Sequence and schedule project activities and resources

Sequence and schedule project activities and resources assignment

ROHINI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

Sequencing and Scheduling Activities

Ø Project  and  its activities must  be clearly defined to  achieve the target. An activity plan will contain the following factors:

    A project is basically, composed of number of interrelated activities.

    The initiation of a project happens only if atleast one activity is ready to start.

    An activity is clearly defined      with its start      and       end point that      produce gooddeliverables.

 Activity requiring resources must be analyzed well in advance and made available during the execution.

    Some activities would depend on other activities for them to complete.

    A project  can attain its completion only when all activities have beencompleted.

Approaches to Identify Activities

Ø The various approaches used in identifying activities are:

 Activity-based approach Product-based approach

    Hybrid approach

Activity-based approach

Ø In the activity-based approach, all the activities are listed and created for the project.

Ø This is achieved by a brainstorming session where the entire project team analysis the various activities needed a0t different stages with the help of similar projects.

Ø This approach usually generates the list of activities using a work breakdown structure (WBS).

Ø WBS helps in identifying the lowest level of effort i.e. the task required to complete a project by breaking down into lower sets of tasks.ØTask defined  at  lower               level       includes               everything that     is               required to              complete    the              task       at the

higher level.

ØThe work breakdown structure provides an in-depth knowledge about the lowest level of activity that has to be completed.

ØWBS is a refined structure that clearly defines the milestones that has to be achieved in accomplishing a specific task.

ØThe ordering of  sequence of  activities can also be done in this approach by defining those activities that have to be completed for others to start.

ØIn  a purely  activity-based approach,           activities are          identified            and          defined           in             fivelevels:

    Level 1 : Project–goals, objectives defined

 Level 2: Deliverables–software, manuals, training Level 3 : Components–work items, modules, tests

    Level 4 : Work-packages–major work items, related tasks

 Level 5 : Tasks–responsibility of an individual in accomplishing it Product-based approach

Ø The  product-based  approach produces a  product  breakdown structure  along  with a  product flow diagram.

Ø The approach accepts  the products as inputs which is transformed into an ordered list of activities.

Ø Product Flow Diagram do not leave out any activity from its ordered list and adopts a methodology which clearly specifies what are the products required and what are the activities required to produce the product.e

Ø Using Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method (SSADM), a generic activity network can be derived for a project-specific product breakdown structure.

Ø The development of a PFD indicates the sequence of activities of the activitynetwork.

Hybrid approach

Ø WBS deals with list of final deliverables whereas PBS deals in producing the products using the product flow diagram.

Ø Hybrid approach combines both the activity-based and product-based approach to structure both activities and products.

Ø Structuring of product-based or activity-based approach depend on the nature of the project type.Figure – Hybrid Approach combining Activities and Products 

Sequencing and scheduling activities

Ø Scheduling is required for every activity that is planned along with the resources and can be represented using a bar chart.

Ø The chart describes the nature of  the development process and the resources available for completing the specified activities

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Weeks Person	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Requirements
Design Module1
Design Module2
Design Module 3
Code Module1
Code Module2
Code Module 3
Integration
System Acceptance

Figure – Bar chart representing Scheduling

Ø The  chart defines  two  factors:  sequencing  of tasks  and  the  schedule  of the task.  Scheduling includes the staff availability and the activities allocated to them.

Ø Combining sequencing – scheduling approach is suitable only for smaller projects and needs to be separated for complex projects as individual process.

Ø In case of larger projects, the logical relationship between the activities are grouped together and then scheduled for resources.