project planning diagrams

Project Planning Diagrams.
A variety of project graphics are available to represent the three vital project planning and control parameters - namely: time, cost and performance. One of the most
commonly used project graphics is the Gantt chart, also known as a bar chart. The PERT chart is an excellent start point for the production of a Gantt chart. The Gantt chart clearly shows the start and finish dates for the major activities. Gantt charts are simple to understand and easy to change. Gantt Charts are the preferred presentation media when summarizing project information for senior management, who usually find that the information portrayed in PERT charts is too detailed. Modern software planning packages are able to present the project data in a wide variety of formats including numerical sequence, alphabetical and date order. In the example shown, the network information has been sorted and presented in date order using the early start values. When producing Gantt charts care should be taken that each distinct area is clearly definable - by applying an appropriate color coding or shading key.

Project Resource Planning.
In project management terms all of the staffing requirements, money and physical objects that the project will consume or require are termed resources. Resource planning aims to ensure that the project is run efficiently, by keeping all the dedicated project resources as fully utilized as possible. It also aims to facilitate the accurate prediction of the demands that will be placed on the project and enables the identification of important resource scheduling issues - such as potential bottlenecks. Resource planning is concerned with the effective scheduling of the skills, experience, financial and technical resources necessary in order to deliver the products required. It is crucial to the success of the project and the work involved in resource planning grows, almost exponentially, as the number of individuals and the required skills increase. Resource planning should be viewed as an iterative process. The results of resource planning should help to refine the PERT chart by optimizing the use of resources throughout the project life cycle.

Project Planning is Iterative.
Planning is the process of estimating, scheduling and assigning the projects resources in order to deliver an end-product of suitable quality. Project planning diagrams are an essential part of this project planning which should focus on the activities necessary to deliver the intermediate products required in order to deliver the overall goal of the project. The planning process involves a number of iterative steps. By analyzing the derivation and composition of each product the activities required to construct it should be determined. Having identified the activities required to construct a product, or products, the nature and magnitude of the required tasks should be determined. Once the tasks have been identified the resources required for their completion can be established. The activities should then be arranged in a sequence that optimizes efficient product delivery. In particular this sequence should take into account any interdependencies between the evolving products. When the required activities have been identified and sequenced they should be allocated to suitably qualified members of the project team. Here the cooperation of line managers will often be essential in order to secure the appropriate skills at the right time. Having determined the activities and available resources required to deliver the products, the timescales should be defined for discrete areas of the project. As the assimilated information grows, the planning documents should evolve. These will include the work breakdown structure, the PERT charts and ultimately the fully developed plans.

Product Planning Illustrated.
Every project should have an overall deliverable, or end-product. However, in order to deliver the end-product a series of intermediate products will usually be necessary. These products may be components of the overall end-product, or they may be supporting products, for example, a maintenance manual. To illustrate the concepts behind product based planning we will consider a project being run by a small company to design, assemble and market a new camera. Three main product groups are used to represent this project at a high level representing the requirement for a design specification, production plans & schedules, and a marketing campaign. The design products required are likely to include such items as engineering drawings, component lists and any relevant production standards. The production products required are likely to include such items as component supplier lists, assembly instructions, and quality checklists. Finally, the marketing products required are likely to include such items as a promotional brochure, advertising scripts, sales information packs and so on.

Identifying the Minor Products (re: Marketing).
There will be three strands to the marketing campaign: a television advert, a magazine advert and a promotional brochure - which can be sent to enquirers and also used at the point of sale. In project terms each becomes an identifiable product - that will need to be analyzed, specified and designed. We will now consider the specification of the promotional brochure. As explained earlier products are often made up of component products. In producing the brochure a variety of components will be needed and each one may be produced by an individual or a team. The clear identification of each component product should facilitate an accurate estimate of the resources required in the production of the brochure. The identification of the required products requires a careful analysis and breakdown of the structure and composition of the overall deliverable - in this case the brochure. However, this process does not require any great specialist training or technical skill. Product identification is really about careful analysis.

Useful Planning Diagrams.
A standard series of diagrams and documents can be used to assist in the process of product based planning. These can act as a powerful aid to analyzing, scheduling and communicating different aspects of the overall project plans. Work breakdown structures, product descriptions, and product flow diagrams provide an invaluable means of representing and monitoring the products and resources required by the project. The work breakdown structure is a product-oriented subdivision of all of the resources, including hardware, services and data that are required to deliver the required end-product. The projects end-product appears at the top of the work breakdown structure, with the products that are required represented hierarchically beneath it. The work breakdown structure can be split into a series of diagrams, representing discrete sub-divisions; such as product groupings or all of the products relating to specific sub-projects. Each product can be described in detail in a product description. These are used to hold a variety of different data relating to either specific products or groups of related products. Product descriptions should be designed to reflect the details that are required; generally they contain information such as: the purpose of the product, the derivation of the product and its composition, standards for format and presentation and the products quality criteria. Product flow diagrams show the dependencies and derivation of inter-related products and the sequence in which they are to be produced. These diagrams highlight the production dependencies that exist between the required products and are useful in forming the basis of scheduling the work required.

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