A Brief History of Scheduling
11 years 46 weeks ago
The science of ‘scheduling’ as defined by Critical Path Analysis (CPA) celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2007. In 1956/57 Kelly and Walker started developing the algorithms that became the ‘Activity-on-Arrow’ or ADM scheduling methodology for DuPont. The program they developed was trialled on plant shutdowns in 1957 and their first paper on critical path
The Scheduling Conundrum
11 years 48 weeks agoThe scheduling conundrum is simple:
We know effective scheduling makes a significant difference to project success and we know what effective scheduling looks like but in most projects, the schedule is ignored, bad scheduling practice is the norm and most projects finish late.
The business of scheduling and its underpinning concepts and theories underwent a revolution in
Project task durations
11 years 50 weeks ago
Probably the most common action undertaken by project planners everywhere is assigning a duration to a task; most of us do this almost automatically. Generally it is only when a dispute arises that the complex interaction of the factors discussed involved in setting the duration come into play.
There is no universal answer to the question of what is the ‘correct’ way to
Distributed -v- Consolidated Contingencies
11 years 50 weeks agoDistributed contingencies are normal in most aspects of project management but often result in sub-optimal use of resources. Typical examples include allowing some safety margin in each CPM duration estimate (eg, setting the durations at an 80% probability), allowing contingencies on a project by project basis for risk, setting budgets with a 90% confidence limit, etc.
A better approach
Scheduling For Effect
12 years 2 weeks agoAs the end of 2012 approches, and assuming the world won't end of the 12/12/12 I have a few thoughts for every scheduler’s New Year resolutions.
- You can’t change the past, the present is being managed by the project workforce, the only thing you can influence with your schedules is the future. To achieve this, the schedule needs to be an
My Project Is Making No Progress!
12 years 2 weeks agoI had a situation recently where a client stated that despite his people working as fast and seemingly efficiently as they could, he was seeing next to no progress reflected in his performance reporting, his end date was pushing out, his efficiency was down, people were asking questions.
Now, it's not uncommon to see under staffed or under resourced projects falling
The CPI Stability Myth
12 years 4 weeks agoUndoubtedly the longest running ‘urban myth’ in circulation within the general project management community, arising from US Defence based research from the early 1990s, that the Cost Performance Index (CPI) always stabilizes at the 20% completion and the final outcome will be within 10% of this value and usually worse. This myth has been extended by some authors to all projects in all
"The Project Must Be Finished On This Date - Or Else!"
12 years 4 weeks agoThese are words of desperation, a client or senior manager who's got his back to the wall.
I was faced with this exact situation on a consulting job a few weeks back, the business owner, facing heavy penalties for late delivery was desperate for answers and didn't know a better way to react.
Unfortunately, what he hoped were a matter of weeks to completion, in
A though on PMOs and Project Controls
12 years 5 weeks agoThe quality guru W. Edwards Deming said ‘In God we trust, all other bring data’. However, developments in the Victorian Government health system (Australia) offer a salient reminder to any PMO manager on the value of data.
Victorian hospitals are rewarded for good performance and fined for poor performance. One measure being the length of waiting lists
Good Planner - The foundation
12 years 5 weeks agoIt is failry common to come across lots of people in planning who are actively engaged in planning but have never visited or worked on the site. This is deeply disturbing. It also applies to other industries as well as you must have noticed. Well, in any case, I belong to the Construction industry and have come across a number of people, at all levels, who may have walked into the construction
