Scheduling Tips for PMOs PMI-SVC Scheduling Forum - 6 October 2009 Michelle Colodzin PMP, PMI-SP, MCTS, MS Project Black Belt MetaVista Consulting Group
Dohn Kissinger PMP, PMI-SP, MCTS, MCITP, MS Project Black Belt Profit Solutions
Introduction • What is a good project schedule? – A good project schedule is one that accurately models the work of the project, encapsulates the full scope and nothing extra and which maintains a consistent and appropriate level of detail
• How is a good schedule built and maintained? – The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling provide a framework and methodology for consistently producing and maintaining good project schedules
• How can a good schedule improve project performance? – A good schedule can provide advanced warning of possible schedule slippage, resource issues, cost overruns and general project risks – giving the project manager time to avoid or mitigate potential problems
• What is the role of the PMO in developing and maintaining good project schedules?
– The PMO can develop, champion and support good scheduling practices, provide templates, train schedulers and project managers 2 and perform project and portfolio analysis on an organization-wide basis
Key PMO Scheduling Responsibilities • •
• • •
Define, document and enforce scheduling standards Define, document and enforce schedule-related processes – Length of reporting cycle – Triggers and/or time interval for reviewing and updating schedules – Specific reports to be submitted to the PMO Develop and distribute tools and templates whenever possible Train project managers in scheduling practices and tools If possible, centralize scheduling services within the PMO and provide scheduling resources to projects 3
The Scheduling Benefits of an Active PMO •
• • •
The PMO can by a key enabler of good project scheduling practices – the more active and widespread the influence of the PMO the more likely project performance and success rates will improve throughout the organization Use of standard practices, tools and templates reduces the time required to create and maintain project schedules Standard processes help facilitate the ongoing capture and application of lessons learned across the organization Standard report formats and content enable faster and more accurate comparison of status and issues across multiple projects – this is vital for organizations doing portfolio management 4
The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling • The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling are five factors (or “secrets”) that when used together will help project managers and project schedulers consistently produce and maintain good project schedules
• Taking full advantage of these secrets requires a centralized group – such as a PMO - overseeing and enforcing their use throughout the organization
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The Five Secrets of Project Scheduling 1. Create deliverables-based project schedules 2. Determine the appropriate level of detail 3. Implement a regular status update and reporting process 4. Review and adjust the schedule regularly 5. Create and follow project scheduling standards 6
Using the Five Secrets for the First Time When implementing these secrets for the first time: • Start small and focus on the strengths of the organization • Develop a small set of scheduling standards, simple processes, tools and templates • Capture lessons learned and build a repository where schedulers and project managers can: – document and share their experiences and knowledge – Store and retrieve schedules which worked well in similar situations 7 – build and share new processes, tools and templates
Using the Five Secrets in a Mature PMO • Create a Centralized Scheduling Practice – Train project managers how to build and use a good project schedule – Take on responsibility for scheduling all projects or providing project schedulers to other parts of the organization
• Benefits of Centralizing Scheduling in the PMO – Centralizing schedulers and scheduling helps ensure that standards and processes are followed consistently – It offers better visibility into what is working well and where improvements are needed – Increased overall project success rates due to better schedules that are followed and managed consistently throughout the organization 8
Conclusions
• Using the five secrets requires discipline and consistency – this can best be provided through a PMO • Developing, championing and managing scheduling processes through a PMO: – accelerates organizational learning – improves schedule quality – improves the likelihood of project success throughout an organization
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Managing Resources with a PMO In most organizations, many projects are in progress • People are working on several projects at a time • People are overworked and some burn out
A common result: • Projects are late • Projects are over budget
How can the PMO help manage resources better? 10
We can estimate durations with one project Project 1
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What if we have two or more projects? Project 1
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Multitasking increases project durations This
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Sequencing projects reduces durations This
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PMO Actions to Manage Resources 1. Request that the Governance Council prioritize the projects in the organization. 2. Sequence the projects according to the project priority list. 3. Have the resources work on their top priority task until: ― it is completed ― it is blocked waiting for some information ― a higher priority task becomes available
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For further information, contact Michelle Colodzin or Dohn Kissinger
[email protected] (530) 798-1656
[email protected] (916) 939-3801 (800) 9-PROFIT
