Step 1: Planning
This step involves understanding important dates, time constraints and key milestones which the project is required to meet.
Every project has a start and an end date. These dates may be linked to a critical constraint, such as a government commitment to have a project completed by a certain date or a critical interdependency with another important project. In some cases, these dates are arbitrarily established by the project team.
In the project's early stages, when the project need is established, you may need to identify critical dates. These may include:
- when the business case should be submitted in line with funding cycles
- when the project should start
- when the project should be completed
- critical constraints, such as semester, term or critical teaching dates, and
- critical interdependencies with other key projects (including projects with external stakeholders such as major government initiatives or industry partners).
Step 2: Scheduling
Once the scope is defined, quality requirements and project risks determined, and an estimate of activity duration in place, you should undertake the scheduling process. This will typically occur after funding has been received and project definition has been completed, during the project definition, funding and approvals phase.
During the scheduling process, you will need to develop a program to illustrate how project tasks will be sequenced and activities will be allocated between different stakeholders (for example, different works to be completed by different consultants, contractors or trades). The program is typically in the form of a Gantt chart.
The concept of a Gantt chart is to map out which tasks can be done in parallel and which tasks should be done sequentially. A Gantt chart displays information visually, in a clear, easy-to-understand way and is used to:
- establish the initial project schedule
- allocate resources
- monitor and report progress
- control and communicate the schedule
- display milestones
- define the critical path
- identify and report problems, and
- develop detailed sub-programs, as required, including procurement, design development and approval task programs.
Step 3: Monitoring
Monitoring is important for determining if the program is running as planned and deciding when changes or intervening corrective action (for example, rescheduling or accelerating the works) may be required.
Once the project program has been set, monitoring includes analysis of past events, recognition of trends and assessment of the potential impacts on the future schedule - comparing what actually happens during the project against what was expected to happen under the project schedule.
Monitoring includes the communication and reporting of findings to the wider project team.
Monitoring is an ongoing activity and may include processes such as:
- reviewing the program as part of regular progress reporting
- communicating risks and issues impacting the achievement of the program to those responsible for project governance
- engaging an independent programmer, or an external specialised advisor, to undertake scheduling and programming reviews
- working with the contractor and specialist advisors to understand forecast progress against actual progress, and
- assessing if any program slippage will impact the critical path.
Step 4: Controlling
Controlling the program ensures that the objectives of the project are met in accordance with the program and aims to achieve the timely and successful completion of the project.
Controlling the program may include the following processes:
- upon engagement of any specialist advisors or the contractor, incorporating all milestone dates and durations from the related contracts into the program
- evaluating and understanding the results of program monitoring
- reviewing the program status and recommendations contained within project reports
- where key dates are at risk, considering viable alternatives where appropriate
- assessing the validity of contractor extension of time (EOT) claims and determining, if as a result of a valid EOT claim, any changes need to be made to the program, and
- incorporating program information into the lessons learnt and risk registers.