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What Schedule Quality Is and Is Not

 

Schedule quality is not the same thing as project health. Schedule quality is about whether the schedule itself has been built in a way that makes it reliable. 

Schedule Quality is not:

  • A measure of how well the project is going.
  • A guarantee you’ll finish on time.
  • Proof that your end date is reliable.

Schedule quality tells you how reliable your schedule is as a data set and answers the questions:

  • Is this schedule built in a way that makes it worth analyzing or using as a decision-making tool?
  • Does this schedule follow best practices for CPM Scheduling?

What Makes a High-Quality Schedule?

A high quality schedule is built in a way that gives the dates, logic, float, and critical path every chance to be accurate and aligns with scheduling best practices. 

The key characteristics of a high quality schedule are:

    • Fully logically tied: All activities have required predecessors and successors.
    • Minimal constraints: The schedule is not overly forced by “must start” or “must finish” dates.
    • Reasonable durations: Activities are broken down into manageable, trackable lengths. 
  • Well-structured WBS: The schedule is organized into a logical work breakdown structure so it’s easy to navigate and analyze
    • There’s no measurement or scrutiny of the WBS in most schedule quality checks, however a well-structured WBS is a good indication of how much love and care was put into the schedule.

Creating a high quality schedule will significantly increase the likelihood of a successful project. Consider these points:

  • Best practices = better outcomes. If your schedule follows scheduling best practices, it becomes a reliable planning and forecasting tool
  • Garbage in, garbage out: If the data is unreliable, any conclusions about progress, delays, or risks will also be unreliable. 
  • Context matters: Not all projects are created equal. A high-rise and a highway will have different scheduling requirements, and “good quality” looks different in each.
  • Constructability check: A quality grade should always be considered in the context of what is actually reasonable for the specific project.