Completing the Schedule

Guide your project team in understanding who does what and when.

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(lively music) When the work is identified, well understood and the order to complete the work is known, you can create the final schedule. You can do this by breaking down the work from more extended activities to shorter tasks. You can then assign resources, consider limitations along with constraints and risks, and make final adjustments using your knowledge of the critical path. The final schedule will represent a time model for a project, guide the project team in understanding who does what and when. And allow the project manager to track progress. On average, the work packages, which are the lowest level of activities in the work breakdown structure will be around a month long. For managing and tracking purposes, this period may be too long. Having tasks averaging a week or two will keep the project manager better informed about the project status. If there are any issues with the schedule, the project manager can take any necessary corrective action sooner. So let's break down the activities into tasks. While the project manager works with the entire team to develop the work breakdown structure and determine the work sequence, task identification can use a different approach. The project manager may perform task identification with the help of the resources most familiar with the various activities. Write the task lists using action verbs, like write the subroutine and build the frame. Each task will also need an estimate of its duration. As with previous estimates, consult with the team members performing the work. It will get their buy-in and they will be more likely to follow the plan. Compare the sum of the task durations to the estimated duration of the activity. They should be about the same, although some minor adjustments may be necessary. If there is a significant difference, this signals a need to reexamine the activity to ensure that it's well understood. Each task will need a predecessor, and successor. Connect the first task to the last task of the predecessor activity, and the last task to the first task of the successor activity. Examine the activities one by one, following each related path. When that path is exhausted, go back and follow the next path, continuing until you've considered all activities. Next, place the initial tasks on the timeline at the project's desired start date. The relationships, dependencies, task durations and lead and lag times will then guide the placement of the remaining tasks. Once the task timeline is complete, assign resources to the tasks to finalize the schedule.

Intermediate Provider : Ray Frohnhoefer 6 Lessons · 17m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

When the work is identified, well-understood, and the order to complete the work is known, you can create your final project schedule. In this module, you’ll learn about assigning resources, limitations, factoring in constraints and risks, how to make final adjustments, and more.

What You'll Learn

Break project activities into shorter, manageable tasks and estimate task duration
Assign resources to tasks while accounting for limitations, constraints, and risks
Examine a project's critical path to make final adjustments to the schedule
Revise task assignments using the critical path
Apply schedule best practices when finalizing a project schedule

Key Takeaways

A final project schedule can be created once the work is identified, well-understood, and the order to complete it is known.
Building a schedule involves assigning resources and factoring in limitations, constraints, and risks.
Examining a project's critical path helps you make final adjustments to the schedule.
Project activities are broken into shorter tasks whose durations are then estimated.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this module cover?

This module covers creating your final project schedule, including assigning resources, considering limitations, factoring in constraints and risks, examining the critical path, and making final adjustments.

What will I learn to do in this course?

You will learn how to break project activities into shorter tasks, assign resources while considering limitations, constraints, and risks, and examine a project's critical path to make final adjustments to the schedule.

When is this module relevant in a project?

It applies once the work is identified, well-understood, and the order to complete the work is known, so you can create your final project schedule.

What lessons are included?

Lessons include Identify Tasks and Estimate Task Duration, Assign Resources to Tasks, Factoring in Limitations, Constraints, and Risks, Revise Assignments Using the Critical Path, Schedule Best Practices, and a Test Your Knowledge assessment.

Professional Certifications and Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

Project Management Institute (PMI®)

Professional Development Units (PDUs): 0.5

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