CAPM Exam & PMP Exam Study Notes:
Project Schedule Management
Written By: Alvin the PM | Last Updated: June 12, 2021
Topic: CAPM Exam & PMP Exam Certification Study Notes
Listed below are my CAPM Exam & PMP Exam Study Notes for Project Schedule Management that I’ve used to pass my own CAPM Exam, and which I also intend to use for my 2021 PMP Exam Preparation.
If you find any of my website notes and Youtube Videos helpful to pass your CAPM Exam or PMP Exam, considering supporting me by buying me a cup of “virtual” coffee by clicking the below link.
❤️ SUPPORT Alvin the PM by buying me “virtual” coffee ❤️
Please Note: These notes are meant to be a supplementary aid, and not as your primary study material for your CAPM Exam and/or PMP Exam. This is meant to help clarify any confusing topics and explain the most challenging concepts which are difficult to understand & remember. Please reference your own Exam Prep Book or your PMBOK Guide for further detail.
I’ve listed the Knowledge Area below, with an explanation of the following:
1) Overview of each Process Group associated with Project Schedule Management
2) Reference Section & Page in PMBOK 6th Edition
3) ITTO Summary & Analysis (Input, Tool, Technique, Output)
>> Any items marked with an * asterisk are the unique ones & critical topics to master
4) Key Concepts & Helpful Exam Prep Information
Overview of Schedule Management
Schedule Management is split up into the following 6 Process Groups:
1) Plan Schedule Management (PL)
2) Define Activities (PL)
3) Sequence Activities (PL)
4) Estimate Activity Durations (PL)
5) Develop Schedule (PL)
6) Control Schedule (M&C)
Purpose:
– Creating a project schedule for when certain milestones will be achieved and when the team can expect to deliver the final product to the customer
Key Concepts:
1) Iterative Scheduling vs On-demand Scheduling
– Iterative Scheduling – An example of this is following an agile approach
>> Producing incremental iterations of a product to the customer, using rolling wave planning and short iterations (known as “sprints“).
>> It is during these sprints that the user requirements (captured in the form of user stories), and the prioritized features of the product, are being worked on
– On-demand Scheduling – Think Kanban when you see this term. This utilizes the theory of constraints and pull-based scheduling. Essentially, instead of relying on a schedule to complete the work, the team pulls work from a prioritized backlog
Process #1: Plan Schedule Management
1.1 Schedule Management: Plan Schedule Management (PL)
– Pg. 179, PMBOK 6th Edition
Purpose: Developing the Schedule Management Plan that outlines our strategy for creating, managing, and controlling our project’s schedule
ITTO Analysis: Plan Schedule Management
1) What do You Need? (Input)
– Project Charter, Project Management Plan, EEF/OPA
>> Project Management Plan: *Scope Management Plan, *Development Approach
2) What is the Result? (Output)
– *Schedule Management Plan
3) How Do You Accomplish It? (Tool/Technique)
-Expert Judgment, Meetings, Data Analysis
>> Data Analysis: Alternatives Analysis
Key Terms to Remember:
1. Schedule Management Plan – This Plan can be formal or informal, or detailed or high-level, and includes the following information:
>> This plan helps establish guidelines for which scheduling approach will be used (adaptive or waterfall). If agile, this plan specifies the specific details regarding the lengths of each sprint iteration
>> Includes the control thresholds for when action needs to be taken if the schedule starts to slip or deviate from the plan
>> Includes criteria for following Earned Value Management regarding scheduling, and the level of accuracy for determining activity duration estimates
Process #2: Define Activities
1.2 Schedule Management: Define Activities (PL)
– Pg. 183, PMBOK 6th Edition
Purpose: Determining what activities need to be performed in order to complete the project’s work
ITTO Analysis: Define Activities
1) What do You Need? (Input)
– Project Management Plan, EEF/OPA
>> Project Management Plan: *Schedule Management Plan, *Scope Baseline
2) What is the Result? (Output)
– *Activity List & *Attributes; *Milestone List; Change Requests, Updates to Project Mgmt Plan
3) How Do You Accomplish It? (Tool/Technique)
–*Decomposition; *Rolling Wave Planning; Expert Judgment, Meetings
Key Concepts:
1. A Milestone (an important event, landmark, or turning point in your project) has ZERO DURATION!
2. Why do you need the Scope Baseline in order to Define the Activities?
– The Scope Baseline contains the WBS and key project deliverables that are needed to complete 100% of the project’s work. With this information, you can use decomposition to determine your project’s required activities
Key Terms to Remember:
1. Decomposition – This technique breaks down and divides your project’s work into easy-to-manage chunks
**Remember: You will use Decomposition in order to break down each Work Package into the activities needed to create the project deliverables
2. Rolling Wave Planning – Think of this as a technique for planning out in detail the work being accomplished within the next couple of weeks.
>> This is applicable to Work Packages, Planning Packages, and Release Planning
>>Alvin’s Tip – What is Rolling Wave Planning?
Alvin the PM
In other words, what’s coming up in the near term? This is NOT for work being accomplished a year from now, or even six months from now… Think SHORT-TERM.
Process #3: Sequence Activities
1.3 Schedule Management: Sequence Activities (PL)
– Pg. 187, PMBOK 6th Edition
Purpose: After you’ve defined what activities you need to perform for your project, you need to figure out… IN WHAT ORDER do these activities take place?
ITTO Analysis: Sequence Activities
1) What do You Need? (Input)
– Project Management Plan, Project Documents, EEF/OPA
>> Project Management Plan: *Scope Baseline, *Schedule Management Plan
>> Project Documents: Assumption Log, Activity & Milestone List, and Activity Attributes
2) What is the Result? (Output)
– *Network Diagram, Project Document Updates
3) How Do You Accomplish It? (Tool/Technique)
–*PDM (Precedence Diagramming Method), *Dependency Determination and Integration, *Leads and Lags, PMIS
Key Concepts:
1. Best Practices to create Network Diagrams
– Every activity should be connected to a minimum of 1 predecessor and 1 successor
– Use Leads & Lags to create a realistic schedule
2. What are the four (4) different relationships between tasks/activities? (dependencies or logical relationships)
>> Finish-to-Start (FS): An activity must finish before the Successor Activity can begin
>> Finish-to-Finish (FF): Two activities (the predecessor and successor) must finish at the same time
>> Start-to-Start (SS): Successor activity can only start if the Predecessor activity has already started
>> Start-to-Finish (SF): Successor activity can only finish if the Predecessor Activity has started.
3. What Task Dependency is the most common?
>> Finish-to-Start Relationship
4. What Task Dependency is the most rare/least used?
>> Start-to-Finish Relationship
5. What are the types of dependencies?
>> Mandatory Dependencies: Hard logic or hard dependencies. These are dependencies which are REQUIRED due to either physical limitations or inherent characteristics of the work involved
>> Discretionary Dependencies: Preferred logic or soft logic. These are dependencies which are ‘PREFERRED‘, are NOT REQUIRED, and based upon best practices.
>> External Dependencies: A dependency which is outside the organization’s control.
>> Internal Dependencies: A dependency which is inside yor team’s control
Key Terms to Remember:
1. Lag – The amount of time (days) that a Successor Activity will be delayed.
>> Alvin’s Trick: Activity A will “lag” behind by X days
>> Example: SS + 10 day Lag (It is ‘addition’ because you are adding additional time to the task due to the “lag”)
2. Lead – The amount of time (days) that a Successor Activity can begin before the Predecessor Activity is completed
>> Alvin’s Trick: The next Activity will “lead” and start 3 days in advance
>> Example: SS – 5 day Lead (It’s a minus symbol, because you are starting on the task early)
Process #4: Estimate Activity Durations
1.4 Schedule Management: Estimate Activity Durations (PL)
– Pg. 195, PMBOK 6th Edition
Purpose: How long does it take to complete each Activity?
ITTO Analysis: Estimate Activity Durations
1) What do You Need? (Input)
– Project Management Plan, Project Documents, EEF/OPA
>> Project Management Plan: *Scope Baseline, *Schedule Mgmt Plan
>> Project Documents: Activity Attributes & List, Logs (Assumptions, Risk Register, Lessons Learned, Milestone List), Team Assignments, Resource Documents (Resource Breakdown Structure, Resource Calendar, Resource Requirements)
2) What is the Result? (Output)
– *Estimates (Duration Estimates and Basis of Estimates), Project Document Updates
3) How Do You Accomplish It? (Tool/Technique)
– *Estimation Techniques, Expert Judgment, Data Analysis, Decision Making, Meetings
>> Estimation Techniques: Analogous, Parametric, Three-Point, and Bottom-up
>> Data Analysis: Alternatives & Reserve Analysis
>> Decision Making: Voting
Key Concepts:
1. Alvin’s Tip: The Project Manager is NOT the person who provides the estimates for the activity durations. The Project Manager relies on ‘Expert Judgment’ from the Subject Matter Experts, or those actually executing the tasks.
2. What is the difference between each Estimation Technique?
Analogous Estimating uses historical data from similar projects, if there is NOT a lot of information known about the project; This technique is not accurate.
Parametric Estimating relies on parameters and a statistical relationship in order to calculate the duration & cost estimates for each activity. For example: the time it takes to paint per square feet (hours/sq. feet). This is more accurate than analogous estimation.
Three-Point Estimating creates a range for an estimated duration, using the following formula:
>> Estimate = (Optimistic + Most Likely + Pessimistic) / 3
>> Reference the Formula Guide for detail.
Bottom-up Estimating is the MOST ACCURATE estimation technique because it sums up the estimates of the WBS’ lower-level components.
Key Terms to Remember:
**Make sure you understand the difference between Contingency Reserves & Management Reserves.
1. Contingency Reserves – These are used to account for any uncertainties in the project’s schedule, and are allocated for the known unknown risks.
>> The Contingency Reserve may be a % of the estimated activity duration.
2. Management Reserves – As its title suggests, using Management Reserves requires approval from Management, and is specifically allocated to address unknown-unknowns which may impact a project. In other words, unforeseen work or risks which were NOT planned.
>> Management Reserves are NOT incorporated into your schedule baseline, and are instead, part of the OVERALL project’s duration requirements.
Process #5: Develop Schedule
1.5 Schedule Management: Develop Schedule (PL)
– Pg. 205, PMBOK 6th Edition
Purpose: At this point, you’ve already created your list of activities and identified how long each activity will take. Now, all that’s left is to take this information and create your Project Schedule in order to execute your project.
ITTO Analysis: Develop Schedule
1) What do You Need? (Input)
– Agreements, Project Management Plan, Project Documents, EEF/OPA
>> Project Management Plan: *Schedule Mgmt Plan, *Scope Baseline
2) What is the Result? (Output)
– *Project Schedule & Calendars, *Schedule Baseline & Data, *Change Requests, Project Document Updates, Project Management Plan Updates
3) How Do You Accomplish It? (Tool/Technique)
– *Agile Release Planning, *Schedule Network Analysis, *Critical Path Method, *Resource Optimization, *Leads & Lags, *Schedule Compression, Data Analysis, PMIS
>> Data Analysis: What-if Scenario Analysis, Simulation
Key Concepts:
1. Schedule Network Analysis consists of the following techniques: Critical Path, Resource Optimization, and Modeling.
2. Schedule Compression Techniques
– Crashing – Adding more resources to an activity to help expedite or shorten an activity’s duration
– Fast Tracking – Instead of completing activities in sequence, fast-tracking forces activities to be completed in parallel with each other
3. Agile Release Planning – High-level overview of the schedule for releasing iterations of the product/software through a certain number of “sprint” iterations.
>>This characterizes how the product vision, roadmap, release planning, and iteration planning are all linked together
4. Examples of a Project Schedule are:
– Bar Chart
– Milestone Chart – Only shows critical deliverables or break-through events
– Network Diagram – Also known as Activity-On-Node diagrams
Key Terms to Remember:
1. Critical Path – Longest path through the network diagram. All activities on the Critical Path have zero float
2. Free Float – Amount of time that an activity can be delayed without impacting the start date of a succeeding task
**Activities with a negative float are behind schedule
>> Refer to the Formula Guide for detail regarding the Float Equation.
3. Resource Optimization – Modifying the Planned Start & Planned Completion Dates based upon resource constraints, so that the Planned Resources <= Resource Availability
4. Resource Levelling – If you have limited resources or if you have to share critical resources across projects, this Resource Optimization technique adjusts the start and finish dates for tasks to ensure that resources are used at an appropriate level. In other words, you’re making sure that resources aren’t being used beyond their capacity.
– Unlike Resource Smoothing, Resource Levelling can adjust the Critical Path of a project
5. Resource Smoothing – This Resource Optimization technique “smoothens” out resources so that they stay below their limits, WITHOUT changing the Critical Path.
– Resource Smoothing does NOT change the critical path.
– Adjusts activities, which may only be delayed within their FREE and TOTAL FLOAT.
6. Schedule Baseline – The formally approved Project Schedule through the Change Control Process
7. The Project Calendar shows what business days are available to work on each activity
Process #6: Control Schedule
1.6 Scope Management: Control Schedule (M&C)
– Pg. 222, PMBOK 6th Edition
Purpose: Monitoring the project’s status and updating the project schedule and schedule baseline, as needed
ITTO Analysis: Control Schedule
1) What do You Need? (Input)
– *Work Performance Data, Project Management Plan, Project Documents, OPA
>> Project Management Plan: Baselines (Schedule, Scope, Performance Measurement Baseline), Schedule Mgmt Plan
>> Project Documents: Lessons Learned Register, Calendars (Project & Resource), Project Schedule, Schedule Data
2) What is the Result? (Output)
– *Change Requests, *Work Performance Information, *Schedule Forecasts, Project Document Updates, Project Management Plan Updates
3) How Do You Accomplish It? (Tool/Technique)
– *Critical Path Method, *Resource Optimization, *Leads & Lags, *Schedule Compression, *PMIS, Data Analysis
>> Data Analysis: Analyses Techniques (Earned Value, Trend, Variance, and What-If Scenario Analysis), Iteration Burndown Chart, Performance Reviews
Key Concepts:
1. The Schedule Baseline can only be changed through formally approved Change Requests through the Perform Integrated Change Control Process (see Integration Management for detail)
2. Examples of Work Performance Data: Raw collected data on the metrics of work being completed on the project
>> For example, actual activity duration and how much has been completed on our activities
3. For Controlling Scope, Earned Value Analysis is used to monitor and evaluate the Schedule Variance and Schedule Performance Index
>> Refer to the Formulas Guide for detail
Key Terms to Remember:
1. Iteration Burndown Chart – This Tool/Technique garphically shows how much work still remains in your “backlog” (Actual Remaining vs Ideal Remaining vs Forecasted Remaining Work)
2. Performance Reviews – How does our Schedule Performance compare to our initially planned Schedule Baseline? How does our “reality” compare to our “plan”?
3. Schedule Forecasts are created based upon the Work Performance Information collected during Execution of the project, and shows estimates of the project’s future performance with regards to the Schedule
Conclusion
I hope you found the above information helpful with your Project Management Exam Prep Journey! If you found this useful, please feel free to SHARE and RECOMMEND this website with a friend. My goal is to help other Project Managers pass their own CAPM and PMP Exam, and become Certified in Project Management.
Cheers, Alvin