SCHEDULE UPDATES

How I Learned to Stop Waiting and Stalk for Data

Kimberly M. Smith and Jasmine Chappell

Innovation center, Washington, D.C.

AUGUST 2018
 AGENDA
• WHO WE ARE
• WHY WE ARE HERE
• WHAT IS A SCHEDULE MODEL
• WHY UPDATE THE SCHEDULE MODEL
• WHAT DOES A SCHEDULER DO
• WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SCHEDULE UPDATES
• GOOD CHARACTERISTICS OF SCHEDULER AND STAKEHOLDER
• KNOW YOUR ENVIRONMENT
• KNOW YOUR STANDING
• TYPES OF DATA GATHERING
• EXAMPLE EXCEL UPDATE SHEET
• HOW OFTEN SHOULD SCHEDULES BE UPDATED?
• EFFECTIVE RECOMMENDATION FOR COMMUNICATING WITH STAKEHOLDERS
• ESTABLISH A SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Technology team, Washington, D.C.

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WHO WE ARE

Kimberly M. Smith, PMP, ITIL-F, CMMI-DEV/SVC, ICP

Ms. Smith is a Lead Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton with 10 years professional
management consulting experience with multiple Government Agencies, including
at Department of State, Consular Affairs; United States Agency for International
Development (USAID), Office of the CIO; Department of the Army. She currently
manages a schedule-risk analysis (SRA) team supporting Naval Sea Systems
Command’s (NAVSEA) COLUMBIA Submarine Program

Jasmine Chappell, MPA, ITIL-F, CSM

Ms. Chappell has 9 years of experience in government consulting specializing in
policy analysis, project management and schedule management for large, complex,
and ACAT-1 level programs. She works with various teams to define, plan, track,
analyze and achieve their project objectives using a variety of tools. Additionally,
she has working knowledge of government standards and policies on project
management, scheduling, risk management and earned value management systems
(EVMS) e.g., GAO Scheduling Guide, DCMA 14 Point Assessment, MIL-STD-881C,
DoDI 5001, DoDI 5002, DI-MGMT-81650, DI-MGMT-81861, DoD-EVMSIG, project
controls, acquisition, IEEE 15288 Systems and Software engineering – System life
cycle processes, and training development.

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WHY WE ARE HERE
A frequent concern from organization leaders about scheduling is the level of effort
needed for updates. Conversely, the most frequent issue schedulers encounter is
obtaining accurate, timely updates. All stakeholders want the project schedule to support
decision making and provide early warning of schedule/cost variances and overruns, yet
their differing points of view tend to lead to conflict.

Purpose:
• To explore tools and techniques to promote balance between stakeholder
expectations and collaboratively gathering project data to maintain the schedule as a
living management tool
• To share stories (ours and yours), adding a real world perspective

This presentation will cover topics like:

• Templates and processes, which should be discussed and decided upon during project
planning and documented in the schedule management plan
• Implementation techniques and pointers that are field-tested and tailorable for
different types of work environments

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WHAT IS A SCHEDULE MODEL?

“The introduction of project-specific data,

such as the activities, durations, resources,
relationships and constraints into the
scheduling tool creates a schedule model for
the given project”. (Practice Standard for
Scheduling – Second Edition (2011)

- Define Milestones
- Define Activities
- Sequence Activities
- Estimate Activity Resources
- Estimate Activity Duration(s)
- Develop Schedule(s)
- Analyze Schedule Model Output(s)
- Approve the Schedule Model

(Practice Standard for Scheduling – Second

Edition (2011)

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WHY UPDATE THE SCHEDULE MODEL?

The value of maintaining the schedule model updates are often overlooked by project
managers, sponsors, stakeholders and integrated product team (IPT) leads. Updating the
schedule model allows for answering the mail on:
• Overall program/project situational awareness (communications tool)
• Timeliness of meeting acquisition/program-determined milestones
• Budget targets and burn rates
• Impact of increasing project scope, including durations, resources, critical path (what-if scenarios)
• Timely project execution
• Risks, issues and mitigation strategies
• Project execution
• Resource availability

The list above is a solid set of data

points, but to realize the value of
that data, it’s important to frame
it to provide information that is
both meaningful and actionable
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

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WHAT DOES A SCHEDULER DO?

• Lead scheduling development sessions with program and project teams in alignment with
data management and reporting structures including the Statement of Work, the Work
Breakdown Structure, CDRLs and milestones
• Works with the project and program manager to status schedules and update forecasted
projections
• Lead discussions relative to cost and schedule in Integrated Baseline Reviews (IBRs)
• Conduct Schedule Risk Assessments (SRAs)
• Prepare reports and graphs depicting schedule status/performance and trend analysis
• Advise management on cost/schedule analysis findings
• Develop and/or follow organizational scheduling policies and industry best
practices/guidelines (e.g., GAO Scheduling Guide, DCMA 14 Point Assessment, MIL-STD-
881C)
• Remain a neutral party (We report only the facts!)

This Photo by Unknown Author is

licensed under CC BY-SA

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 WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SCHEDULE UPDATES?
Project Manager
• Ultimately responsible for schedule data gathering
• Monitors schedule and budget for threats and
opportunities for project success
• Develops and implements official corrective actions to
keep project schedule, budget, and mission targets
Scheduler achievable
• Enter task progress into Project Team
schedule • Provide progress data,
• Analyze schedule (critical including task completion,
path, Monte Carlo, etc.) estimated dates for ongoing
and future tasks
• Communicate forecasted
successes and delays to • Aid PM in corrective action
the Project Manager development to keep project
schedule, budget, and mission
• Aid PM in corrective targets achievable
action development to
keep project schedule,
budget, and mission
targets achievable
“Ideally,” data gathering is a team effort This Photo by Unknown Author is
licensed under CC BY-SA

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SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD:

SCHEDULER STAKEHOLDER

• Knows industry • Transparency

scheduling • Good Listener
standards and best • Consistency
• Communication skills
practices • Well defined
• Flexible
• Integrity requirements

Scheduling is not a spectator sport

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KNOW YOUR ENVIRONMENT

Know your stakeholders:

 Define your organization–
• Matrix, Projectized, Hybrid

 Understand where your project resides

• Priority, budget, visibility

 Understand the culture within and

surrounding your project
• Every organization reacts to projects
differently
• For some a project, despite its temporal
nature, is a change management
exercise

This Photo by shutterstock

185352932

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 KNOW YOUR STANDING

Understand where the scheduler fits in the

project hierarchy
Interest
Name Project Function Influence (in
scheduling)
Kim Smith Scheduler Pebble High
Then exploit it
Lieutenant Project Manager Boulder Low How to Make a Mountain from a
Lothar Zogg Pebble:
Miss Tracey Program Manager Mountain High • Persistence– Pick a message
Scott and make it a mantra, like
Critical Path
• Flexibility—open to willing to
break routine when necessary

Stakeholder matrix, not often associated with scheduling, can highlight project team
motivations and the real power structure of the project
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TYPES OF DATA GATHERING

• Scripted email
• In person meeting
• Virtual meeting
• Enterprise site post/request for information This Photo by Unknown
Author is licensed under CC
BY-SA

This Photo by Unknown

Author is licensed under CC
BY-SA

This Photo by Unknown Author is

licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under

CC BY-SA

How to choose and implement the best type?

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EXAMPLE EXCEL UPDATE SHEET

Red text is for

particulars of the
team and project

Exported directly from the Information added by teams

schedule
Sent to project team on the frequency agreed to during schedule management
planning. Sheet aids version control and data integrity of the master schedule. The
number of people changing the actual schedule must by tightly controlled.
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HOW OFTEN SHOULD SCHEDULES BE UPDATED?

Update Min Max Output of chosen frequency is

Frequency recommended recommended typically a battle rhythm, or
activity duration activity duration
drumbeat that:

Monthly 3-5 days 2 months • Displays the order and frequency

of schedule updates.
• Reduces the surprise of schedule
Quarterly 1 week 6 months update requests and subsequent
schedule reports.
• Quashes perception of schedulers
Weekly 1 day 2 weeks
playing ‘gotcha’ with the schedule.

Frequency must be realistic to the work environment to ensure PM and Project

Team are not over burdened

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EFFECTIVE RECOMMENDATION FOR COMMUNICATING WITH STAKEHOLDERS

DO’S DON’T
• Keep focus on the management team; • Use accusatory language e.g., You
this is not a personal request statements
• Align reason for request with project • Use words like “but,” “no,” “can’t,” or
team priorities when possible, “won’t” this can make people feel
stakeholder matrix may help rejected and or dismissed
• Remain cordial in tone and body • Use words like “should,” “shouldn’t,”
language, even if stakeholders “don’t,” or “better not” this type of
communicate resistance language can make the other person
feel inferior
• Use words like “always” and
“never” this type of language is very
generalizing and can be perceived as
absolutes

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 ESTABLISH A SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Schedule Team A successful schedule management process:

Incorporate • Leverages schedule management planning to

updates into develop default routine for gathering schedule
schedule updates (e.g., battle rhythm, update sheet)
Yes

Request Progress • Agreed to by the Management Team before

Timely progress the first schedule update
updates from
updates?
POCs
• Engages PM as authority for ensuring timely,
Schedule Team No accurate updates

Receive updates • Is communicated to all stakeholders before the

PM Engagement from first schedule update
Management
• Accompanies a full briefing of the project
Schedule Team Schedule Team purpose and mission and an explanation of
the full schedule update process (types of data
gathering, etc.)

An organized plan , communicated to project team will diffuse the frustration that
often accompanies chaos

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AUDIENCE STORIES

Lessons Learned from real world schedule update experiences

• Kudos: The Good

• Opportunities to Improve

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