Project Schedule Constraints and Assumptions

When you prepare your project plan, you may be faced with factors that have a negative impact on the project and your planning activities. Two such factors are project constraints and assumptions.

Project constraints and assumptions can be a source of frustration for the project team, especially when the constraints are too stringent and the assumptions invalid. To reduce frustration and enhance efficiency you need to carefully manage constraints and assumptions as you prepare the project schedule.

Constraints
Constraints, as inputs to schedule development, are factors that limit the project management team's options. There are two main types of constraints that project managers must consider when developing the project schedule: imposed dates and major milestones.

• Imposed dates - Completing certain deliverables by a specific date may be required by project sponsors, customers, or other stakeholders.
• Major milestones - You may also be asked to complete a certain phase or aspect of the project by a certain date.

These dates will act as constraints, requiring you to make decisions to see that imposed dates and milestones are reached on time.

Assumptions
PMBOK defines assumptions as, "factors that, for planning purposes, will be considered to be true, real, or certain."

Project managers must often make assumptions in planning the various stages of a project. Assumptions generally involve a degree of risk, therefore they must be carefully monitored during a project's life cycle.

Consider this example. Tell-4-Funds, a telemarketing company, has recently been contracted by a client to lead a national fundraising campaign. The client would like to have the campaign finished in three weeks, in order to begin the next phase of its long-term plan. Tell-4-Funds has just begun the project's schedule development. It has made the assumption that the telemarketers can create the calling lists in two days and begin calling people on the third day.

Project managers use the process of project schedule development to determine realistic start and finish dates and to ensure their project is finished on time. Most constraints can be overcome with proper planning and, in many instances, assumptions can be verified, at least to some degree. Understanding how proposed constraints and assumptions affect the project schedule will reduce frustration while helping to keep your project on time and within budget.

The Inputs of Project Activity Sequencing

To successfully plan a project, you have to arrive at an appropriate sequence for the project activities. This process, called "activity sequencing" requires that you identify the inputs of project activity sequencing.

There are a number of inputs that influence project activity sequencing, including: the activity list, product description, mandatory dependencies, discretionary dependencies, external dependencies, and milestones.

• the activity list
  The activity list is a complete list of all project activities. These activities need to be analyzed and organized into a workable sequence so that the project can be completed in an optimal time frame.
  
  If, for example, a computer and data services company is building a network, the deliverables might be decomposed into the following activities:
  
  - configure mail server
  - configure application server
  - configure file server
  - configure print server
  - configure work stations
  - configure the router
  - connect hub
  - run cabling
  - test network
  
  This activity list must now be analyzed for dependencies and organized for completion.
  

• product description
  The second factor that influences activity sequencing is the product description. The product description documents the characteristics of the product or service that the project was undertaken to create. Product characteristics affect activity sequencing. These effects are apparent in the activity list. A review of the product description helps ensure project accuracy.
  
  Consider the example of the computer and data services company that is building a network. Suppose that a review of the product description indicates that the client only requested the configured servers, a configured router, and cabling. The client plans to have in-house technical support connect the hub, run the cabling, and test the network once it is in place.
  
  As a result of reviewing the product description, the computer and data services company supplying the network identifies an inaccuracy in its activity list. A revision of the list and resequencing of activities are necessary.
  

• mandatory dependencies
  The third, fourth, and fifth factors that affect activity sequencing fall under the heading of dependencies. The three types of dependencies that affect activity sequencing are mandatory, discretionary, and external.
  
  A mandatory dependency is one that is inherent in the nature of the work being done. Also known as hard logic, this dependency involves physical limitations.
  
  Take a look at a mandatory dependency in the context of building a computer network. The activities include configuring the network components, running cabling, and testing the network. One mandatory dependency that exists is between the test network activity and the rest of the project activities.
  
  The test network activity can't be done until the network is in place. This means that all other activities must be completed first. There is a mandatory dependency between the test network activity and all other activities associated with this project.
  

• discretionary dependencies
  Also known as preferred, preferential, or soft logic, this dependency is defined by the project management team based on established practices in an application area or a specific desired sequence.
  
  In the example of building a computer network, a discretionary dependency may exist. The client company wants its employees to begin working as soon as possible. To meet with this requirement, the project management team decides that configuring the workstations should be the first activity in the sequence.
  
  Other activities could replace this activity as the first in the project. In this case, however, the project management team decides that configuring the workstations is the preferred starting point.
  

• external dependencies
  An external dependency is one that involves a relationship between project and non-project activities. To understand this type of dependency, consider again, the example of building a network. The computer and data services company purchases some of its network components from a supplier. This creates an external dependency. The computer and data services company can't provide its service until it has all the parts it requires. Purchasing components from a supplier is an example of an external dependency.
  

• milestones
  Milestones are the final input of activity sequencing. Milestones are significant events or stages in the development of a project. Some examples of common project milestones are:
  
  - initial research
  - concept development
  - design completion
  - prototype development
  - quality testing
  - final acceptance
  
  Milestones act as control points in long projects that have several work packages and smaller tasks. For example, the computer and data services company grouped the project deliverables to identify major project milestones. The milestones for the network project are: finalizing the product description; installing and configuring network hardware components; and testing network capabilities.
  
  Milestones need to be an input to activity sequencing to assure that the project meets all of the necessary requirements. It is important to identify milestones so that you can effectively measure the progress of your project.
  

Optimizing the sequence of project activities can help you to avoid costly delays and rework. When sequencing, you need to consider your activity list, product description, dependencies and milestones. By factoring these inputs into the sequencing equation, you will arrive at a more logical sequence, one that will allow you to sail through project development and implementation with fewer surprises and mistakes.

Project Planning Phase Outputs and Milestones

Did you know that the planning phase of an IT project can make or break that project? If not conducted properly, the planning phase can cause a domino effect on the other life cycle phases and eventually cause the project to fail. This is why successful project managers spend so much time on this phase.

The majority of the project manager's work during the planning phase involves the completion of three key activities—project initiation and organization, project definition and planning, and management review and approval. However, the project manager's job does not end there. The key activities are then used to obtain the outputs, and the outputs are used to meet the milestone, thus completing this cycle of the project.

Once the members of the project team have concluded all of the key activities of the planning phase, they will have the outputs listed below. These outputs will become the inputs to the analysis phase of the project life cycle.

• The business case. A business case is a request for project investment. It is a high-level description of the project's information systems and related business objectives.
• The conceptual design. The conceptual design can be a rough drawing, a flowchart, or storyboards that show the general shape and location of all design elements for the proposed application.
  
• The project plan. The project plan is used to guide project execution and control. It includes an overview of the project, a description of how the project is organized, details about the management and technical processes to be used, and a description of the work to be done, as well as a schedule and budget information.
  

The business case, conceptual design, and project plan are submitted to management for review. Once management approval is given for the project, a project plan sign-off is required. This sign-off indicates that management has given its approval for the project to proceed.
The project plan sign-off is the milestone that must be met during the planning phase. It indicates that the planning phase of the IT project life cycle has been completed. The project can now move on to the analysis phase.

Remember, in order to move onto the analysis phase and proceed with your project, you must first develop the outputs of the planning phase and obtain the sign-off form from management, which is the milestone for this phase of the project.