Schedule Quality Analysis: a Function of Project Controls

For over 30 years, the construction industry has generated Critical Path Method (CPM) project schedules through computer-based scheduling software. Why? A CPM schedule is the central data set for project managing projects in a timely manner.

However, the majority of schedules created and utilized in commercial construction are at a heightened risk of containing data inaccuracies that can lead to mismanagement. Inaccurate CPM schedule detract projects from areas with the highest probability of delaying a project. These inaccuracies make the true critical path completely invisible to project managers. As a result, schedules of poor quality make data-driven decisions quite a hassle.

The Challenge with CPM Scheduling

The critical path extends from the current day to the end date of a project. Therefore, if any activity is delayed on the critical path, it affects the end date.

The future of the construction industry depends on CPM technology to be leveraged properly, which may come with some challenges. A recent KPMG Survey identified the Construction/Engineering Industry as a laggard in achieving benefits from digitization.

Furthermore, SmartPM’s analysis of over 20,000 schedules makes the challenges with current CPM scheduling crystal clear.

If the overwhelming majority of the construction schedules analyzed had such poor metrics, then most companies are not leveraging CPM technology properly. This data proves there is a lack of awareness surrounding the importance of schedule quality and other value metrics embedded within properly built construction schedules.

Why are high quality schedules so important? For starters, they allow CPM schedules to be an effective and useful tool for achieving best outcomes across construction portfolios.

Why Schedule Quality Is the Top Project Control

Project Controls allow project management to systematically and accurately measure project performance throughout the whole project by putting metrics and checkpoints in place to ensure intended progress and performance levels are being met.

Schedule quality has two main functions. One, it ensures all the data calculations in the schedule program are accurate, useful, and support the decision-making process. Two, arguably more important, it ensures project controls can be used to their fullest potential.

Good schedules following best practices, then, are what allow project controls to leverage the rich data pulled from a construction schedule to gauge performance, risk, delays, impacts, and inefficiencies.

What is Schedule Quality?

Schedule quality refers to the structural integrity of the schedule. Or the level of best practices incorporated into the CPM scheduling program when developing and updating the schedule.

A construction schedule not only lays out a plan over time. It also calculates a prioritization plan for managing your project to an end date.  Always remember, schedule analysis is a constant cycle of planning, scheduling, optimizing, and repeating.

The DCMA-14 Point Check

The DCMA methodology outlines 14 steps or items that should be assessed to ensure the schedule is of a high-quality level.

However, this methodology is for all of project management, not just commercial construction scheduling. As such, its pass-or-fail structure does not account for all facets of projects differing in size and scope. Luckily, different items can be added or removed from this list to create an effective and realistic project plan.

Best Practices for Creating a High-Quality Schedule

Constructing a high-quality schedule requires attentive input from all levels of a project, particularly around trade flow, resource constraints, and logic. Most importantly, high-quality schedules must have accurate float calculations.

Total float (or slack) is the number of days an activity can be delayed before it impacts the project’s end date. It enables project teams to prioritize resources, hence the necessity of crew logic to be embedded into all project schedules.

Essentially, when creating and updating a schedule, all logic needs to be accurate, all durations need to be estimated correctly, and best practices need to be followed.

Take a look at five quick steps to develop a high-quality project schedule:

Automated Schedule Quality Analysis

Any given construction schedule is a data goldmine. Yet, schedule data is not leveraged to extract meaningful performance data. Not leveraging this data properly is keeping commercial construction projects from full visibility, optimal project delivery, and increased return on investments (ROIs).

The bottom line is, developing a high-quality schedule upfront guarantees reduced risk for all stakeholders. The better quality of the schedule, the better decisions made for project management risk solutions.

Don’t waste any more time creating a sub-par schedule. Analyze your schedule quality automatically through SmartPM’s automated project controls platform today.