subject: What Are The Time Management Concepts? [print this page] What are the time management concepts a student should learn about in PMI PDU courses to acquire PMI PDUs? Below is a good description of these concepts, as they relate to earning PMI PDUs from an online course.
Overall, the PMBOK gives six major components to project time management. This module will discuss the first two, which are to define and sequence activities. Each component is divided into three areas, which are the inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs. Module 2 and 3 will discuss the remaining four components. PMI PDU courses of high quality will include all these concepts.
Time management is more than just adhering to a schedule. It requires planning, which includes identifying and sequencing the activities that must be completed in order to move the project toward a timely completion. For the project manager, the first step to project time management is defining those activities. If a project manager fails to identify all the necessary activities upfront, as the project progresses, there will be constant addition of activities that will increase the scope of time planned for the project. Just as important, the sequencing of the activities in the most time-effective manner is a necessary process that leverages the project resources efficiently. Poorly sequenced activities could plague the project with inefficiencies that manifest in wasted time through idle resources.
The project manager must be aware of these vital first steps in order to plan time management properly. Once again, time management is more than just schedule adherence. It is a purposeful activity of planning, which includes defining, sequencing estimating and controlling. Let us begin by discussing how to define those activities that must be completed by the project team.
In the earlier planning stages, the project deliverables are identified and incorporated into the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Good PMI PDU courses will explain the WBS as follows: The WBS parses the work into work packages, assigning project team members responsibilities over each work package. While the WBS does provide broad timeframes for completion of each work package, the defining of activities is where the work packages are decomposed into action items that are the actual jobs needed to complete the work package. The WBS is not the only input to defining the activities of a project. Emphasis is placed on the WBS now, because it is tempting for the project manager to leave the level of detail at the work package level. However, this practice could overlook details necessary for accurate planning required for good project time management.
