[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.The overall scope of a project may be overwhelming, but thechart enables you to isolate immediate problems and to solve them, while keeping the overall schedule.Thefinal deadline is met when you are able to meet a series of smaller phase deadlines or to absorb schedulingproblems in one phase by making them up in another.Previous Table of Contents NextProducts | Contact Us | About Us | Privacy | Ad Info | HomeUse of this site is subject to certain Terms & Conditions, Copyright © 1996-2000 EarthWeb Inc.All rightsreserved.Reproduction whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission ofEarthWeb is prohibited.Read EarthWeb's privacy statement. Little Black Book of Project Management, Theby Michael C.ThomsettAMACOM BooksISBN: 0814477321 Pub Date: 01/01/90Search this book:Search TipsAdvanced SearchPrevious Table of Contents NextTitleTHE GANTT CHARTInitial scheduling is effectively planned and tracked by use of the Gantt chart.This device, also called thetime-line or milestone chart, was first developed and used by industrial engineer and management authorityHenry Gantt.-----------Gantt worked with the Army Bureau of Ordnance during World War I, and was faced with the need to controldaily scheduling of munitions production.He realized that the process could be broken down into precisephases and that many phases could be executed concurrently, in whole or in part.By organizing processeswith this in mind, a schedule s efficiency could be maximized.He also realized that this would be most easilycommunicated with a visual representation of a process and its phases.With this in mind, the Gantt chart wasdeveloped.A Gantt chart can be constructed in a variety of ways, using blacked-in boxes, lines, or symbols.It lets youcompare the schedule to actual completion for any project by listing beginning and ending dates of each phasealong a time line.Phases are listed from top to bottom, and time is shown from left to right.After each phaseis entered on the chart, its progress is tracked.The chart can be built by hand, put into a computer on a spreadsheet or time management program, orrepresented on a scheduling board with each phase placed on magnetic strips.However, remember that thechart is not just for your own use.It s most effective when you and your team are able to use it to plan andcontrol the project.In order to demonstrate how the Gantt chart works, we will work through a sample project.Example: The accounting manager undertakes a project to investigate current procedures in the accountspayable department.She will identify changes needed to improve efficiency and reduce processing expenses,concluding with specific procedures for revision.Her team consists of the accounting manager, the supervisorof the accounts payable department, and a senior-level programming employee from the EDP department.The manager s first step is to break down the project into phases, as follows:Phase 1: Document current procedures for each of three employees in the department.Estimatedcompletion time: four days.Phase 2: Prepare procedure flowcharts for the department.Estimated completion time: three days. Phase 3: Summarize paper flow and methods for receiving, processing, and sending out information(including timing, approval, and payment of bills).Estimated completion time: five days.Phase 4: List problem areas and devise initial recommendations for solutions.Estimated completiontime: six days.Phase 5: Devise improved procedures for processing.Estimated completion time: three days.Phase 6: Track sample transactions for one week under existing procedures.Estimated completiontime: five days.Phase 7: Track sample transactions for two weeks under proposed new procedures.Estimatedcompletion time: ten days.Phase 8: Prepare and deliver a final report to the treasurer, including recommendations for changes inprocedures, estimate of savings, and automation if applicable.Estimated completion time: two days.This listing of phases can be expressed on a Gantt chart using the most common method, the bar form.Theschedule for this project, including both planned and actual completion for each phase, is shown in Figure5-1.Note that the planned phases are listed as clear bars, and those actually completed are blackened.This methodshows where delays occurred during execution of the project, and gives the manager and the team apreliminary idea of problems that must be absorbed later on.Phase 1, for example, has taken longer thanscheduled, thus delaying phase 2.That delay is carried through all the way to phases 6 and 7, where it isabsorbed in time to prepare and deliver the final report.Note that some phases can be run concurrently.For example, the longest phases (6 and 7) involve testingexisting and proposed new procedures.These tests are conducted during the same period, and the initial planis revised.A shorter time span is used for the tests so that the project can be brought back on schedule beforethe deadline.Figure 5-1 Gantt chart (bar form).An alternative method of constructing a Gantt chart is to use symbols instead of bars.For example, an unfilledtriangle represents the plan, and a filled-in triangle represents actual.The start date is shown by a triangle withthe base at the bottom, and the completion date of each phase is represented by an inverted triangle.A Ganttchart of this type, using the same project example, is shown in Figure 5-2.Triangles can be placed on a single line for each phase or, as in our example, on different lines, allowing aseparation between planned and actual status.This method provides a bit more information than the bar form,but you may find it more difficult to quickly grasp the degree of variance for the overall project that is createdwhen one phase is delayed by a few days.A third version is similar to the first, in that it uses a series of bars for each phase.However, rather thansimply representing phases by overall duration, each phase is broken down into subphases [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]