Being able to plan a project effectively is a core skill required by project managers. A significant number of project managers, come from a leadership role from a different direction, and they must address their skill gaps in project management.
Any project can be broken town to a set of individual tasks or activities. It is very important, therefore, to understand the sum of individual tasks. However, if every task of the project is 100% complete, than the project is 100% completed.
Step 1: Divide the project into set of tasks
The number of tasks will depend on the scale of the project, but each task should be well defined and able to be understood. Tasks are often too generalised to create and add value. On the other side, devising the project into a very large of micro tasks can be challenging too. The scope of a task should be small enough to be easily measurable and large enough to be worthy of attention.
There are two forms of project planning notation (diagramming). The first is "Activity on Node" or "Precedence" .
Activity on Node
In this style tasks are represented as boxes and the logic (sequence) is indicated by arrows joining the boxes. This can be quite simple and intuitive.
In project management "Activity on Node" is a method under which precedence diagrammatic method is used to denote schedule activities with the help of nodes and boxes. They are simply linked together to show the sequence in which they will be executed. The boxes and nodes are connected from the beginning to an end with the help of arrows logical progression of dependencies between scheduled activities are depicted. Usually the activities or tasks are depicted in chronological sequence. There are activities that must be completed first in order to start next activity.
Activity on Arrow
The second one is called "Activity on Arrow". This notation requires that each arrow represents a project task and the position of nodes dictates the network logic.
Here, the activities are represented by arrows. It is generally used to determine critical path and recognise resource problems. There are two main elements of the arrow diagram: arrows and nodes. One arrow represents one task (activity) to be performed. The tail of the arrow is the start of the activity, the end of the arrow is the end of the activity and the length of the arrow is the duration of the activity.
We need to calculate the start date of all the nodes in the forward pass and end of the task in the backward pass. In the example A,B,C,D,E... represent the tasks. And numbers above the rows are the activity durations. For example E,8.
To calculate the critical path we determine the longest path in the network.
Generally for both methods the sequence of tasks runs from left to right and not from the top to bottom.
Step 2: Arrange the tasks into a logical sequence
All this implies is that we are doing some of the project tasks in parallel. In order to model the parallel tasks properly we need to redraw the first diagram generally to reflect a realistic way in which we would tackle the project. Clearly, the network of the demanding project would have hundreds and hundreds of tasks with many sequences running in parallel. It should be clear, that the project start task can have no precedes. However, logically a project could have several start tasks, but for a good practice it should start with a single start task and a single finish task.
Step 3: Estimate a duration of each task
All this can be problematic, but some estimate for each is necessary before any further analysis can be made. The durations estimated might be slightly questionable to us, but we need to take them as a face value at this stage. It is strongly recommended that we start with handwritten diagram and an note the tasks with estimated durations.
If we are involved in a significant project, there are three important points that are very important to us:
Cost
When it will start and finish
Quality
The principle of time analysis and CPA (Critical Path Analysis) addresses point 2.
Assuming the our revised diagram and time durations are accurate it should be reasonably clear that the duration of the project is planned to take certain amount of time. This is very important project management information.
We know the overall project duration, the start time and the completion time. We can also analyse the individual project tasks.
This is the basis of time analysis and critical path analysis.
Step 3: Perform Critical Path Analysis
If you refer to your handwritten diagram with durations annotated, it should be clear that the longest path through is the sequence of number of tasks. This is the critical path for the project. A delay on any of these critical tasks will almost certainly result in a delay on the completion of the entire project.
Non-critical tasks have some contingency with regards to duration. "Float" or "Slack" is the amount of time that a task can be delayed without affecting becoming critical and impacting the project end date.
The benefits of a neatly drawn network diagram should be evident to us. The project itself becomes more easily understood by all involved. It allows to discuss the task by task details of a project and to secure the commitment of the participants. Once agreed as the accurate model on how the project should be undertaken, it becomes an integral part of the entire project plan.
Time analysis and Critical Path Analysis can be applied to the plan. It can also assists in estimating project costs and resources accurately.
On simple projects these can be applied easily. On complex projects with hundreds of tasks the value of project management software performing the necessary calculations is readily appreciated.
It is vital that the project manager and the project team is aware of the critical path and understand which tasks are critical.
Project Milestones
A milestone is a special type of project task. Like a task is integrated into project network with predecessor and successor task, ut unlike tasks there is no work attached to a milestone. It is a significant event. The names of milestones should be carefully chosen to clearly indicate a notable project event as opposed to a normal task. For example: Contract Signed, Production starts, . They are of a very considerable interest to a project manager often in terms of comparing an anticipated date and the actual date.
Project Gantt chart
While a planning network is without a doubt a critical planning tool, the majority of executives usually prefer to see a plan presented in a Gantt chart format. It is a well-established project management tool and used excessively on projects large and small.
In the Gantt chart stile each task is presented in a horizontal bar set against a timescale with a name, description and other information. It is an intuitive format.
Having a good project plan is crucial and it provides a better understanding of the project. Gantt chart is an exclusive tool that any team or project manager can use as it allows staying on top of each task.
Each Gantt Chart will consist of:
- Start date and Finish date of the project
- List of tasks involved
- Assignees for each task
- Start and finish dates of each task
- Duration of each task
- Task dependent on each other
Bibliography
Chegg, "Activity on Node", Accessed from https://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/activity-on-node-18 [Accessed on 19/02/2022]
Guilda I. , 2018, Project Cubicle, "Arrow Diagramming Method Example" , accessed from https://www.projectcubicle.com/arrow-diagramming-method-example/ [accessed on 19/02/2022]
ProofHub, "How to use Gantt chart template in Project Management (Any Why)" , accessed from https://www.proofhub.com/articles/gantt-chart-template [accessed on 19/02/2022]
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