B1 level 1

Scheduling my goals

Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje - SENA. Reservados todos los derechos 2013.

Start UP

Hi everyone!
Welcome back, Im delighted to see you again!
Anthony has already created the agenda with the activities he is going
to accomplish along the development of the project.
Now, lets go over each one of them to state the products that will result.

Anthony: The first activity is: Search for information

Prof. Brown: Ok. So the product, after achieving this activity, is a compilation of information
related to ways of recycling paper, previous theories and implementation plans.
Anthony: The second activity is: Select the information
Prof. Brown: In this step, the product is also a compilation of information, but just of
relevant information that will be used in the development of the project.
Anthony: The third activity is: Choose the best options
Prof. Brown: After completing this step, you will have two or three options. The idea of this
step is to limit your project.
Anthony: The fourth activity is: Test your options
Prof. Brown: Once you carry this activity through, you will discover the effectiveness of
each of the selected options. You will have results.
Anthony: The fifth activity is: Evaluate outcomes
Prof. Brown: By conducting this activity, you will find which the most useful option of
recycling paper at home is, and you will be able to utter why.
Anthony: And the last activity is: Write conclusions
Prof. Brown: Once you accomplish all the previous activities, you will have your final results
and will be able to write a list of conclusions. By finishing this step, you will have completed
your final paper.

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Lets get inside

Anthony: OK professor, we just reviewed the activities I am going to develop in
the course of my project.
Prof. Brown: Thats right! This was the first step: describing what you are going
to do.
Anthony: And now, what do I have to do? Should I start by developing each one
of them?
Prof. Brown: No, pal. The next move is to define when you are going to develop
each activity. This will help you be more organized and not leave important
activities behind.
Anthony: Hmmm, and how do I do that?
Prof. Brown: Simple, the easier way to organize when you are going to develop
the activities programmed is by designing a schedule.
A schedule is a plan that allows you to arrange all the activities depending on
their priority and time. By making a schedule, you will have a general view of the
project. Scheduling not only will help you in this task, it will be very helpful in
organizing your companys departments and employees.
To make a schedule, you just need to:
Have a list of activities.
Have intended start and finish dates.
Have estimated times for each activity.
There is not a strict way in which you can make a schedule. Here, we are going to
show you the most used one: The Gantt Chart.

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Lets get inside

Definition
Gantt charts are a way to graphically show the progress of a project. With this
project management tool, you are able to track at the same time all the activities,
their start and finish dates, and their progress (Open office, 2013). When you set
up a Gantt chart, you will work out who will be responsible for each task, how
long each task will take, and what problems your team may encounter (Mind
tools, 2013).

To make a Gantt chart, you need:

First, create a chart in Word or Excel. It must have one

column to put the activities and the columns you consider
necessary depending on the time estimates. You can use
one column per week or one column per month.

A list of the activities you are going

to develop with their estimated times.

Then, put each of the activities in the first column,

one below the other until you finish.

Intended start and finish dates.

Finally, in the rows of each of the activities,
select with an x the assigned time estimate.

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Lets analize
Now that I know how to make a schedule, lets get to work and organize mine.
First, lets make the list of activities.
1. Search for information.
2. Select the information.
3. Choose the best options.
4. Test the options.
5. Evaluate outcomes.
6. Write conclusions.
Anthony: Now, lets define the estimated times for each activity.
Prof. Brown: Right, but before doing so, lets check some time expressions that
would be very useful.
Prof. Brown: Time expressions are words or sentences used to denote time.
These are the most common ones.

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Lets analize
Prof. Brown: Anthony, now that you learned some functional expressions,
indicate the estimated times for each activity.
Anthony: Hmmm, tomorrow I will start by searching for information and I think
I would select it the following week. Later, I will choose the best options and,
during the following two weeks, I will test them.
Next month, I will evaluate the outcomes and, straight away, I will write the
conclusions of my project.
Prof. Brown: Well done, now lets see how your Gantt chart looks like!

/t/ Sound

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References
Mind tools. (2013). Mindtools.com. Retrieved October 28, 2013,
from:http://goo.gl/3rD181

Open office. (2013). Openoffice.org. Retrieved October 28, 2013,

from:http://goo.gl/WqLMUn

Credits
Pedagogical Direction
Paul Cifuentes
Carlos Amaya
Direction of Art
Cesar Pez
ICT Leadership
Yeison Ospina
Quality management
Juan Carlos Rojas

Script composition
Laura Tibaquir
Content support
Laura Tibaquir
Multimedia development
Edmundo Watts
Luis Alejandro Valencia L.
Miguel Hurtado
Voices
Equipo Regional San Andrs

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