Communication Tools to

manage Project Time

Ujjwal Kumar JoshiProject Time Management

Introduction

Introduction

Introducing the baseline schedule

Types of project baselines

Reporting using a baseline schedule

The project manager is responsible for creating and reporting the baseline schedule throughout the project.

Baseline reporting by project managers can be weekly for a better tracking of project execution or monthly/quarterly

reporting depending on the project

Change control

The change control plan allows project managers to control project scope and cost by using an established process. It allows the project manager to identify scope creep by comparing the existing scope to the change request.

Changes to a project may be a result of a (1) deviation or waiver, (2) issue management process, or (3) a change in scope as requested by the customers or stakeholders.

Change Request & Control Management procedure

Capture

Assign forreview

Proposeaction

ReviewAction

Identify

Review, assess

Action

Participants Project Office

Action

AgreeClosure

ExternalSuppliers

Change Control Board

Approve foraction

Contractrevision

Assign foraction

Change request & Why change request

Attitude to Change

Attit

ude

to C

hang

eTechnology

Face to FaceFormats

Paper

• Project team meetings

• Senior management meetings

• Planning workshops

• Training courses• Special seminars

• Senior management visits

• Cross-functional meetings

• Interactive staff meetings

• Away days and conferences

• Noticeboards

• Letters• Memos• Circulars

• Newsletters• Business

plans

• Project Staff suggestion scheme

• Project Staff attitude survey

• E-Mail

• Audio conferencing• Computer networks

• Telephone• Video conferencing• Webinars

Awareness Understanding Engagement Involvement Commitment

• Face book communication

Choosing the most appropriate communications Methods for stakeholder management in change control and change request

Gantt Chart

A Gantt chart is a kind of bar chart that shows the initial and the end date of the elements of a project.

It was developed by Henry Gantt in the 1910s for illustrating project schedules.

Through a Gantt chart, the project managers could draw the information about the following:

CostEarned value chartTimeLabor hours

Relationship with the Conference Management and the Stakeholders

Gantt chart has ability to break down the multiple tasks and the timelines into a single document.

It gives a fine overview about the stakeholders and other human resources related with the activities.

The entire project teams can use the Gantt chart for the discussion about the project in meeting and even can enhance other status updates.

Gantt chart offers the entire project team the ability to focus work at the front of task timeline.

In other hand, the project manager and the resource schedulers can sequence the events and reduce the potential for overburdening of the works to the team members.

Fig. Gantt chart for organizing a conferencealong with the possible stakeholders

Logic Network Diagram is a flowchart including all the project activities and their dependencies to each other.

Logic Network Diagram shows not only the sequence of the activities in the project, but also shows the set of parallel activities and the links between each activity.

It also presents the project’s critical path that helps the project team to focus their effort for the success of the project.

Logic Network Diagram

Relationship with the Conference Management and the Stakeholders

Logic Network diagram gives a clear picture of all the project activities including its dates of start and completion, and the key-personnel human resources or in another word, stakeholder associated with the project activities. Not only that, it even shows a dependencies among the project activities.

It also guides Project Manager regarding the estimation of Human resources and time resources during the execution or in the beginning of the project activities.

Fig 2. Logic Network Diagram for organizing a conference along with the possible stakeholders

Project Milestone List Milestone can be said as activity with zero duration that symbolizes an

important achievement in a project.

Milestone is the point, where the goal of the work packages defined under the Work breakdown Structure (WBS) of a Project, is successfully achieved.

Milestones are essential to control and manage the project activities, but there are no tasks associated with it.

The major purpose of the Project Milestone List is to communicate project’s milestone tasks and dates in a presentation format for the upper level of Management, customers, and the project members.

Communication between the Stakeholders is a must for organizing Conference. The Stakeholders can get a fine overview regarding the progress of the Conference.

 

Fig 3. A Milestone Diagram for organizing the Conference

Project Schedule & Schedule Management Plan

The project schedule provides information regarding the overall

project duration as well as each activity’s

Duration.

The schedule management plan establishes how schedule

management will be carried out in the project. It serves as

guidance for the scheduling process and formats and defines

the roles and responsibilities for stakeholders in those

processes.

Purpose

Application

Project schedule is used to present information on the

timing of the project and its activities to a variety of

stakeholders (in a variety of ways).

Project managers and the project office to define how

management practices will be conducted use the

schedule management plan.

Project Schedule Contains :

• Working duration • Effort hours• Elapsed duration • Earliest possible start date • Earliest possible finish date • Latest possible start date • Latest possible finish date • Available total float• Available free float • Relationships with other activities.

Schedule Management Plan Contains :

Descriptions of required documents (e.g., network diagrams, Gantt charts, milestone charts) as well as some insight on how those documents may be developed.

Approaches

The most common presentation paper for project schedule is a

Gantt chart . The choice of tool should largely depend on the

application and the level of knowledge and understanding of

the stakeholder to whom the schedule is being presented.

The approaches to scheduling may vary, because it is

integrated with other baseline issues (including cost,

requirements, and risk), the schedule management plan

should be coordinated with any management plans that have

been developed for those areas.

Conclusion