Project Time Management Tools

Fachhochschule Dortmund
University of Applied Sciences and Arts
European Masters in Project Management
Communication Tools to manage
Project Time
Author: Ujjwal Kumar Joshi
Submitted To: Prof. Dr. Peter Reusch
Date: May 2, 2013

Table of Contents
Table of Contents...........................................................................................................2
1.Introducing the baseline schedule ..............................................................................1
2.Introducing Change Control Plan.................................................................................3
3.Introducing Change Requests during the Project........................................................7
4.Introducing the Gantt chart........................................................................................8
5.Introducing the Logic Network Diagram....................................................................10
6.Introducing the Project Milestone List......................................................................12
7.Introducing Project scheduling tool...........................................................................13
8.Schedule Management Plan......................................................................................16
Conclusion...................................................................................................................19

Introduction
The knowledge area of time management typically refers to the skills, tools, and techniques used to
manage time when accomplishing specific tasks, projects and goals. In order to become an effective
time manager, you should be able to clearly understand the activities of the project and have the
necessary skill set to plan, schedule, and control a project timeline. Along with these skills, you must also
be able to utilize time management tools to help you analyse, measure, and assess your time
management techniques. Keeping all of this in mind, may I suggest four steps to help with project time
management?
1. Define the Activities
2. Sequence the Activities
3. Estimate Activity Resources
4. Develop and Control the Schedule
From the project management communication bible, and PMBOK, it’s well spelled out that
communication, communication and communication is the main tool to achieve effective time
management by project managers. Some of these communication channels project managers should
use are and not limited to the follow. A detail analysis of best communication of project managers’
stakeholders is found below. (Web conference, e-mails, telephone calls, forums and bulletins)
For any schedule to be introduced, project managers have to communicate stakeholders for an over
view and analysis or approval.
References
Project Management Communications Bible, Bill Dow, Bruce Taylor
Project Management Book of Knowledge 5th edition
1. Introducing the baseline schedule
Baseline: In project management, a baseline is a known state by which something is measured or
compared. The value of having a baseline schedule is to track how well the project team is progressing.
The baseline schedule allows for a simple comparison between two project schedules (the original and
the current) to determine whether the project is still on track or needs attention. Project managers and
team members, can use the baseline schedule throughout the project to communicate project schedule
status and compare the two schedules regularly to prevent any possible slip or delay in the original
project. Comparisons of these are mostly; Cost, start and finished dates and resources assignments of
any specific project.
Scheduling a baseline plan is something project managers should have in place before a project goes
forward from the "drawing board". The baseline plan provides estimates of project factors that any
changes can be measured against, before the final deadlines are met and the project is completed.
Software packages like Microsoft project include the capacity for creating a baseline plan tool, and lots
of managers swear by this first step.

The purpose of a baseline tool is to establish a depiction of the initial schedule before any project work
begins. The process of baseline introduction begins in the Scope Management phase of every project.
Donors, team members and stakeholders are the key persons to be informed and work closely with.
Information is mostly by constant communication. Communication can by through board meetings, e-
mail, face book, telephone call etc. The key to any successful project is communication with
stakeholders and customers.
Baseline Plan Benefits
One way, managers and others use a baseline plan, is for defining a project to get top brass to sign off
on it. The approval process depends on just the same aspects that a baseline plan covers such benefits
 Projected cost
 Projects and communicates time line
 Features to be included
 Show difference from baseline schedules to current day progress
Handing supervisors or board members a baseline plan quickly fills them in on what is expected to be
done, and when, how, and for how much. That's not to say it's written in stone. A baseline plan (if put
into ink at all) should be written with an "imaginary eraser" - that is, everyone involved should know
that the baseline plan is subject to changes. In the project management world, change is the only
constant, and the inevitable changes will be compared to the baseline plan to track progress.
Without a baseline schedule, project managers, stakeholders and customers would have a considerable
harder time understanding or seeing where there is a project slip and what project areas are causing the
delay.
Types of project baselines
Since a project baseline includes many data from a project it is difficult to manage it as a whole and
usually it is broken into several parts. This makes the complexity of baseline management easier to deal
with. Project baselines generally include:
1. Scope Baseline: The technical, physical and functional requirements for deliverable products.
2. Schedule Baseline: The project schedule and all of the elements supporting the schedule.
3. Cost/Budget Basline: An approved budget usually in a time distribution format used to
estimate, monitor, and control overall cost performance on the project.
4. Quality/Risk Baseline: The set of known possible changes (uncertainities) that could impact the
performance of the project.
To capture progress of any project, at different times and levels during the project, you may create more
than one version of the baseline schedule. For example; at the start of a project you create a baseline
schedule and at the beginning of each phase or milestones. As you progress, you can better compare

the new baseline schedule to the current schedule and determine quickly how well the project has
moved.
Fig. Project Status Report with baseline indicators
Source: http://www.kidasa.com/ KIDASA® Software (1991-2012). Last Updated: March 26, 2012
Planning to use a baseline schedule
In doing this the project manager must have a complete and approved project schedule without a
formal activity recorded. This is done with consultation from stakeholders, in a conference format or a
board meeting. During these meetings or conference workshops, team members, stakeholders
determine when and how the baseline will be use, maybe at the beginning of each phase or milestone
or monthly or when a new product is introduced. It is always advisable to formulate some planning
questions
References
http://www.brighthubpm.com/change-management/126119-a-project-managers-guide-to-chronemics-
in-team-communication/
http://www.brighthubpm.com/templates-forms/124740-collection-of-free-project-management-
templates-and-forms/
Project Management Book of Knowledge 5th edition
2. Introducing Change Control Plan
Project stakeholders play a large role in the change control plan and procedure document and can make
or break a project by the number of changes that they request of the project team. Not every project
change request is acceptable; in some case, the change is too great and the impact to the schedule too

large or he cost too high. The project manager may totally eject a large change or delay it until a later
date in the project life cycle.
Project manager should communicate to the customer how the team will react to being over whelmed
with change request work added onto their already overloaded schedule as overloading and
overworking the team members will have a negative impact to the project. A change control plan
communicates the processes and procedures, but not necessarily the impact to moral.
The change control plan allows project managers to control project scope and cost by using an
established process. It allows the project manager to identify scope creep by comparing the existing
scope to the change request.
Choosing the most appropriate communications media for stakeholders in Baseline schedule, control
change and change request processes is as show below:
Change can be generated by anyone, but this is not to say that the required change will be actually
implemented on a project. Changes to a project may be a result of a (1) deviation or waiver, (2) issue
management process, or (3) a change in scope as requested by the customers or stakeholders.
Project managers should at least be aware of new requirements before they are implemented. Many
projects suffer from users, business analysts, and even technical architects wandering from developer to
developer and inserting “good ideas” into the project. While this is done with the best of intentions, it
has a terrible impact on the schedule and must be controlled.
Awareness Understanding Engagement Involvement Commitment
Newsletters
Business plansNoticeboards
Interactive
staff
meetings
Away days
and
conferences
Audio conferencing
Computer networks
Telephone
Video conferencing
Webinars
Face book
communication
Project Staff attitude
survey
Training courses
Special seminars
Project team
meetings
Senior management
meetings
Planning workshops
E-Mail
Project Staff
suggestion
scheme
Senior management
visits
Cross-functional
meetings
Letters
Memos
Circulars
Attitude
to Change
Attit
ude
to
Cha
nge

It is important to control the change requests that are proposed during the course of the project. The
following step-by-step process will help project managers implement successful change control. (See
appendix 2A)
1. Select the recommended solution to the scope change.
2. Meet with the owner to accept or reject the change.
3. Implement the scope changes order, if required, and document the changes.
4. Communicate to the project team so all members understand the effect of the scope change.
For all the required changes, both the internal and external stakeholders have to be identified, analyse
their needs, engage these stakeholders and manage them. Below is a stakeholder management chart on
how to go about with management and communication.
Starting up the Change Control plan
The Change Control process will involve a combination of procedures, responsibilities and systems. The
key to success is to have a well-controlled but efficient process. Define and agree:
• On what basis changes should be approved,
• Who does what?
• The membership of the Change Control Board(s),
• The detailed procedures, forms, etc,
• Protocols for levels of authority, for example. what types of change can be approved
without reference to the project's business owners,
• Linkage to other management procedures, for example. the issue management process,
configuration management,
• Which tools will be used to support and manage the process?
• How to communicate and promote the process and its importance to all participants
When you utilized the change control plan, you are also responsible for reporting and communicating
status from the change request process. This could be weekly or monthly.
Change Control Process
What is this?
Form for documenting a change someone is requesting be made to a project or, product, or service
being delivered by a project.
The forms sections provide space to: Appendix 2A

Describe the change, the reason for it, and what the change would affect in terms of project deliverables
and documentation, as well as what resource time would be needed to implement and validate the
change.
And space to track all the change impacts to completion (major implementation tasks and document
updates).
Why it is useful?
Projects are often plagued by "scope creep" – changes get made without review, adding to the work of
the project, and sometimes delaying the schedule, increasing the costs, or causing late issues to arise.
Companies use change control to make sure the impact of any proposed change to the project
definition, or specific components of the project (such as hardware or software deliverables, or a
business process associated with a service) are thoroughly understood, carefully considered, and
formally approved in some fashion. The change control form in this template file shows the type of
information the team should get on a proposed change to fully understand its impact.
Change control usually grows more stringent as project progresses, in order to protect the project
against late, disruptive changes.
How to use it?
Establish a process by which changes will be proposed and reviewed using the change control form. The
process should ensure that proposed changes are reviewed frequently enough to keep the project
moving.
The details of each section of the form should be customized for your project types and project
deliverables – i.e., for what the output of your projects is, whether product, system, service, etc.
Provide the form to team members and others who might need to submit a change.
This form can also be used when you are using contractors or outside firms to do work on your project.
In this case that outside party would be required to provide the information relevant to the work they're
performing.
Identify who should be involved in reviewing various types of changes. Document that in simple
guidelines.
After the impacts have been considered, use the bottom portion of the form to document the decision
on this change: approved or not, and why. The signature lines at the bottom become the official signoff
on that decision.
File the change forms as important project records. (See Appendix 2A)

3. Introducing Change Requests during the Project
Not all changes follow the approved process. Often project team members will be persuaded to make a
change without using the approved procedure where it seems necessary but minor. Although this can
seem practical to those concerned, it represents a risk to the project. The Project Manager and Project
Office team should be alert for uncontrolled changes. Where necessary, changes should be painlessly re-
directed into the correct procedure.
The Change Control process will run continuously during the project, and potentially beyond that into
live running. The Project Office team and the Project Manager will administer and control the process.
(A sample of change Request Form is found at the appendix 3A)
In many ways it is similar to the Issue Submission Form. The difference is that the Change Request
addresses specific changes to be reviewed, authorised and made, whereas the Issue Submission Form
captures less-well-defined information. In the Change Request there is more attention to the exact
nature of the changes, whether they are scope changes, where they lie in the project lifecycle, which
specific document or deliverable references need attention, etc.
Specific attention is paid to the cost and implications, identifying where work will be required and what
its impact will be in terms of cost, risk and timescale. In particular, a benefit case will be prepared to
summarise why the change should be made.
The Project Manager, Change Control Board or Steering Committee will use this Benefit Case in making a
decision, in line with the pre-established guiding principles.
The status of the Change Request and its approval level should be tracked. In addition to the database of
Change Requests, there would be logs and various management reports to allow the project leadership
to track and control the changes.
Change Request & Control Management procedure

Project manager can use change request form in the following situations:
1. Communicates the request scope addition or removal of change, including owners who request new
functionality within the project
2. To communicate to the customers or management, a request to increase the project budget
3. To communicate to the upper management and request additional project staff
4. To communicate and request change found causing design error
Reporting using a change request
Project managers are responsible for reporting the number of change request associated with the
project. They usually send the form to all project team members for assessment of impacts and then to
the change control board (CCB) for approval or rejection (see appendix 3A).
Change Request Form (Sample)
[This form is divided into three sections. Section 1 is intended for use by the individual submitting the
change request. Section 2 is intended for the use by the project manager to document/communicate
their initial impact analysis of the requested change. Section 3 is intended for use by the Change Control
Board (CCB) to document their final decision regarding the requested change. Appendix 3A]
References
http://www.brighthubpm.com/change-management/126119-a-project-managers-guide-to-chronemics-
in-team-communication/
http://www.brighthubpm.com/templates-forms/124740-collection-of-free-project-management-
templates-and-forms/
http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/3-main-benefits-of-baselining.html
Project Management Book of Knowledge 5th
edition
www.method123.com
4. Introducing the Gantt chart
A Gantt chart is a kind of bar chart that shows the initial and the end date of the elements of a project. It
was developed by Henry Gantt in the 1910s for illustrating project schedules. In present world, it is
considered as one of the major instrument in the Project Manager’s toolbox that is rich in project’s
information.
It is a quite simple and convenient tool that represents and communicates the activities of a project with
start and ending dates, cost per task, resource assignments and dependencies all through the project life
cycle. Thus, a Gantt chart shows a huge amount of information related to different aspects of a project
at a single glance.

Moreover, a Gantt chart is considered as a key tool for planning and tracking the conference. In the
conference, it acts as a Schedule management tool that allows controlling the milestones and the
activities related to conference by tracking the initial/end dates and the responsible people for the
activity. Project managers often use the Gantt chart to communicate with the customers or the team on
the regular basis regarding the progress of the project. Since the Gantt chart comprises of bars in the
graphical format, the project managers could easily review the project details and information with the
stakeholders.
Before developing the Gantt chart for the project, the Project Manager should know all the processes
and activities involved in the project. Moreover, the project manager should have the fine knowledge
about the dependencies between each project activities and the work packages. He/she can consult
with the stakeholders to acquire a virtual image of the project. After knowing their demands, the Project
manager must have the relevant information about the project’s resources- costs, time, tools, human
resources and so on.
References
http://www.conferencebasics.com/2009/04/planning-your-conference-using-a-gantt-chart/
http://www.eventmanagerblog.com/event-gantt-chart-overview-and-example
Reporting from a Gantt chart
Through a Gantt chart, the project managers could draw the information about the following:
1. Cost: the total budget allocated for the activities and the actual costs required for the completion of the
activities.
2. Earned value chart: the costs and the schedule performances indexes and variances.
3. Time: the activities based on their schedule dates.
4. Labor hours: the planned and the actual working hours for the labors.
Relationship with the Conference Management and the Stakeholders
One of the benefits of the Gantt chart is the tool’s ability to break down the multiple tasks and the
timelines into a single document. Not only the timelines, it gives a fine overview about the stakeholders
and other human resources related with the activities. The entire project teams can use the Gantt chart
for the discussion about the project in meeting and even can enhance other status updates. Gantt chart
offers the entire project team the ability to focus work at the front of task timeline, means the team can
concentrates on the urgent project activities after seeing the Gantt chart for the project.
In other hand, the project manager and the resource schedulers can sequence the events and reduce
the potential for overburdening of the works to the team members. Also, the Project Managers can
even use combinations of charts to break-down projects into more manageable set of tasks for the
effective and efficient utilization of the resources related with the project.

Thus, the Gantt chart conveys fine information about the related Stakeholders, time of execution for the
project’s activities including initial and end dates along with other important information. It can be
shown through a Gantt chart as follows:
Fig. Gantt chart for organizing a conference along with the possible stakeholders
References
http://www.method123.com
http://www.ieee.org/documents/30012586.pdf
5. Introducing the Logic Network Diagram
Logic Network Diagram is a flowchart including all the project activities and their dependencies to each
other. Logic Network Diagram shows not only the sequence of the activities in the project, but also
shows the set of parallel activities and the links between each activity. Similarly, this diagram even gives
the information about the Predecessor and the Successor activities. Hence, Logic Network Diagram
maintains a logical stream of the activities and their inter-relationships that will lead to the completion
of the entire project. It provides the information to understand and visualize how the project will
continue.
Even if the major changes occurs the project manager can revise the project may be by rearranging the
activities order with the help of network diagram. It provides a clear and understandable view of the
project tasks and their logical dealings with each other in a graphical design. It also presents the
project’s critical path that helps the project team to focus their effort for the success of the project. It

helps to verify if there are any tasks that are being missed on the project schedule. It is a self-analyzing
tool that alerts the key sections that are being neglected out.
The logic network diagram approaches in two basic designs. One is a pure logic diagram showing
activities in boxes and relationships between those activities noted by arrows. It focuses the order and
relationships between project activities. In this diagram, the activities follow one after the other.
Another type is a time scale diagram where the activities are represented by the bars. These bars are of
varying lengths that represents the duration of each activity. Hence, we can say that the length of the
bare is directly proportional to the duration of the activity.
Reporting from the Logic Network Diagram
The reporting of the logic network diagram can occur throughout the project lifecycle. It generally draws
the conclusion about the dependencies of the tasks and the activities of the projects. It also reports
about the time schedules, when the project activities have been started.
Logic Network diagram gives a clear picture of all the conference activities including its dates of start
and completion, and the key-personnel human resources or in another word, stakeholder associated
with the project activities. Not only that, it even shows a dependencies among the project activities.
It guides all the stakeholders of the project regarding the time period needed for the completion of the
project tasks. In other word, how long the project activities should take to complete is clearly visible in
Logic Network Diagram. Not only that, it also guides Project Manager regarding the estimation of
Human resources and time resources during the execution or in the beginning of the project activities.
For example, a conference is divided into several work-packages. Hence, for the easy execution of the
conference, it is divided into several work-packages. These work-packages contain numbers of activities.
So, it will be easy for the project team to know the progress of the conference that is going to happen.
Moreover, he/she can draw the conclusion regarding the completed tasks and remaining tasks along
with their starting and initial dates. Not only this, the entire project team can know the dependencies
between the work packages and the activities.
Hence, it acts as a bridge between the Project activities, Project resources and the stakeholders who are
related with the projects. It can be shown as follows:

Fig. Logic Network Diagram for organizing a conference along with the possible stakeholders
References
http://www.netplaces.com/project-management/creating-the-schedule/the-network-diagram.html
http://www.successful-project-management.com/network-diagram.html
http://www.method123.com
6. Introducing the Project Milestone List
Milestone can be said as activity with zero duration that symbolizes an important achievement in a
project. Milestone is the point, where the goal of the work packages defined under the Work breakdown
Structure (WBS) of a Project, is successfully achieved. Generally, Milestones are essential to control and
manage the project activities, but there are no tasks associated with it.

It is created in the planning process and is mostly used by Upper Management, project Owners,
Executives, Project Managers, team Members and the media and marketing departments. The major
purpose of the Project Milestone List is to communicate project’s milestone tasks and dates in a
presentation format for the upper level of Management, customers, and the project members.
Communication between the Stakeholders is a must for organizing Conference. The Stakeholders can
get a fine overview regarding the progress of the Conference. The Project manager creates and updates
the project milestone list throughout the project life cycle. After achieving the success in any activities,
the project milestones lists are updated.
Fig. A Milestone Diagram for organizing the Conference
Reference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milestone_(project_management)
7. Introducing Project scheduling tool
The project schedule provides information regarding the overall project duration as well as each
activity’s duration. It reflects the project schedule baseline and is used to present that baseline
information to team members, management, and the customer. The Project Schedule is used to present
information on the timing of the project and its activities to a variety of stakeholders (in a variety of
ways).

Project Schedule tool is one of the most important tool which is used to communicate project
information in this conference. The wealth of data within the tool can help resolve problems of complex
questions on the project. Project schedule include start and end dates, resource assignments, course per
activity, activity dependencies etc. The reason behind building project schedule from the project plan
because the project plan consists of activity duration and the logical relation between activities that all
are key elements of the project schedule. Project schedule can be created through an automated
scheduling tool. The project schedule includes start and finish date for each task, calculated by the
scheduling tool. Tool has to include data’s like activity duration, description and logical relationships
between activities at a minimum. This will complete the calculation of the project.
Project Stakeholders expect a weekly communication on the project schedule of conference. In, most
cases this is acceptable time frame because more frequently would provide too much information and
less frequently could leave the customers feeling lost or out of touch. When communicating this
information, the project manager should start by going over the milestone dates and drill into the
specific tasks that are occurring during the timeframe presenting on the schedule. When communicating
project schedule on a weekly basis, it provides an excellent opportunity to keep the customers in sync
with what is occurring on project at all times.
Content
The Project Schedule is so populate that before long, the stakeholders will demand nothing less from
the Project conference manager and will learn to appreciate and the value of wealth of the project data
it provides.
Diligent effort has to be taken to constantly update and maintain the project schedule for conference
projects .The schedule may consist of a project-length timeline, as well as the specific activity
information, including the activities:
 Effort Hours  Latest possible finish date
 Elapsed duration  Available total float
 Earliest possible start date  Available free float
 Earliest possible finish date  Relationships with other activities
 Working Duration  Latest possible start date
As a complete set of project activities it can reflect all of the work in the project. As a subset of those
activities, or fragment (a self-contained subset of a project schedule), the project schedule can reflect a
time-sensitive window of project activity.
Approaches
The varieties of display options for project schedules are legion. The most common presentation paper
for project schedules is a Gantt chart, illustrated in Figure A below, which highlights the details of
Activities and the relationships among those activities.

ID Task Name Duration Start Finish
1 Organizinga Conference 60 days Fri 12.04.13 Thu 04.07.13
2 Sponsorship 40 days Fri 12.04.13 Thu 06.06.13
3 Initial PlanningMeeting 15 days Fri 12.04.13 Thu 02.05.13
4 Set Objectives, vision 3 days Sat 13.04.13 Tue 16.04.13
5 Develop Budget 4 days Wed 17.04.13 Mon 22.04.13
6 Identify tasks and
responsibilities
2 days Tue 23.04.13 Wed
24.04.13
7 Appoint General chair and
Conference Committee
5 days Wed 17.04.13 Tue
23.04.13
8 Prepare a chart 1 day Thu 25.04.13 Thu 25.04.13
9 Venue selection 3 days Fri 26.04.13 Tue 30.04.13
10 Catering Selection 2 days Wed 01.05.13 Thu 02.05.13
11 Monitoringand Controlling 60 days Fri 12.04.13 Thu 04.07.13
12 Communication Plan and
marketingmaterials
40 days Fri 26.04.13 Thu
20.06.13
18 Paper Management 40 days Fri 12.04.13 Thu 06.06.13
24 International Participants 9 days Wed 19.06.13 Mon 01.07.13
27 Run Conference 3 days Mon 01.07.13 Wed 03.07.13
28 Closing 1 day Thu 04.07.13 Thu 04.07.13
29 Review 1 day Thu 04.07.13 Thu 04.07.13
Advisor;Member;Sub-coordinator;Government
Advisor;Member;Sub-coordinator
Coordinator;Government;Member;Participants;Sub-coordin
Advisor;Coordinator;Government;Member;Participants;Sub
Coordinator;Member;Sub-coordinator
Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Qtr 1, 2013 Qtr 2, 2013 Qtr 3, 2013 Qtr 4, 2013
Task
Split
Milestone
Summary
Project Summary
External Tasks
External Milestone
Inactive Task
Inactive Milestone
Inactive Summary
Manual Task
Duration-only
Manual Summary Rollup
Manual Summary
Start-only
Finish-only
Deadline
Progress
Page 1
Project: Conference.mpp
Date: Mon 29.04.13
Fig. A typical Project Schedule used for conference management
The choice of tool should largely depend on the application and the level of knowledge and
understanding of the stakeholder to whom the schedule is being presented. Some team members may
function most effectively through a basic calendar. Management may prefer a Gantt presentation.
Those with a process orientation may lean toward the network approaches.
The minimum information that exists on a project schedule includes a task description, duration (in
hours/weeks/days/months) and logical relationships. A project-scheduling tool cannot plan. Manually
we have to describe every activity, estimate every duration, it has to be defined at what order/sequence
the activity to be worked. Without at least these elements, the project information cannot become a
project schedule.
Considerations
If simplicity in presentation is the key, the Gantt has normally the preferred approaches. If clarity of
relationships is the most important element to understand, one of the network approaches is probably
more viable. If the approach is not mapped to the needs of the individual receiving the information, it
can be difficult or impossible to detect what is being presented. And because the approaches may
include baseline schedule information as well as information about the schedule in process, the sheer
volume of data presented can sometimes be overwhelming.
Different formats are available for reporting project schedule, the first and most commonly used format
is on paper where the project schedule is printed and analyzed with customers or stakeholders in person
in a review meeting. The other method of reporting is electronic publishing of project schedule via

presentation, websites and emails. This reporting technique is good because the information becomes
instantly available to the customers, subcontractors, and vendors and allows them to drill into the
details of the task of their convenience. Often companies create project dashboards that contain project
schedule information for communicating this information. This type of communication is real time and
extremely valuable to customers and upper management.
8. Schedule Management Plan
Introduction
This section highlights the purpose and importance of the schedule management plan. It provides a
general description of what should be included in the schedule management plan. These items will be
described in more detail later in the plan under each corresponding section. The project schedule is the
roadmap for how the project will be executed. Schedules are an important part of any project as they
provide the project team, sponsor, and stakeholders a Picture of the project’s status at any given time.
The purpose of the schedule management plan is to define the approach the project team will use in
creating the project schedule. This plan also includes how the team will monitor the project schedule
and manage changes after the baseline schedule has been approved. This includes identifying, analyzing,
documenting, prioritizing, approving or rejecting, and publishing all schedule-related changes.
The below A table represents typical Schedule Management plan content can be used for conference. As
you can see from the table of contents, the major session of the plan include baseline process,
parameters, change control, reporting and so on. It is not a large or complex plan, but important when it
comes to a tight control on project schedule.
Schedule Management plan Overview Schedule Management Responsibilities
Schedule Baseline Schedule Parameters
Schedule Change Control Schedule Reports
The schedule management plan documents in detail, the process and procedures of the project
schedule change control process in conference. In this table of contents, the schedule control contains
the process and procedures for making any changes.
This session includes how often you can make weekly schedule changes and who can make changes i.e.,
the responsible person in the project and who provides overall approval for these changes - can be
project manager or customer. When anyone request changes, they must follow this process before
making changes to the schedule. Normally, schedule changes are limited to a few individuals on the
project and are rarely open to all team members. The schedule management plan includes descriptions
of required documents (e.g., network diagrams, Gantt charts, milestone charts), as well as some insight
on how those documents may be developed. The major session of plan is described below: -
Scheduling Process
The scheduling process may include both high-level and detailed descriptions of how the schedule and
its components will be generated. The process includes information on when the schedule should be

base lined and when certain types of documents (e.g., milestone charts, team calendars) should be
updated.
Scheduling Responsibilities
The responsibilities should reflect who would be accountable for schedule updates and for capturing
real-time information on project and task performance. This may also include who is in charge of the
scheduling tools and who is conducting data entry.
Schedule Parameters
Any noteworthy project schedule limitations (e.g., major milestones, finish date) should be identified
here.
Schedule Modification
This element of the schedule management plan ties in with change control, in that it details how and
when the schedule may be adjusted. For organizations applying critical chain management, this may also
include how buffer time may be consumed and how management should be notified when such buffer
is consumed.
Approaches
This section provides a general framework for the approach, which will be taken to create the project
schedule. This includes the scheduling tool/format, schedule milestones, and schedule development
roles and responsibilities.
Project schedules will be created using MS Project starting with the deliverables identified in the
project’s Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Activity definition will identify the specific work packages,
which must be performed to complete each deliverable. Activity sequencing will be used to determine
the order of work packages and assign relationships between project activities. Activity duration
estimating will be used to calculate the number of work periods required to complete work packages.
Resource estimating will be used to assign resources to work packages in order to complete schedule
development.
The following will be designates as milestones for the project schedule:
• Completion of scope statement and WBS/WBS Dictionary
• Baselined project schedule
• Approval of final project budget
• Project kick-off
• Approval of roles and responsibilities
• Requirements definition approval
• Completion of data mapping/inventory

• Project implementation
• Acceptance of final deliverables
Although the approaches to scheduling may vary, some of the elements are consistent. The schedule
management plan should highlight the major milestones and who is responsible for reporting on those
milestones (and to whom).
The plan may go into extensive detail on team processing of schedule information or may simply identify
a single team member with “go-to” responsibility for all scheduling issues. Because it is integrated with
other baseline issues (including cost, requirements, and risk), the schedule management plan should be
coordinated with any management plans that have been developed for those areas.
Roles and responsibilities for schedule development in detail are as follows:
 The project manager will be responsible for facilitating work package definition, sequencing, and
estimating duration and resources with the project team.
 The project team is responsible for participating in work package definition, sequencing, and
duration and resource estimating. The project team will also review and validate the proposed
schedule and perform assigned activities once the schedule is approved.
 The project sponsor will participate in reviews of the proposed schedule and approve the final
schedule before it is baselined.
 The project stakeholders will participate in reviews of the proposed schedule and assist in its
validation.
Schedule Control, Changes and Thresholds
As the project schedule is created it is important that boundary conditions are set by the project sponsor
to establish the schedule parameters within which the project is expected to operate. Any event that
may potentially cause a schedule change that exceeds these boundary conditions must have a schedule
change request submitted and approved by the sponsor before the schedule change is made. For this
example we will use a change threshold of 10%.
If any member of the project team determines that a change to the schedule is necessary, the project
manager and team will meet to review and evaluate the change. The project manager and project team
must determine which tasks will be impacted, variance as a result of the potential change, and any
alternatives or variance resolution activities they may employ to see how they would affect the scope,
schedule, and resources.

Fig. Schedule management plan process sequence
During project planning, the project team decomposes the work packages to produce an activity list
composed of multiple activities. A goal of the project team is to develop a realistic schedule. All of the
project work, which must be accomplished, will be included in the schedule. The team will develop a
schedule management plan to define how the schedule will be created, what scheduling tools will be
used, a sequence of how the work will be performed, and how the schedule will be managed.
The sequence to developing a schedule starts with defining activities, which are then sequenced,
estimates are determined for the resources required to perform the work, estimates are determined for
the duration required to complete the work, and finally the scheduled is produced which will be
followed in project execution.
Conclusion
The tools described in this time management knowledge area supports project managers and team
members in controlling the time aspects of their projects. Managing project Schedules is an important
task and something to take seriously throughout the project. Project manager needs to control time
management closely because it is something that can quickly get away from you.
S.No. Process Group Process Name Key Outputs
1 Planning Define Activities 1) Activity List
2) Milestone List
2 Planning Sequence Activities 1) Project schedule network diagrams
3 Planning Estimate Activity resources 1) Activity resource requirements

2) Resource breakdown structure
4 Planning Estimate Activity Durations 1) Activity duration estimates
5 Planning Develop Schedule 1) Project schedule
2) Schedule baseline
6 Monitor & Control Control schedule 1) Work performance measurements
2) Change requests
Table. Time Management process and Outputs
The major or key outputs for each of the six project time management processes are indicated on this
table. In the first planning stage, we define the activities and the key outputs are an activity list and a
milestone list. Second, still in the planning stage, the activities are sequenced. Key outputs of the
sequencing will be a project schedule network diagram. Similarly, in the third stage, still in the planning
process group, we will estimate activity resources. The key output of this activity is activity resource
requirements and a resource breakdown structure. Fourth, still in the planning process group, we will
perform estimations of activity durations. The key output is Activity duration estimates. Fifth, still in the
planning process group, we will develop the schedule. The key outputs of this activity are a project
schedule and a schedule baseline. And finally, we will enter the process of monitoring and controlling.
We will perform the activity of controlling the schedule. The key outputs will be work performance
measurements and change requests if the requirements of the project change.
Our topic includes tools such as Schedule Management Plan, Gantt chart, Schedule Network Diagram,
Project Schedule, Project Milestone List, and the Baseline Schedule. Each tool focuses on helping the
project Manager and their team members to be more efficient in the activities within the conference
management. With these tools project or conference managers and team members can control the
activities on the conference and drive the team towards a successful completion.
References
edition
Project Management, a system approach to planning, scheduling & controlling; 7th
edition; Harold
Kerzner
edition
The Project Management Communications Toolkit, Carl Pritchard
http://www.projectmanagementdocs.com/template/Schedule-Management-Plan.pdf
http://www.philblock.info/hitkb/m/managing_project_time_cost_and_procurements.html

http://www.conferencebasics.com/2009/04/planning-your-conference-using-a-gantt-chart.html
http://www.projectmanagementdocs.com/template/Schedule-Management-Plan.pdf
Appendix
Appendix 2A
Change Control Form
Change Request #: ___________________ Project: _______________________
CHANGE REQUEST INITIATION: Originator: __________________ Phone#: (___)__________ email:
___________________
Date Submitted: ____/____/____ System/Product/Service Name: _________________________ Version
Number: _________________

CONFIGURATION ITEM:Software: ___ Firmware: ___ Hardware: ___ Documentation: ___ Other:
_______________
CHANGE TYPE: New Requirement: ___ Requirement Change: ___ Design Change: __ Other:
_______________________
REASON: Legal: ___ Market: ___ Performance: ___ Customer Request: ___ Defect: ______ Other:
_________________
PRIORITY: Emergency: ______ Urgent: ______ Routine: ______ Date Required:
____/____/____
CHANGE DESCRIPTION: (Detail functional and/or technical information. Use attachment if necessary.)
Attachments: Yes / No
TECHNICAL EVALUATION: (Use attachment to explain changes, impact on other entities, impact on
performance etc.)
Received By: ___________ Date Received: ___/___/___ Assigned To: _______________________ Date
Assigned: ___/___/___
Type of Software/Hardware/etc.
Affected_________________________________________________________________________
Modules/Screens/Tables/Files Affected:
_________________________________________________________________________
Documentation Affected: Section # Page # Date Completed Initial
Requirements Specification ___________ _______ _______/______/______ _______
System Design Specification _________ ________ ________/______/______ _______
System Test Plan ___________ ________ ______/______/______ _______
Training Plan ___________ ________ ______/______/______ _______

User System Reference Manual___________ ______________/______/______ _______
System Maintenance Manual ___________ ______________/______/______ _______
Other (Specify) ___________ ________ ______/______/______ _______
TIME ESTIMATES to make the change: (Use attachment if necessary.)
Lifecycle Stage Est. Time Act. Time Date Comp. Remarks
Analysis/Design__________ __________ ____/____/______________________________________
Coding/Testing__________ __________ ____/____/____________________________________
Acceptance __________ __________ ____/____/_______________________________________
Total Hours: ________________ ______________________________
Project Impact Analysis Needed: Yes / No (If yes, include impact on budget, resources, schedule, risk etc.)
APPROVALS: Change Approved: ___Change Not Approved: ____Hold (Future Enhancement): ______
1. Signature ____________________________________________ Date: ____/____/____
2. Signature ____________________________________________ Date: ____/____/____
Appendix 3A
1.) SUBMITTER - GENERAL INFORMATION
CR# [CR001]
Type of CR Enhancement Defect
Project/Program/Initiative
Submitter Name
Brief Description of
Request
[Enter a detailed description of the change being requested]
Date Submitted [mm/dd/yyyy]
Date Required [mm/dd/yyyy]
Priority Low Medium High Mandatory
Reason for Change [Enter a detailed description of why the change is being requested]

Other Artifacts Impacted [List other artifacts affected by this change]
Assumptions and Notes [Document assumptions or comments regarding the requested change]
Comments [Enter additional comments]
Attachments or References Yes No
Link:
Approval Signature [Approval Signature] Date Signed [mm/dd/yyyy]
2.) PROJECT MANAGER - INITIAL ANALYSIS
Hour Impact [#hrs] [Enter the hour impact of the requested change]
Duration Impact [#dys
]
[Enter the duration impact of the requested change]
Schedule Impact [WBS
]
[Detail the impact this change may have on schedules]
Cost Impact [Cost] [Detail the impact this change may have on cost]
Comments [Enter additional comments]
Recommendations [Enter recommendations regarding the requested change]
3.) CHANGE CONTROL BOARD – DECISION
Decision Approved Approved
with Conditions
Rejected More Info
Decision Date [mm/dd/yyyy]
Decision Explanation [Document the CCB’s decision]
Conditions [Document and conditions imposed by the CCB]

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