What are some effective methods for monitoring and controlling project schedules?

1 Baseline your schedule

Before you start executing your project, you need to establish a baseline schedule, which is a snapshot of your planned scope, time, and cost at a given point. A baseline schedule serves as a reference point for measuring your actual progress and performance, and for identifying any deviations or variances. To baseline your schedule, you need to define the project scope, break it down into work packages and activities, estimate the duration and resources for each activity, sequence them logically, and assign start and end dates. You also need to document any assumptions, constraints, and risks that may affect your schedule.

2 Update your schedule regularly

Once you have a baseline schedule, you need to update it regularly throughout the project lifecycle, to reflect the actual status and changes of your project. Updating your schedule involves collecting and analyzing data on the completed and ongoing activities, such as the actual start and finish dates, the percentage of work done, the remaining duration, and the resources used. You also need to incorporate any approved changes, issues, or risks that may impact your schedule. Updating your schedule helps you track your progress, identify any delays or problems, and communicate your status to your stakeholders.

3 Use a schedule management tool

To monitor and control your schedule effectively, you need to use a schedule management tool that can help you create, update, and visualize your schedule. A schedule management tool is a software application that allows you to input your activities, durations, resources, dependencies, and constraints, and generate a graphical representation of your schedule, such as a Gantt chart, a network diagram, or a milestone chart. A schedule management tool can also help you perform various calculations and analyses, such as critical path, float, earned value, and schedule variance. A schedule management tool can help you simplify your schedule management process, automate your calculations, and enhance your communication.

4 Perform schedule control

Schedule control is the process of reviewing and adjusting your schedule to ensure that it aligns with your baseline and your project objectives. Schedule control involves comparing your actual progress and performance with your planned progress and performance, and identifying any variances or deviations. If you find any variances that are significant or unacceptable, you need to take corrective or preventive actions to bring your schedule back on track. For example, you may need to reschedule some activities, reallocate some resources, modify some scope, or request some changes. Schedule control helps you maintain your schedule quality, manage your schedule risks, and optimize your schedule outcomes.

5 Review your schedule performance

Another method for monitoring and controlling your schedule is to review your schedule performance periodically, to evaluate how well you are meeting your time and cost goals. To review your schedule performance, you need to use some metrics and indicators that can measure your schedule efficiency and effectiveness, such as schedule variance, schedule performance index, planned value, earned value, and actual cost. These metrics and indicators can help you quantify your schedule progress and performance, and compare them with your baseline and your expectations. Reviewing your schedule performance helps you identify your schedule strengths and weaknesses, and learn from your experience.

6 Engage your team and stakeholders

Finally, one of the most important methods for monitoring and controlling your schedule is to engage your team and stakeholders throughout the project. Your team and stakeholders are the ones who are directly involved in or affected by your project, and they can provide you with valuable information, feedback, and support for your schedule management. To engage your team and stakeholders, you need to communicate your schedule clearly and frequently, solicit their input and opinions, address their concerns and issues, and recognize their contributions and achievements. Engaging your team and stakeholders helps you build trust and collaboration, enhance your schedule quality and accuracy, and increase your schedule satisfaction and acceptance.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?