Project Management

been “overlaid” onto a calendar and approved by all parties
involved. It provides you with all of the information you will
need to monitor progress and maintain control over the project
timeline. An illustration of the control schedule for our ski trip
project is shown in Figure 7-11.

Preparing a Detailed Project Plan: Step by Step 129

Ask for Three Pieces of Information

Whenever task performers are providing you with esti-

mates for accomplishing work, you should ask them for at

least these three things:

1. The amount of effort (or labor hours) required to accomplish the
   task


2. The duration, or window of time within which they will complete
   the activity


3. A basis of estimate—a description of how they determined both
   figures
   You are now in a position to fully understand exactly how these fig-
   ures were derived.This will help you verify their validity before plug-
   ging them into the schedule or budget and help you manage any
   changes that may occur as the project progresses.

2

4

5

9

7

1

3

8

6

Start

:15 :30

1 Hour

:45 :15 :30 :45

2 Hours

:15 :30 :45 :15

3 Hours

:30 :45

4 Hours

Figure 7-11. Control schedule for the ski trip project