Sometimes the easiest way to create a Gantt chart is by starting from a template and customizing it to your project. To that end, we present the following 10 templates, which have been designed to be easily customized to your project. Using only basic Excel skills, you should be able to complete your own Gantt chart in 10 minutes or less. Template 1: Build a … [Read more...]
A Gantt Chart is to a project manager like a hammer is to a carpenter. It is the project manager's most used tool. It is used to convey the most critical information. And it plays an outsized role in project success. Since a project is by definition temporary, the completion date is a critical item in virtually every project. The gantt chart is used during project … [Read more...]
It's a surprisingly common occurrence that a project manager specifies a task as complete only to see more time, materials, and expenses charged to it the next week. Naturally, this is a frustrating situation. Of course, we want the task to be complete and we thus are motivated to check it off a soon as possible. There are often administrative and closing tasks that … [Read more...]
With little exception, missing deadlines reflects poorly on the project manager and sometimes has financial consequences too. Because projects are by definition temporary, someone has authorized the project and expects its deliverables in a timely fashion. To meet the deadlines, a schedule management plan is produced which is a subset of the project management … [Read more...]
A WBS Dictionary is a supporting document to the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). It provides supporting data about project tasks in the WBS. This information can be any type and format, ranging from textual information to numerical data to milestone dates. In short, it is an information bank for meta data about the project tasks. For example, WBS … [Read more...]
The Budget at Completion (BAC) is a value used in earned value management, a division of project management. It represents the original project budget. For example, if a project has a budget of $10,000, BAC = $10,000 Therefore, there is no other formula or calculation for this metric. The BAC is often compared to the Estimate at Completion (EAC) … [Read more...]
Love it or hate it, the measuring stick for a project manager is often their ability to keep projects on time and under budget. Thankfully, project management theory provides us with a fantastic tool to keep us on target. But it has to be used correctly. Like a software tool, if you are not trained to use it it’s just a bunch of numbers. Once the … [Read more...]
Staying within budget and schedule is one of the project manager's most important jobs. It is not an understatement to say that if you master this one thing, most other things will fall into place. The secret to doing this well is called earned value management. It is one of the foundational processes of project management, as well as a central component of … [Read more...]
Total Float is a concept within the Critical Path Method which tells the project manager how much a task can be delayed without impacting the project completion date. Float is the final product of the project network diagram. The network diagram is used to determine two things: Tasks which are on the critical path Float (total) of each task The Two … [Read more...]
In project management, the network diagram is a graphical depiction of a project schedule which uses boxes to represent each task. It is used to determine the critical path, as well as the float of each task. Critical Path: The tasks which define the completion date of the project. They cannot finish late, or be moved, or the overall project completion … [Read more...]
