echi da berlino - pmi-nic.org · linear scheduling methods: a relevant alternative for all project...

Linear Scheduling Methods:A Relevant Alternative for All Project Managers

Maria Cristina Barbero, Director of Project Management Center of Excellence, Engineering Ingegneria Informatica

Echi da Berlino25 giugno 2018

Linear Scheduling Methods:

A Relevant Alternative for All Project Managers

May the 7th, 2018 | 11:30 AM

Maria Cristina Barbero, CSM, MBA, PMP, PMI-ACP, PMO-CP, Engineering Ingegneria Informatica

Hagit Landman, MBA, PMP, PMI-SP, H. Landman Consulting

PMI® EMEA Congress 2018

#PMIEMEA18

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Maria Cristina Barbero

Project Manager & Consultant

Engineering Ingegneria Informatica / Nexen since 2005

Head of Center of Excellence of Project Management

Leads a team of 40 PMO-Specialists

Engaged in supporting IT organizations

Graduated in Mathematics

Background as system developer

Professor at University of Padova

Trainer of 400 Italian PMPs

PMI-ACP and CSM certified

Member of PMI Standards MAG since January 2016

5

Hagit Landman

Project Manager & Consultant

Over 25 years of experience in multy disciplicanry proejcts in various industries, PMO, Project management, Project managemet tools

Complex scheduling expert in various industries

Written the book - Enterprise Project Management Using Microsoft® Office Project Server 2007 Best Practices for Implementing an EPM Solution

MBA, B.Sc – Industrial Engineering

PMI’s – PMP and PMI-SP certified

Member of PMI Standards MAG since January 2014

Why a session on Linear Scheduling Method?

6

• Not just in construction

• It can be an alternative to the Critical Path Method

• Less widespread due to the diffusion of Microsoft

Office tools

• There are benefits it can bring

• Conditions under which it can be used must be known

Learning Objectives

Apply Linear Scheduling Method to a software

project or in general to a generic project

7

11

“Software Project” = Projects to develop new software and to modify existing software

(Software Extension to the PMBOK® Guide Fifth Edition)

Learning Objectives

Describe benefits of Linear Scheduling Methods

(especially) to resource management

8

22

What do I have

to do today?

Contents

9

History: Linear Scheduling Methods in construction

Theory: Main LSM characteristics and conditions

Examples and tools

A generic project (borrowed from SW industry, MS Project)

A manual representation of LSM

Import of MS Project example

Transposition of CPM representation to LSM representation

Benefits

Conclusions

History

10

Line of Balance (LOB) Scheduling Technique

Originated by the Goodyear

Company in the early 1940's and

developed by the U.S. Navy in

the early 1950's

Developed for industrial

manufacturing and production

control

History

11

Line of Balance (LOB) Scheduling Technique

Time is on one axis

Some measure of production is

on the other axis

Later in 1970 C. Jotin Khisty

applied LOB technique to the

construction industry

1

2

3

History

Arditi and Albulak (1986)

applied LOB techniques

to pavement construction.

They made some

observations:

An LOB schedule is easier to prepare

than a network schedule, especially as

repetition increases

An LOB schedule is easier to prepare

than a network schedule, especially as

repetition increases

Since the LOB schedule is based on

production rates that depend on

resource usage, it yields good

insight into the project

Since the LOB schedule is based on

production rates that depend on

resource usage, it yields good

insight into the project

Foreman and subcontractors were

more receptive to LOB diagrams

Foreman and subcontractors were

more receptive to LOB diagrams

It is possible to show progress on an

LOB diagram

It is possible to show progress on an

LOB diagram

12

Contents

13



Examples and tools





Benefits

Conclusions

Theory

1

2

4

3

5

6

7

14

Exercise

You have to build a «museum guide» document

where every page is a form explaining an exposed

piece made by an artist. Forms are 40. Pages are 40.

You have two teams, one of writers and one of

reviewers/validators.

Writers deliver 10 forms in 2 days.

After that, reviewers can start validating. Validation

activity on 10 forms takes 1 day.

15

Exercise

40 pages

2 teamswriters reviewers

2 days to write 10 pages 1 day to validate them

Exercise

team writers

reviewers

1-10 pages

11-20 pages

21-30 pages

31-40 pages

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10

team writers

reviewers

Writing

Validating

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10

17

team writers

reviewers

day 10

day 9

day 8

day 7

day 6

day 5

day 4

day 3

day 2

day 1

10 pages 20 pages 30 pages 40 pages

Exercise

18

Exerciseteam writers

reviewers

day 10

day 9

day 8

day 7

day 6

day 5

day 4

day 3

day 2

day 1


team writers

reviewers

day 10

day 9

day 8

day 7

day 6

day 5

day 4

day 3

day 2

day 1


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Theory

We cannot recap here all what could be said on Linear

Scheduling Method

We took the work done in 1995 by David John Harmelink at

Iowa State University in collaboration with the Iowa Department

of Transportation, as the basis for our considerations

For experts, what we are going to say can seem semplicistic: we

wanted to have you all able to follow the reasoning

20

Theory – LSM graphical entities

Linear activity: an activity

that progresses along a

physical path

Duration

The activity goes slower in

its second part

21


Block activity: an activity that

occupies an area on the

project for a period of time

Bar activity: An activity or

group of activities that occur at

a particular location

22

Theory Milestone

23

Theory – Conditions

Activities express the production of something

The rate of production is constant for a single activity until it

changes its slope

Effective when the project has few types of activities even with

several production rates (slopes)

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Contents

25



Examples and tools





Benefits

Conclusions

26

www.tilos.org

http://www.turbo-chart.com/

490 Activities

1

2 4

3

5

http://www.tilos.org/

27

http://www.turbo-chart.com/930 Activities

1

2

4

35 3

Contents

28



Examples and tools





Benefits

Conclusions

A generic project (1/4)

Iteration 01 Iteration 02 Iteration 03 Iteration 04User Story 001

User Story 004

User Story 006

User Story 011

User Story 014

User Story 017

User Story 020

User Story 001

User Story 004

User Story 006

User Story 011

User Story 014

User Story 017

User Story 020

User Story 005

User Story 007

User Story 009

User Story 010

User Story 012

User Story 016

User Story 019

User Story 005

User Story 007

User Story 009

User Story 010

User Story 012

User Story 016

User Story 019

User Story 002

User Story 003

User Story 008

User Story 013

User Story 015

User Story 022

User Story 024

User Story 002

User Story 003

User Story 008

User Story 013

User Story 015

User Story 022

User Story 024

User Story 018

User Story 021

User Story 023

User Story 025

User Story 018

User Story 021

User Story 023

User Story 025

Lifecycle used

for each User

Story

A B E

C D

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A REQUIREMENT REFINEMENT

B TEST BOOK DEVELOPMENT

C DEVELOPMENT

D INTEGRATION (E2E TEST)

E USER ACCEPTANCE TEST

A B C D E 71,5 125,0 36,0 232,5

ITERATION USER STORY REQ REF TEST DES DEV I TEST UAT DAYS T1 DAYS T2 DAYS T3 DAYS % %

IT 01 User Story 001 2,0 0,5 3,0 1,5 1,0 2,5 4,5 1,0 8,0 31% 56%

IT 01 User Story 004 2,5 1,0 4,0 2,0 2,0 3,5 6,0 2,0 11,5 30% 52%

IT 01 User Story 006 3,0 1,0 4,5 2,5 2,0 4,0 7,0 2,0 13,0 31% 54%

IT 01 User Story 011 3,0 1,0 4,5 2,5 2,0 4,0 7,0 2,0 13,0 31% 54%

IT 01 User Story 014 1,0 0,5 1,5 1,0 1,0 1,5 2,5 1,0 5,0 30% 50%

IT 01 User Story 017 1,0 0,5 1,5 1,0 1,0 1,5 2,5 1,0 5,0 30% 50%

IT 01 User Story 020 1,0 0,5 1,5 1,0 1,0 1,5 2,5 1,0 5,0 30% 50%


30

TEAM 1 SIZE 1 FTE

TEAM 2 SIZE 2 FTE

TEAM 3 SIZE 1 FTE11

22 Evaluation in manday for every user story



C DEVELOPMENT




31



C DEVELOPMENT



1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

IT 01 User Story 001



A B C D E 71,5 125,0 36,0 232,5

ITERATION USER STORY REQ REF TEST DES DEV I TEST UAT DAYS T1 DAYS T2 DAYS T3 DAYS % %

IT 01 User Story 001 2,0 0,5 3,0 1,5 1,0 2,5 4,5 1,0 8,0 31% 56%

IT 01 User Story 004 2,5 1,0 4,0 2,0 2,0 3,5 6,0 2,0 11,5 30% 52%

IT 01 User Story 006 3,0 1,0 4,5 2,5 2,0 4,0 7,0 2,0 13,0 31% 54%

IT 01 User Story 011 3,0 1,0 4,5 2,5 2,0 4,0 7,0 2,0 13,0 31% 54%

IT 01 User Story 014 1,0 0,5 1,5 1,0 1,0 1,5 2,5 1,0 5,0 30% 50%

IT 01 User Story 017 1,0 0,5 1,5 1,0 1,0 1,5 2,5 1,0 5,0 30% 50%

IT 01 User Story 020 1,0 0,5 1,5 1,0 1,0 1,5 2,5 1,0 5,0 30% 50%

A B E

C D

Contents

33



Examples and tools





Benefits

Conclusions

Team Planner

35

37

Critical Path

CPM Scheduling vs Linear Scheduling

39

CPM-based scheduling

Has evolved over the past several

decades

Unable to accurately model

projects consisting of linear work

The only means by which a linear

activity can be modeled by CPM is

to artificially break the activity up

Number of activity and relationships

becomes so complicated tht the

value-added by the schedule is

significantly impacted

Linear Scheduling

Have been in existence long before

Linear scheduling provides a means

of modeling linear activities as a

continuous set of points on a line

rather than discrete events

Productivity can vary in any way

necessary to accurately model the

expected productivity of an activity

The non-linear rate and the affect it

has on subsequent linear activities is

impossible to model using CPM

Contents

40



Examples and tools





Benefits

Conclusions

Benefits

41

• Visualization

• Goal is to optimize the productivity and minimize idleness of the

teams, reduce project duration

• Traditional CPM schedules and network diagrams fail to provide

visual connection between the resources and the activities

• Useful tool for project managers and team leaders for planning

• Supports Matrix resource planning

Conclusions

Focus on deliverable/products more than time - Any point

along the activity path defines the activity in terms of product

and time. Conversely in CPM activity only has start-end time

Focus on productivity rate - The activity’s slope shows

productivity at any point in time

Focus on resources / team allocation – Linear Scheduling

graphes are readable and give evidence to idle time

Conclusions

Because we believe that the vast majority of people that work

on these projects really do want to know what’s in that 70-

page schedule with 3,000+ activities.

We believe that if you make your schedule beautiful, your

team will use it!

We believe that schedules should fit on one page

From https://graphicschedule.com/what-we-believe/

https://graphicschedule.com/what-we-believe/

Recap: Back to learning objectives

44

Apply Linear Scheduling Method to a software

project or in general to a generic project

11

Describe benefits of Linear Scheduling Methods

(especially) to resource management

22

Evaluate this Session!

45

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brief evaluation!

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Agenda… a link to the survey is now in your activity feed! Tap the

post to get started.

Or, to access the survey:

• Select Agenda

• Select session

• Tap Take Survey at the bottom of the screen.

#PMIEMEA18

Back up

46

History

47

LOB Diagram schedules

or records the cumulative

events of unit completion

versus time

LOB Diagram

History C. Jotin Khisty, 1970

A SIMPLE, AND

EFFECTIVE MEANS OF

CONTROL IS THE "LINE

OF BALANCE"

TECHNIQUE, WHICH CAN

BE APPLIED TO A WIDE

VARIETY OF

CONSTRUCTION

PROGRAMS

History

Al Sarraj (1990) & others presented a formal development

of LOB method and the required algorithms to put the

technique on a mathematical basis By using the developed

program it is possible to find the project duration, the actual delivery schedule,

and all related information regardless of the size of the project.

David John Harmelink 1995 – Linear Scheduling Model: the

development of a LS Model with micro computer applications for

highway construction project control

Yi Su; Gunnar Lucko; 2015 - Comparison and Renaissance of Classic

Line-of-Balance and Linear Schedule Concepts for Construction Industry

Mattila and Park 2003 - Comparison of linear scheduling model and

repetitive scheduling method


A linear schedule has a horizontal axis and a

vertical axis.

Horizontal Axis: is related to a physical

location or distance from a reference point for

the project

Vertical Axis: is allocated some measure of

time

Theory - Sequencing

Disclaimer

• The views and opinions expressed in the following PowerPoint

slides are those of the individual presenter.

• These PowerPoint slides are protected under the copyright laws

of the United States of America and other countries. Used by

permission. All rights reserved. Project Management Institute

and PMI are registered trademarks. All other trademarks are the

property of their respective owners.

• The PowerPoint slides are for registered attendees of PMI

EMEA Congress.

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