mostly Sometim es Rarely Never Don t Know Total review activities with excessive total float 6.67% 6.67% 6 review activities with excessive free float 6.67% 6.67% 6 review all activities with constraints 8.% 5 6.67% 6 seek a third party or peer review of the schedule 5 6.67% 6 compare or benchmark the schedule against other similar project schedules 5 6.67% 6 check the key project milestone dates 8.% 5 6.67% 6 review the resource profile 6 check there is no dangling logic 6 All respondents indicated that they make sure that all activities, other than the finish milestone, has a successor. More than half of the respondents seek a third party or peer review of the schedule, compare or benchmark the schedule against other similar project schedules or review the resource profile before they issue a schedule. www.projectforecast.com.au
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Q5. I believe the top things planners and schedulers get wrong the most when preparing schedules are... Maintain schedule quality Unrealistic durations Do not plan the project in major chunks first then expand in detail to get the critical path right first Using incorrect calendars for activities Excessive dangling logic Hiding allowances in activities should be itemised in schedule Project Sequencing Do not build the project in their head logically first Excessive use of constraints Persuaded to use unrealistic durations or logic by management Understanding Scope Using hard constraints within the schedule Check the validity of assumptions and logic path with the construction team Starting the schedule without an integrated WBS and CBS Do not review the scope and WBS of the project Don't allow for reviews Poorly designed WBS A quantitative analysis of the responses is summarised below. Lack of or poorly designed WBS, CBS and review of scope. Poor sequencing. Poor duration estimation. Lack of big picture planning first. Excessive use of constraints. Poor maintenance of schedule quality. Lack of reviews. Incorrect working calendars. Hiding schedule allowances. www.projectforecast.com.au
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Q6. When updating or statusing a schedule I... Always Mostly Sometimes Rarely Never Total check that the data date has been updated 8 5 check that all activities in progress show some percentage (%) complete 6 5 check to make sure there are no activities with actual dates later than the data date or status date 5 5 check that we have a saved baseline 5 5 All respondents indicated they check to make sure there are no activities with actual dates later than the data date or status date and check that a baseline has been saved. Only two thirds of respondents indicated they checked that all activities in progress show some percentage (%) complete when statusing or updating a schedule. www.projectforecast.com.au 5
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Q7. The percentage (%) complete for activities should be... Always Mostly Sometimes Rarely Don t Know Total based on man hours complete 8 5 based on material quantities installed 5 agreed progress gates / milestone gates 5 what I am told by the activity owner 6 5 what I estimate (or guestimate) based on my experience 8 5 based on the number of days complete / planned number of days 8 5 based on cost complete 8 5 Almost two thirds of the respondents indicated that the percentage complete should, either always or mostly, be based on the quantity of material installed. More than two thirds of respondents indicated that the percentage complete should rarely be based on cost complete. www.projectforecast.com.au 6
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Q8. For activities in progress, the completion date should be... based on the percentage (%) complete based on what the activity owner tells me based on my experience based on the performance (productivity) on the activity to date Always Mostly Sometimes Rarely Don t Know Total 6 6 8 5 5 5 5 Almost two thirds of respondents indicated that for activities in progress the completion date should mostly or always be based on the performance (productivity) of the activity. All respondents indicated that the completion date should only sometimes, if not then rarely, be based on their experience. Q9. I believe the top things planners and schedulers get wrong the most when statusing/updating schedules are... Not amending data dates Not updating duration remaining to reflect reality Do not challenge the information coming from the activity owners Not being brave enough to status the work correctly even if it's bad news Believing what the owner tells rather than what they see Not moving incomplete works ahead of status date (MS project) Reviewing progress for outofsequence activities Lack of use of "objective and measurable" facts Not checking/auditing the accuracy of the dates Over valuing the work completed to date Physical % vs Duration % Baselining the previous update prior to statusing the schedule A quantitative analysis of the responses is summarised below. Not validating the progress and relying on what they have been told. Not updating the forecast to reflect reality (duration and sequencing). Not keeping a copy of the previous update as a baseline. Not using the appropriate percent complete. Over valuing the work complete to date. No adjustment to the data date. www.projectforecast.com.au 7
Good Scheduling Practices 5 June 6 Key Findings and Recommendation The survey has found: Half of the survey respondents start preparing schedules by creating the WBS structure, and the other half start with identification of critical milestones. Two-thirds of respondents indicated they would like to have a scope statement and understanding of project objectives and purpose prior to starting to prepare a schedule. Not all respondents include a start milestone, although all respondents include a finish milestone. A majority of respondents rarely, if at all, use Start-to-Finish (SF) activity relationships. More than half of respondents seek a third party or peer review of the schedule, compare or benchmark the schedule against other similar project schedules. When preparing schedules, a lack of or poorly designed work breakdown structures (WBS) and review of the scope of work is one of the top things planners and schedulers get wrong, closely followed by poor sequencing. When statusing or updating schedules, only two thirds of respondents indicated they checked that all activities in progress show some percentage (%) complete. More than two thirds of respondents indicated that the percentage complete should rarely be based on cost complete, and it should, mostly, be based on the quantity of material installed. More than two thirds of respondents indicated that for activities in progress the completion date should mostly or always be based on the performance (productivity) of the activity, and only sometimes be based on experience. When updating or statusing a schedule, relying on activity owners progress updates, and not validating the progress with measurable objective facts is one of the top things that planners and schedulers get wrong, closely followed by not updating the forecast to reflect reality. All respondents indicated that the completion date should only sometimes, if not then rarely, be based on their experience. It is recommended: The findings of this survey are used to prepare a good scheduling practices checklist; and The survey is release again in the near to solicit a greater response and to identify any change trends in good scheduling practices. www.projectforecast.com.au 8