Step 11 — Re-Schedule & Review
When the schedule has been developed it can be rescheduled and the outcomes should be reviewed with the Project Team.
Information to be reviewed by the project team includes:
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Project duration and end date(s)
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Activity durations, start and finish dates
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Is all the scope included?
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Does the schedule reflect agreed delivery strategies and is it aligned with the top-down summary schedule?
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Critical path and total float (see below)
Critical path
There should be a clear, identifiable, continuous, and realistic critical path from the status date to the project completion date(s).
The critical path is be defined by ISO 21500 Guide to Project Management as: ‘The sequence of activities that determine the earliest possible completion date for the project or a phase of the project’
The critical path should be well understood, and it should make sense. By understanding the activities on the critical path, the project team can better manage the activities, risks and opportunities that are more likely to impact the project’s end date.
Parallel critical paths and near critical paths with the potential to become critical also need to be considered and understood.
The critical path (CP) should not include LOE activities, lags, unusually long duration activities, or constraints that force unimportant activities onto the CP.
The percentage of activities on the critical path (and near the critical path) should also be assessed. A higher number of critical and near critical activities in the schedule places greater risk on achieving the project’s end date(s).
Total Float
Projects are very dynamic and activities that have float at the beginning of a project can become critical later. Always review for time saving opportunities across the whole schedule, not just on the critical path.
Time savings are not achieved through ambitious production rates but rather by applying new logic and sequencing which may include additional resources, parallel activities, earlier access and alternate design or delivery methodologies.
Negative float in a schedule increases the risk of achieving the project’s completion date(s). In schedules with negative float the critical path can be difficult to determine, especially if the negative float is a result of scheduling errors in the software.
Negative float in the schedule due to scheduling errors (i.e., when it is unintended) needs to be corrected and removed.
Activities with unreasonably high float indicates that there may be logic missing from the schedule.