Chapter 7 ideas

1.  A realistic schedule is a key component of a successful project.  It includes a detailed knowledge of work to be done and has task sequences in the correct order.  It also accounts for external constraints beyond the control of the team.  It can be accomplished on time, given the availability of skilled people and adequate resources.  A realistic schedule takes into account all the objectives for the project. 

2.  Planning the project is important groundwork to follow.  First you want to create the project definition.  The project manager and the project team develop the statement of work, which identifies the purpose, scope, and deliverables for the project.  Second, develop a risk management strategy, which evaluates the likely obstacles and creates a strategy for balancing costs, schedule, and quality.  Build a work breakdown structure that identifies all the tasks required to build the specified deliverables.   Identify task relationships by placing the work packages in their proper sequence.  Then estimate the work packages by the amount of labor and resources needed for the duration of the task; after the team calculates the total duration of the project.  Revisions will probably be needed down the line.  Last you want to assign and level resources for constraints.  The tasks are rescheduled to optimize the use of all resources efficiently. 

3.  Setting markers along the sequence of the project planning schedule is a useful tool.  Many project managers use these milestones in the work breakdown structure and network diagrams.  Project start and finish milestones are useful anchors for the network.  Setting these makes the project diagram easier for people to interpret.  Also milestones can be used to mark input from one party to another.  Team members and public events can be external sources that can cause setbacks to the timing of the project.  Last, a milestone can represent significant events that aren’t already represented by a work package or summary task.  Basically, milestones are useful to show major progress points, but the ultimate progress indicator lies in the detailed work packages. 

4.  Bottom-Up estimating is a cost and schedule estimate for each work package.  A lot of information is generated in the estimating process, so being systematic is important.  Cost estimates come from four sources: Labor estimates, equipment estimates, materials estimates, and fixed-price bids.  It is necessary to concentrate on costs because they all represent a resource constraint.  This is due to the significant nature of living in a world of limited resources.