Time Mgmt

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.)

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.

The Z-Score is a calculation that helps you answer “Given a desired completion date, what is the probability that this completion date is reachable?”

Statistically the Z-score is the number of standard deviations from the mean a particular value is.  For project management purposes, the value of Z is the number of standard deviations that the desired project due date is from the expected completion time.

To determine the Z-Score you would take the proposed project completion time (T), subtract the expected project completion time (T_E) from it, and divide it by the project standard deviation (σ):    Z = (T-T_E)/σ

Once you determine the Z-Score, you can translate the z-score into the probability percentage by using a Z-Score table such as the one at http://www.statsoft.com/textbook/distribution-tables/#z.

This is the step-by-step process:

Step 1: Calculate the expected completion time (T_E) using PERT

T_E = (O+4M+P)/6

Step 2: Calculate the variance of the project by calculating the variance of each task

Task Variance = [(P-O)/6]²

Step 3: Calculate the standard deviation

Standard Deviation = √ Task Variance1 + Task Variance2 + Task Variance3… .

Step 4: Calculate the Z-Score

To calculate the Z-Score use the equation:

Z = (T-T_E)/σ

The Z-Score (z) is the difference between the desired completion time and the project’s expected time divided by the standard deviation for the project.

Step 5: Calculate the probability of success now that you have figured out the Z-Score.

Translate that score (sigma value) into an actual percentage. This translation is done using a Z-Score table. Note that a Z-Score table is not calculated by the project manager—it is a pre-existing table that statisticians have already calculated for use with Z-Scores. The Z-Score contains the same values regardless of the application or industry.

Contingency reserves are allowances for unplanned but potentially required changes that can result from realized risks identified in the risk register.

Management reserves, on the other hand, are budgets reserved for unplanned changes to project scope and cost.

The PM may be required to obtain approval before obligating or spending the management reserve, but generally this approval is not needed from the sponsor for the contingency reserve.

Management reserves are not part of the project cost baseline, but they may be included in the total budget for the project. Contingency reserves are ideally included in the cost baseline and budget.

1. A start-to-finish (SF) relationship between two activities implies that the completion of successor is dependent on the initiation of its predecessor.
2. 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.
3. A finish-to-finish (FF) relationship between two activities implies that the completion of successor is dependent on the completion of predecessor.
4. A start-to-start (SS) relationship implies that the initiation of successor is dependent on the initiation of predecessor.

This paraphrases tips from a newsletter article published by http://www.projectmanager.com  on 3/19/2013.

1: Explain why you need the information: Team members are more likely to do their timesheets if they know what you are doing with the information. Explain how it helps you manage the project more effectively. The fact is that it provides really useful information to validate the estimates and it ensures that everyone is working on the right things at the right times. You can adapt the project schedule depending on how quickly tasks are being done.

2: Make it easy: One of the reasons why people don’t complete timesheets is because they are difficult to fill in and time consuming. Do whatever you can to simplify the process, including looking at tool upgrades.

3: Link the data to the project plan: Try to get the timesheets to post directly to the project plan so that it feeds project reports real time.
4: Review your estimates: Analyze the variance from estimates information and help keep the team members informed so that they can become better estimators and your planning team can revise the plan and reforecast based on these variances.

Lead time is reflected as a negative number on a line in a network diagram.  Lead allows for an acceleration of a successor activity.

Lag time is reflected as a positive number on a network diagram. It is nonworking time that gets added to a schedule as time that must pass between dependent tasks.

Total slack is how much a task can slip before it delays the project (i.e.: effects the critical path).