Acumen & ARES delivered this presentation on the need to properly build, analyze and cost-load a schedule. Acumen gave a special sneak peek of Fuse 3.0 and 360.
3. Acumen: Proven Project Analytics
Passion and dedication to
helping to improve the
World Renowned
practice of CPM scheduling Risk Assessment
& analysis Workshops
• 2o Year+ PPM legacy
across multiple industries Oracle Accredited
Training
• Oracle, Deltek &
Microsoft partner
• Based in Austin, Texas Acumen Fuse
• Global presence
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4. Acumen DNA
acumen s1 > s5 acumen DNA
• Schedule Basis
• Reflects latest scope/contractor updates
Schedule is King…
S1
• Critiqued Schedule
Metrics: “Analytics leverage
• Structurally sound, no contingency,
S2 sound logic
data in a particular functional
process (or application) to enable
• Risk-Adjusted Schedule
• Estimate uncertainty, risk events context-specific insight that is
S3
actionable”
• Optimized Target Scenarios
• Reduced hot spots, higher confidence
S4
• Team Validated Scenario
• Buy-in on mitigation plans
S5
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12. CPM Building Blocks
Project Defines start or finish of the job
Encapsulates the defined work Scheduling tools are
Activities Defines duration for a given scope of an excellent means
work
of modeling these
Logic Links Defines sequence of work
moving parts.
Calendars Defines when an activity/resource
can work But…
Constraints Defines date overrides They do little for
Resources Defines who/what is available to
making sure the
execute work building blocks are
Resource Links the “executors” to their work
Assignment
used correctly….
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13. Sound Logic
• Use of FS, FF, SF, SS links
• SS links don’t account for durations
• Lags hide schedule detail
• Leads cause reverse dates
redundant
• Circular logic between projects
A
• Out of sequence updates
• Open start/finish: hidden open ends B
• Logic Density™
• Logic Hotspot™ C
• Redundancy Index™
New: Driving Logic analysis
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14. Float Analysis
• Average Float
• Maximum Float
• Float ratio (# of days float per day of work)
• Float Map™
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15. Scorecarding 1
6
• Metrics are useful but don’t give overall picture
• Scorecarding: group individual metrics into single score
• Schedule Quality Index™
• Scores can be either:
– Activity based: number of activities that fail a test (less detailed,
higher scores)
– Metric based: number of metrics that fail a test (more detailed,
lower scores)
• Weight importance of metrics
May 8,
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20. Value of Time-phased Budget
• A time-phased representation of the project execution plan
to determine:
‒ The feasibility of the plan
‒ The ability to predict project success
‒ Address resource funding requirements
• A time-phased budget represents a Performance
Measurement Baseline (PMB)
• A tool to measure cost and schedule performance against
the plan
…. and prevent surprises!
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21. Performance Measurement Baseline
• Two typical methods used in developing a PMB
1. Cost loading schedule activities
2. Developing a “Time-phased Budget”
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22. Cost / Schedule Integration
Method 1 – Cost Loading a Schedule
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23. Issues with Cost Loading a Schedule
• Difficult to match up based on granularity of estimate
vs. schedule
• It is a very time-consuming process to setup
‒ Project must start with a schedule before budget can be established
• It is a very time-consuming process to maintain
• Difficult to manage intangibles – such as indirect costs
• Difficult to manage cost changes
• Difficult to manage contingency
The costs exceed the benefits
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24. Cost / Schedule Integration
Method 2 – Developing a “Time Phased Budget”
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25. Time-phased Budgets Advantages
Improvements Over Cost Loaded Schedules
Removes estimate/schedule granularity issues
Quick and efficient setup
Much easier to maintain
Manage performance on Approved and Control Budgets
Efficient use of distribution curves for spreading costs
Addresses issue on how indirect costs are spread
Addresses issue on spreading of contingency
Easier to manage changes in scope and forecast
Efficient and Effective PMB Development
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30. Metrics for Execution Baseline Compliance™
• Traditional measures include:
– Earned value: heavy time investment to implement
– Earned schedule: similar to EV
– Percent complete: what does this really tell us?
– Ahead/behind baseline: too granular a scale…
• Baseline Compliance™
– Used to determine how close a schedule is planned and
executed against it’s baseline
– Measure of well the plan is being executed
– More than just date comparison
– Looks at period-compliance
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31. Compliance Scenarios
Feb March April
Baseline
Excellent
Scenario 1: Started
Early, Finished Early
Scenario 2: Started
Early, Finished On-Time
Scenario 3: Started On-
Time, Finished On-Time
Scenario 4: Started On-
Time, Finished Late
Poor Scenario 5: Started
Late, Finished Late
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32. Compliance Metrics
Group Metric Jan-11 Feb-11 Mar-11 Apr-11 May-11 TOTAL
Baseline Scheduled/Baselined to Start 4 1 4 0 1 10
Scheduled/Baselined to Finish 2 1 4 0 3 10
Updated Start/ed 2 4 1 2 1 10
Schedule Finish/ed 1 3 1 3 2 10
Statistics Start/ed on Time 2 0 0 0 1 3
Start/ed Early 0 0 2 0 0 2
Start/ed Late 2 1 2 0 0 5
Finish/ed on Time 1 1 1 0 2 5
Finish/ed Early 0 0 1 0 1 2
Finish/ed Late 1 0 2 0 0 3
Start/ed on Time, Finish/ed Late 0 0 1 0 0 0
Compliance Start Variance 2 1 4 0 0 7
Cum Start Variance 2 3 7 7 7
Start Compliance 50% 0% 0% N/A 100% 30%
Finish Variance 1 0 3 0 1 5
Cum Finish Variance 1 1 4 4 5
Finish Compliance 50% 100% 25% N/A 67% 50%
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35. More Information:
Fuse Trial & White Papers:
www.projectacumen.com
PrismG2 Information:
www.arescorporation.com
5/8/2012 36
Editor's Notes
Size, Locations, Depth
All projects start with the development of a project budgetBut, preparing a project budget is only half the effort.What differentiates project data from operations data is that projects have a start and end date.So, integrating cost and schedule data is a necessity in any project.It represents the project execution plan in monetary terms.Going through the process of time-phasing a project budget helps you determineThe feasibility of the project execution planIt helps you predict the chance of project successIt also helps you address resource funding requirements… when are funds required for the project.A time-phased budget also represents the Performance Measurement Baseline of the project against which we will measure cost and schedule performanceAnd therefore prevent surprises. So, the budgeting process is not complete unless we determine how and when we plan to execute the project work.
In our experience that are 2 typical methods used for developing a PMB or time phased budget.The first method involves cost loading schedule activitiesThe second method involves developing a Time Phased BudgetPRISM G2 provides features that will allow you to use either method.Let’s look at how each is handled by PRISM G2.
While the process of getting a cost loaded schedule into PRISM G2 is very efficient, there are issues that need to be addressed before the data is imported in PRISM.It’s difficult to develop a cost loaded schedule in P6 or MSP.There’s the problem with mixed granularity between the estimate and schedule data. E.g. the estimate data may be prepared at one level of detail that doesn’t easily correspond to the activities that are at another level of detail. The ideal situation is a matching of one estimate cost to one schedule activity, but this is rarely the cast.Also, it’s a very time-consuming process to setup a cost loaded schedule… on large project, it typically takes weeks to develop.It’s also a very time-consuming process to maintain a cost loaded schedule.How are indirect costs, e.gfrieght cost and taxes, etc… handled using a schedule?How are cost changes to either scope of forecast handled using a schedule?How do we manage contingency using a schedule?All these issues require “creative work-around” in order to use a tool designed to manage time, into a tool designed to manage costs.So, when you look at the overall setup costs involved in developing a cost loaded schedule, these setup costs far exceed the benefits derived from that effort.
So, regardless of which method you wish to use in developing a PMB, PRISM G2 can handle either method.But, in our experience, the advantages of using a Time-Phased Budget provide marked improvements over using a cost loaded schedule.These advantage include..