BUS 528 - Chapter 7 Ideas

1. A realistic scheduling usually tops the list to make a project successful. A realistic schedule:
a. Includes a detailed knowledge of the work to be done
b. Has task sequence in the correct order
c. Accounts for external constraints beyond the control of the team
d. Can be accomplished on time, given the availability of skilled people and enough equipment

2. Planning a project is important. The detailed plan includes:
a. Build a work breakdown structure
b. Identify task relationship
c. Estimate work packages
d. Calculate initial schedule
e. Assign and level resources
3. Identify task relationship
There are two basic rules when graphing task relationships with a network diagram:
1) Define task relationships only between work packages
2) Task relationships should reflect only sequence constraints between work packages, not resource constraints.
Milestones are useful markers. It is useful to show major progress points, but the real progress indicators remain the detailed work packages.

4. Estimate work packages:
In order to determine the cost and duration of an entire project, it’s necessary to build a cost and schedule estimate for each work packages: this is called bottom-up estimating. A lot of information is generated in the estimating process, so it is critical to record it in a systematic manner.
Cost estimates come from four sources:
a. Labor estimates
b. Equipment estimates
c. Materials estimates
d. Fixed-price bids
Grantt chart display both the schedule information and the task relationships – it is like MS Project software.

5. Assign and level resources
The goal of resource leveling is to optimize the use of people and equipment assigned to the project. It is most productive to have consistent, continuous use of few resources possible. It seeks to avoid repeatedly adding and removing resources time and again throughout the project. Resource leveling is the last step in creating a realistic schedule. It confronts the reality of limited people and equipment and adjusts the schedule to compensate.

With this realistic scheduling in mind, I will use my time resource wisely in order to complete my Capstone project on time.