A step-by-step guide to develop an efficient project schedule

A well-defined and an efficient project schedule is the backbone of any successful project. It keeps every stakeholder of the project on one page, ensures on-time completion, budget compliance, and helps in managing resources efficiently.

This overall process of developing an efficient project schedule is not an easy task which requires project planning, execution and project management knowledge. Fear not! This blog post will breakdown this process into five manageable stages, which can help to meet all deliverables, contractual milestones, deadlines, and staying within the budget.

Stage I: Establish the Schedule Framework

We need to start by getting all of the time- and date-related data assembled and ready to use.

First, we need to start with fixed milestones, like the start date and release or delivery dates. In the next step, we need to add in optional milestones, like reporting deadlines and release targets. Then we need to add in calendar restrictions, like public holidays and company days.

Then we need to add our resource limitations, like staff holidays or the delivery schedules for assets or materials that we’ll need for our project.

Then consider the number of working hours for each day; this may be different for different days. Some organizations have shorter working days on the last working day of the week. And remember, if we’ve got non-working days in the week, as hopefully we all have, then we need to allocate zero hours to those days. Critically, don’t forget that the non-working days may be different in different regions and locations.

Stage II: Develop Task Framework:

Here, we introduce what we need to do and why we need to do it.

We identify the tasks that need to be completed as part of our schedule. These will be in our work breakdown structure. The most important estimate is the work required to complete each task and to do so eventually for each task.

We also need to identify the dependencies between the tasks. Usually, these will be finish-to-start dependencies, but there are other types of dependencies. Once you have the dependencies, it will allow you to sequence your tasks.

Add in any lags or leads. A lag is a gap between two tasks that are dependent on each other. For example, Task B might start three days after Task A is complete, allowing, for example, concrete or paint to dry thoroughly before starting Task B. A lead is a negative lag. For example, if Task B needs to start two days before Task A is completed, then this is a finish-to-start dependency with a two-day lead.

It is also important to identify the resources we need for each task and find out their availability.

Once we’ve done that, allocate the resources to the tasks. Then we have to calculate the durations for each task. This calculation uses the work required and the resources assigned.

For example, a task that has a work requirement of 15 days and two full-time staff allocated to it will have a duration of seven and a half days. However, if three people are allocated to the same task, but for half of their time only, this will lead to a duration of 10 days.

Stage III: Analysis- Turning data into plan

This is where we turn our data into a plan.

Here, we can calculate our critical paths. Then we need to consider whether we have the right amount of float.

Too much float means we’re going to take longer than we need to, but too little float exposes us to too much risk.

There’s a judgment to be made here. Then we have to review our emerging schedule for business sense.

Does this produce a consistent schedule that can deliver when we need to with enough contingency?

And are our workloads balanced so that none of our resources are overstretched or, indeed, overstressed?

We’ll almost certainly need to revise our draft. Consider our contingencies, how many resources we have, and how to apply them. Apply additional resources to work in parallel or to get tasks done more quickly. Or do we need to reduce the quality or adjust the scope of what we’re doing to complete the project on time?

Stage IV: Critical Review- Sharpening your schedule

The fourth stage is review, and this is where we expose our draft schedule to a critical review.

We will expose our draft to a critical review from our team.

They should be looking for risks and errors arising from things like fundamental errors in our project strategy, data entry mistakes, incorrect data, mathematical errors, false or risky assumptions, missing constraints or missing dependencies, poor reasoning, and, of course, risks to the project.

If this is a critical project, then we may want to expose it to further external review. This could be an independent red team charged with looking for the same mistakes, but because they’re outside of the team, they’re likely to be even more brutal in their scrutiny. And that’s also good for our project.

Stage V: Schedule Finalization and Submission

Once we have all of the comments from our reviewers, we are ready to create our final draft. This is likely to take the form of a Gantt chart. Then we have to submit our final schedule for sign-off by either our project sponsor, our client, our project board, or our steering group.

Then we need to up-issue our final draft with comments and changes accommodated to version 1. It is also important to place our schedule under version control.

Conclusion:

Developing a project schedule that delivers on objectives, meets timelines, and stays within budget is not an easy task. It requires project knowledge and experience but by following these five key steps, one can develop an efficient schedule. A quality baseline CPM Schedule is the important element of a project management plan and is a great tool to plan and monitor a project sucessfully.

For those seeking expert assistance in developing a robust project schedule, look no further than Leopard Project Controls https://consultleopard.com. Our team of seasoned consultants leverages over 20 years of experience in CPM and Construction Scheduling Services to empower general contractors and project owners.