How do you develop and maintain program schedule baselines and contingencies?

When defining the program scope, discussing the importance of stakeholder alignment would be beneficial. The program scope is not just a document or a guideline; it's a shared vision that needs to be communicated and agreed upon by all parties involved. Misalignment in understanding the program's objectives and constraints can lead to unnecessary complications, causing delays or failure. Hence, the importance of stakeholder alignment must be considered.

The first step, I would say, is to identify the right resource(s) that are going to work on the schedule. Ensure that your scheduling team is thoroughly experienced with the entire project workflow with interdependencies of various activities and has some real “hand on” experience in building and managing multi-phase project schedules (engineering, procurement, construction management), to be well qualified for developing a program level schedule. Then comes the WBS, setting key milestones in L1 schedule to get all stakeholders buy-in; followed by L2/L3 schedules that must be reviewed by all parties before baselined. Once baselined it must be resource loaded and closely tracked.

To create a meaningful and efficient Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), it is vital to understand project goals, objectives, and alignment with the business vision. Devide the project into mutually exclusive components with milestones and delivery plans. Use a hierarchical structure to builda WBS. Begin with the highest (whole project) level, and progressively break it down into lower levels. Each level should provide increasing detail, with the lowest levels focusing on specific tasks or activities. Proficiency in creating an effective WBS is a valuable skill for a TPM. Project management tools can greatly assist, particularly those with graphical representation, task dependencies, and resource allocation.

If you fail to completely scope the effort, something will have been omitted from the schedule and more than likely in the cost estimate that forms the budget baseline.

Examples for these include Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), Critical Path Method (CPM) among others. These techniques help in estimating the time it would take in realistically completing the project.

In my experience, network diagrams are a great visual during the planning phase. Getting the team together in a room (stand up) utilising a large whiteboard and brainstorming stakeholders is very effective and builds a collaborative and engaging culture which I believe is key to a successfully performing team.

In my experience I start with the requested timeline and then look to consider if the project is new or has been done before. I usually look to analogous estimates as I start researching tasks and risks including mitigation (contingency planning). I also try to add some float for just incase and will read that back to the product owner with milestones to help keep things in focus and on track. I also like to stakeholder engagement/communication around steps or milestones to keep them in the loop. I have used MS project, Jira, and plan excel and sheets for the more simple projects. I also enjoy using MS planner. I feel that is an underrated tool.

Building in flexibility and being able to adapt to changing circumstances. If dependencies with hard constraints can be avoided that helps breaking the process later.

The emphasis on program schedule contingencies is that it is prepared in advance to manage risks and uncertainties. This provides a baseline for potential changes which can be communicated up front to stakeholders and participants.

On many of the programs I've worked on, there's been a need to define a planning framework even within organizations that have a well-established PMO. In situations where standard planning frameworks include everything that could possibly be included in a plan, project managers are expected to build their plans based on the needs of their project. With very, large, complex programs and portfolios, it's critical to define a planning framework with a standard set of tasks, milestones and deliverables that should be part of every project plan. This ensures a common understanding of the plans across projects and workstreams and enables the roll-up of project plans into the program-level plan.

In the real world, a program manager must adapt and adjust to changing situations. Therefore, there is a need for flexibility, iterative planning, and the ability to pivot when necessary, could enrich the piece article. Also, as stakeholders play a crucial role in the success of any program, understanding their expectations, ensuring their involvement, and effectively communicating with them are pivotal aspects of program management.

A program gets broken down into multiple projects. Each project may further be broken into Scrum Teams (Agile Software Development). When forming multiple Scrum Teams, one must verify regularly if Scrum teams' schedules are aligned with Projects' and Overall Program Schedule. Identify all interdependencies and assumptions as Program Risks. Track schedule and risks, collaborate to address risks, and communicate to inform stakeholders.