Planning and Scheduling
What the domain is really testing
Planning converts the charter into an integrated baseline. Candidates must know the work breakdown structure (deliverable-oriented decomposition, 100% rule, work packages), the difference between a product breakdown and a WBS, and how dependencies, lags, and leads shape a network diagram. Understand critical path (longest path, zero float), total float versus free float, and how resource levelling differs from resource smoothing - levelling may move the end date, smoothing must not.
Concepts to hold firmly
- Rolling-wave planning: detailed near term, coarse far term.
- Baselines (scope, schedule, cost) are approved versions; changes need control.
- Milestones have zero duration and no effort.
- Estimating durations should use historical data and team input, not optimism.
Traps
Classic distractors ask you to crash the critical path when the delay sits on a non-critical path with float. Check float first. Another trap: compressing by fast-tracking (overlapping) increases risk, whereas crashing adds cost - questions often want the risk-aware answer. Be careful with questions that call a task "critical" merely because it is important; criticality is a network property.
Rule of thumb
Before proposing any recovery action, compute float. Only activities with zero total float can delay the project end date.
Worked example
Task A (5 days) and Task B (8 days) run in parallel, both feeding Task C. A has 3 days float; B has zero. A supplier delay of 2 days on A consumes float but does not move the finish. The same delay on B moves the finish by 2 days and must be escalated.