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CMPM Chapter 4
CMPM Chapter 4
CMPM Chapter 4
PLANNING
FUNDAMENTALS
INTRODUCTION
Because each project is unique, there is never an a priori, established way of how the
project should be done. Each project poses new questions regarding what, how, by
whom, in what order, for how much, and by when, and the purpose of planning is to
answer them.
The planning process answers the questions in the following steps:
What? The process defines the project objectives, scope, and system requirements.
These specify the project deliverables, end-items, and other sought results, as well as
the time, cost, and performance targets.
How? It defines the work activities, tasks, or jobs to be done to achieve the objectives
and requirements. These activities include everything necessary to create and deliver
the end-item or deliverables, including planning, control, and administration activities.
PLANNING STEPS
subcontractors, and managers that will perform and manage the work, and specifies
their responsibilities.
When, in what order? It creates a schedule showing the timing of work activities,
How much and when? The process creates a budget and resource plan to fund and
How well? It specifies a method for tracking and controlling project work, which is
necessary to keep the project conforming to the schedule, budget, and user and
system requirements. This chapter and the next seven chapters discuss these steps
in detail.
THE PROJECT MASTER PLAN
Project planning begins early in the project life cycle —in most cases with
preparation of the proposal. While preparing the proposal a rudimentary project team
is organized, and the team prepares a brief summary plan for inclusion in the
proposal. This plan is prepared using the same, albeit more abbreviated, procedures
as are used to develop more elaborate and detailed project master plans.
The difference between a proposal summary plan and a project master plan is that
The planning effort in preparing the proposal is directed at estimating the project
duration, cost, and needed resources. The proposal summary plan includes just
enough information about the project and price to enable the customer to make a
decision.
CONTENTS OF MASTER PLANS
J. Change control plan: Procedures for review and handling of requests for
changes or defacto changes to any aspect of the project.
The next logical step after requirements definition and work definition is to
schedule the project work tasks. A schedule shows the timing for work
tasks and when specific events and project milestones should take place.
Project plans are similar to roadmaps: they show not only how to get to
where you want to go, but also what progress you have made along the
way. Work packages are what you must do; in combination, they are the
road to project goals. Along that road are signposts called events and
milestones that show how far you have progressed. Passing the last event
signifies having reached the final destination: project completion
KINDS OF SCHEDULES
The two most common kinds of schedules are the project schedule and the task
schedule. Project managers and upper management use the project schedule (or
project master schedule) to plan and review the entire project. This schedule shows
all the major project activities, but not much detail about each.
A task schedule shows the specific activities necessary to complete a work package.
It is created for people working on a specific task, and enables lower-level managers
and supervisors to focus on the task and not be distracted by other tasks with which
they have no interaction. Task schedules are prepared by functional managers or
subcontractors, but incorporate interface and milestone events as specified on the
project master schedule. Project and task schedules are prepared and displayed in
many ways, including with Gantt charts.
PLANNING AND SCHEDULING CHARTS
Gantt Charts
The simplest and most commonly used scheduling technique is the Gantt
chart (or bar chart), named after the management consultant Henry L.
Gantt (1861–1919). During World War I Gantt worked with the US Army
to find a way to portray visually the status of the munitions program.
He realized that time was a common denominator to most elements of a
program plan, and that it would be easy to assess progress by viewing
each element’s status with respect to time. His approach, which came to
bear his name, became widely adopted in industry, and is used today in
a variety of ways.
PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT