The Four Schedule Questions

THE CRITICAL PATH METHOD Introduction The Four Schedule Questions 

How long wiD it take That is, when will the project be completed For example, your supervisor asks you to prepare a conceptual design of a new product to be manufactured by your organization and wants to know how long the design project will take. Many clients, owners, and customers are in a hurry. 

Is the project on schedule The prudent project manager asks this question often. For example, you and the assistant dty engineer are doing a transportation plan for your city. The mayor is preparing for a meeting with the city council and wants to know if the transportation planning project is on schedule. 

How much will completion be delayed This question arises in situations such as when someone leaves our organization, we can t get expected construction materials or equipment, or a subconsultant fails to provide input on schedule. For example, you are helping manage the construction of a dam designed by your design-build firm. A laborer s strike temporarily stops concrete placement operations for six weeks. The owner wants to know how much the completion of the project will be delayed, if at all. 

How long did it really take Or more specifically, what factors delayed or accelerated the schedule What can we learn from the positive and negative events that occurred during this project Can at least parts of this project serve as a template for some future project It s only a mistake if we don t learn from it, according to engineer and author Richard G. Weingardt. 

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Project managers typically need answers to the four schedule questions illustrated in Figure 6.1 as they proceed through the POWWOP process. Consider each one. 

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