Project teams are increasingly aware of the value of using a dynamic schedule to sequence and oversee activities. With the ability to effectively address any schedule impacts by reflowing or compressing tasks to maintain alignment with the target completion date, the center of excellence gains tangible benefits that can help keep difficult or complex projects on track.
If your organization is still considering whether the implementation of a dynamic scheduling approach is a good fit, consider the advantages you can gain when you aren’t bound to a static schedule.
A dynamic schedule gives the Project Team greater flexibility
With a dynamic schedule as part of your project management methodology, the team has the flexibility to continue moving activities forward even as the normal list of issues and potential glitches—delays in the delivery of critical equipment, for example, or limited scheduling windows for craft labor—grows. One problem encountered during the project doesn’t need to snowball into a major challenge or derail downstream activities if the Project Team is able to dynamically schedule around it and keep the remaining tasks on track. This becomes more important as projects become larger, with greater complexities and more task dependencies.
Dynamic scheduling allows teams to be more nimble
Not only does a dynamic schedule give the Project Team a measure of much-needed flexibility, it also allows the team to take advantage of favorable circumstances when they occur. If a vendor becomes available ahead of schedule or offers a few lower-cost time slots because of their own schedule practices, PMs can use dynamic scheduling to determine how to reflow activities so they can capitalize on the opportunity.
Labor is better managed with a dynamic schedule
Effectively sequencing and coordinating labor needs and resources is often one of the more complex challenges for PMs. Overseeing the flow of workers throughout the project’s lifecycle is made more difficult when multiple vendors are operating together in limited spaces and when outside support is in short supply. A dynamic project schedule provides a way to accurately manage the demand curve for craft labor and other work, ensuring that one task’s timing doesn’t conflict with another, and that the organization doesn’t pay for off-hours work when it isn’t necessary.
Efficiency increases when the Project Team uses dynamic scheduling
A dynamic schedule enables team to get out of the panic cycle and leave firefighting mode behind. Once scheduling is more predictable and controlled, they’re able to more efficiently utilize their time. Instead of chasing after problems and struggling to stop the cascade of issues that usually follows, PMs can instead focus on maintaining a workable schedule, monitoring stakeholder engagement and accountability, and ensuring that the project is executed in the most efficient and effective way.
Dynamic scheduling contributes to good quality
When a team encounters delays or other scheduling problems that could put the project’s outcome in jeopardy, it’s not uncommon for PMs to begin cutting corners. Tasks are missed or activities are cut short to save time. It seems like a reasonable approach in the beginning, but the result is a project with poor quality. Many of these omissions will need to be fixed later, often at additional cost and with some level of disruption to operations. Customer satisfaction may suffer. The executive staff may lose confidence in the Project Team’s ability to execute a quality project. Because a dynamic schedule addresses timing issues early in the process and with each task’s duration in mind, corners no longer need to be cut and the quality of the project doesn’t suffer. Stakeholders receive exactly the results they expected without follow-on costs or other unwanted impacts.
