Analyzing a Project Plan

Have you ever wondered what project plan example is? How it can be created? Where to start if you want to create a plan for
your project?

We will go through the logical steps you need to formulate a project plan successfully. Project plans vary in sizes, elements,
formats, and components. So, there is no single right way of creating a project plan? A good project plan fits the project it is
meant to address.
Every project tells a story about its goals, team, timing, and deliverables—and it requires detailed project planning and
management to get the story right. Some of those stories are short and to the point while others are epic novels rife with twists
and turns. No matter the length or level of drama, every story is based on a story arc or an outline—or as we call it in the project
management world, a project plan.

What is project planning?

Project planning is the process of establishing the scope and defining the objectives and steps to attain them. It is one of the most
important of the processes that make up project management. The output of project planning process is a project management
plan.

What is a project management plan?

A project management plan, also known as a project plan, is a document that contains a project scope and objective. It is most
commonly represented in the form of a Gantt chart to make it easy to communicate to stakeholders.
Learning how to develop a project plan does not need to be complicated. Keep reading to learn what project planning steps to
follow to create a project plan that your team will love.

How to write a project plan in 10 simple steps:

1. Understand the scope and value of your project plan

2. Conduct extensive research
3. Ask the tough questions
4. Create your project plan outline
5. Talk with your team
6. Write your full project plan
7. Execute your plan
8. Publish your plan
9. Share your plan with the team and make sure they read it!
10. Prepare to keep planning

Step 1: Understand the scope and value of your project

At its core, a project plan defines your approach and the process your team will use to manage the project according to scope. A
project plan communicates vital information to all project stakeholders. A solid plan should answer these questions:

∙ What are the major deliverables?

∙ How will we get to those deliverables and the deadline?
∙ Who is on the project team, and what role will they play in those deliverables?
∙ When will the team meet milestones, and when will other members of the team play a role in contributing to or
providing feedback on those deliverables?

If your plan answers those questions and educates your team and clients on the project logistics, you’re creating a viable,
strategic game plan for your project.

At its core, a project plan defines your approach and the process your team will use to manage the project to scope.

Step 2: Conduct extensive research

Before you start creating a project plan, make sure you know all of the facts. Dive into the documents and communications
relevant to the project. At a minimum, you’ll be responsible for possessing a thorough understanding of:

⮚ The goals of the project

⮚ Your client’s needs and expectations
⮚ The makeup of your client team and their decision-making process (i.e., how they will review and approve your
 team’s work), which might answer:
⮚ Who is the project sponsor, and how available is he or she?
⮚ Who is the PM, and will he or she be in constant contact with you? (They need to be). ⮚ Who are the
additional stakeholders your team should be aware of?

Set time aside with your client to ask some tough questions about process, organizational politics, and risks.

Step 3: Ask the tough questions

Ask some tough questions about process, organizational politics, and general risks before creating a project plan. Doing so will
convey that your team has the experience to handle any type of difficult personalities or situation and that you care about the
success of the project from the start.
Questions that may impact a project plan:

∙ Has your team discussed how you will gather feedback?

∙ Who is the final sign-off? Or, who owns the project?
∙ Is there a stakeholder we need to consider who is not on your list? (A president, dean, the boss’s spouse?)
∙ What is the project deadline? What are the factors or events that are calling for that date? (a meeting, an ad campaign,
an event?)
∙ Are there any dates when you will be closed or not available?
∙ Will there be any meetings or points in the project where you’ll want us to present on the current project status to a
larger group (i.e., a board meeting)?
∙ Has your team been through a project like this in the past?
∙ Is there anything that would prevent the project from being successful?
∙ Is there a preferred mode of communication and online project planning tools?
∙ Are there any points in the process that some stakeholders might not understand that we can explain?

Step 4: Create your project plan outline

After getting the answers you need, take some time to think about the responses in light of the project goals and how your team
might approach a similar project. Think about the tasks that are outlined in the scope of work and try to come up with a project
planning and management approach by creating a high level outline. All you need is a calendar to check dates.
There will always be multiple ways to execute the work you are planning, and it is easy to focus on what the end product will
look like. Remind yourself: You are there to plan and guide the project, not create it.
A project outline will help you to organize your thoughts, formulate what might work for the project, and then transform
everything into a discussion. Take this time to build a simple project plan outline—it does not have to have all the details just
yet. Doing so lays the foundations for a solid, sustainable project plan.

Step 5: Talk with your team

Starting a project must begin with clear communication of the project goals and the effort required to meet them. As a project
manager, you can decide on waterfall or agile approaches, but when it comes down to it, you need to know that the team can
realistically execute the plan.

You can also use your project plan review time to question your own thinking and push the team to take a new approach to the
work. For instance, if you are working on a website design, can designers start creating visual concepts while the wireframes
are being developed? Will it make sense for this project and for the team? Can you have two resources working on the same
task at once?

Running ideas by the team and having an open dialogue about the approach cannot only help you with building a project plan,
it is also a big help in getting everyone to think about the project in the same terms. This type of buy-in and communication
builds trust on a team and gets people excited about working together to solve a goal. It can work wonders for the greater good
of your team and your project.

Step 6: Write your full project plan

When you have got all the information you need and you have spoken to all parties, you should feel more than comfortable
enough to put together a rock solid project plan using whatever tool works for you. The easiest way to build a project plan is to
make it readable.

To make your project plan readable, use some formatting skills to make sure tasks, durations, milestones, and dates are crystal
clear. Try to make a simple project plan—the more straightforward and easier to read it is, the better. No matter what tool you
are using, you should include these features: Within Team Gantt's resource management software, you can assign who is
responsible to each task so there is no confusion about who is responsible for what.
 Finally, you should be as flexible as possible when it comes to how your project plan is presented. There is no absolute when
it comes to how you represent your plan as long as you and your team understand what goes into one.

Step 7: Execute your plan

Team Gantt, Project planning tool, gives you the ability to quickly and easily build a project plan using most of the tips listed
above, and makes it even easier to adjust using a simple drag and drop feature. Creating a Gantt chart based on the steps you
have outlined for your team is easy and kind of fun. Plus, once you have created your project, you can have peace of mind
knowing that you thought ahead and have a plan to guide you along as you go. Try it out, and create a Gantt chart for completely
free!

Step 8: Publish your plan

You are almost finished! You have done your research, outlined your approach, discussed it with your team, and built your
formal project plan. Do yourself one quick favor and ask someone on your team to review it before you hand it over to your
clients. There is nothing more embarrassing than being a project manager and delivering a plan with an error—like an incorrect
date. It will take someone ten minutes, and you will have a peace of mind.

Step 9: Share your plan with the team and make sure they read it!

You want to make sure that it has actually been reviewed. When you are delivering your project plan, make sure you provide a
summary of it in prose format. A brief message that covers the overall methodology, resources, assumptions, deadlines, and
related review times will help you to convey what the project plan means to the project and to everyone involved.

Do not be bashful about it: explain the thought that has gone into the process of building the project plan, and open it up for
discussion. It can be good to set up a call to review the plan line by line with a client.

This ensures that your client will understand the process, and what each step in the plan means. Sure, you might have to explain
it a few more times, but at least you’re making the effort to help establish good project planning standards across the board and
educate your clients on how your team works. And again, it shows that you care.

Step 10: Prepare to keep planning

Some projects are smooth and easy to manage, and others are a complete nightmare that wakes you up at early in the morning.
Regardless, plans will change. With a good team and a clear scope of work, you are on your way to making a solid plan that is
manageable and well-thought-out. Having a solid project plan is your best defense against project chaos.
 Project Timeline

In project management, a timeline provides project manager and team insights that help them to keep their project on track.

With a timeline in project management, you can see the following details of a project:

∙ Tasks that have been done

∙ Tasks that are in progress right now
∙ Tasks to be finished in the future

What are the key elements of a timeline?

The key elements of a timeline vary from project to project. However, there are a few details that you would be able to see in
almost any timeline of any project.

Here, have a look.

∙ Dates of tasks (start date and due date)

∙ Duration of tasks
∙ Assignees
∙ Task dependencies

Why would you find timelines helpful?

Sure, timelines are an important part of the whole project management life cycle. But how does that make a difference for
you? If you are like any other professional in the industry, you probably have the habit of leaving things as they are as long
as you’re getting the expected outcome.

Do you think that is right? Would not it be better if you deliver better than what was expected of you? This is where you will
find timelines most helpful. Sure, your current project management tips and approach are working successfully. But there is
always room for improvement and timelines can certainly help you find that room and fill it with efficient work and peak
productivity.

Still, need a reason to use Gantt charts and project timelines? Here, we will give you six.
∙ It boils down multiple tasks and project management phases into a single place ∙ It offers an easy, visual way for
teams to understand and discuss task/project progress∙ It offers a realistic view of a project that helps teams to recover
from setbacks or adjust to key changes
∙ It offers team members the ability to focus on the work that is most important
∙ It provides managers the ability to sequence events across a project and avoid overburdening team members
∙ It helps to create a work environment for better time management and resource management
What is a Gantt chart timeline?
As we discovered, timelines provide a great way for project managers and teams to stay up-to-date on everything that is
happening across a project. But what is the best type of timeline for any project? Well, based on the choices of many
managers and teams, we would say it’s an “online Gantt chart timeline”. It is basically the most popular type of timeline that
works for almost any project and business. Gantt chart timelines are popular for providing a clear project plan timeline or
view that includes all events, actions, and tasks in the most creative way possible.

What is the best project timeline software?

Now that you know what are timelines in project management and what kind of timelines are ideal for project management
and task management, let us take a quick look at some of the best options that are accessible to you.

Below is the list of best tools and apps that businesses can use to create a more accurate project timeline and increase your
chances of conducting a successful project management process. #1 Proof Hub
Proof Hub is basically a project management software that comes packed with every feature that can make project
management easier, faster—including Gantt charts that make planning and meeting deadlines effortless.

With Proof Hub, you can:

∙ Visualize, plan, and schedule the order in which you want to complete tasks in a timeline view. ∙ Add task lists and tasks
to the Gantt chart. Assign tasks or subscribe task list to one or multiple people. ∙ Create private task lists in the Gantt chart
and limit its visibility only to the assigned team members. ∙ Associate milestones with tasks and mark key dates on the
project plan.
∙ Set dependencies between tasks to share accountability and easily adjust schedules when work changes and deadlines shift.
 ∙ Add tasks in the Gantt chart without having to log in to your Proof Hub using the email-in feature. ∙ Track progress across
tasks in real-time. Get a quick view of how much work has been done and how much is left using progress percentage.
∙ Highlight the tasks that are likely to affect the start and finish date of your project using the critical chain.

∙ Practice effective scheduling with easy drag and drop. Drag and drop tasks right in the chart to change
their dates or duration.
∙ Get a unified view of all timelines and Gantt charts. Track progress of all tasks from all the projects at one centralized place.

#2 Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is a free project management timeline software for small businesses. Bitrix24’s timeline view (Gantt chart) is fully
interactive, zoom able and supports all four dependency types.

With Bitrix24, you can:

∙ Create interactive, creative timelines
∙ Track time spent on each task/project and compare it with your original estimates ∙ Issue project
quotes and invoices, and accept online payments via PayPal
∙ Access instruments for successful collaboration, including shared calendars, group chats, video conferencing, and more

#3 GanttPRO
GanttPRO is a web-based solution that uses a Gantt chart approach to help managers and teams manage their projects
effectively. It’s an outstanding tool with an easy-to-use interface that makes even the most complex projects simple.

With GanttPRO, you can:

∙ Plan and control multiple projects at once
∙ Organize, schedule, and track tasks right on a Gantt chart
∙ Set dependencies between them
∙ Set accurate estimates
∙ Manage your resources wisely
∙ Achieve the best results in project management

#4 Wrike
Wrike is a leading work management and task management tool that scales across teams and businesses worldwide. It
organizes everything you need in one place and lets you communicate and deliver projects in the most productive manner.

With Wrike, you can:

∙ Instantly generate impressive visuals for project management and communication ∙ View real-
time reports and status for all projects
∙ Turn strategies into actionable plans that guarantee success
∙ Manage and track the team’s approach to projects

#5. Work zone

Work zone is a web-based project management and document collaboration software that you can use
to organize projects by tasks/subtasks, assign responsibilities and notify everyone associated with the
project when a task is due.
With Work zone, you can:
∙ Create distinct and secure workspaces for each group
∙ Effectively manage your projects and teams
∙ Create templates for regular projects
∙ Stay on top of projects with automatic alerts and cross-project views

#6. Easy Projects

Easy Projects is a multi-functional, cloud-hosted project management tool. This solution is quick to customize and has all the
features that you need to manage your projects efficiently. Its features including interactive Gantt charts and time tracking for
better project planning, along with complex ones like task dependencies creation, resource loading, critical path, and timeline
view.

With Easy Projects, you can:

∙ Create unlimited projects, tasks, as well as portfolios
∙ Improve your team collaboration
∙ Get a detailed overview of your milestones, vacations, tasks, among others
∙ Automate repetitive or tedious tasks
∙ Set permissions and check anyone’s calendar or schedule
∙
 #7. Celoxis
Celoxis is an easy-to-use and affordable project management app. The solution is designed for some serious project
management and collaboration capabilities. It is a solution you can use to manage your projects, workflows, timesheets,
resources, and team collaboration.

With Celoxis, you can:

∙ Keep all your conversations in one place
∙ Access clickable and customizable charts
∙ Create and update tasks via email
∙ Access unlimited task hierarchy, constraints, and dependencies
∙ Access out-of-the-box Integrations and web-based API
∙ Turn all your project data into actionable insights using advanced reporting engine

#8. Project Insight

Project Insight is one of the best solutions for project prioritization, resource allocation, collaboration, and reporting. The
tool comes with an easy-to-use interface and a comprehensive set of features. It is designed to help project managers and
teams streamline their operations, accelerate processes, and make better business decisions.

With Project Insight, you can:

∙ View and edit schedules with just a few clicks
∙ Comments and collaborate on any item within the system
∙ Create, save, and share custom reports

∙ Streamline your process and reduce double data entry with powerful integrations
#9. Smart sheet
Smart sheet is one of the leading enterprise collaboration solutions for companies that are looking for an innovative way to
collaborate on projects and processes. The solution is accessible from any browser and device. It also effectively combines
the ease-of-use of a spreadsheet with visual timeline management, collaborative file sharing, and automated workflow
capabilities.

With Smart sheet, you can:

∙ Leverage team collaboration
∙ Automate your repetitive tasks
∙ Get your hands with real-time information using configurable reports and widget-driven dashboards ∙ Identify
bottlenecks early

#10. Smart Draw

Smart Draw is a popular flowchart maker and diagramming solution that organizations and teams can use to document
processes, manage projects, and plan strategies. Smart Draw is easy-to-use and certainly one of the top alternatives to Visio
(a diagramming and vector graphics app by Microsoft). Using Smart Draw, you can make almost any type of diagram,
including chart-based, graph-based, as well as a schematic.

With Smart Draw, you can:

∙ Document facts, draw plans and capture ideas using diagrams and charts
∙ Create diagrams and visuals from any Windows or Mac computer, and any mobile device ∙ Highlight
trends or changes over time
∙ Effortlessly collaborate through integrations

Project management is difficult. Every project you and your team manage is somehow different than
the one who delivered before. Now, if you’re looking for a creative way to manage and accomplish
projects, then choose a good timeline project management software. Vertical bar charts of chronological
order, using online Gantt chart timelines is definitely one of the most efficient ways to manage projects.

∙
 Discover Risk Management and Opportunities

The ability to manage risk effectively is recognized as an important contributor to business success, which is why it has
become an essential part of the manager’s toolkit. Risk-based thinking is permeating the boardroom and discussions within
executive committees as businesspeople grapple with how much risk to take in a given situation, how much risk is too much
risk, and how to manage the risks they know about, as well as preparing for the ones they have not thought about yet.
Management teams seek to set business strategy in ways that achieve their strategic goals while remaining flexible and resilient
in the face of inevitable change.

In recent years, risk management has developed into an accepted discipline, applied broadly across a range of industry types
and countries, with its own language, techniques and tools, and a growing body of literature devoted to the subject. The value of
a proactive structured approach to managing uncertainty has been widely recognized, and many organizations are seeking to
introduce risk processes in order to gain the promised benefits.

Although risk management is now a mature discipline, it continuously develops to meet the challenge of uncertainty in
business. There is an accepted core understanding of risk management, but new directions are constantly being explored and a
number of initiatives are underway to extend the boundaries of the subject. One key area of recent development is the inclusion
of opportunity in the definition of risk, with a resulting broadening of the scope of the risk process to manage both upside and
downside proactively.

Of course, common usage of the word “risk” sees only the downside. If you ask the proverbial “person in the street” if they
would like to have a risk happen, they will nearly always say “no” because everyone knows that “risk is bad for you.” But
professional bodies take a different view. The “ISO 31000:2018 Risk Management – Guidelines” standard defines risk as
“effect of uncertainty on objectives,” with a note that clarifies “An effect is a deviation from the expected. It can be positive,
negative or both, and can address, create or result in opportunities and threats.” This double-sided concept of risk is reflected in
a range of other professional risk standards and guidelines, stating clearly that risk includes both threats and opportunities, and
risk management should address both in an integrated common approach. The goal of risk management is to optimize
achievement of objectives by minimizing threats and maximizing opportunities.

There is no doubt that businesses, like everything else in life, are subject to uncertainty. It is also clear that some of that
uncertainty might be harmful if it came to pass, whereas other uncertainties might assist in achieving our objectives. The issue
is whether we could or should include both types of uncertainty in our definition of risk, and whether both could or should be
handled by a common risk management process. Despite some continuing debate, the risk management community has moved
decisively towards the inclusive position.
But does this matter? It does matter, because encompassing both opportunities and threats within a single definition of risk is a
clear statement of intent, recognizing that both are equally important influences over business success, and both need to be
managed proactively. Opportunities and threats both involve uncertainty that has the potential to affect objectives, and both can
be handled by the same process, although some modifications may be required to the standard risk management approach in
order to deal effectively with opportunities. Typical process modifications might include the following:

Risk identification:

Routine identification techniques such as brainstorming or checklists could be used for opportunity identification, but the habit
of management teams to think negatively in such settings is hard to overcome. Techniques specifically focused on exposing
opportunities can therefore be used, such as SWOT Analysis, Assumptions Analysis and Constraints Analysis.

Risk assessment:

The standard Probability-Impact Matrix or risk heat map could be used for both threats and opportunities, but this might lead to
confusion. Use of a double-format “mirror” P-I Matrix is recommended, to rank threats and opportunities and separate them
into priority zones for further attention.

Response strategies:

The typical threat-focused strategies of avoid, transfer, or reduce/mitigate cannot be applied to opportunities, but positive
equivalents can be developed, such as to exploit (aggressively capture the opportunity), share (involve another party in
managing the opportunity in return for a gain-share), or enhance (increasing probability and/or impact to improve the
opportunity).

There are definite advantages to handling both opportunities and threats using a common risk management process. There is no
need to introduce a new process since the traditional threat-based approach can simply be adapted. There is clear synergy in
extending the same process to cover both types of uncertainty – if the management team is already setting aside time and effort
to deal with threats, they can use the same time to identify and proactively manage opportunities as well, and gain twice the
benefit. Both efficiency and effectiveness will be enhanced, and the chances of success will be significantly improved when
 opportunities are identified and captured. The alternative is a failure to deal with opportunities proactively, which will
guarantee that only half of the benefits of risk management can be achieved.

Risk management that focuses on proactively addressing both threats and opportunities will help businesses avoid problems
and enhance benefits, and ensure that objectives are achieved in the best way possible. In this way, the position of risk
management as a key contributor to business success will not only be maintained, but its importance will increase further,
offering both value protection and value creation. The future will always be risky, and we need to explore and exploit
opportunity wherever we can find it. Risk management can help!
The traditional view of risk is negative, characterizing risks as “threats” with adverse consequences on project objectives. But
current risk thinking includes the possibility of “upside risk” or “opportunity,” which could have a beneficial effect on
achieving objectives. Despite this theory, most applications of the risk process still concentrate on managing threats, and
approaches to opportunity management remain patchy and reactive. The tools and techniques available to practitioners seem to
focus attention only on the negative side of risk. This is particularly true of the Risk Response Planning phase, where the
common strategies of avoid, transfer, mitigate, and accept are only appropriate for dealing with threats. New strategies are
required for responding to opportunities.

Risk identification is one of the most important factor which decides the fate of Risk Management in an Enterprise or
organization. Some of the key challenges involved are:

Broad Statement Risk

Some enterprise identify the risks which are too broad in nature. Example includes ⮚ Risk to Brand
reputation
⮚ Compliance risk (including statutory & regulatory requirements)
⮚ Fraud Risk (Internal/external fraud)
⮚ It becomes very difficult to manage these risks even at strategic level

Causes as Risk

Many enterprise identify the risks that are actually causes and it’s very difficult to manage these risks. The statements that
indicates causes as risk includes
⮚ Lack of (trained staffs, funds, Information security Awareness etc…)
⮚ Ineffective (Internal Audit, Policy Implementation etc…)
⮚ Inadequate (Training, Procedures etc…)
⮚ Poor (Project Management, Asset Management etc…)

Consequences as Risk

Many organization commits the mistake of identifying effect/consequences as risk. Thus reducing the effectiveness of
Enterprise Risk Management process. Examples include
⮚ Budget overspend
⮚ Project missing the planned deadline
Describe Project Scheduling

What Is Project Scheduling?

Project scheduling is a mechanism to communicate what tasks need to get done and which organizational resources will be
allocated to complete those tasks in what timeframe. A project schedule is a document collecting all the work needed to deliver
the project on time.

What and who is being scheduled, and for what purposes, and where is this scheduling taking place, anyway?

A project is made up of many tasks, and each task is given a start and end (or due date), so it can be completed on time.
Likewise, people have different schedules, and their availability and vacation or leave dates need to be documented in order to
successfully plan those tasks.

Whereas people in the past might have printed calendars on a shared wall in the water-cooler room, or shared spreadsheets via
email, today most teams use online project scheduling tools. Typically, project scheduling is just one feature within a larger
project management software solution, and there are many different places in the software where scheduling takes place.

For example, most tools have task lists, which enable the manager to schedule multiple tasks, their due dates, sometimes the
planned effort against that task, and then assign that task to a person. The software might also have resource scheduling,
basically the ability to schedule the team’s availability, but also the availability of non-human resources like machines or
buildings or meeting rooms.

Because projects have so many moving parts, and are frequently changing, project scheduling software automatically updates
tasks that are dependent on one another, when one scheduled task is not completed on time. It also generates automated email
alerts, so team members know when their scheduled tasks are due or overdue, and to let the manager know when someone’s
availability has changed.
Project scheduling is simple when managed online, thankfully, especially since the software does all the hard part for you!
How to Schedule a Project

Before going deeper into project scheduling, let us review the fundamentals to project scheduling. Project scheduling occurs
during the planning phase of the project. You have to ask yourself three questions to start:

▪ What needs to be done?

▪ When will it be done?
▪ Who will do it?

Once you have the answers to these questions, then you can begin to plan dates, link activities, set the duration, milestones and
resources. Relationships, estimation and scenarios. The following are the steps needed to schedule a project:

Six Essential Elements of Project Schedule

Define Activities
What are the activities that you have to do in the project? By using a Work
Breakdown Structure (WBS) and a deliverables diagram, you can begin to take these activities and organize them by mapping
out the tasks necessary to complete them in an order than makes sense.
Do Estimates

Now that you have the activities defined and broken down into tasks, you next have to determine the time and effort it will
take to complete them. This is an essential piece of the equation in order to calculate the correct schedule.

Determine Dependencies

Tasks are not an island, and often one cannot be started until the other is completed. That is called a task dependency, and your
schedule is going to have to reflect these linked tasks. One way to do this is by putting a bit of slack in your schedule to
accommodate these related tasks.

Assign Resources

The last step to finalizing your planned schedule is to decide on what resources you are going to need to get those tasks done
on time. You’re going to have to assemble a team, and their time will need to be scheduled just like the tasks.

How to Maintain Your Schedule Once the Project Is Initiated

Once you have got all the pieces of your schedule together, the last thing you want to do is manually punch it into a static
document like an Excel spreadsheet. Project management software can automate much of the process for you. But not all
project management software is the same.

There are programs on the market that are great for simple scheduling duties, but when you’re leading a project, big or small,
you need a tool that can adapt to the variety of scheduling issues you’re going to need to track. Like noted above, there are
three tiers of scheduling: tasks, people and projects. Online Gantt charts

Scheduling Tasks

What you want when scheduling tasks is not a glorified to-do list, but a smart software that gives you the flexibility to handle
the variety of responsibilities attached to each tasks in your project.

An interactive Gantt chart is crucial. You can add tasks and dates into your Gantt chart to have a visual representation of each
task’s duration. Better still, as dates change—as they inevitably do—you can simply drag and drop those changes and the
whole Gantt chart is updated instantly.

Scheduling People
Your tasks are not going to complete themselves. That is why you have assembled a team, but if that team is not scheduled the
way you have carefully scheduled your task list, then you’re not managing your project.
Over the course of a project’s lifecycle team members are going to take off for holidays, personal days or vacation. If you’re
not prepared for these times, and have scheduled other team members to pick up the slack in their absence, your schedule will
suffer.

Another way to stay on top of your scheduling is by integrating your task scheduling view on the Gantt chart with resource
and workload scheduling features. You can schedule your team’s workload through color-coding, so you know at-a-glance
who is behind, ahead or on schedule with their tasks.

Scheduling Projects

We are gone from the task level to the resources level of scheduling, but there’s no law that says you’re not working on a
portfolio of projects. How can you keep on scheduling when juggling so many balls in the air at once?

The project dashboard is your best friend, whether you’re working on one or many projects. The dashboard is collecting all the
real-time data collected by you and your teams, and then it’s organizing it according to any number of metrics to show you a
picture of where you stand in real-time on the project or many projects.

With a project dashboard you can note where tasks are being blocked and immediately adjust your schedule to resolve delays
before they become a problem. You can also use the graphs and charts the dashboard automatically generates to drill down
deeper and filter or customize the results to get the information you need, when you need it.

And that is just a fraction of what we could say about project scheduling. Our ongoing series explains and explores new and
relevant terms in project management, focusing on a specific definition and summarizing what it means for anyone leading a
project.

But to really get to know scheduling, it’s best to dive in with a project tool, your tasks and your team and create a new project
schedule today.

Using Project Manager.com to Schedule a Project

No project management software is better than ProjectManager.com when it comes to planning and scheduling projects.
Thanks to our award-winning Gantt charts, it’s easy to schedule a project from start to finish. With this online scheduling tool,
you can map out all of your tasks in phases, create dependencies, set milestones and even drag and drop tasks to adjust due
dates to accommodate changes. You can also assign tasks to each of your team members and track their progress as they
complete their project tasks.
Project Budgeting and Cost Estimation

What Is Cost Estimation in Project Management?

A project lives and dies by its budget. Just think: a project can only come together with all the necessary materials and labour,
and those materials and labours cost money. And in this new economic reality, businesses are looking to pay less and less for
those materials and labour while maintaining—or even increasing—quality and scope. So how do you put together a budget
that will bring the project to fruition while keeping costs to a minimum? That is why proper cost estimation is important.

Cost estimation in project management is the process of forecasting the financial and other resources needed to complete a
project within a defined scope. Cost estimation accounts for each element required for the project—from materials to labour—
and calculates a total amount that determines a project’s budget. An initial cost estimate can determine whether an organization
green lights a project, and if the project moves forward, the estimate can be a factor in defining the project’s scope. If the cost
estimation comes in too high, an organization may decide to pare down the project to fit what they can afford. (It is also
required to begin securing funding for the project.) Once the project is in motion, the cost estimate is used to manage all of its
affiliated costs in order to keep the project on budget.

Elements of cost estimation in project management- there are two key types of costs addressed by the cost estimation process:

Direct costs: These are the costs associated with a single area, such as a department or this particular project itself. Examples of
direct costs include fixed labor, materials and equipment.
Indirect costs: These are costs incurred by the organization at large, such as utilities and quality control.

Within these two categories, some typical elements that a cost estimation will take into account include: Labour: the cost of
project team members working on the project, both in terms of wages and time. Materials and equipment: The cost of resources
required for the project, from physical tools to software to legal permits. Facilities: the cost of using any working spaces not
owned by the organization. Vendors: the cost of hiring third-party vendors or contractors. Risk: the cost of any contingency
plans implemented to reduce risk.

Project Cost Management is defined as the process of planning and controlling the project cost effectively. It defines what
costs are required for each deliverable. The cost of the project can be estimated from various process sources (Examples below)

▪ Creating Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

▪ Develop Schedule
▪ Plan human resources
▪ Identifying risks

The inputs of cost management include,

▪ Project management plan

▪ Project charter
▪ Enterprise environmental factors

▪ Organizational process assets

While, the output of this is Cost Management Plan. Creating estimation and costing for project is an extremely crucial part of
any project management. Various things are taken in consideration while calculating budget for project like labour costs,
necessary equipment acquisition, material costs, etc.

What is Project Cost Estimation?

Project Cost Estimation is defined as the process of approximating the total expenditure of the project. The accuracy of the cost
estimation depends on the accuracy and details of the project scope, which is the scope baseline. The scope will also define any
constraints like date, resources or budget. The risk register will help to calculate estimate types of costs, the expenses made
behind the contingent action and the expenses made to cope with risks.

To estimate the cost of project you have to categorize various cost types into categories like Labour cost; Equipment cost; Cost
of supplies; Travel cost; Training cost; Overhead cost, etc.

Expert Judgment is a technique in which judgment is provided based upon a specific set of criteria and/or expertise that has
been acquired in a specific knowledge area, application area, or product area, a particular discipline, an industry, etc. Such
expertise may be provided by any group or person with specialized education, knowledge, skill, experience, or training. This
knowledge base can be provided by a member of the project team, or multiple members of the project team, or by a team leader
or team leaders. However, typically expert judgment requires an expertise that is not present within the project team and, as
such, it is common for an external group or person with a specific relevant skill set or knowledge base to be brought in for a
consultation,

Such expertise can be provided by any group or individual with specialized knowledge or training and is available from many
sources, such as consultants, industry groups; subject matter experts, project management office (PMO; suppliers

Analogous estimation is a technique which uses the values of parameters from historical data as the basis for estimating
similar parameter for a future activity. Parameters examples: Scope, cost, and duration. Measures of scale examples − Size,
weight, and complexity.
Because the project manager’s, and possibly the team’s experience and judgment are applied to the estimating process, it is
considered a combination of historical information and expert judgment.
Techniques used to estimate project cost. To estimate project cost formally there are few methods (techniques) used as follows:

This estimating technique is based on expert judgments and information based on similar previous projects. Where previously
done similar project cost is considered with plus or minus of 20% for existing project.

Example

Let us say you are building a fence. The project has two tasks:
▪ Set posts
▪ Build fence

You head to Google before starting the project and discover that the local hardware store suggests a fencepost cost of
roughly Php3750.00/post. Since there are 10 posts that equates to Php 37,500.00 This is called a parametric estimate.

Parametric estimating is collecting relevant historical data usually at an aggregated level of detail and relating it to the project
that will be estimated through the use of statistical techniques. At the heart of the parametric estimating methodology are cost
estimate relationships (CERs). For instance 1 hour of filming will require five hours of editing.

Bottom-up estimating involves the estimation of work at the lowest possible level of detail. These estimates are then
aggregated in order to arrive at summary totals. By building detailed cost and time estimates for a work package, the probability
of being able to meet the estimated amounts improves substantially.. Bottom-up estimates take more time to complete, but they
also are more accurate than either analogous or parametric estimates. For instance 10,000 bricks , 25 tiles, 4 L Litres of rain or
shine elastomeric paint costs Php.538.00

Once you have defined the scope of the project, it is the most reliable form of technique. In this technique, based on WBS, you
estimate the cost for each resource or deliverables.

Likewise, there are other methods (techniques) which could be useful for estimating cost like PERT estimating, vendor bid
analysis, etc.

Project budget is the total projected costs needed to complete a project over a defined period of time. It's used to estimate what
the costs of the project will be for every phase of the project. The project budget will include such things as labor costs, material
procurement costs and operating costs.
What Is a Project Budget?

A project budget is the total projected costs needed to complete a project over a defined period of time. It is used to estimate
what the costs of the project will be for every phase of the project.

The project budget will include such things as labor costs, material procurement costs and operating costs. But it’s not a static
document. Your project budget will be reviewed and revived throughout the project, hopefully with the help of a project
budgeting software.

Why You Need a Project Budget?

The obvious answer is that projects cost money. But it’s more nuanced than that. For example, the budget is the engine that
drives your project’s funding. It communicates to stakeholders how much money is needed and when it’s needed. But it is not
only a means to get things that your project requires. Yes, you need to pay teams, buy or rent equipment and materials, but
that’s only half the story. The other part of the importance of a project budget is that it’s an instrument to control project costs.
The budget is your plan, which acts as a baseline to measure your performance as you collect the actual costs once the project
has been started.

Creating a Project Budget

As noted above, there are many components necessary to build a budget, including direct and indirect costs, fixed and variable
costs, labor and materials, travel, equipment and space, licenses and whatever else may impact your project expenses. To meet
all the financial needs of your project, a project budget must be created thoroughly, not missing any aspect that requires
funding. To do this, we’ve outlined seven essential steps towards creating and managing your project budget:

1. Use Historical Data

Your project is likely not the first to try and accomplish a specific objective or goal. Looking back at similar projects and their
budgets is a great way to get a head start on building your budget.

2. Reference Lessons Learned

To further elaborate on historical data, you can learn from their successes and mistakes. It provides a clear path that leads to
more accurate estimates. You can even learn about how they responded to changes and kept their budget under control.

3. Leverage Your Experts

Another resource to build a project budget is to tap those who have experience and knowledge—be they mentors, other project
managers or experts in the field. Reaching out to those who have created budgets can help you stay on track and avoid
unnecessary pitfalls.
4. Confirm Accuracy

Once you have your budget, you’re not done. You want to take a look at it and make sure your figures are accurate. During the
project is not the time to find a typo. You can also seek those experts and other project team members to check the budget and
make sure it’s right.

5. Baseline and Re-Baseline the Budget

Your project budget is the baseline by which you will measure you project’s progress once it has started. It is a tool to gauge
the variance of the project. But, as stated above, you will want to re-baseline as changes occur in your project. Once the change
control board approves any change you need to re-baseline.

6. Update in Real Time

Speaking of changes, the sooner you know about them, the better. If your software is not cloud-based and updating as soon as
your team changes their status, then you’re wasting valuable and expensive time.

7. Get on Track

The importance of having a project management software that tracks in real time, like ProjectManager.com, is that it gives you
the information you need to get back on track sooner rather than later. Things change and projects go off track all the time. It’s
the projects that get back on track faster that are successful.

If you manage your project expenses using these building blocks you’re going to have a sound foundation for your project’s
success.

Project Budget Example

To further illustrate how a project budget is created, let us pretend we are making an app. The first thing you’ll need to figure
out are the costs for labor and materials. You’ll need programmers, designers, content developers a dev. team, etc. It helps lists
all the tasks and assign the team to them—a hallmark of good task management. This way every penny is accounted for. With
the tasks broken down for the project and your team in place, you’ll next need to look into whatever materials will be needed.
Will they need laptops, other devices and equipment? This must be accounted for.

Now note other line items. There might be travel expenses and renting space to house the team. Then there are fixed items that
are true for any project. These are things where the cost is set and will not change over the course of the project. You’ll also
want a column for any miscellaneous costs that doesn’t fit elsewhere in the budget. Your budget must have a planned versus
actual column. When you’re making that app you’ve likely to pivot and that is going to impact the budget. These columns are a
way to track the expenditure to make sure you’re staying on budget.