Characteristics of a Savvy Schedule
A Scheduler can do the same thing as Finance staff. A scheduler must show proof of all work involved in project completion. A schedule can be presented in many ways with different levels of detail. Here is a checklist to help you identify a quality schedule.
Communicate clearly
A schedule can include up to four or five levels of detail. An established layout can be provided to help stakeholders understand the plan. Here are some examples of hypothetical scheduling levels: Level 1 – Milestone / Executive Summary (lowest detailed) measurable milestones based on the master contract
Level 2: Summary Master Schedule / Management Summary – expands the schedule by including major activities for the milestones/deliverables
Level 3: Project Coordination Schedule / Publication Schedule – This contains the CPM
Level 4: Execution Schedule / Working Level – Display all activities resource loaded
Level 5: Detail Schedule – Provides daily workarounds, forecast for at least a couple of weeks
The more detailed the schedule, the higher the level. A schedule should be able show the required level, depending on who is viewing it. Executives would be more interested the bigger picture of what is expected, while foremen are more interested in the details of the day. A schedule is more valuable if it can be communicated to more stakeholders. Believeable
The plan must be believed by the team. If the schedule states that an activity must be completed by Friday, then the activity supervisor should be very careful about the completion date. If the completion date is used as a guideline, it could lead to other activities that require a different completion time. For activities that are more risky, buffers or contingencies should be included. Does rain delay construction? In the event that it does, add some time to complete the work in case it rains. Instigator
Instigate is to incite, provoke, or encourage to take action (Dictionary.com). This is what your schedule can do. This is important because humans can be prone to waiting until the last minute to put together the deliverable. A schedule can be a way to keep your team on track. For example, a schedule should indicate that a deliverable should not be completed earlier than the customer expects. The more milestones the team has to reach, the more accountable they should be. Enterprise Accountability
The schedule should contain enough resources. What if some resources are needed for another program? The schedule must be coordinated with company prerogatives. If an engineer needs to spend half a day working on another program while he works eight hours on a task, then there should be a way 1) to identify the problem and 2) to find a replacement. It is easier to communicate with the company’s resources and it is easier to plan around problems. Forecasts that go beyond the due date
Sometimes the schedule cannot be built completely. It may need progressive elaboration such as rolling wave planning to help define more activities as the project progresses. A schedule can still be used to plan for future activities, and milestones can still be set up after the contract due date. Clients and vendors will likely want to call, and summary meetings will be held. These activities should be included in the schedule. To visually project a plan for what is happening, we show schedules. Does the schedule support what is happening? If it can coordinate expectations