Project planning
Project planning is part of project management, which relates to the use of schedules such as Gantt charts to plan and subsequently report progress within the project environment.[1]
Initially, the project scope is defined and the appropriate methods for completing the project are determined. Following this step, the durations for the various tasks necessary to complete the work are listed and grouped into a work breakdown structure. The logical dependencies between tasks are defined using an activity network diagram that enables identification of the critical path. Float or slack time in the schedule can be calculated using project management software[2]. Then the necessary resources can be estimated and costs for each activity can be allocated to each resource, giving the total project cost. At this stage, the project plan may be optimized to achieve the appropriate balance between resource usage and project duration to comply with the project objectives. Once established and agreed, the plan becomes what is known as the baseline. Progress will be measured against the baseline throughout the life of the project. Analyzing progress compared to the baseline is known as earned value management.[3]
See also
- Cost overrun
- Dependency Structure Matrix
- Kitchen sink syndrome
- Megaprojects
- Project Management Institute
- PRINCE2
References
- ^ Harold Kerzner (2003). Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (8th Ed. ed.). Wiley. ISBN 0-471-22577-0.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help) - ^ Richard H. Thayer, Edward Yourdon (2000). Software Engineering Project Management (2nd Ed. ed.). Wiley-IEEE Computer Society Press. ISBN 0-8186-8000-8.
{{cite book}}:|edition=has extra text (help) - ^ Fleming, Quentin (2005). Earned Value Project Management (Third Edition ed.). Project Management Institute. ISBN 1-930699-89-1.
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External links
- Planning Planet
- International Project Management Association
- Project Management Association of America
- Project Management Institute
- Planning Engineers Organization
- Association for Project Managers (UK)
- Prince2 site from OGC (UK Office of Government Commerce)
- For a brief history of the development of scheduling see Template:PDFlink,Weaver, P. 2007
- Critical path web calculator