Essay Sample on Scheduling

Introduction

Scheduling is an important aspect when it comes to the planning and execution of any project work. A schedule enables the planner to come up with set dates for various tasks to be carried out in the course of the project and also in assessing the work progress. In my project after thoroughly going through the work breakdown structure (WBS) I am confident the project will be completed and ready to run by the 5th of April 2019. Some of the factors that made the process take quite a while include:

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• No work was done during the weekends, public holidays and the regular eight working hours a day got observed.
• Shortage of labor was another hindrance that was experienced making the few workers available take double shifts to get the job done

However, the challenges got addressed and solved swiftly for the smooth running of operations.

Critical Path Analysis

This is the task scheduling algorithm for the project's activities. Most of the events are grouped and organized according to their similarity, and therefore they could share either tools or the workforce available. This is a crucial scheduling tool as it is essential for time-saving and also helps to achieve the utilization of labor. Some of the activities that were to be executed together include; brand design and the project design. Since the two tasks required the same executors, i.e., the project sponsor and the graphic designer, time would be saved for other activities that required attendance.

The time and resources saved in the critical path method could be used in the crash duration where the shortest time possible gets allocated for the completion of an activity. Some activities could end up taking up more time than anticipated and could, therefore, benefit from the time saved in other activities.

Slack/Float

Float refers to the amount of time by which a task in a project network can be delayed by without affecting the free float, i.e., following functions and the total float, i.e., the project completion time. In the project, the float is not that flexible as most of the roles got allocated the most reasonable time durations. However, the following activities have a more significant slack:

• Hiring
• Acquisition of machine and furniture
• Installation of machinery and furniture

The above tasks were explicitly chosen since they are dependent on some external factors that are not within the project manager's power to control. For instance, if the company charged with the task to deliver the machinery and furniture experienced any hitches and they were unable to perform on time, this would affect the total float causing it to be longer than anticipated. By assigning the above tasks the more significant slack, the final float was protected from any delays.

Schedule Recommendations and Improvements

Although the schedule is quite impressive and has paid attention to most of the critical activities, various improvements can be incorporated to make it more useful. For instance; some operations that are likely to impact the project completion date such as; final product test and the quality test could be handled timely to ensure that enough response time is allocated for any shortcomings that may be experienced. Other activities such as the purchase of raw materials and utensils could be done on the same day thereby saving on time and finances. Acquiring of these materials from the same store if possible could also be considered to minimize time spent in the purchases.

To make the project fully complete and satisfactory, from the time saved in the total float, an inspection and reflection period could be added to ascertain that all the requirements were observed and adhered to.