The role of project management often falls to people who did not set out to be project managers. These people may be focused on a functional structure, be hard working, organized, and simply good at their jobs. It’s sometimes quite a leap to go from scheduling your own work to scheduling everything for an entire project with lots of other people involved, but understanding project management and the basics of project scheduling does not have to be overwhelming.
“Time is finite. Control of time is a competitive advantage. There are many tools and techniques available to manage schedules, much of it connected to overall project planning and sequencing of activities.” –PMI
What is scheduling in project management?
As I’m sure you know, a project schedule contains more than your typical weekly planner. Project scheduling involves creating a document – usually digital – that details the project timeline, sequence of activities, and resources required to complete the scope. This scheduling effort is more than just entering in data points to a scheduling software.
The project schedule must be shared with and easily accessible to the project team. Its purpose is to communicate critical information to the team (so it must be comprehensive and easy to understand) and to become part of the project performance baseline.
What you need to complete your project schedule
You might have wondered at some point, “Do we need a project manager, a dedicated scheduler, or a scheduling procedure?”
It is important for a company to have a standard procedure that explains how to create a project schedule, who is responsible for what, how to gather the productivity data, and finally which tools and techniques to use to control the schedule. These are valuable corporate assets. Standardizing project management processes like scheduling and then applying them to different opportunities helps reduce stress and wasted time when initiating new projects.
Having a project manager work on a schedule is not the best practice. However, the PM should feel comfortable preparing schedules for some capital projects. If you have a considerable project portfolio and large capital projects to attend to, it’s a good idea to have a dedicated scheduler. Nevertheless, you will always want to stay aligned with your client requirements.
Why should I create a project schedule?
Because your client requires it.
Just kidding.
That may be a point of entry in some instances to start following certain project management best practices. But there is a reason why they are considered best practices, and they most certainly benefit you and your company.
Project scheduling is important since it plays a direct role in project success.
The following are some of the characteristics and advantages of a project schedule:
- Project scheduling is part of the project planning and represents the timeline for the scope of work to be performed.
- It shows how your project team will execute each project phase.
- Project schedule is an agreement with your internal and external clients.
- Committing to the project scheduling process at the beginning of your project will give you a clear big picture of the project.
- It also gives you the chance to catch issues early and alert clients if a timeline isn’t feasible.
- Project scheduling is good for managing project teams.
- Everyone knows what to expect and when. Everyone is held accountable for deadlines.
- Other functional managers can allocate resources efficiently for your project, and they’ll be able to anticipate when resources will be available for other projects.
Steps to schedule a project
It’s nice to get a list of steps, like a cooking recipe, to cover the scheduling process. And in fact there are tons of steps you can get from the web. However, it’s best to follow a tailored process that fits your individual needs, as different actions will make you more or less competitive and increase your chances of success.
We can schedule your projects
We touched on some of the basics of project scheduling and time management, looking at the big picture for successful project execution and considering scheduling best practices and the advantages of a good working schedule. Are you ready to outsource your scheduling effort? Vista Project Management specializes in scheduling. We provide scheduling services (and project management services in general) to help companies improve their schedules, procedures, and to save time and money. Click the link below to get the support you need.
