Reply to: How you schedule your projects? (PM Poll)

[d000hg]

I don't understand why anyone uses spreadsheets for "planning". Regardless of the size of project, Microsoft Project or similar is specifically designed to make planning simpler....that's what it's for!

Yes but when my line manager used to use this, he seemed to spend most of his time fighting it... and he was a pretty on-the-ball guy and it was only a small (<10 person) project.
I think it's slightly over the top for a tiny project, especially if you have to train other people how to read the plans/reports.

[Tensai]

MS project and Gantt charts are good for forcing you to think carefully of the sequence, visualising all those dependencies, and highlighting chokepoints. The overhead of entering all the detail though means it's a PITA for smaller projects.

There's a great quote that often springs to mind when planning projects, something along the lines of "No plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first contact with the enemy..."

Also, "I love deadlines, especially the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

[minestrone]

A list of tasks and their estimated time to finish.

Software gets finished when it gets finished, ask the client what they want, put estimates on each job and then tell them to decide to think of an end date and they use the estimates to decide what they want in by that date.

You wonder how they ever finished the pyramids without excel.

[BrowneIssue]

I don't understand why anyone uses spreadsheets for "planning". Regardless of the size of project, Microsoft Project or similar is specifically designed to make planning simpler....that's what it's for!

I'm glad you said that. Many moons ago when I was still a Senior Programmer, I used to try to use spreadsheets to plan who does what modules, when and so on but the dependency planning and correlation with calendars was a full-time job in itself.

There are loads of free, simple planning tools out there. I use jxProject until I get my mitts on the client's corporate MS Project. It is not polished, but it is free-ish (adware) and does the bare minimum. It is easily good enough for projects with 100 detail lines. It is quirky and buggy and there must be good, free, open source ones out there by now.

[opc]

I don't understand why anyone uses spreadsheets for "planning". Regardless of the size of project, Microsoft Project or similar is specifically designed to make planning simpler....that's what it's for!

[RSoles]

Another guy who works on small projects and uses spreadsheets.
RS.

[d000hg]

so Mr. d000hg - how do you plan / schedule then, if you need help I am available on a part time basis

I guess I just look at the work required and the people I have available and figure out who can do what when.

My PM software runs about as far as an GoogleDoc spreadsheet right now, but there are only 2-3 of us on the project

[opc]

To me PERT charts and network diagrams are just the initial stages of creating the activities and logic in a fully resourced Gant.

[MPwannadecentincome]

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

so Mr. d000hg - how do you plan / schedule then, if you need help I am available on a part time basis

[d000hg]

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

[Peter Loew]

Interesting that nobody uses PERT.

[Fred Bloggs]

Most jobs I've been on use Primavera.

[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...

[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

[BrilloPad]

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