Does anyone have a guide as to how to scope the requirement of Project Planners accross a portfolio of projects of varying sizes.
I understand that size & complexity of project and the level of service provided will be influensing factors, but is there a rule of thumb maybe in relation to the number of project managers. 1PP to 1 PM or 1PP tp every 2 PMs maybe?
Hi Philip
I believe it depends on project requirement ,2 or more it depends on the nature of project complexity and contact value
Regards
Shahul
Hi Philip
This is an interesting question.
Some projects are lucky to get any planners at all.
To define terms - a Planner knows how to build the project - a Scheduler knows how to work the software - sometimes the Planner can do both.
The ideal situation is where a planner creates the programme and then monitors the site progress - probably using a team of assistant schedulers.
A large and complex project may need more than 1 scheduler and 1 scheduler may well be needed to spread over several simpler projects.
The difference between what is needed and what is actually allocated is the main point.
Other factors include:
1. Skill speed and accuracy of the Planner / Scheduler
2. Chosen software - the ability to copy paste between spreadsheets means that data entry can be done in seconds or takes hours of manual input.
3. Company systems and procedures - if a lot of data reports are required - EVA S Curves etc - it will take longer to do than a simple progress update.
4. Form of contract - working on a NEC project will require a lot more planning / scheduling input than - say - a JCT.
So if anyone has a rule of thumb that will encompass these factors I would like to see it.
What happens in practice is that the minimum number of staff are deployed - up from zero - and only if they are really struggling will extra suport be deployed.
Best regards
Mike Testro