Page 142 - Project+

Schedule Planning

After the WBS is completed, the next planning document you’ll develop is the project
schedule. As with the WBS, there isn’t one right way to create the schedule. Here I’ve
outlined the steps typically followed in creating a project schedule. On small projects

you’ll usually find all of these steps performed in one sitting, whereas larger projects
may require separate sessions for each step in order to complete the schedule, and you
may also need to perform some planning steps more than once as you gather
information from stakeholders and team members. Here is the list of steps I typically
follow when constructing a project schedule.

1. Determine tasks.

2. Sequence tasks.

3. Allocate resources.

4. Determine task durations including start and end dates.

5. Determine milestones.

6. Construct the schedule.

7. Determine the critical path.

8. Set the baseline and obtain approval.

9. Set quality gates.

10. Establish the governance process.

For the purposes of this exam, the terms task and activity are
interchangeable.

At first glance, it would seem that putting together a schedule is fairly basic. All you
need to do is enter the work packages from the WBS into a project-scheduling software
program, and you have the schedule. However, a sound project schedule takes a lot of
planning. All the tasks must be identified, they must be sequenced in the order they
can be completed, they need an estimated time frame and effort for completion,

resource assignments must be derived, and finally all this information must be

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