Practical Tips

  • Make sure you understand the difference between a plan and a schedule: The relationship between a plan and a schedule is similar to the relationship between a plan for a trip, which spells out general goals, and the trip itinerary, which defines how and when you will get from one stop to the next and complete the trip within available time. A project plan has to include some consideration of time, but it doesn't need to go into details.
  • Creating a schedule can help you organize your thoughts: Creating a schedule is typically a practical endeavor, focused on planning actual work. However, you can also create a schedule as a way of organizing your thoughts and sharing what you have learned about the project.
  • Develop a schedule at the detail necessary to plan and coordinate: Planning beyond the necessary detail adds no value. A schedule pitched at too high a level runs the risk of missing key activities or identifying critical risks. A schedule that's too comprehensive becomes a burden to update and can make it hard for team members to track activities, thus making it of little practical value.
  • Think of a schedule as a tool for communicating with stakeholders: Above all else, a schedule is a communication tool, devised to keep stakeholders up to date about all current knowledge about the project. That means it is a living document that can't be considered final until the project is finished. A schedule should be updated regularly and revised to incorporate the latest knowledge and information as the project advances. Strive to develop and communicate the project schedule in a manner that is most helpful to project participants.
  • Planning for perfect execution inevitably leads to delays: Always plan for the imperfections of reality. Draw on your own past experience when you review a schedule to help you decide if it is realistic. If you don't have any relevant past experience, then consult with someone who does. You might find it helpful to talk to a more experienced colleague. You can also draw on the many resources available within your industry.
  • From time to time ask yourself this important question: What is a reasonable number of activities for a single project? There's no hard and fast answer to this question, as all projects are different and require differing degrees of activity definition. But as a rule of thumb, most people can successfully keep track of 30-50 activities. More than that and they start getting lost in the detail. Other team members might have sub-tasks of 30-50 activities, meaning an overall plan may have hundreds of rolled-up activities.
  • Understand the relationship between resource allocation and the critical path: In many cases, the critical path is only valid once resources have been allocated. If resources are over-allocated, the critical path might give you a false sense of security.
  • Do not schedule a task too early in the project, just because it's on the critical path: Focusing on the critical path sometimes causes us to do things earlier than we need to, which can lead to mistakes and rework as the project constraints become clearer. In living order, we see projects as knowledge collection experiences and therefore avoid starting activities prematurely.
  • A schedule does not guarantee project success: Creating and updating a schedule is an ongoing process that must be adapted to externalities and needs of the customer and used to align stakeholders.