Every task and activity has some
timeline to complete. In SAP activity is the smallest unit which cannot
be breakdown further. The task consists of activity. Each tasks has
some intended start and end date which defines in the project deliverables
plan.
Before the start of the project a project manager does the planned
estimation for each task based on the standard guidelines and the
previous experiences. This effort estimation is also based on the
number of available resources and identified dependencies. Based on
this estimation an overall project schedule can be prepared that can
provide overall planned view of the project completion.
If we talk about other industries other than IT companies like manufacturing
or construction companies, a separate team known as work schedulers,
manages the project schedule. There are several standard tools and
techniques available and has been applied to deal with project schedule
throughout the organization.
In case of IT industries there are many standard project management
tools that can be used to manage project schedule. A Microsoft project
plan is widely used to maintain your project schedule, timeline and
cost.
WBS Tasks - Scheduling and Resource
Assignment
Assigning the time, resources, dependencies, start date and finish date to the WBS tasks are the activities that is performed in the
project scheduling. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is the key component of project schedule. The project schedule defines the expected
deadlines, specifies the dependencies among the element, and helps the project manager to monitor and control the project progress.
Steps for defining project schedule:
1. List down the tasks as identified in work breakdown structure.
2. Define the dependencies between WBS elements.
3. Estimate the effort require for each tasks as per the standard guidelines
and parameter.
4. Determine the start date and finish date based on priority or other factors.
5. Assign resources against each task.
6. Check the resource over allocation and the total project completion date.
7. Publish your plan and generate a Gantt chart to see the graphical layout of your
complete plan.
You can plan your project schedule using Microsoft sheet or Microsoft project plan or can use SAP project planning board.
Project planning board helps in planning and controlling the projects. It has got central position in the SAP project system. It gives a
graphical overview of the projects and can be managed and changed easily as per your requirement.
The project planning board gives a complete detail of your project progress; provide you all the important data like - dates, costs,
level capacities, assigned resources, work distribution. Additionally you can switch to graphical view, can do simulate changes and can
overview call logs.
In the project systems you can define various dates like - Plan date, forecasts date.