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Newsletter Articles Successful Project Schedules Start with Teamwork, Communication, and Integrity James B. Salter, May 2001 Some project schedules seem to run adrift, regardless of how hard individual project team members attempt to keep them on track. The key word here is "individual". A project schedule cannot be put together by an individual. An individual can be the point person to prepare the schedule, but without the input and a full buy-in of the entire project team, the project schedule is doomed to failure. Team members required for data input and review should include the Owner, Project/Construction Manager, Design Team Members, Sales and Leasing Team, Legal and Entitlements Team, and eventually the selected General Contractor. How does a successful baseline schedule get established? The first step in creating a schedule is to understand the owner's objectives and restraints. Are their delivery milestones and/or deadlines pre-established and imposed by outside parties such as lenders, equity investors, Municipal jurisdictions, and tenants. The second step is to prepare a Draft Global CPM (Critical Path Method) Schedule. The project manager should prepare this schedule as if the project existed in a perfect world. He should solicit input from all the team members as to what would be the ideal time for each discipline to complete their scope of work. The project manager should then place these work scopes by time durations in an orderly sequence. The third step should consist of a thorough review of how The Draft Global CPM Schedule compares to the owner's objectives and restraints. Careful analysis should be made of any and all variances between The Draft Global CPM Schedule and the owner's objectives. The fourth step attempts to create as many "what if" alternatives as possible to achieve the owner 's objectives or as close to those objectives as possible. Each team member should be asked painstaking questions regarding his basis for time required to complete his assigned scopes. This process is extremely critical and requires the utmost level of sensitivity. At this juncture the schedule could be doomed if the project manager attempts to force from a team member a work duration that is less than achievable. It is also important at this point for the project manager to have a good understanding of each of the team member's resources and capabilities; it is at this juncture the project manager and owner must decide if, in fact, the reviewed team member is providing a reasonable and tight duration for his scope. In addition, the project manager must ask the critical question could a consultant with a bigger staff and more resources provide a tighter schedule duration and, if so, what is the overall impact such a replacement could create on morale, cost, and ramp-up time for a new consultant. The fifth step requires an in-depth review of the "what if" alternatives with the owner. Clear and candid outlines of the various impacts to each option should be reviewed. Consideration to quality, cost, and schedule should be carefully reviewed. Items such as overtime, outside assistance, extension fees to tenants, and impacts on interest assumptions all must be reviewed. The sixth step involves the acceptance of the "Baseline CPM Schedule" based on the input of the team members and the acceptance of the owner. It is from this schedule that the entire project will be tracked. All tracking and variances from this baseline schedule will be recorded and illustrated in a comparative method. Remember, a schedule is a plan, variances will occur, both to accelerate and delay the project; the key is that an organized plan for project implementation is established. The seventh step revolves around communication. The proper use of the "Baseline CPM Schedule" is to distinguish between critical path items (items with no opportunities for variance) and items on the schedule which are not on the critical path and thus have "float" (room for limited adjustment). Throughout the project on scheduled reporting dates, the project manager should report to the team members as to the status of the schedule. Items such as upcoming opportunities that could negatively or positively impact the schedule, delays due to outside influences such as municipal processing, strikes, etc., and impacts due to team member failures should all be discussed openly with the primary intent to assess and remedy. Remember, "Don't kill the messenger." Ten reasons schedules fail*: Team members not providing the project manager with realistic durations for their assigned scope of work. Inadequate analysis of outside forces that could impact the schedule. Team members not being given the opportunity to provide input and "buy-in". The owner insisting on an unrealistic schedule. Team members agreeing to owner's unrealistic schedule. The project manager not accurately anticipating ongoing issues that could impact the schedule. Clear communication amongst team members Killing the messenger. Failure to maintain a weekly update of the schedule status. Failure to break up the schedule into smaller three-week look-aheads. *This assumes that all team members have the proper experience and integrity. At the heart of a successful Critical Path Method Schedule is a team that is dedicated to the goal to achieve the owner's objectives. A true team spirit must be incorporated amongst all team members, including the owner. Both the team members and the owner need to understand and appreciate that if one member fails, the entire schedule fails. All team members must buy into the old adage, "Good news, bad news, the key is the news." "To want in one's heart to do a thing for its own source, to enjoy doing it, to concentrate all one's energies upon it - that is not only the surest guarantee of success, it is also being true to oneself." -Amelia Earheart < Previous Page | ^ Back to top

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