Project Schedule Management Guide for Beginners

What is project schedule management?

Project schedule management is a role that involves scheduling the tasks involved in a project that takes care of all the details such as digital documentation, project timeline, organization of the resources, and all other basic components of project management. It is an overview of the project that is accessible to every team member, which helps them organize their own work schedule based on the tasks they have been assigned.

Project scheduling management involves,

Necessary work to be completed.

The project timeline and the milestone.

Tasks assigned to responsible team members.

Individual task cost and resource requirements.

How scheduling is done in project schedule management

Taking some free examples as a reference, using the free templates available, or by making use of some free online tools available, the project schedule management processes can be organized as required. The project schedule can be organized and managed by taking various aspects into consideration as follows.

1) Under-tracked planning

This is a method where the project schedule is managed and planned according to the milestone schedule in project management.

2) Scope structured

The Project Schedule management is planned in accordance with the scope set for the entire project, giving employees a clear picture of what task they work on individually.

3) Master schedule

It is a brief scheduling format that consists of assignments and tasks assigned to the team members, with a milestone for the project tasks.

4) Summary schedule

It is an overview of tasks that deals with the deadline of the project. This type of project schedule management is more concerned with providing an overview of the task than with having the tasks completed as scheduled.

5) Detailed schedule

A type of project schedule management that is best suited for a complex schedule projects, which tracks every activity of the project. It determines the operations carried out and schedules the resources when formatting an optimal sequence of operations in the schedule.

What is the first process involved in project schedule management?

Project schedule planning is the key to the project schedule management process to implement an organized schedule for the working project. This planning details the listing of the tasks involved in the project and is followed by the milestone scheduling in project schedule management. This helps you have a clear idea of how to organize the tasks and assign the tasks to individual employees with a schedule in project management. This provides you with a systematic pathway that directs your workflow in an appropriate method of task execution.

Project Schedule Management Plan

By following a proper project schedule management plan, you can deliver the project right on time. The planning is done even before starting the project. Proper planning can provide you with total control over the development of the project, delivery of tasks, and execution of the project. Once the schedule planning is completed, the team's role and responsibilities for the project become clear. This planning document is the key to all other plans of project schedule formatting in project schedule management.

The planning for project schedule management involves the following considerations:

1) Tasks involved in the project.
2) Resources available.
3) Estimated time to complete the project.

Benefits of project scheduling in project management

1) It assists with a simplified data tracking and cooperating process.
2) It identifies the issues and highlights the lack of resources.
3) Recognizes the task relationship of the project.
4) Monitors the progress of the project.
5) Manage start date and end date.
6) Monitoring the performance.
7) Manage time accordingly.

Choosing a tool for project schedule management

As there is a wide variety of availability for project schedule tools and project schedule management software, these can benefit the project by allowing the stakeholders to easily track and visualize the progress of the project in real-time. The project schedule management software you use depends on the scheduling method you follow. It sometimes also depends on the milestone for the project and on the resources available for performing the tasks.

The tools that are able to produce an efficient form of Gantt charts are the ones that are supposed to be preferred. Out of all the free tools available, depending on the method of approach, the rightful tool must be preferred to format a schedule in project schedule management.

What are the tools in Project Schedule Management that are used for effective Project Planning?

The project schedule management tools that can help you develop a systematic schedule in project management are as follows.

- Network map

In project schedule management, network mapping is a type of block diagram, also called an arrow diagram that is formatted based on the priority of the tasks assigned. The network of tasks is designed into systematic diagrams that help you understand and track the activity of pending and ongoing tasks.

These diagrams help in mapping the work progress in accordance with the logical priority of the tasks and help track the timeline of each task.

- Gantt charts

In project schedule management, Gantt charts play a crucial role. It is a form of visual representation of line graph charts that helps you understand the progress of a project and the tasks involved by depicting the deadline of the project together with the progress of the project.

Why Gantt charts? Because they are the best tools that help you understand and also track the project progress, as they are used to format management schedules of all shapes and sizes in project schedule management. This planning tool provides a complete picture of the work breakdown structure and allocates the resources efficiently. It maps the dependencies of the tasks and helps prioritize the tasks efficiently.

- Work Breakdown Structure

In project schedule management, WBS follows a hierarchical breakdown of work activities that defines the aim of the tasks assigned. It is a detailed breakdown of the tasks that helps you understand the cost management of the project and the time taken to perform the tasks successfully.

By adding such details, it not only helps the project manager track the task activity but also helps the stakeholders stay updated about the work progress and understands the aim of the project.

WBS is one of the best methods that can be used for project schedule management. It can also be used to format the tasks by prioritizing the workload over time and the resources available to assign the project tasks.

- Communication planning

A basic planning tool that aids in maintaining an appropriate flow of information communication among team members, clients, and stakeholders. In project schedule management, communication planning helps in having a clear overview of the project and maintains the aim of the tasks assigned. It encourages creativity and helps in motivating the team members to work together to find the best solution.

It helps maintain a good relationship with the clients by ensuring the involvement of every team member.

An appropriate communication plan for project schedule management helps you tackle any risks that arise. It also helps with improving collaboration between the team members.

- Project documentation

Conclusion documentation of all the team activities and tasks of the project is called "Project Documentation" in project schedule management.

These documents eliminate any confusion about the project and also help the stakeholders have a clear overview of the status and activity of the project.

Benefits of Online Tools for Project Schedule Management

- It allows you to track progress in real-time.
- A decent method to produce Gantt charts.
- Allows you to have full control over the management.
- Easily customizable and manageable.
- Time-saving process due to availability of templates.
- Get real-time updates on the status of stakeholders

Conclusion

Project schedule management in project management helps you design and format a project schedule with the tasks that can be assigned to the team members individually.

It provides you with a clear overview of when the project can start and when it must end.

To share the update on the ongoing project, you can make use of various tools, and the progress can be telecast in real-time.

The submissions of the project can be precisely estimated since the work progress is being updated in real-time.

In case of any failure of the project, the manager takes full responsibility for deciding the hierarchy of the tasks involved in the project.

Also, by not utilizing the right tools and proper procedures, the project can go wrong at any time.

If you want to learn more about project schedule management in the role of project management, enroll in the CAPM (Certified Associate Project Management) Certification Training Course and get certified by PMI.