Analyzing and Understanding a Progress Schedule

The Baseline schedule has been built, reviewed, and accepted.  The job has started, people are working, submittals are being reviewed and everything is going according to plan, right?

If only it was that simple.  Building the Baseline schedule is only the first step in Project Controls.  Once the work has begun, updating the schedule and applying accurate progress is critical to generating an accurate forecast based on real data.  But once the schedule has been progressed, what’s it telling you?  Are you ahead?  Behind?  On target?

If things didn’t proceed according to plan and the schedule is now being impacted by an unforeseen event, how do you know where to focus your attention?  Understanding the schedule is the first step in developing a response to mitigate unplanned events that are negatively impacting the project. Knowing which data to focus on and which tools to use are key to being efficient in your analysis of the schedule.

So take action, as soon as possible, to mitigate the damage and get your schedule back on track.