Scheduling is often times at the heart of project management software. The project schedule drives so many other things such as task assignments, resource loading, reporting, status, etc., etc. Often times the fundamental processing of scheduling is difficult for organizations to adapt successfully. I see three primary reasons for this: 1) the wrong people are scheduling; 2) people are not adequately trained; and 3) there is not a clear process to follow.

Let me hit on these one at a time.



First, I have often seen organizations that want everyone to schedule projects. I have rarely seen this work effectively (not never, just rarely). Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Some people "get it" in regards to scheduling. Others have a hard time just with the concept of scheduling. In addition, some people are analytical enough to create a good project schedule while others try to get by with the bare minimum or do not want to do it at all. Some people keep them up to date while others have no problem letting them stagnate or changing them too much (in other words they don't manage them). The bottom line? Unless you have a lot of people that understand project management and are analytical and disciplined, don't have everyone schedule your projects. There will be a wide disparity of project quality out there. Instead, select a few people that understand the principles and will manage them correctly.

Second, people cannot simply be thrown in front of a computer and start scheduling. Especially if they have not had a lot of project management software experience before. There are concepts in play to schedule effectively that must be understood regardless of what software is being used. These include dependencies and dependency types, constraints, predecessors and successors, and duration vs. effort (work). These must be understood. After that, they can be trained how to incorporate those ideas using the actual software.

Also, training is not a one time deal. Train them in the beginning, let them use the software, then hold another session to reinforce the principles and answer questions. Repeat this process. That will be far more effectively.

Third, make sure there is a clear process to follow. Don't simply turn people lose without a process. Even those with experience in project tools will schedule and do things differently. Do you want them to use a template? Do you want them to use dependencies? What do you want them to do when changes occur? Etc. Etc. Document the scheduling process and communicate that effectively so that everyone is on the same page. You want to be sure that scheduling is done in a way that will drive value and will cause you to achieve your objectives.

I am not saying that you can't effectively get people to schedule, it just takes the right kind of work and preparation like anything else of value.

In our next post, I'll offer tips more on the technical side of scheduling...

Reporting is a big part of project management software. After all, being able to obtain the right data at the right time to make the right decisions is one of the reasons to implement project management software in the first place. So let's talk a little bit about how to use reports more effectively.



First, it goes without saying that your project management software must have a reporting function in order for you to use it. Some software systems do, others do not. Some software systems provide canned reports that you cannot change while others (like EnterPlicity) provide a full reporting engine for you to modify and create your own reports. Some software systems have these reporting engines built into their interface, others use a third party tool such as Crystal Reports. Except for the lower end systems that are geared more towards collaboration, most systems should have some sort of reporting capability, or at least provide access for you to use a third party tool to create reports.

What's the point? You need to know what reporting capability is supported by your system, or what reporting capability is supported by the systems that you are considering. Often times the focus is on ease of use and features. While this is all well and good, don't forget the importance of reporting.

Second, what kind of reports should you be creating? I cannot answer that question dogmatically because that depends on your objectives. Are you trying to get a handle on resource utilization and usage? Then you are going to want specific resource reports such as the percent allocation of resources over your projects for a particular time frame; or the hours resources are assigned to each project; or which projects are taking up the most hours.

Are you trying to get a handle on your scheduling issues? Then you are going to want specific scheduling reports such as tasks that are late, projects that are in trouble, perhaps even earned value related reporting.

There are many other types of reports as well such as open issues, project risks, or requests. Some common reports that we find our clients get a lot of use out of include:
-A high-level red/yellow/green summary of all projects
-Tasks that are running behind
-Resource allocation over the next few months
-How much time resources have actually spent on which projects over the last few months (time sheets)

Identify a few reports (not too many) that are strategic and make sure they are getting run and disseminated on a regular basis.

Third, how can you disseminate reports? This is important to make sure that people can easily get their hands on the data. The simplest mechanism is that people can login and run the report. Another helpful mechanism is email. Some systems will allow you to automatically email out reports directly to a manager's inbox.

Fourth, you can use reports as a tool to further your implementation. You want to see good data in your report so that you can actually act on it. That is dependent on the fact that people are entering data and the data they are entering is accurate. You can use reporting to hold people accountable for entering in data appropriately. This can be especially useful during the initial implementation.

Identify those reports that are strategic and manage to them. Make sure that the data is there for you to make the right decisions. In the implementation phase, use these reports to show management the value that you could get out of the system if people are held accountable to enter it properly.

Reporting is a real value-add when done correctly. Be sure that you can get the reports out of your software that you need.