Scope, Schedule and Resource Management
Scope
Scope is defined and controlled through a scope statement (what is in and explicitly out), a product breakdown structure (what must be produced) and a work breakdown structure (deliverable-oriented decomposition into work packages). The WBS should be decomposed to a level where estimates and ownership are reliable - the 8/80 rule of thumb suggests packages between 8 and 80 hours. Together with the WBS dictionary these form the scope baseline. Prioritisation techniques such as MoSCoW protect the schedule by making trade-offs explicit.
Schedule
Build a dependency network (finish-to-start, start-to-start, finish-to-finish, start-to-finish), estimate durations (analogous, parametric, bottom-up, three-point), then run a forward and backward pass. The critical path is the longest path through the network and has zero float; delay on it delays the end date. Float (slack) is the amount a non-critical activity can slip without affecting the end date. Present and track with a Gantt chart, milestones and baselines.
Resources
Resource levelling resolves over-allocation and may extend duration; resource smoothing uses available float and does not extend it. Schedule compression: crashing adds resource (costs more), fast-tracking overlaps activities (raises risk).
Worked example
Three-point estimate for a task: optimistic 4 days, most likely 6, pessimistic 14. PERT = (O + 4M + P) / 6 = (4 + 24 + 14) / 6 = 7 days - note it is pulled above the most likely figure because the pessimistic tail is longer.