6.1 Plan Schedule Management
Decide, up front, how you will build and control the schedule.
Planning / Schedule · ← PMBOK reference · See it on the map
Why it matters
Without an agreed approach, one planner's spreadsheet and another's project tool tell two different stories about when the work will finish.
What done looks like
A schedule management approach is written down and the team is using it.
First time tip
Pick your scheduling tool and units before the first estimate is entered. Switching tools halfway through means redoing work already done.
What you need (Inputs)
How you do it (Tools & Techniques)
What you get (Outputs)
Worked example
The project manager agrees with the director that the renovation is planned in days rather than hours, that the contractor's dates and the volunteers' go in one shared calendar, and that the schedule is reviewed at the same Friday meeting as the budget.
Common pitfalls
- Planning in hours when the work is booked by the day, so every date needs converting.
- Keeping the contractor's dates in one calendar and the volunteers' in another.
- Agreeing a review cadence nobody holds once the work actually starts.
How driftless helps
- Meetings can be run here.
- Schedule Management Plan can be created in the wizard.