HKSM

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Purpose & When to Use

• Confirm work is proceeding on time by comparing actuals to the approved schedule baseline.
• Detect slippage early, understand causes, and decide on corrective or preventive actions.
• Forecast key dates and completion, keeping stakeholders informed with reliable schedule information.
• Use throughout the project, especially at reporting cycles, milestones, major deliveries, or when risks or changes affect timing.

Mini Flow (How It’s Done)

• Gather actual progress: starts, finishes, percent complete, remaining duration, and impediments.
• Update the schedule model in the PMIS with the latest actuals and confirmed logic, calendars, and resources.
• Compare to the baseline using variance and trend analysis, critical path review, and metrics such as SV and SPI if using EVM.
• Identify root causes and impacts, focusing on critical and near-critical paths, resource constraints, and external dependencies.
• Forecast new dates by recalculating the network, re-estimating remaining work, and assessing risks to the timeline.
• Select and apply responses: resequence work, adjust resources, fast-track, crash, or implement preventive actions; raise change requests if the baseline must change.
• Communicate updates via schedule reports and dashboards, and update logs, risks, assumptions, and lessons as needed.

Quality & Acceptance Checklist

• Actuals are current, traceable to evidence such as timesheets or system data, and use a consistent data date.
• Critical and near-critical paths are recalculated after each update, with total float reviewed.
• No open-ended activities exist; start and finish constraints and lags are justified and documented.
• Calendars and resource availability are correctly applied to durations and forecasts.
• Progress measurement rules are consistent across activities, including how percent complete is determined.
• Variance thresholds are defined, and actions are triggered when thresholds are exceeded.
• Schedule forecasts and reports match the PMIS output, and stakeholders receive updates appropriate to their needs.
• Baseline changes follow formal change control; no unauthorized rebaselining occurs.

Common Mistakes & Exam Traps

• Rebaselining to hide variance instead of first applying corrective or preventive actions.
• Ignoring near-critical paths that may overtake the critical path after changes.
• Choosing fast-tracking or crashing without analyzing risks, costs, and resource limits.
• Confusing calendar days with working days, leading to incorrect finish forecasts.
• Relying only on percent complete instead of re-estimating remaining duration and recalculating the schedule.
• Applying changes to leads, lags, or constraints without documenting and controlling them.
• Using SPI at project end to judge schedule health when it naturally trends to 1.0; focus on remaining work and path analysis.

PMP Example Question

A project is two weeks behind schedule, but the sponsor wants to keep the original completion date. What should the project manager do first?

1. Submit a change request to rebaseline the schedule to the new forecast.
2. Add resources to all late activities to recover time.
3. Fast-track the entire project by running as many tasks in parallel as possible.
4. Analyze the critical and near-critical paths to identify targeted fast-tracking or crashing options and their risks.

Correct Answer: D — Analyze the critical and near-critical paths to identify targeted fast-tracking or crashing options and their risks.

Explanation: Evaluate schedule drivers before choosing a response. Do not rebaseline or add resources broadly without focused analysis and risk assessment.