How you schedule your projects? (PM Poll)

[Peter Loew]

I've seen a spec that required experience of PERT and Network diagrams as well as GANTT, I've never used PERT and rarely used Networks...

So just curious, what's the planning technique of choice and how much do you meet with the likes of PERT and Network planning techniques in your contracting careers?

[BrowneIssue]

What follows is IT project specific.

I was converted to PRINCE2's straight-out-of-the-book Product Based Planning (as opposed to activity based planning) when I tried using it in anger. It is a good way of involving the customer, making them responsible and making them understand what is being produced. Also, working in stages and only planning a stage in detail when you start to approach it.

The Gantt chart (not GANTT, it is not an acronym but a bloke's name) is an essential tool for telling people you are running a project. It matters not on jot what the text on the left is, nor the dependencies. Nobody ever actually reads them. Just fiddle the numbers so the end date looks similar to the expected end date; anything else is time wasted that could have been spent running the project.

I have tried doing the job properly with PERT and resource levelling, but by the time you get anywhere the project has run away from you. I expect it is great in construction where you keep running similar projects over and over and can be confident the client's changes won't affect the finished product that much, but in IT you never run the same project twice. Hence you can't produce an accurate plan and keep it up to date through the project and run the project.

[NotAllThere]

...The Gantt chart (not GANTT, it is not an acronym but a bloke's name) is an essential tool for telling people you are running a project. It matters not on jot what the text on the left is, nor the dependencies. Nobody ever actually reads them. Just fiddle the numbers so the end date looks similar to the expected end date; anything else is time wasted that could have been spent running the project...

I thought that was just me! I've only run small projects - I use Excel for actually planning and tracking.

[poser]

I use a mixture of project and excel.

project is more for my benefit as current client co doesnt like project and prefer excel and powerpoint.

[BrilloPad]

Other : andyw does my planning for me.......

[Xenophon]

I use a mixture of project and excel.

project is more for my benefit as current client co doesnt like project and prefer excel and powerpoint.

WHS

[cojak]

Use the essentials:

• a PID or a TOR to show the sponsor what you're going to do (and as importantly what you're not going to do);
• a plan using Gantt* (Excel or Project) to check that that you're doing what you said you'd do in the PID (this includes budget) and
• Product Descriptions (this manages expectations of the people you need to sign off the work).

And if you find yourself fussing more with Project/Excel than managing the project, you've gone down to too much detail - plans are there to help not hinder.

*I use Network analysis to work out sequence, dependencies, resource demands, etc, but they're not essential.

PS - As you can guess, GANTT + PERT + Network Diagrams is way too faffy...

[Fred Bloggs]

Most jobs I've been on use Primavera.

[Peter Loew]

Interesting that nobody uses PERT.

[d000hg]

Wow, I don't know what any of those are. And technically I am managing a project