Situation:
The different dimensions of a project schedule and the many ways they are used.
The schedule remains one of the most important tools used in a construction project and provides various perspectives for understanding and evaluating the project plan. Without a proper understanding of the scheduling dimensions, certain key parameters and provisions may be overlooked during the schedule development process. For example, a cost-loaded schedule adds a dimension for examining the budget and costs over time, but the appropriate fields must be created and captured to utilize this dimension accurately.
Problem Statement:
The challenge lies in considering all the various dimensions of a schedule and accounting for them when designing and developing it.
Best Practice:
The design of a project schedule should be guided by the requirements that define our objectives and the limitations of the software in use. Consider all the various types of reports and analytics that may be requested from the schedule and ensure that those needs are accommodated.
The principal dimension of a project schedule is the time dimension, which serves to predict, with reasonable accuracy, the time necessary to complete a project. The time dimension provides for:
- The scheduling planning dimension
- The communication aspect of a schedule
- The coordination and control aspect of a schedule
- The analytical dimension of a schedule – what if, insight, risk mitigation.
- The time-based budgeting and cost reporting aspect – Cost control
- The status reporting aspect of a schedule – performance, resource usage,
- The contract administration dimension includes risk mitigation and the evaluation of impacts from delays, disruptions, scope changes, differing site conditions, and more.
- The documentation and record-keeping aspect of a schedule
Case In Point:
The schedule serves as a model of what is planned and a record of how it was actually constructed. As a database, the schedule is limited only by the information inputted into it. Proper consideration must be given to identifying all the various dimensions required for the schedule and ensuring that the applicable configurations and fields are in place. For example, variance analyses on duration, production rate, quantity of work completed, man-hours, and costs are only possible when there is accurate baseline data reflecting expected baseline conditions, compared with correctly captured data for the actual conditions encountered. The saying “garbage in, garbage out” is rightly true; a project with an incorrect baseline schedule cannot expect to use this flawed baseline to accurately capture project progress or conduct usable variance analyses. Therefore, there is a fundamental relationship between a well-developed schedule and an accurately captured update schedule.
