Blog 5

 Blog 5

Before a project can kick on, plans for the project need to be put in place to see how all the work and tasks will come and fit in together. This step is where your preliminary network schedule comes into play, used as a guide or roadmap for, it breaks down the tasks showing what needs to be completed immediately, what tasks can take place side by side and where some possible delays may occur.

The diagram comes from the information drawn up in the project’s infancy, a lot of the information comes from the work breakdown structure the tasks are used in the diagrams and are given key details like the estimated duration, the key needs. The estimates are typically coming from staff that are closely linked to the project, whether that is current team members, hired experts or even tips and lessons learned from previous projects.

The next step comes in placing how it all links together, there are tasks that must be completed before the remaining can begin, some can run in tandem, and others are relying on multiple factors before they can go under way. These terms are listed as “merge activities” and “Burst activities” when the early draft is built the diagram begins to take shape.

The two most popular methods for the diagram buildings are the Activity-on-Arrow (AOA) and the Activity-on-Node (AON). The majority of modern projects would use the AON method as it is considered more intuitive the tasks are connected to show dependencies, the diagram is usually kept tidy by having the tasks flow from left to right, and the activities are uniquely numbered to avoid confusion, the diagram also consists of start and end points.

When the diagram is all complete and up and running it is quite the important tool, as planners can begin to work out how long tasks can begin and end, which helps to cut back on delays. With that said the diagram is used for much more than the timeline of a project, it can show where extra resources are needed and where potential bottlenecks may arise along the way of the project, teams can even have test “what if” scenarios to see how the changes could affect the plan.

To sum up the preliminary network schedule gives a project order by presenting a list of separate tasks and listing them into a clear understandable image, the diagram helps project managers see the complete outline of a project, the bigger picture shows where the time, effort and coordination allows them to see how these elements come together which in turn helps them to guide a smoother project.

 


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