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6 - PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENT

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PROJECT TIME MANAGEMENT

Most of the material in Section 6 of the PMBOK Guide is applicable to time management for software projects.
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This section of the Software Extension to the PMBOK Guide presents additional considerations for managing
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software project time. 6

Section 6 of the PMBOK Guide includes seven processes that constitute Project Time Management, which
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include the processes required to manage the timely completion of a project. This section of the Software Extension
to the PMBOK Guide indicates the activities in Section 6 of the PMBOK Guide that are applicable to time
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management for software projects and describes extensions that are important for software projects.
Project Time Management for software projects is driven by risk, resource availability, business value, and
the scheduling method(s) used. When possible, a software project schedule should remain flexible throughout
the project to adjust for knowledge gained, increased understanding of risk, and value-added. Understanding the
different scheduling methods and selecting one or more appropriate methods for dealing with scheduling risks
are critical for project success. Most of the development cost for a software project is human effort, and effort
is the product of people and time, therefore this section and Section 7 of this Software Extension (Project Cost
Management) are closely associated. Scheduling methods and time management procedures that are appropriate
for software projects are discussed in this section.
A schedule management plan specifies a scheduling method and a scheduling tool. It also establishes the
criteria for developing and controlling the project schedule, plus the format that will be used to display schedule
information. A schedule management plan is based on life cycle decisions (see Section 2.4 of this Software
Extension) and scope considerations (see Section 5 of this Software Extension).

Establishing a schedule, like most software decisions, should involve consideration of the risks associated
with the project, the development environment, the organization culture, organizational process assets, and
accommodation of the customer, users, and other stakeholders. For example, a customer may want delivery of
some usable software in a very short timeframe, but some initial time to develop the software architecture or
information model to reduce the risk of delivering unacceptable software may be needed. When human life or the
company’s reputation are stake, more upfront design and increased emphasis on quality-related processes are
warranted (see Section 8 of this Software Extension). Using risk to determine a software project schedule involves
the risk-related processes addressed in Section 11 of this Software Extension.

The project environment is a significant influence on the appropriateness of a scheduling method. When the
method is not supported by the culture of the organization or is not aligned with the management infrastructure and
incentives, the project may fail to meet schedule commitments regardless of any risk-mitigating effects it might
provide.

©2013 Project Management Institute. Software Extension to the PMBOK Guide Fifth Edition 87
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