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Managing a project schedule can be mind-boggling, especially if you have too many tasks dependent on other tasks, while you need to manage other people within your organisation to get the project done. Managing the project is all about planning and execution. Some dates are critical to the client, and some are critical to other tasks, but in the end, they are your responsibility to sort. Scheduling things the right way is the gateway to excellent project management.
The project manager needs to follow a logical sense when executing a project. This means scheduling tasks that have the highest priority and urgency first. In addition, scheduled tasks need to be provided with a reasonable time to be executed by assigning them to the right people while considering the project constraints, budget and unexpected events.
The following are 5 essential techniques that you should follow to ensure that the scheduled tasks will be executed with no delays or hiccups. Although that if you have been managing projects, you know that things sometimes do not go as planned. Due diligence is still important and must always be applied to ensure minimum setbacks.
1- Always manage projects by due dates, not by hours
This means scheduling based on how long it takes the team to complete or by an expected due date set by the client or the senior management. Often projects are set based on imaginary due dates that are often hard to complete and tracked based on estimated hours.
While it might sound more productive to manage activities based on hours and percentages, it is actually quite counterproductive and here is why: When an activity that is expected to take 30 hours to complete and your team member who is charged with completing the task has put in 15 hours in which means he is 50% done, but that does not mean he only needs to put 15 hours to complete the project.
Although we know that the task takes 30 hours based on similar projects, every situation can be different. So it might take the person another 20 hours or maybe just 10 hours to complete. Even if we ask the person to estimate how much percentage completed, they might say 60%, but that is not an indication of when exactly the person will complete the activity; it could be today or tomorrow or next week? This is why things are executed better when due dates are set by clients or another dependent task, not by the hours required.
If the activity due date is on Friday at 9 AM, the people in charge of the activity must finish before that date. It is less stressful and more productive because people will have more flexibility to set up priorities for other tasks or prioritise this task if it is difficult. Hours can be used as an indication, but you can not set up an entire project based on hours required alone; factor in realistic due dates based on people’s availability, cost and client expectations.
2- Always validate the project estimate time to complete with the experts
Tasks are always best to be completed based on due dates. However, if there is no estimate of how long something should take, it can cause trouble later. A big issue with managing projects is that there is no understanding of how long a task will take. The estimate is usually provided by someone external to the project delivery, which means their opinion could be biased or inaccurate.
The experts always know more about the project variables than the estimators, clients and stakeholders. Therefore, new projects must always be validated through team meetings and discussions with the experts or the people in charge of executing the project.
For example, if the clients estimate a project to take 60 days, where the team has decided to follow the client’s recommendations without due diligence. On day 50, the project manager realised that another month was required to finish the project, which meant that they would need extra 20 days to complete the project. The fault definitely falls on the project manager or the company executing the project, as no initial study was conducted to estimate the project duration accurately.
The financial burdens are excruciating when not doing enough background checks. Project managers could fall into this trap by not communicating well with the team, which seriously impacts their creditability. It does not matter what industry you work in. Every project will be different, so the project manager needs to be very careful with his/her evaluation.
3- Always Manage schedules based on urgency and importance
There are tasks in the project that need to be done immediately because other tasks are dependent on them, while there are other tasks that we can afford to push back for now. We can not do everything simultaneously due to limitations in manpower, resources or both. Therefore, it is counterproductive if we can not prioritise tasks well based on urgency and importance.
This is why detailed programs are created to ensure that things are done chronologically, and a critical path is created. We are not wasting money or resources on tasks that are done earlier or ahead of time. Or worse, things are done very late, which will delay the project.
This is completely the project manager’s responsibility to understand the tasks’ dependency on where and when tasks start and finish, as shown below:
Prioritising tasks is a lengthy topic. The better you become at prioritising project tasks and day to day tasks, the more productive you become and the less stressful your day will be. For more reading on prioritising tasks, we encourage you to check the top 7 effective ways to prioritise your daily tasks: 7 Effective Ways To Prioritise Tasks As a Project Manager.
4- Always manage schedule and cost simultaneously
It might sound strange, but cost and schedule go hand in hand that you just can not ignore the cost when you are scheduling for something. You can get everything right and have the most productive program, but you cannot fully achieve a realistic program without a solid understanding of your resources and costs.
Let’s say that Task2 must start 20 days after the start of the project and is dependent on completing Task1. You have two options, Option 1, finish Task1 in 10 days or option 2, let it drag for 20 days before the start of Task2. See below:
| Task1 Variables | Cost | Option 1 | Option 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resources cost per day | $20 per day | 10 days (10 x $20 = $200) | 20 days (20 x $20 = $400) |
| Cost per labour | $80 for 10 days $120 for 20 days | 9 men required (9 x $80 = $720) | 4 men required (4 x $120 = $480) |
| Total Cost | – | $200 + $720 = $920 | $400 + $480 = $880 |
Based on the table above, if you choose option 2, you could save yourself $40 by taking 20 days to complete Task1. This is an example of how important it is to consider costing in your programming.
On the other hand, if labour cost is expensive, that is double the value it takes to complete the project in 10 days, then doing option 1 is more cost-effective, as shown below:
| Task1 Variables | Cost | Option 1 | Option 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resources cost per day | $20 per day | 10 days (10 x $20 = $200) | 20 days (20 x $20 = $400) |
| Cost per labour | $80 for 10 days $160 for 20 days | 9 men required (9 x $80 = $720) | 4 men required (4 x $160 = $640) |
| Total Cost | – | $200 + $720 = $920 | $400 + $640 = $1040 |
This is a very simplified example, so it should make sense that your job as a project manager is to evaluate the cost of everything. Looking at costing is the key to making a realistic and cost-effective schedule.
5- Always ensure that everyone understands their role
There is no point in modelling a schedule based on your expectation just to realise that the people you assumed would help you deliver the project are not available to do so. Now you have to find alternatives, which might delay the project as your alternatives may not possess the same abilities as the people you originally wanted.
It would not make any sense to do a schedule without ensuring that the people who will do your project are available. This means skills and numbers. You need the skills to execute your project with high quality and the numbers to ensure that the project starts and finishes on time.
Therefore, you must have people that are already assigned and briefed on your project that will be able to do it. The last thing you want is to shuffle things around and delay the project because you could not delegate between your team members effectively in your scheduling phase.
Summary
In summary, project scheduling requires:
- Tasks to be managed by due dates, not by hours required
- Always consult the experts on task duration
- Mind the urgency, importance and dependencies of tasks
- Always factor the cost into your scheduling
- Ensure that the people who will do your project are available on the start date
Project managers are the ones responsible for executing projects within time and budget. They need to possess excellent management skills. We encourage you to check the top personality skills of project managers for immediate success: Top 7 Personality Traits Of Project Manager For Immediate Success.
