Project Time Management – Part 1 Activity Definition

Now that you have your work breakdown structure, what do you do? This is when you get into Project Time Management. Project Time Management includes the processes required to accomplish timely completion of the project (PMBOK 123). There is a flow that should be followed to help you figure out what and when you should do the activities. The following are the 6 processes that need to be done in the Project Time Management Knowledge area.

1. Activity Definition
2. Activity Sequencing
3. Activity Resource Estimating
4. Activity Duration Estimating
5. Schedule Development
6. Schedule Control

The Activity Definition process will identify the deliverables at the lowest level in the work breakdown structure called the work package (PMBOK 127). This work package is used to provide the estimations made in the project work. The inputs needed to do this are:

1. Enterprise environmental factors
2. Organizational process assets
3. Project scope statement
4. Work breakdown structure
5. WBS dictionary
6. Project management plan

Using the tools and techniques of decomposition, templates, rolling wave planning, expert judgment, and planning component, you can create the outputs for the next process. These outputs are used as inputs into the next process. Outputs include activity list, activity attributes, milestone list, and requested changes.

Decomposition is the technique of breaking apart project work packages into smaller activities. If a project has been done before, the activity list can be used as a template for the current project. It can also help identify the resources needed to complete the deliverables. Rolling wave planning is used to reflect an evolution of the project scope. It is a form of progressive elaboration planning. If you have a really large project, you might not be able to plan all the steps in before you have to start. Rolling wave planning allows you to plan in detail the near term activities while the far term activities have not been broken down. Project members who are experts can give their experience and skill in developing the activities in expert judgment. The planning component is used when the project scope in not detailed sufficiently. Using the control account and planning package, management control points can be used as placeholders in the work package where planning has not yet been done. Once those points are reached, the work must be broken down into activities.

Activity Definition is the first part of the Project Time Management Knowledge area. This will be the basis for estimations in other processes. The activity definition creates an activity list. This list is a comprehensive list of all the scheduled activities that must be performed on the project. This list will only include the work needed to be done for the scope of the project. It defines the in sufficient detail the work that is required