Time Mgmt

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

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"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot."

Michael Altshuler

Time Mgmt Links

5 Tips for Managing Your Time

Advanced Scheduling Techniques

Avoid common estimating traps

Pert network diagrams

PMI's Scheduling Certificate (PMI-SP)

Tips on using your time productively

Sigma Values

+/- 1 sigma 68.26% (68.3)
+/- 2 sigma 95.46% (95.5)
+/- 3 sigma 99.73% (99.7)
+/- 6 sigma 99.99% (99.99)

Project Time Management Project time management is so much more than just personal time management. It includes learning how to plan the process flow of the project, calculate the critical path, processes for deriving good estimates, learning schedule optimization techniques, protecting your project from time wasting activities and interuptions, and you'll find a long list of project management terminology related to the science of project time management. Time management submenu: Personal time management Estimating Network diagrams Calculating the math of the network diagram is a beginner project management skill. See this little 8-minute video on how that math calculation works. (Go to video now.) Schedule Compression Techniques Fast tracking: Changing the flow of the network diagram so that you are doing some work in parallel that you had previously planned on doing sequentially. This alters both the network diagram paths and possibly also the critical path. Crashing: Adding resources (more equipment, people, or vendors) to the project activities to get them done faster than originally estimated. These keeps the sequence in the network diagram, but may alter the critical path. Critical Chain Read a good description of critical chain here. But when comparing this to normal project scheduling remember that critical chain eliminates the multi-tasking. It buffers all of the slack and contingency into a project pool, instead of building it in along the scheduling.	Confusion between Lead and Lag What's the difference between lead and lag? Lead time is an overlap between two tasks that are linked by a dependency. For example, if Task B can start when Task A is 5 days into its work, you can establish a start-to-start dependency and specify a lead time of 5 days for Task B. You post the lead time on the network diagram line. Lag time is a delay between two tasks that are linked by a dependency. For example, if there must be a two-day delay between Task A completing and when Task B can start, you can establish a finish-to-start dependency and specify two days of lag time for Task B. You enter the lag time as a positive value. Adding lag time is also known as slack (slack: The amount of time that a task can slip before it affects another task or the project's finish date.) Confusion between Free Float and Total Float Free slack is how much a task can slip before it delays another task. Total slack is how much a task can slip before it delays the project (i.e.: effects the critical path). Types of Schedule Dependencies A start-to-finish (SF) relationship between two activities implies that the completion of successor is dependent on the initiation of its predecessor. A finish-to-start (FS) relationship between two activities implies that the initiation of successor is dependent on the completion of predecessor. This is the most common dependency used in network diagrams. A finish-to-finish (FF) relationship between two activities implies that the completion of successor is dependent on the completion of predecessor. A start-to-start (SS) relationship implies that the initiation of successor is dependent on the initiation of predecessor.
Scheduling Challenge! This team-based exercise teaches participants how to calculate and analyze the project's critical path. Activity timeframe: 60 - 90 minutes. Materials include a simulation project with PERT activities preprinted. Activity predecessor relationships, activity costs, and a schedule crashing table. After analyzing the project situation the teams make schedule-related decisions. From this point forward, they will know how to determine how to make the best decisions on what project activities are the best decisions for shortening. Kit contents: Instructor PowerPoint including speaker notes Participant materials including the following: Crash table Base project information Base Cost line chart Preprinted Activity boxes for 3 teams. Milestones Red critical path marker Calculator The instructor CD includes the file to print more of these if you would like. Also, additional sets can be ordered. See the training game in the store.

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