Tools for process planning

Planning activities are required for most things that we do in order to assure that implementation of an activity or project is running smoothly. We need specific tools and use most of them for project management. Project management tools are useful for any tasks where different outcomes are possible - where risks of problems and failures exist - and so require planning and assessing options, and organizing activities and resources to deliver a successful result.

Here are some tools that project managers use and which can also be helpful for everyone.

1. Estimating Time Accurately

Accurate time estimation is a skill essential for good planning. It is important to get time estimates right for two main reasons:
1. Time estimates drive the deadlines for delivery of projects or activities, and hence peoples’ assessments of your reliability
2. They often determine the pricing of contracts and their ensuing profitability.

Usually, people vastly underestimate the amount of time needed to implement projects. This is particularly true when they are not familiar with the task being carried out. They forget to take into account unexpected events or any unscheduled high priority work. People also often simply fail to allow for the full complexity involved with a job.

This tool helps find ways to estimate time spent on small projects or activities. Time estimates provide important inputs into the other techniques used to organize and structure mediumsized and large projects (Gantt charts and Critical Path Analysis). Both of these techniques reduce large projects down into a set of small projects.

How to Use the Tool:
The first stage when estimating time accurately is to understand fully what you need to achieve. This involves reviewing the task in detail so that there are no unknowns. Inevitably, it is the difficult-to-understand, tricky problems that take the greatest amount of time to solve. 

The best way to review the job is to list all tasks in fine detail. Once you have a detailed list of all the tasks that you must achieve, make your best guess as to how long each task will take to complete.

Also make sure that you have allowed time for:

• Other urgent tasks that need to be carried out and that will take priority over this one
• Accidents and emergencies
• Internal meetings
• Holidays and sickness among essential staff
• Contact with other customers, perhaps to arrange the next project
• Equipment breakdowns
• Missed deliveries by suppliers
• Interruptions
• Quality control rejections 

These factors may double (or more than double) the length of time needed to complete a project.

If the accuracy of time estimates is critical, you may find it effective to develop a systematic approach to include these factors. If possible, base this on past experience.

Key points:

• You can lose a great deal of credibility by underestimating the length of time needed to implement a project. If you underestimate time, not only do you miss deadlines, but you also put other project workers through unnecessary stress. Projects will become seriously unprofitable and other tasks cannot be started.
• The first step towards making good time estimates is to understand the problem to be solved fully.
• You can then prepare a detailed list of the tasks that must be achieved. This list should include all the administrative tasks and meetings that you need to carry out as well as the work itself.
• Finally, allow time for all the expected and unexpected disruptions and delays to work
  that will inevitably happen.

2. Scheduling Activities using Milestones

Simple projects/activities involve only one or a few people over a short time. Typically, simple projects/activities will have few tasks dependent on other tasks and will be relatively simple and easy to coordinate.

How is the Tool Used?
Appropriate Timetables and Action Plans are often sufficient to coordinate and implement simple projects/activities. These should be explained and negotiated with the staff involved in order to improve the plans and get understanding, input and buy-in from staff.

This tool consists of a list of key activities/milestones, dates and times for each planned activity. This type of planning is not necessary for planning each task, only the key tasks are planned. Scheduling activities using milestones can be done using the tool presented below:

• During the project these will contain sufficient control points and deliveries to monitor project progress and take any appropriate remedial action.

3. Critical Path Analysis and PERT Charts

Critical Path Analysis and PERT are powerful tools that help schedule and manage complex projects. They were developed in the 1950’s to control large defense projects and have
been used routinely since then.

Critical Path Analysis formally identifies tasks which must be completed on time in order for the whole project to be completed on time. It also identifies which tasks can be delayed
if resources need to be reallocated to catch up on missed or overrunning tasks. The disadvantage of CPA, if you use it as the technique for communicating and managing your
project plans against, is that the relationship of tasks to time is not as immediately obvious as with Gantt Charts. This can make them more difficult to understand.

A further benefit of Critical Path Analysis is that it helps you identify the minimum length of time needed to complete a project. Where you need to run an accelerated project, it helps
you identify the project steps that you should accelerate to complete the project within the time available.

PERT stands for Program Evaluation and Review Technique. PERT is a variation on Critical Path Analysis that takes a slightly more skeptical view of time estimates for each project stage. To use it, estimate the shortest possible time that each activity will take, the most likely length of time and the longest time that might be needed if the activity takes longer than expected.

Use the formula below to calculate the time for each project stage:

shortest time + 4 x likely time + longest time
------------------------------------------------------------
                                   6
This helps bias time estimates away from the unrealistically short timescales normally assumed.

How is the Tool Used?
The essential concept behind Critical Path Analysis is that you cannot start some activities until others are finished. These activities need to be completed in a sequence with each stage being more or less complete before the next stage can begin. These are ‘sequential’ activities. Other activities are not dependent on completion of any other tasks. You can do these at any time before or after reaching a particular stage. These are non-dependent or ‘parallel’ tasks.

Steps when drawing up a CPA chart:

Step 1. List all the activities in the plan For each activity, show the earliest start date, the estimated length of time it will take and whether it is parallel or sequential. If tasks are sequential, show which stage they depend on.

Step 2. Plot the activities as a circle and arrow diagram.
Critical Path Analyses are presented using circle and arrow diagrams. In these, circles show events within the project such as when the tasks start and finish. The number shown on the left-hand side of the circle allows you to identify each one easily. Circles are sometimes known as nodes.

An arrow running between two event circles shows the activity needed to complete that task. A description of the task is written underneath the arrow. The length of the task is shown above it. It is the convention for all arrows to run from left to right. Arrows are also sometimes called arcs. An example is shown below:

In this figure, activity 6 to 7 cannot start until the other four activities (11 to 6, 5 to 6, 4 to 6 and 8 to 6) have been completed. 

Step 3. Analyze the data and assess the planning
You may find that you need to complete a project earlier than your Critical Path Analysis says is possible. In this case you need to re-plan your project.

You have a number of options and would need to assess the impact of each one on the project cost, quality and time required for completion. For example, you could increase resources available for each project activity to bring down the amount of time spent on each one but the impact of some of this would be insignificant and a more efficient way of doing this would be only to look at activities on the critical path.

Key points
Critical Path Analysis is an effective and powerful method of assessing:

• What tasks must be carried out?
• Where parallel activities can be performed?
• The shortest time in which you can complete a project
• Resources needed to execute a project
• The sequence of activities, scheduling and timings involved
• Task priorities
• The most efficient way of shortening time for urgent projects.

An effective Critical Path Analysis can make the difference between the success and failure of complex projects. It can be very useful for assessing the importance of problems that have been faced during implementation of the plan.

PERT is a variant of Critical Path Analysis that takes a more skeptical view of the time needed to complete each project stage.