As a Project Manager part of my job is to develop and manage a project schedule. Everyone has seen some form of project schedule; whether it’s a few items with due dates or the entire schedule itself. As a Project Manager there is a lot of work associated with building the schedule and then maintaining that schedule. One of the hardest parts of this is ensuring due dates are met; especially since I am completely at the mercy of others. I see what can happen to an entire schedule by one date being missed which is why I work so hard at ensuring everyone understands their due dates and has the best possibility of making those dates. The ripple effect of dates being missed can cause serious risk to any project which is why I’d like to take a little time to try and explain how due dates being missed can greatly jeopardize a project.
Let’s start by discussing the project schedule and what goes into creating one. The project schedule defines tasks which need to occur within a specific amount of time. All tasks within the project schedule have been broken down as far as possible for accurate estimating of durations. These tasks all have specific due dates and assignments. Some of the tasks may be minor and some may be major. All tasks within the project are important and are necessary to the outcome of the project. While building a project schedule I need to review the effort associated with each task, the resource associated with each task and any task dependencies.
For example, a project may be to build a new, custom interface file. This requirement is then broken down into the tasks associated. Those may be:
- Requirements are provided
- Analysis/specification creation
o File Layout
o Connection with Vendor
- Specification approval
- Development
o File Creation
o Establish Connection with Vendor
- Vendor Establish Receiving Connection
- Quality Assurance
o Test File Creation
o Test Connection with Vendor
o Test File with Vendor
- UAT
You can see how a simple piece of the project can become quite complex. Just now for a single interface we have identified 14 tasks. Within those tasks we now need to determine who will be doing the work for that task. For example, a developer will be doing the actual coding of the file and a quality assurance analyst will be testing the file. Along with identifying tasks and resources I also need to identify the dependency of those tasks and resources. A quality assurance analyst cannot begin testing the file until the developer has completed coding the file. In the example provided, QA also needs the connection with the vendor to be complete too -now QA has to wait for both development and the vendor.
If any of the delivery dates for a task is missed everything below that task (dependency) is then jeopardized. The earlier in the schedule the missed task (due date) is, the greater the impact. I also need to review schedules across the company to ensure we have the appropriate resources working on the appropriate tasks at all times. I may have a specific analyst scheduled to work on Item A Monday through Wednesday, and starting Item B on Thursday morning. If Item A is not complete by Wednesday then Item B is delayed which could impact a different project.
As you can see, the complexity of a schedule multiplies by the number of tasks and the dependencies of those tasks. I hope this helps to bring awareness to everyone on the importance of meeting due dates and how due dates can negatively (or positively) impact project schedules.
Let’s start by discussing the project schedule and what goes into creating one. The project schedule defines tasks which need to occur within a specific amount of time. All tasks within the project schedule have been broken down as far as possible for accurate estimating of durations. These tasks all have specific due dates and assignments. Some of the tasks may be minor and some may be major. All tasks within the project are important and are necessary to the outcome of the project. While building a project schedule I need to review the effort associated with each task, the resource associated with each task and any task dependencies.
For example, a project may be to build a new, custom interface file. This requirement is then broken down into the tasks associated. Those may be:
- Requirements are provided
- Analysis/specification creation
o File Layout
o Connection with Vendor
- Specification approval
- Development
o File Creation
o Establish Connection with Vendor
- Vendor Establish Receiving Connection
- Quality Assurance
o Test File Creation
o Test Connection with Vendor
o Test File with Vendor
- UAT
You can see how a simple piece of the project can become quite complex. Just now for a single interface we have identified 14 tasks. Within those tasks we now need to determine who will be doing the work for that task. For example, a developer will be doing the actual coding of the file and a quality assurance analyst will be testing the file. Along with identifying tasks and resources I also need to identify the dependency of those tasks and resources. A quality assurance analyst cannot begin testing the file until the developer has completed coding the file. In the example provided, QA also needs the connection with the vendor to be complete too -now QA has to wait for both development and the vendor.
If any of the delivery dates for a task is missed everything below that task (dependency) is then jeopardized. The earlier in the schedule the missed task (due date) is, the greater the impact. I also need to review schedules across the company to ensure we have the appropriate resources working on the appropriate tasks at all times. I may have a specific analyst scheduled to work on Item A Monday through Wednesday, and starting Item B on Thursday morning. If Item A is not complete by Wednesday then Item B is delayed which could impact a different project.
As you can see, the complexity of a schedule multiplies by the number of tasks and the dependencies of those tasks. I hope this helps to bring awareness to everyone on the importance of meeting due dates and how due dates can negatively (or positively) impact project schedules.