How do you balance CPM schedule optimization and realism?

1 Understand the project scope and objectives

Before you start creating your CPM schedule, you need to have a clear understanding of the project scope and objectives. What are the deliverables, milestones, and quality standards? What are the constraints, risks, and assumptions? How will you measure and report progress and performance? These questions will help you define the scope and objectives of your project, and align them with the expectations and needs of your stakeholders.

2 Identify and sequence the activities

The next step is to identify and sequence the activities that make up your project. You need to break down the work into manageable tasks, and determine their logical relationships and dependencies. You can use tools like work breakdown structure (WBS) and network diagrams to help you with this process. Sequencing the activities will help you establish the critical path of your project, which is the longest sequence of activities that determines the project duration.

3 Estimate the duration and resources

Once you have sequenced the activities, you need to estimate how long each activity will take, and what resources you will need to complete them. You can use various methods and techniques to estimate the duration and resources, such as expert judgment, historical data, analogous estimation, parametric estimation, or three-point estimation. Estimating the duration and resources will help you calculate the start and finish dates of each activity, and the total project cost.

4 Optimize and baseline the schedule

After you have estimated the duration and resources, you can optimize your schedule by applying various techniques, such as crashing, fast-tracking, resource leveling, or resource smoothing. These techniques can help you reduce the project duration, cost, or resource requirements, while still meeting the project scope and objectives. However, you need to be careful not to over-optimize your schedule, as this can lead to unrealistic or unfeasible plans. You also need to baseline your schedule, which means setting a reference point for measuring and controlling your project performance.

5 Monitor and update the schedule

The final step is to monitor and update your schedule throughout the project execution. You need to track the actual progress and performance of your activities, and compare them with the baseline. You also need to identify and analyze any variances, issues, or changes that may affect your schedule, and take corrective or preventive actions accordingly. You also need to communicate and report your schedule status and performance to your stakeholders, using tools like Gantt charts, status reports, or dashboards.

6 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?