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Best Planning and Scheduling Approaches
Best Planning and Scheduling Approaches
Best Planning and Scheduling Approaches
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PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
INTRODUCTIONS
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Shohreh Ghorbani
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Mark Sanders
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
WHAT TO EXPECT IN
THE NEXT 1.5 HOURS….
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Engineering Time Management Outline
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Problem Statement
Available Approaches
Recommended Approach
Planning Process
Statusing Process
Summary and Takeaways
Special Offer For Webinar Attendees
Q&As
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PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
PROBLEM STATEMENT
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Problem Statement
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Engineering
¤ The profession in which a knowledge of the mathematical and natural
sciences gained by study, experience, and practice is applied with
judgment to develop ways to utilize economically the materials and forces
of nature for the benefit of mankind
• Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET)
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Problem Statement
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Problem Statement
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Cost Engineer
¤ An engineer whose judgment and experience are utilized in the
application of scientific principles and techniques to problems of
estimation; cost control; business planning and management science;
profitability analysis; project management; and planning and scheduling
• AACE International, RP 10S-90
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Problem Statement
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
AVAILABLE APPROACHES
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Available Approaches
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Available Approaches
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Waterfall
Lean
Agile
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Available Approaches
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Other ideas?
Crystal Ball
Magic Spells
Time Machine
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Available Approaches
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
RECOMMENDED APPROACH
Copy Right © Project Control Academy. All rights reserved Presented by: Mark Sanders
Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Activities are
¤ Part of an iterative process
¤ Within the creation of a deliverable
¤ Discrete start and end points can be hard to define
¡ KOM, information receipt
Piping Design
¡ Consider, reason, pencil-to-paper
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Piping Design
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Piping Design
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Design Activity
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Calc/Report
Design
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Calc/Report
Design
Discipline Coord.
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Calc/Report
Design
Discipline Coord.
Internal Review
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Discipline Coord.
Review
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Expected
Finish
Inputs IFR
Design Review Contingency
Expected
Finish
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Recommended Approach
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
PLANNING PROCESS
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Planning Process
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
¤ Revise/Conform
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Planning Process
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Design Process
¤ Engineering/design development
¤ Internal review
¤ Revision/Resolution of internal comments
¤ Internal review of revisions
¤ Internal approval
¤ Printing/document control/electronic transmittal
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Planning Process
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Planning Process
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Recommendations
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PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
STATUSING PROCESS
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Statusing Process
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Statusing Process
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Statusing Process
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Statusing Process
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
If so, how?
If not, what do we need to achieve it?
¤ Is it feasible to get what we need? Or does the date have to slip?
¤ Any milestone contingency?
¤ Focus on required inputs, which are almost never 100% available when
planned
¡ Address during planning and early in statusing
¡ Maintain rights, but avoid planned excuses
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PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Summary and Takeaways
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
Key points:
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Summary and Takeaways
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
STAR
Stop Act
¤ What is your current process? ¤ Introduce the process.
¤ Is it working? ¤ Then implement.
Think Review
¤ Tailor this approach for your ¤ Track achievement of planned
organization and design process. dates.
¤ Simplify as much as possible. ¤ Dig into reasons for any misses.
¤ Develop trust.
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Summary and Takeaways
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Frustration & Challenges
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Shohreh Ghorbani
Frustration & Challenges
PROJECT CONTROL ACADEMY
The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
The courses are the most comprehensive hands-on “online courses” on the
topic.
Instructors who developed and delivered each training have extensive hands-
on experience in project planning & scheduling.
One-year support and access to the instructor is provided, so you can have
your questions answered.
One-year access to all course material including videos, PDF downloads, and
course Q&As are provided, so you have all the study material available for
your use.
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Shohreh Ghorbani
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Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Project Scheduling Courses
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The Best Planning & Scheduling
Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Project Scheduling Courses
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Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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Approaches For Engineering Schedules
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TAKEAWAYS
ENGINEERING PROCESS ACTIVITIES STARTER LIST
Customize this list for each deliverable with a focus on efficient and effective management.
Required Inputs
Identification
Request (See Procurement for Potential Predecessors)
(External Parties) Develop/Provide
Receive/Review
Revise/Conform
Procurement
Define Scope
Develop RFP
Solicit Bids
(External Parties) Develop Bids
Receive/Review Bids (Technical/Commercial)
Recommend Award
Conform/Negotiate Contract
Execute Purchase Order
Level of Detail
Plan work to the level that it can be controlled. Create enough detail so that the plan is clear and can
be executed, but not so much that you will fail to update it properly. Engineering durations and
descriptions should be concise enough to gage real progress on defined work product. Procurement
durations may be longer to model forecast delivery dates, but progress should be monitored by
routinely contacting the supplier. Field activity durations should be shorter than the update period. An
average duration of 25% of the update period is a reasonable rule-of-thumb. For monthly updates, the
average field activity duration would be roughly one week.
Develop complete networks. Except for the network start and finish, each network activity should have
at least one SS or FS predecessor and at least one FS or FF successor. (Avoid ‘open-ended’ and
‘dangling’ activities.) This is axiomatic to the critical path method.
Use of Constraints
Minimize constraints. Date calculations should be driven by network logic as much as possible. Late
finish constraints can be used to model contractual requirements. Additional constraints should be used
only with a documented basis as to why the condition is better modeled by a constraint than by
network logic. Mandatory constraints should not be used as they override network date and float
calculations and reduce the CPM to a bar chart.
Schedule Statusing
Update the schedule based on affirmative progress reports. Do not apply software update commands
to report progress without actual verification. Update the status of activities based on remaining
duration. Schedule the project with the new data date and verify that: (1) the anticipated finish dates
for near-term work appear reasonable based on progress to date, (2) the work scheduled for the
upcoming period is a reasonable model of the actual work planned, (3) the longest path for the
project is reasonable, and (4) the forecast interim and final completion dates are reasonable.
Provide commentary on significant variances and revisions. If the forecast interim or final completion
dates are beyond the required dates, provide comments on the cause of the delay and plan to
mitigate. The comments should relate to specific activity delays during the previous update period or to
schedule revisions. If schedule revisions were made to mitigate delays, describe the revisions to aid
understanding by the project personnel who will implement them.
Client Value from EPC Contractor Project Controls
A simple checklist for the EPC to assess whether its program provides value to the client.
Timely and accurately reports actuals, consistent with the terms of the contract
Identifies categories of costs that will overrun before actual overruns occur
Facilitates collaborative efforts to redistribute work-package budgets and utilize contingency to
protect the overall project budget
Risk Management
Coordinated approach between owner and EPC focused on the success of both
Addresses both discrete risks and systemic risks
INTEGRATED PROJECT CONTROLS FOR MEGAPROJECTS
High-Level recommendations for implementing and leading a complex project control regime.
The latest software won’t help you if you don’t know what you want it to do and why. Computers don’t
manage projects; people do. Set appropriate baseline targets, plan how to achieve them, and
implement controls systems with an eye toward the decisions that will be needed along the way.
Project managers must have clear and realistic goals and a sense for what they will need to know
during execution in order to manage to their goals. Only then can project management information
systems be implemented to collect and analyze information appropriately. When risks become reality,
project management should be able to clearly present data and facts to support the release of
contingency or the implementation of alternatives. Contingencies and alternatives must be made
available when the project is initiated, and perceptions must be managed such that their use is seen
not as a failure, but as consistent with the agreed-upon plan to overcome risk events and achieve
project goals. Maximize project performance by setting difficult but achievable targets with
appropriate levels of contingency.
Make Decisions
Project controls personnel can acquire, report, and centralize reams of data, but you are never going
to have all of the information. Making no decision is almost always disastrous. Money is being spent
every day, whether you make a decision or not. You may take months to determine the ‘best’ option,
but you will usually be better off choosing a ‘good’ option and choosing it sooner. Megaprojects in
engineering and construction call for managers that can assess what they need to know and when
they know enough to move forward. Calling for more and more data can reduce the quality of the
data that you receive. Project managers need to work closely with project controls managers to
understand what data is necessary to manage the project and how it should be organized and
interpreted to guide project decision-making. Calling for more and more data and analysis while
decisions backlog is a recipe for failure.
Just because of the sheer size of the team involved on a megaproject, you’re going to have a wide
range of abilities. Errors are guaranteed. You need to make sure that you have a critical mass of
competence so that the errors don’t snowball. Don’t rely on software to manage problems. For
example, building information modeling (BIM) software offers clash detection features, but an
experienced design reviewer can guide the team to a more efficient overall design approach and
show them how to minimize conflicts before they occur. As one reviewer of integrated project delivery
(IPD) concepts noted, “While most commentators and proponents of IPD seem to think the problems
associated with design will be discovered through the use of BIM, the sleeping dragon may very well
be the overreliance on computer models and not enough human input.”* The project controls field is
no different. We have grown too reliant on software to solve our problems. Software is a tool, not the
answer. Primavera P6 doesn’t make great schedules any more than Microsoft Word writes great
books. Teams that have successfully executed megaprojects know that their success is due to the efforts
of a dedicated group of people that worked together to overcome the problems that arose.
* Hilger, S., “The Legal Worries Raised by IPD,” Engineering News Record, ENR.com,
referenced September 1, 2010
Manage Risk with Accountability
Despite the proliferation of risk management, significant risks continue to be underestimated or ignored
on megaprojects. In particular, risks associated with regulatory changes and technological innovations
receive insufficient treatment. In 1988, the RAND Corporation noted, “Doing something different—
even slightly different—increases cost growth and schedule slippage and dramatically increases the
probability of operational problems.”* Yet instances of 100-percent budget overruns on projects
implementing untested processes without appropriate contingency continue.† By 2004, RAND P P
reported, “The universal statement about the general utility of quantitative project risk analysis was that
it is clearly useful, because it is so widely used and so widely recommended.” However, “project risk
analysis is not well understood by project management,” and “virtually all of the evidence for its utility
was anecdotal.”‡ P
Numerous commentators and public advocates have questioned the honesty of those engaged in
megaproject estimating and risk analysis to justify project initiation. Considering the history of cost
overruns, these questions must be answered, and integrity must be restored. Cost/benefit analyses and
risk analyses of megaprojects in the engineering and construction industry are within the scope of the
cost engineering profession, and we are well positioned to promote ethics and objectivity in these
fields. If risk management is to be our answer, we must first answer how the very application of a
procedure of rigorous mathematical simulation can be based on anecdotal evidence of its
effectiveness. This oversight must be corrected. Finally, logic dictates that in order to maximize the
chances of project success, risks should be allocated to the parties best equipped to avoid or mitigate
them. In fact, risks are often transferred to the party in the weakest negotiating position, regardless of
that party’s ability to avoid or mitigate those risks. If risk management is to lead to megaproject
success, then stakeholders that stand to benefit from project success must be made to bear an
appropriate portion of the risk of project failure. Know the players and know that incentives matter.
Project controls professionals have long lamented the decline of ‘planning’ that has accompanied the
rise of ‘scheduling.’ This trend is especially dangerous for megaprojects. While there is an increase in
the use of sophisticated project controls systems, there is less effective top-down planning. More details
are communicated, but the big picture is increasingly blurred. The solutions offered by the software
industry emphasize the integration of data from the bottom up. However, the lack of direction and
standardization in the principles that guide the preparation of this data has not been addressed.
Inconsistency in the application of planning concepts can result in mass confusion when increasingly
common terms like ‘critical path’ have different meanings to each party. Effective megaproject
management requires central guidance of planning activities. You can integrate information from the
bottom-up, but ultimately, there needs to be one path forward. Modern techniques such as crowd-
sourcing and agile design can be incorporated, but even those systems are really implemented from
the top-down when they work well. They still rely on central implementation and central integration of
the results. The key is that everyone is working to the same plan. In order to achieve that, planning
must be promoted at the highest level. If upper management understands the overall plan and
communicates it well, then all parties will be able to ask themselves how their piece of the project fits
into the overall plan and plan their own work accordingly. The top level of management must
communicate the big picture, emphasize their commitment to it, and ensure that the pieces fit together.
* Merrow, E., Understanding the Outcomes of Megaprojects: A Quantitative Analysis of Very Large Civilian Projects,
R‐3560‐PSSP, RAND Corporation, March 1988.
† Chilcott, A., Risk Management – A Developing Field of Study and Application, Cost Engineering Journal, Volume 52,
No. 9, AACE International, Morgantown, WV, pages 9‐16, September 2010.
‡
Galway, L., Quantitative Risk Analysis for Project Management: A Critical Review, Working Paper, WR‐112‐RC,
RAND Corporation, February 2004.
Simplify
There is some tendency among project controls personnel to over-complicate management processes.
Seek to simplify wherever possible without sacrificing quality. Don’t over-design systems that will only
work well if they are used perfectly. Megaprojects can be burdened by electronic filing systems and
cost-coding systems that could provide good data, but few of the users code the data properly. If files
cannot be easily retrieved, then the filing system has little value. If costs are improperly coded, then
cost reports have little value. One of the greatest challenges to integrated project controls systems is
that they tend to become too complex and more burdensome than helpful. A good system should be
able to produce key performance indicators easily, and they should be readily understandable to
management. Anyone that has spent significant time in the engineering and construction industry has
seen examples of nonsensical productivity and cost v. budget reports that have been produced with
the click of a button, without anyone validating the data. Decision-making is then slowed while data is
reviewed and re-coded. In the worst cases, this cycle repeats many times over the course of the
project. Systems should provide plan, commitment, and actual data for cost and schedule quickly,
easily, and reliably. Systems that try to provide all desired features to all users often don’t perform well
for key management tasks. Prioritize management needs and simplify systems to meet the top priorities
effectively.
The founders of Hewlett-Packard are credited with coining the term Management by Walking Around
(MBWA) to emphasize that top-level managers should be present and have direct contact with the
personnel that they manage. With more and more management done by computers and e-mail, this
concept is waning. In engineering and construction, we should not underestimate the effect of seeing
top managers, especially in the field, and especially first-thing in the morning. Talk to team members to
find out what they do and how they do it. Don’t get all of your information from prepared reports that
have been filtered, and don’t assume information that you are presented is 100 percent accurate. Trust
but verify. You know that your data has errors in it; find examples of them and decide whether the
overall picture is reliable. Verify ‘first dollar’ costs on the overall program and on any new sub-project
to give yourself a good feeling that the scope of what is estimated is the same as the scope of what is
being charged. Computer models generate a lot of information. It has varying levels of accuracy.
Show a strong preference for affirmative reporting from real people. Plan for communications. There is
a huge amount of information changing hands every day. Your people will be overwhelmed at times.
Being present and visible will allow you to direct project management resources where they are most
needed more effectively than by simply looking at a CPM schedule.