CBA: PLANNING AND SCHEDULING

CBA: 8 PAGE: 1 DATE: JULY, 2010

SECTION I:

INTENT
This CBA provides an overview of the planning and scheduling process on capital projects and presents project management responsibilities for initiating and verifying the successful execution of that process. The planning and scheduling process starts in the Conceptual phase and continues throughout the life of a project. Planning and scheduling activities help project teams: Gain alignment with management. Align and focus on delivering project objectives. Develop target dates for completing work based on logically sequenced activities. Manage work against these target dates and logic. Renegotiate and revise the plan as project conditions change Determines the critical path activities to provide focus for the team This CBA also provides project management approaches for planning and scheduling by presenting: Planning and scheduling principles, The planning and scheduling development process, Guidelines for implementation

SECTION II: PROCESS DESCRIPTION

PLANNING AND SCHEDULING PRINCIPLES
The planning and scheduling process is based on the following principles: Planning comes before scheduling. Plans have objectives which are clear, fixed, and consistent. Assumptions are documented and understood. Good plans are specific. Interdependencies are identified and understood. Planning and scheduling issues are defined so customers and suppliers know what is required. Plans and schedules are communicated. Action steps are detailed. Plans and schedules have the commitment of those involved. Functional responsibilities are understood and owned. Plans and schedules are treated as living documents used by the team to show the current, most effective path forward. Plans and schedules have a defined owner.

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Figure 81 illustrates the process for initial schedule development. Additional information about each activity shown in the flowchart is available. The process is applicable for the various schedules produced in each phase of a project.

Figure 81: Schedule Development Process

Team & Management Align to project objectives, success criteria, & key assumptions.

PLANNING

Team Identifies the activities required to meet the objective.

Team Identifies the logic (sequence & interdependencies) for the activities.

Team Identifies the duration & activity owners required for each activity. The critical path is determined. Produce Schedule.

SCHEDULE DEVELOPMENT Does the schedule completion date match with project objectives ? YES Team Assesses the risk of not achieving the needed completion date.

NO

SCHEDULE RISK ASSESSMENT

YES

NO

Can team identify risk mitigation/contingency plans that do not require management approval?

Is the Risk acceptable ? NO YES Team Uses the Schedule to control the work and deliver the project objectives. If changes are required, appropriate parts of this process will need to be repeated.

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PLANNING AND SCHEDULING PROCESS

The process used to produce most schedules involves the following three management tools: Developing Logic (Planning) Establishing the logical sequence of project activities and the interdependencies necessary for delivering common objectives as well as the products of each phase as required by the projects Charter and Success Criteria. Scheduling Converting the multi-discipline logic to a timetable with specific calendar dates that establish the start and finish of the work. This scheduling process has two steps: 1. Adding durations to activity logic, and 2. Analyzing against timing needs and developing other schedule options through the Schedule Assessment process. Schedule Assessment Assessment of the schedule includes identifying and mitigating, if necessary, the risks of meeting project timing objectives. Use the following steps to help in this assessment process: 1. Layout logic based on the best scope you have at the time using the functional resources available. 2. Work with functional resources to assign normal durations to each activity and calculate critical path timing. Evaluate resource loading to determine if there will be constraints based on the amount o resources available for a given task. Also determine if the number of resources can physically fit into the work area. 3. If the end date exceeds the timing required, revise the logic and/or durations to meet the required timetable (for example, delete activities, do activities in parallel, etc.). 4. Determine if the change in logic/duration(s) presents a high, medium, or low risk based on the functional owners experience. 5. Determine if the change(s) increases cost (due to overtime, increased resources, etc.) in order to meet timing requirements. 6. Based on the above information, evaluate risk and develop contingency plans, if necessary. 7. Review risk with management and gain alignment.
Tip During the planning and scheduling process, Project Management ensures the team understands: - The b usiness needs and project objectives as required b y the Charter/Success Criteria, - The scope of the project, and - The definition of key activities, key milestones, key decisions points, and end -point criteria for each phase.

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SECTION III: GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Project Management should be able to answer two major questions when implementing the planning and scheduling process on a project: 1. Is the schedule an effective tool for this point in time in the project? 2. Is the schedule management process working effectively? The following checklist determines the answers to these two questions.

A. T HE SCHEDULE IS AN EFFECTIVE TOOL WHEN:

1. The schedule is based on a plan meeting the business needs as defined in the project charter. 2. The schedule reflects the overall project (it includes every functions scope to deliver the project). 3. The scheduling process generates the critical path instead of the team assigning the critical path and building the schedule around that assumption. 4. The schedule reflects the current engineering and execution strategies. 5. The critical path is understood by all the team and back-up / contingency plans are sufficiently developed to be put to use without delaying the end point. 6. The key people have helped to create the schedule and are committed to actively support its achievement. 7. The schedule reflects the right amount of detail.

THE SCHEDULE MANAGEMENT PROCESS IS WORKING WHEN:

1. The schedules are being reviewed at the right frequency with the team. 2. The schedule is updated to reflect which activities are complete and which are current. 3. The schedule is revised and re-issued promptly once required changes are known. 4. The team is using the change management process for schedule changes. 5. The team members are using the schedule as a forward-looking tool to control and plan future activities, not as a document to record what has been done. 6. The team re-evaluates the reality of the plan when commitments are being missed. 7. The schedule is revised to reflect a plan for recovery when slippage occurs in a key area. 8. The schedule is reassessed when scope is changed. 9. Scheduling issues are a part of the projects issues list. 10. There is a qualified, trained owner for maintaining the schedule.
Tip You will need a schedule for each different phase of the project. Each schedule will b ecome more detailed as data is included to meet each team memb ers needs. Avoid adding so much detail that the schedule overwhelms the teams ab ility to use it as a tool.

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SECTION IV: PRODUCTS

Business Master Plans, Initiative Schedules, and Executional Schedules are key deliverables from the planning and scheduling process.

BUSINESS M ASTER PLAN AND INITIATIVE SCHEDULES

The Business Master Plan provides the timing of the various new initiatives which form Category Managements strategy for the year. The project execution schedules should be consistent with this Business Master Plan and the Initiative Schedule. The Initiative Schedule is the logic-based schedule that coordinates the key activities of the different functions (i.e., Product Development, Product Supply, Advertising, Brand Management, etc.) for the Initiative Execution team. The new Initiative Schedules are developed using the SIMPL process. Initiative Execution teams develop Initiative Schedules by phase, providing more detail in the current phase of the project. The schedules are used for team interactions and to negotiate with management for resources, funding, etc.

EXECUTIONAL SCHEDULES
Project Teams use Executional Schedules to plan and control the work of each project phase to meet the overall Product Supply and Business timing needs. Three levels of schedule are used to satisfy different Project Management needs: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. Level 1 Schedule: An overview or summary schedule displaying major milestones, duration of significant blocks of work, and fundamental logic relationships. These schedules are often referred to as management summary or Milestone schedules. Level 2 Schedule: A schedule with moderate detail which breaks major work blocks into key sub-tasks or systems. Typically arranged by project phase, these schedules show start and finish dates for tasks and key task interdependencies. Level 3 Schedule: A detailed schedule displaying all activities for an individual or work group. These schedules show start and end dates, all pertinent relationships among activities, and an indication of how activities are progressing against the target plan. The schedule is often called the control schedule.

SECTION V: ADDITIONAL R EFERENCES

The following P&G Websites can provide additional information to this topic: Global Capital Management Community of Practice - Technical Standards and Standard Operating Procedures - Key Element Assessment Construction Management Current Best Approaches Engineering Work Process (EWP) Integrated Work Systems (IWS) SIMPL Initiative Planning Global Network