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Time management processes create and manage the project schedule of activities and milestones.

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Quick reference

Project Time Management

Time management processes plan, create and manage the project schedule.

When to use

Time management processes are used throughout most of the project lifecycle.  They are part of planning, executing and control.  These processes are often used in an iterative manner during the process.  In most projects the schedule is frequently updated and changed.

Instructions

Project Time Management

“Project Time Management includes the processes required to manage the timely completion of the project.” PMBOK® Guide

Time management processes closely interact with each other and many of the other project management processes.  Project time management (schedule) is one of the three triple constraints on a project - the others being scope and budget (or resources).  Although listed separately because of the different nature of the work involved, the time management processes within the planning group are often done simultaneously as sequencing, activity definition, estimating duration, and schedule creation are done iteratively.  

Project Time Management Processes

There are six Project Time Management Processes.  They relate to each other as shown in the diagram below.  Although shown as distinct processes, they often overlap. The six processes are:

  • 6.1 Plan Schedule Management: “The process of establishing the policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, developing, managing, executing and controlling the project schedule.” PMBOK® Guide
  • 6.2 Define Activities: “The process of identifying and documenting the specific actions to be performed to produce the project deliverables.” PMBOK® Guide
  • 6.3 Sequence Activities: “The process of identifying and documenting relationships among the project activities.” PMBOK® Guide
  • 6.4 Estimate Activity Duration: “The process of estimating the number of work periods needed to complete individual activities with estimated resources.” PMBOK® Guide
  • 6.5 Develop Schedule: “The process of analyzing activity sequences, durations, resource assignments, and schedule constraints to create the project schedule model for project execution and monitoring and controlling.” PMBOK® Guide
  • 6.6 Control Schedule: “The process of monitoring the status of project activities to update project progress and manage changes to the schedule baseline to achieve the plan.” PMBOK® Guide

 

Scheduling Terms and Definitions

There are numerous terms and definitions associated with scheduling found within the PMBOK® Guide.  Understanding the meaning of these terms is helpful when answering the questions on the PMP® Exam.  A list of the commonly used terms and their definitions is provided below.  At times the difference between some of the terms may appear subtle, but the distinction is worth noting.

  • Schedule Management Plan: “A component of the Project Management Plan that established the criteria and the activities for developing, monitoring, and controlling the schedule.” PMBOK® Guide
  • Scheduling Tool: “A tool that provides schedule component names, definitions, structural relationships, and formats that support the application of a schedule method.” PMBOK® Guide
  • Schedule Data: “The collection of information for describing and controlling the schedule.” PMBOK® Guide
  • Schedule Model: “A representation of the plan for executing the project’s activities including durations, dependencies, and other planning information, used to produce a project schedule along with other scheduling artifacts.” PMBOK® Guide
  • Project Schedule: “An output of a schedule model that presents linked activities with planned dates, durations, milestones, and resources.” PMBOK® Guide
  • Project Calendar: “A calendar that identifies working days and shifts that are available for scheduled activities.” PMBOK® Guide
  • Schedule Baseline: “The approved version of a schedule model that can be changed only through formal change control procedures and is used as the basis for comparison to actual results.” PMBOK® Guide

Definitions are taken from the Glossary of the Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017, Pages 702, 704, 705, 706, 713, 715, 717, 721, 722 and 723.  PMBOK and PMP are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

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  • 00:05 Hi, this is Ray Sheen.
  • 00:06 Let's talk about the Project Time Management knowledge area.
  • 00:09 This is where we address schedules.
  • 00:11 The project management body of knowledge,
  • 00:14 the PMBOK Guide defines it as project time management includes the processes
  • 00:19 required to manage the timely completion of the project.
  • 00:23 That's short and sweet, but to do this the time or schedule management processes must
  • 00:28 integrate with all the other processes to set good estimates, ensure timely starts,
  • 00:33 ensure completion of tasks, and resolve problems in a timely way.
  • 00:37 The project time management processes within the planning process group
  • 00:40 are often completed simultaneously for
  • 00:42 on deliverable at a time as that deliverable's activities are defined,
  • 00:46 relationship set, and the estimate is completed.
  • 00:49 That as one deliverable or activity is defined,
  • 00:51 the planning on another one often goes back and changes it.
  • 00:54 So we see these as an iterative set of processes.
  • 00:57 There are six project time management processes.
  • 00:59 Let's quickly review them.
  • 01:01 The plan scheduled management process creates the policies, procedures, and
  • 01:05 the approach to be used while scheduling the project.
  • 01:08 Define activities, determines all of the building blocks of work
  • 01:11 from the scope planning that will be used in the schedule.
  • 01:15 Sequence activities is arranging those building blocks in the appropriate order.
  • 01:19 Estimating activity duration determines how long it will take a project resource
  • 01:23 to do that work.
  • 01:25 With all that information, we now can develop the schedule and
  • 01:29 once the schedule is developed we need to control it.
  • 01:32 There are a number of terms that are used by the PMBOK Guide
  • 01:36 when discussing scheduling activities.
  • 01:38 I'll review these to minimize confusion.
  • 01:40 These terms will show up in questions on the PMP exam.
  • 01:43 I'll provide the PMBOK Guide definition for
  • 01:46 each term and we'll talk about what that means from a practical point of view.
  • 01:51 The schedule management plan is a component of the project management plan
  • 01:55 that establishes the criteria and activities for developing, monitoring, and
  • 01:59 controlling the schedule.
  • 02:01 This is a policy for schedule management not the actual schedule.
  • 02:05 A scheduling tool, is a tool that provides schedule names, definition, structural
  • 02:09 relationships, and formats to support the application of a schedule method.
  • 02:14 This is the format portion of the schedule.
  • 02:17 It creates a standard look and feel of schedule information for the project.
  • 02:22 And scheduled data is a collection of information for describing and
  • 02:25 controlling schedule.
  • 02:27 It's all the stuff from the activity definitions and
  • 02:29 estimating processes that will be integrated into the schedule model.
  • 02:34 A schedule model is a representation of the plan for
  • 02:38 executing the project activities including durations,
  • 02:41 dependencies, and other planning information
  • 02:43 used to produce a project schedule along with other scheduling artifacts.
  • 02:48 The model is all of the specific scheduling information,
  • 02:51 schedule logic in data, this is the data source for scheduling information.
  • 02:56 The project schedule is an output of the schedule model that presents linked
  • 03:01 activities with plan dates, durations, milestones and resources.
  • 03:05 When the schedule model information is formatted using the scheduling tool,
  • 03:09 you create a project schedule.
  • 03:12 This is what is used by the project team in their day to day project management.
  • 03:16 The project calendar identifies the working days and
  • 03:18 shifts that will be used for project activities.
  • 03:21 It shows when project work will be occurring.
  • 03:23 The schedule baseline is the approved version of a schedule model
  • 03:27 that can be changed only through formal change control procedures.
  • 03:31 And is used as a basis for comparison to actual results.
  • 03:34 When the project schedule is approved,
  • 03:36 the information in the schedule model is then the baseline schedule information.
  • 03:40 It can be presented in different schedules, but the data is base line.
  • 03:45 So let's take a look at how all of the scheduled processes work together.
  • 03:49 We start off with plan schedule management.
  • 03:51 This process creates the schedule management plan
  • 03:54 that is incorporated into the project management plan.
  • 03:57 Of course, the project management plan was also an input to this process.
  • 04:01 The project management plan with the schedule management plan incorporated
  • 04:05 is an input to all the other time management processes.
  • 04:08 Lets look at each of each of these.
  • 04:10 Define activities then creates a milestone list, activities list, and activities
  • 04:14 attributes, which are controlled project documents used by many other processes.
  • 04:19 Sequence activities creates a schedule network diagram
  • 04:22 that is also project document.
  • 04:24 The estimate activity duration creates the duration estimates for each activity and
  • 04:28 provides a basis for estimates.
  • 04:30 Again, these are project documents used by multiple other processes.
  • 04:34 With all of these pieces,
  • 04:36 the developed schedule process is able to create a project schedule,
  • 04:40 schedule data and the project calendars which are also all project documents.
  • 04:45 But even more importantly, it creates a schedule baseline
  • 04:48 which becomes part of the project management plan.
  • 04:51 Finally, the controls schedule process creates a schedule forecast.
  • 04:55 Notice that define activities, develops schedule and
  • 04:57 control schedule all create updates to the project management plan.
  • 05:02 And sequence activities, estimate activity duration, develop schedule and
  • 05:07 control schedule will create updates to project documents.
  • 05:11 Time or schedule management is one of the three sides of the project management
  • 05:15 triple constraint triangle.
  • 05:16 And it's often a major focus for project managers.

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PMI, PMP, CAPM and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

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