Project Management - building the plan

Before MS Project

Parse the PWS or SOW into bite size elements; e.g. term = definition.
Each line item should represent a granular task
add task number extensions if necessary

Develop definitions of these tasks, again; e.g. term(task) = denfinition
These definitions will contribute to the effort to develop evaluation criteria later in time
(Eval criteria describe outline, content, etc).
Draw a stick map that shows how tasks relate to each
Redraw the stick map, if necessary, to introduce the concept of time in terms of precedence and successor
Look carefully for areas where tasks could be overlapped, e.g. no dependancies between the two.

Use the stick map to begin populating a spreadsheet
The spreadsheet should have columns to include:
Resource Name, Labor Cat, Week1, Week2, Week3, etc.
Populate under each column those tasks that should be worked in a given week
Look for places where multiple tasks can be working in a single week.

Next begin assigning personnel to tasks in a given week
Keep their resource consumption under 80% (20% reserve for overhead)

Program Management Notes

Work Statement Development
-make each task granular and specific.
-If a task area is defined, each task within that area must be specified.
-Each task should be identified with a name and that name associated with a task definition.
-Definitions may be short paragraphs but no longer. Anything longer indicates a new task area should be formed.
-each task should receive an identification number, paragraph numbers work well, but suffer from the vagaries of document organization.
-tasks should not be hierarchical, remember they should be granular and specific.

Task Definition and Resourcing
-take the line item task defined above and look at what the inputs and outputs should be.
-inputs include skill sets, dollars, staff, time, level of effort, etc.
-outputs are the product that the task produces, whether tangible or not. Make it tangible however, in whatever way possible, to show something for the money spent.
-build a skeleton of actions that must occur to initiate, develop, and deliver the product.
-think about evaluation criteria up front, those things that let you measure success at the end
-sequence the actions and look for ties to other activities, tasks or products.
-look carefully at such dependancies and know that they can beccome risks should schedule slippage occur.
-build resourcing from the bottom up, determine what skill set is needed, how many of that skill set, and how much of them will be applied to any given activity in a task sequence.
-don't apply names until resourcing for a task is complete.
-be prepared for tradeoffs should appropriate skill sets not be available.
-roll up the cost, schedule, resource requirements for that granular task and you have a baseline work unit.
-put that work unit under change control.

Digging has continued in Shovel Eater over the winter. In our second trip we dug out all the rubble blocking the pit and continued widening the pit as we went down. By the end of the day I was able to squeeze down to the bottom and check things out with Miles. He pushed a small crawl with some air, but not enough to justify all the air coming up the pit.

On our third dig trip I returned with Kevin Flanagan and we finished digging out the pit. We pulled several buckets of rock and found that most of the air was coming from behind a large flake of rock opposite the now buried crawlway.

On our fourth trip Dave Crenshaw, his son Chris, and I dug our way around that flake and began following a small crevice blowing much air. The crevice was much smaller than originally thought and the rock very hard. I tried to bite off more than I could chew.

Fifth trip I returned with Tom Barton, Rick Orbin and Susan Posey. We rigged a pulley and moved a lot of rock up out of the dig. We completely shave off a right hand bend and began digging into a left hand bend. Crack is about 4 inches wide by 18 inches high, still blows great air. The crack is following under the upper passage and headed back toward the entrance dome. Theory holds that it will get under those domes and begin to open up.