Project Time Management
In terms of project management, time is the most inflexible of the triple (some say quadruple)
constraints. A schedule may appear easy to formulate, however, estimating the length of time
to perform many tasks is subjective; there is scope, cost, and quality to consider (as well as
the other PMBOK areas). The effects of blow-outs from any of these constraints on the
project schedule cannot easily be anticipated or measured; many projects do not even
attempt to anticipate or measure constraint blow-outs. Also, when people are involved there
are always conflicts of interest, differing opinions, different efficiency levels and work styles,
and cultural differences (and many more), which may impact on the schedule.
With all these possibilities for problems, project time management can still improve
performance. Simply, project time management involves the processes required to ensure
timely completion of the project. This necessarily involves the timely completion of individual
tasks identified in the WBS.
There are six main processes in project time management:
1. Activity definition: identifying the specific activities that the project team members and
stakeholders must perform to produce the project deliverables. An activity (or task or work
package) is an element of work normally found on the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that
has an expected duration, cost, and resource requirement. The main outputs include: an
activity list, activity attributes, milestone list.
Therefore, activity definition involves developing a more detailed WBS and supporting
explanations to understand all the work to be done so you can develop realistic duration and
cost estimates.
An activity list is a tabulation of activities to be included in the project schedule that includes:
1. The activity name
2. An activity identifier or number
3. A brief description of the activity
Activity attributes provide more information such as predecessors, successors, logical
relationships, resource requirements, constraints, imposed dates, and assumptions related to
the activity.
A milestone is a significant event that normally has no specified duration, but is designated a
specific delivery date. It often takes several activities and a lot of work to complete a
milestone. They are a useful tool for setting schedule goals and monitoring progress. Project
managers can reduce schedule risk (inherent in the development of complex systems)
through project milestones, a best practice that involves identifying and tracking significant
points or achievements in the project.
There are five key points for using project milestones:
1. Define milestones early in the project and include them in a Gantt chart to provide a
visual guide
