Chapter 11



CHAPTER 7

Schedule Control

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

This chapter will cover the details of controlling a project. The student will become familiar with:

• performing the steps in the project control process

• determining the effects of actual schedule performance on the project schedule

• incorporating project changes into the schedule

• calculating an updated project schedule

• controlling the project schedule

TEACHING STRATEGIES

A. Ask the students how they control a project schedule after the project has started.

B. Ask them what kinds of events could occur that would throw off a schedule.

C. How can these be avoided or handled if they occur?

D. Discuss a common project (for example, building a house). Ask them what can be done if the project is delayed, but the owner must be in by a certain date.

E. Discuss examples from your experience or bring in someone from the industry to give a talk.

LECTURE OUTLINE

1. Real World Examples

A. Vignette: Internal Revenue Service

• The US IRS has been upgrading its IT infrastructure and business

applications through the Business Systems Modernization Program.

• The $8 billion project includes the new Customer Account Data

Engine (CADE), which will:

i. Replace the currently used Master File, which was created in 1962

ii. Provide faster tax form processing and faster refund delivery for those that use the EZ tax form (about 30%)

i. Help the IRS in conducting timely audits, providing better customer service, and decreasing costs of operation

• CADE is almost three years behind schedule and 40% over budget.

• Reasons for schedule delays:

i. Poor communication between IRS and contractor on

project

ii. Accountability was not appropriately assigned within the organization

iii. Mid-level managers and system users were not consulted

ii. Contractor had little direction from the IRS—didn’t fully understand processes, or define system requirements, made poor cost estimates

iii. IRS gave approval to protocols without testing them

• Requirements were not met with new system designs. Managers often

requested changes that did not conform to the new system’s

standards.

• Changes to improve project management:

i. IRS is now accountable for the Business Systems

Modernization Program

ii. Employees are given specific tasks

iii. Managers and system users are providing more input

• Through better project management, the IRS hopes the system

upgrade will be completed as soon as possible.

B. Vignette: Nike Rebounds

• In 2000, Nike implement a new demand-planning supply chain

system, called “i2.”

• i2 didn’t work because of a glitch, and Nike lost $100 million in sales.

• In addition to the smaller i2, Nike was developing a new, larger

enterprise resource planning system (ERP).

• i2 was supposed to centralize Nike’s supply chain, which had become

fragmented. They mistakenly underestimated the complexity of

implementing i2.

• Problems with i2:

i. Built in a hurry

ii. Resulted in too many orders for particular products

iii. Result in too few orders for high demand products

• How Nike fixed their failed project:

i. Increased efforts to fix the problems in the i2 software

ii. Implemented a test plan

iii. Made sure Nike employees received extensive training

before using the system

• Nike learned not to rush implementation, something they applied to

the implementation of the ERP system.

• They adhered to their business goal: to decrease sneaker

manufacturing cycle by three months.

• The company decided to continue using the i2 for its clothing sales,

and began using the ERP system for sneakers.

• Nike took the time to improve their new supply chain. Resulting

benefits:

i. Improved financial visibility

ii. Cash flow management

iii. Converting global currencies more easily

iv. Centralizing orders to a single database

2. Project Control Process

A. Display and discuss Figure 7.1, which illustrates the steps in the project control process.

B. A regular reporting period should be established for comparing actual progress with planned progress.

C. Reporting may be daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, depending on the complexity or overall duration of the project.

D. During each reporting period two kinds of data or information need to be collected:

• Data on actual performance.

• Information on any changes to the project scope, schedule, and budget.

E. If changes are incorporated into the plan and agreed on by the customer, a new baseline plan has to be established.

F. Project management is a proactive approach to controlling a project, to ensure that the project objective is achieved even when things don't go according to plan.

3. Effects of Actual Schedule Performance

A. The actual finish times (AF) of completed activities will determine the earliest start and earliest finish times for the remaining activities.

B. Display and discuss Figure 7.2. This example illustrates how the actual finish times of activities have a ripple effect, altering the remaining activities’ earliest start and finish times and the total slack.

4. Incorporating Project Changes into the Schedule

A. Changes might be initiated by the customer or the project team, or they might be the result of an unanticipated occurrence.

B. The degree of impact, however, may depend on when the changes are requested.

C. If they’re requested early in the project, they may have less impact on cost and schedule.

D. When the customer requests a change, additional costs might need to be charged.

5. Updating the Project Schedule

A. Once data have been collected on the actual finish times of completed activities and the effects of any project changes, an updated project schedule can be calculated based on the actual finish times of completed activities.

B. Display and discuss Figures 7.3 and 7.4.

6. Approaches to Schedule Control

A. Schedule control involves four steps:

1. Analyzing the schedule to determine which areas may need corrective action

2. Deciding what specific corrective actions should be taken

3. Revising the plan to incorporate the chosen corrective actions

4. Recalculating the schedule to evaluate the effects of the planned corrective actions

B. If the planned corrective actions do not result in an acceptable schedule, these steps need to be repeated.

C. A change in the estimated duration of any activity on that path will cause a corresponding change in the slack for that path.

D. When analyzing a path of activities that has negative slack, you should focus on two kinds of activities:

• Activities that are near term (that is, in progress or to be started in the immediate future).

• Activities that have long estimated durations.

E. There are various approaches to reducing the estimated durations of activities.

• One obvious way is to apply more resources to speed up an activity. Sometimes, however, adding people to an activity may in fact result in the activity’s taking longer.

• Another approach is to assign a person with greater expertise or more experience to perform or help with the activity.

• Reducing the scope or requirements for an activity is another way to reduce its estimated duration.

• In an extreme case, it may be decided to totally eliminate some activities.

• Increasing productivity through improved methods or technology is yet another approach.

F. In most cases, eliminating negative slack by reducing durations of activities will involve a trade-off in the form of an increase in costs or a reduction in scope.

G. Some contracts include a bonus provision, whereby the customer will pay the contractor a bonus if the project is completed ahead of schedule.

H. Conversely, some contracts include a penalty provision, whereby the customer can reduce final payment to the contractor if the project is not completed on time.

I. The key to effective schedule control is to aggressively address any paths with negative or deteriorating slack values as soon as they are identified.

7. Schedule Control for Information Systems Development

A. Controlling the schedule for the development of an information system is a challenge.

B. Among the changes that commonly become necessary during IS development projects are the following:

• Changes to input screens

• Changes to reports

• Changes to on-line queries

• Changes to database structures

• Changes to software processing routines

• Changes to processing speeds

• Changes to storage capacities

• Changes to business processes

• Changes to software resulting from hardware upgrades or, conversely, hardware upgrades resulting from the availability of more powerful software

8. Project Management Software

A. Virtually all project management software packages allow you to perform the control functions identified in this chapter.

B. See Appendix A at the end of the book for a thorough discussion of project management software.

QUESTIONS

1. Explain why it is important to continually monitor the progress of a project.

It is necessary to monitor the progress of a project to ensure that everything is going according to schedule. One should measure actual progress and compare it to planned progress on a timely and regular basis, taking any necessary corrective action immediately. It will ensure that the project objective is achieved even when things don’t go according to plan.

2. Describe in your own words what is meant by the project control process. Give an example of its use.

Specific answers will vary.

3. Why should a project have a regular reporting period? Should all projects have the same reporting period? What types of data should be collected during each reporting period?

A regular reporting period should be established so that actual progress can be compared to planned progress and any discrepancies can be dealt with as early as possible. The period depends on the complexity or duration of the project. It may be daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly.

Two kinds of data need to be collected:

• Data on actual performance. This includes the actual time that activities were started and/or finished and the actual costs expended and committed.

• Information on any changes to the project scope, schedule and budget.

4. If a project schedule needs to be adjusted, what trade-offs might have to occur?

Trade-offs for a schedule adjustment may include: time, cost and scope.

5. Who can initiate a change to a project schedule? Why would they do so? When would they do so? Give examples.

Changes might be initiated by the customer or the project team, or they might be the result of an unanticipated occurrence. A change might be initiated in order to add an activity, eliminate an activity or modify some aspect of an activity. Changes can occur at any time throughout the project, however, if they are requested early in the project, they may have less impact on cost and schedule. Specific examples will vary.

6. How are network diagrams and schedules updated after a project is initiated and changes have been requested?

• The earliest start and finish times for the remaining, uncompleted activities are calculated by working forward through the network, but they’re based on the actual finish times of completed activities and the estimated durations of the uncompleted activities.

• The latest start and finish times for the uncompleted activities are calculated by working backward through the network.

7. Describe the four-step approach to schedule control. Give an example of its use.

Schedule control involves four steps:

1. Analyzing the schedule to determine which areas may need corrective action

2. Deciding what specific corrective actions should be taken

3. Revising the plan to incorporate the chosen corrective actions

4. Recalculating the schedule to evaluate the effects of the planned corrective actions

Specific examples will vary.

8. When a schedule must be accelerated, which activities are likely candidates for adjustment? Why?

Activities with negative slack are those that should be accelerated. The amount of slack should determine the priority with which these concentrated efforts are applied. The path with the most negative slack should be focused on because it is the path most seriously impeding the progress of the entire project.

9. Why might the use of some slack by one activity affect other activities in a project?

Since slack applies to a path of activities, if an activity on a path is completed later than its earliest finish time, it will have used up some of the slack for the remaining activities on that path. Therefore, the slack for the path of the remaining activities will worsen.

10. Refer to Question 10 at the end of Chapter 6. Assume that task A actually finished at 3 weeks, task B actually finished at 12 weeks, and task C actually finished at 13 weeks. Recalculate the expected project completion time. Which activities would you focus on in order to get the project back on schedule?

|Activity |ED |ES |EF |LS |LF |TS |AF |

|A |2 | | | | | |3 |

|B |10 | | | | | |12 |

|C |8 | | | | | |13 |

|D |15 |3 |18 |8 |23 |5 | |

|E |7 |12 |19 |16 |23 |4 | |

|F |20 |13 |33 |15 |35 |2 | |

|G |12 |19 |31 |23 |35 |4 | |

|H |5 |33 |38 |35 |40 |2 | |

The project can still be completed within 40 weeks; however, the expected completion has slipped from 36 to 38 weeks. If there is a need to speed it back up, attention should be given to Activity F.

11. Refer to Question 11 at the end of Chapter 6. Assume that “Systems Analysis” actually finished at 8 weeks, “Design Input & Output” actually finished at 15 weeks, and “Design Database” actually finished at 19 weeks. Recalculate the expected project completion time. Which activities would you focus on in order to get the project back on schedule?

|Activity |ED |ES |EF |LS |LF |TS |AF |

|1. Prob. Def. |2 | | | | | | |

| 2. Sys. |5 | | | | | |8 |

|Analysis | | | | | | | |

|3. Design I/O |3 | | | | | |15 |

|4. Design DB |15 | | | | | |19 |

|5. Dev. Input |8 |15 |23 |11 |19 |-4 | |

|6. Dev. Output |10 |15 |25 |9 |19 |-6 | |

|7. Dev. DB |2 |19 |21 |17 |19 |-2 | |

|8. Test System |6 |25 |31 |19 |25 |-6 | |

|9. Implement |5 |31 |36 |25 |30 |-6 | |

The project has slipped even further. With the current estimates, it will take 36 weeks. Attention should be given to all activities since they all have negative slack. However, the path 6-8-9 is the most critical.

12. Refer to Question 12 at the end of Chapter 6. Assume that task A actually finished at 5 weeks and task B actually finished at 5 weeks. Recalculate the expected project completion time. Which activities would you focus on in order to get the project back on schedule?

|Activity |ED |ES |EF |LS |LF |TS |AF |

|A |3 | | | | | |5 |

|B |5 | | | | | |5 |

|C |18 |5 |23 |5 |23 |0 | |

|D |7 |5 |12 |3 |10 |-2 | |

|E |10 |5 |15 |5 |15 |0 | |

|F |5 |12 |17 |10 |15 |-2 | |

|G |8 |17 |25 |15 |23 |-2 | |

|H |2 |25 |27 |23 |25 |-2 | |

|I |9 |17 |26 |16 |25 |-1 | |

|J |5 |27 |32 |25 |30 |-2 | |

The project is still 2 weeks behind the scheduled completion date. Attention should be given to activities D – F – G – H – J.

WORLD WIDE WEB EXERCISES

Assign the World Wide Web Exercises to your students as homework or complete them together in a computer lab.

CASE STUDY #1 A NOT-FOR-PREOFT MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER

This is an open-ended case study. The students have the opportunity to be very creative on this one. Encourage that creativity.

Answers to Case Questions

* Answers will vary from student to student for each question.

1. If the schedule you calculated in Chapter 6 has negative slack, you need to revise your plan and calculate a revised schedule to eliminate all negative slack. Also make any associated changes to the cost estimate for activities and calculate a revised total budget for the project. If the schedule you calculated in Chapter 6 did not have negative slack, proceed to item 2.

2. Assume it is August 15. Provide a list of activities that have been completed as of August 15, along with the actual finish dates (AF) and actual costs expended for each of these completed activities.

3. Provide a scenario for problems that have come up that will cause a delay in at least two activities that are scheduled to be completed between September 15 and November 15.

4. Based on the actual finish times and the schedule delay problems identified in item 2, calculate a revised schedule, and then make the necessary revisions to the plan (including any duration and cost estimates) and schedule and continue to do so until all negative slack is eliminated.

Group Activity

Form groups of three or four members. Have each group perform the above tasks. Allow each group to present their answers.

CASE STUDY #2 THE WEDDING

This is an open-ended case study. The students have the opportunity to be very creative on this one. Encourage that creativity.

Answers to Case Questions

* Answers will vary from student to student for each question.

1. If the schedule you calculated in Chapter 6 has negative slack, you need to revise your plan and calculate a revised schedule to eliminate all negative slack. Also make any associated changes to the cost estimate for activities and calculate a revised total budget for the project. If the schedule you calculated in Chapter 6 did not have negative slack, proceed to item 2.

2. Assume it is March 31. Provide a list of activities that have been completed as of March 31, along with the actual finish dates (AF) and actual costs expended for each of these completed activities.

3. Provide a scenario for problems that have come up that will cause a delay in at least two activities that are scheduled to be completed between May 1 and June 30.

4. Based on the actual finish times and the schedule delay problems identified in item 2, calculate a revised schedule, and then make the necessary revisions to the plan (including any duration and cost estimates) and schedule and continue to do so until all negative slack is eliminated.

Group Activity

Form groups of three or four members. Have each group perform the above tasks. Allow each group to present their answers.

HOMEWORK

1. Have them read the real-world vignettes.

2. Have them read the chapter and answer all of the Reinforce Your Learning questions and the questions at the end of the chapter.

APPENDIX #1 - TIME–COST TRADE-OFF

LECTURE OUTLINE

A. The time–cost trade-off methodology is used to incrementally reduce the project duration with the smallest associated increase in incremental cost.

B. It is based on the following assumptions:

1. Each activity has two pairs of duration and cost estimates: normal and crash.

• The normal time is the estimated length of time required to perform the activity under normal conditions.

• The normal cost is the estimated cost to complete the activity in the normal time.

• The crash time is the shortest estimated length of time in which the activity can be completed.

• The crash cost is the estimated cost to complete the activity in the crash time.

2. An activity’s duration can be incrementally accelerated from its normal time to its crash time by applying more resources.

3. An activity cannot be completed in less than its crash time.

4. The resources necessary to reduce an activity’s estimated duration from its normal time to its crash time will be available when needed.

5. Within the range between an activity’s normal and crash points, the relationship between time and cost is linear. This acceleration cost per time period is calculated as follows:

F(Crash Cost – Normal Cost,Normal Time – Crash Time)

6. Review the example provided in the text.

C. The objective of the time–cost trade-off method is to determine the shortest project completion time based on crashing those activities that result in the smallest increase in total project cost.

D. To accomplish this, it’s necessary to shorten the total project duration, one time period at a time, crashing only those activities that are on the critical path(s) and have the lowest acceleration cost per time period.

QUESTIONS

1. What is the time–cost trade-off methodology, and when is it used?

The time–cost trade-off methodology is a way to incrementally reduce the project duration with the smallest associated increase in incremental cost. It is used when the project’s schedule needs to be accelerated.

2. Why do you need both normal and crash times and costs for this procedure?

You need normal and crash times and costs in order to determine the cost associated with accelerating the project from a normal timeframe to a crash timeframe.

3. Assume that an activity has a normal time of 20 weeks, a normal cost of $72,000, a crash time of 16 weeks, and a crash cost of $100,000. By how many weeks, at most, can this activity’s duration be reduced? What is the cost per week to accelerate this activity?

The activity’s duration can be reduced by 4 weeks at most. This will result in an increased cost of $7,000/week.

4. Why isn’t it appropriate to crash all of the activities in a project to achieve the shortest project schedule?

It is not appropriate to crash all of the activities because expediting activities not on the critical path will not reduce the project completion time but will increase total project cost.

APPENDIX #2 - MICROSOFT PROJECT

The Appendix in this chapter continues discussing Microsoft Project. Get the students to produce the diagrams that are shown in the chapter.

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