Time management is an act of managing the time you spend and how you progress on project tasks and activities. Different qualities make excellent time management, including how you inspect, schedule, and control all tasks.
The Project Management Institute concluded that time management is a crucial aspect of six primary project management functions. To some, project time management means the strategies employed to manage time.
Why is time management important in project management?
According to the definition, there is an official date of completion for a project. Schedule and time management are crucial for every project and its management team to complete a project within the timeframe.
For example, you want to renovate a section of your apartment. You determine to renovate the affected part in your leisure time, so no need for a project schedule or completion date. You hardly take any action to ensure regular actions on the project.
What would be the outcome if most people executed their projects this way? Indeed, years will roll over without finishing the project. You will likely face delays all the time and may end up with the following challenges:
- You had too many engagements that prevented you from working on the task, so you moved it to the back of your to-do list
- You wasted too much time to order the needed materials and had to wait to get your order
- Finding a specialist to fix the issue for you after getting your ordered materials was difficult
- You realized that you should have booked inspections months before the renovation; hence, it was late.
As such, time management significantly contributes to any project’s success. Without time management, projects will be delayed and may not be executed at all.
The 7 primary processes in project time management
1. Plan schedule management
Most resources ignore this aspect and the time management process. However, before completing other steps in project management, there must be planning on your schedule management. You must consider some things like the software or tools you are going to use, the person who will handle the software, how to regularly review the schedule, and measures to consider to keep people in the schedule.
2. Define activities
Once your time management plan is in place, identifying and defining your project activities becomes easier. You may often use a work breakdown structure (WBS) when defining the actions to take within a project. You must also identify and determine primary milestones.
3. Sequence activities
You are now familiar with every crucial task to be completed, and now you can properly sequence them with a network diagram.
4. Estimate resources
The term’ resources’ in project management may not necessarily mean materials or cash to execute a project. It also refers to ‘people.’ But, you must identify other important factors to help you complete a project, such as tools, budget, etc.
5. Estimate durations
The next thing to do after learning the tasks you want to complete and the resources you need to achieve them is to calculate the time required for their completion. PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) is a common technique most project managers employ to determine their durations. They often use this technique if they have many unidentified factors at play.
6. Develop the project schedule
You can develop a project schedule by leveraging scheduling software. Start inputting things like the commencement and completion date, durations, sequencing, and other activities that will contribute to the project’s success.
7. Control the schedule
You must regularly control and monitor your project once you have created a schedule. You must always review and update your progress to help you compare the actual work done so far to the plan. You can identify areas where you are lagging in the schedule with this activity.
Conclusion
Proper time management contributes to a successful project execution and delivery. As a project manager, you must learn to map out things before you start its execution. This will help you complete every project or task within an accurate timeframe.
