Chapter 6: Introducing Project Time Management

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Overview

There's an old joke when it comes to project management time: 'The first 90 percent of a project schedule takes 90 percent of the time. The last 10 percent takes the other 90 percent of the time.'

And isn't that the way it goes? Hopefully not, but far too often, yes. Projects, especially projects that are running behind schedule, fail at the beginning, not the end. The importance of planning a project is never as evident until the rush to completion. The final actions to complete a project are dependent on the plans and motivations set in the project planning processes.

Effective project management requires adequate time for planning-and based on the results of planning, adequate time for implementation of those plans. In this chapter, we'll discuss how project activities are decomposed and then how the work packages are sequenced, calculated, and accounted for. We'll also discuss the art and science of estimating the time for work packages in new and familiar projects. Once the work's been decomposed, we'll create and visualize the network diagram.

Time management is an essential element on the PMP exam. You'll need a solid understanding of the activities and methods to predict and account for project time. Time management is crucial to not only passing the PMP exam, but also to successful project management.

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