Fast Tracking – Schedule Compression Techniques
Often at time project comes up with the challenge of reducing the time of completion of a project. This can either happen during planning stage or even during the time of execution. Either the project demand has changed or client is dictating the time of completion. In such case, schedule that has originally been planned need to be revisited.
And it will be the decision of the project manager how an original planned schedule can be changed to reduce the time frame of the project.
What Is Schedule Compression?
Schedule compression is a technique used in project management to reduce the completion date of the project than what was originally planned. Schedule compression involves shorten the duration of the project without changing the scope of the project. It can be used when a project falls behind schedule and needs to catch up, or to finish the project sooner than originally scheduled.
There is 2 technique used in schedule compression:
- Fast Tracking
- Crashing
What Is Fast Tracking?
Fast tracking is a schedule compression techniques where activities are rearranged to run in parallel which were originally planned in sequence. When you need to reduce the total time of completion of a project, fast tracking technique can be applied provided some of the activities can be run in parallel.
In other words, fast tracking is the process of reducing the number of sequential relationships and replacing them with parallel relationships. However fast tracking can only be applied if the activities in question can actually be overlapped.
How to do Fast Tracking?
- Identify the critical path of the project. Or the path with the longest duration
Identify activities that can be broken from the sequence. This will involve looking at the available resources, available time etc. - Take out the activity from original sequence and plot into network diagram to recreate a new path or sequence
- Re calculate the time of the original sequence and the new sequence to find the reduced time of the overall project
Learn other topic around finance management in following link:
Merger and Acquisition solution from Insiet © https://insiet.com/merger-acquisition-ma-system-integration/
Intercompany Reconciliation Solution from Insiet © https://insiet.com/solution/intercompany-reconciliation/