How to create a professional project schedule using the lessons learned

Introduction

A schedule is a critical piece of any project. It is the one big picture of the project to which all the details must be integrated. It is also the schedule that is typically shown to senior management as a representation of how the project will be met. So, it must be accurate and as complete as possible.

Creating a schedule for the project is one of the most important things you can do to make sure your project goes according to plan. A schedule will help you to stay on track and allow you to plan your time and release dates more efficiently. Don’t go anywhere, here, I am going to discuss, “how can we create a professional project schedule using the lessons learned. So, let’s get started.

Why need one ?

The main reason behind having such document would be tracking progress towards completion date along time line; and monitoring cost at different stages throughout life cycle (from initiation phase until closeout).

What is included in a professional project schedule?

Project Schedule is an important tool which makes the whole project management process effective. It is considered as the most crucial element for initiating, planning and executing a project successfully. The professional project schedule must include the start and end dates for each activity, task or milestone. It also contains detailed information about the relationships between activities and tasks.

How to create professional project schedule using lessons learned?

The lessons learned process is an opportunity to evaluate the project and draw conclusions about what went well and what could have been done better. Therefore, it is a key project management tool that can be used to make future projects more efficient.

Closet phase findings

The lessons learned process should take place during the project closeout phase. It is important to document the findings early on in the closeout phase, so that they are fresh in your mind and still relevant to the current project.

Create project record or log

The first step in creating a professional project schedule using lessons learned is to create a record or log of all the things that went wrong on your previous project. This includes anything from miscommunication between team members, to missed deadlines, to missed opportunities for cost savings.

Identify the patterns

The next step is to identify any patterns that may have emerged from this list of problems. For example, if you noticed that there were several instances of miscommunication between team members, then you should include a “collaboration” category in yourlessons learned document.

Make sure same issues won’t happen again

This will help you focus on identifying issues before they happen and prevent them from occurring again in the future.

Pro Tip

Make use of planning tools to create your project schedule, rather than just doing it manually on an Excel sheet, as this will give you better visibility into the tasks involved in the project.

Final verdict

Project schedule is an obligatory element of the project. A good project schedule will allow you to see any current issues on the project, any possible risks and help you forecast your future moves.

First, you can use any free scheduling software or service to create your project schedule, there are online tools available for this purpose. But don’t expect that the tools which are free offer advanced options like duration, work resources and other strong features. You should choose the most appropriate project schedule tool for your business needs, after a detailed research and analysis.
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