Scheduling

Definition (James G. March & Herbert A. Simon)
Definition (Jean-Michel Hoc)
Function (Mickey A. Palmer)
Features (Mickey A. Palmer)
Stages (Mickey A. Palmer)
Requirements (Howard Barnett)
Techniques (Howard Barnett)

Definition

[1966, First published 1958] James G. March & Herbert A. Simon, Organizations, Wiley & Sons, New York
“The most common device for securing coordination among subprograms where there is a high degree of process specialization is scheduling. A schedule is simply a plan, established in advance, that determines what tasks will be handled and when.” (Chapter 6, p. 160)

[1988] Jean-Michel Hoc, Cognitive Psychology of Planning, Academic Press, London
“A schedule is a plan which avoids creating conflicting activities.”
(Chapter 3, p. 84)

Function

[1981] Mickey A. Palmer, The Architect’s Guide to Facility Programming, The American Institute of Architects, Washington D.C.
“Scheduling is an essential element in any planning effort, from organizing the tasks of programming to projecting the sequence and duration of activities for design and construction of a facility.”
“Scheduling is a means of determining the appropriate use of time and resources to accomplish a goal and the various activities involved in pursuing the goal.
A schedule includes a list of activities or tasks, time estimates for each and their sum, and a sequence of performance.” (Chapter 4, p. 115)

Features

[1981] Mickey A. Palmer, The Architect’s Guide to Facility Programming, The American Institute of Architects, Washington D.C.
"The three principal components of a schedule [are] :
- Individual activity or task elements required to achieve an objective or series of objectives
- Time estimates for each element and their sum
- A sequence of performance of activities or tasks that results in achievement of the objectives."
(Chapter 4, p. 117)

Stages

[1981] Mickey A. Palmer, The Architect’s Guide to Facility Programming, The American Institute of Architects, Washington D.C.
"The basic procedure for developing a schedule might include the following steps:
- Identify goals
- Identify the individual, independent activities or tasks necessary to achieve goals
- Assign responsibilities for performance of activities
- For each appropriate activity, determine the types of resources needed for performance and appropriate quantities
- Estimate the amount of time necessary to accomplish each activity or task
- Determine an appropriate sequence of activities based on those that can be
performed independently and those dependent on the results of others
- Determine the duration of each activity
- Identify critical events or dates
- Organize a calendar schedule based on activity durations, critical dates and functional sequence."
(Chapter 4, p. 117)

Requirements

[1992] Howard Barnett, Operations Management. Macmillan, London
“We cannot manage effectively unless we know when jobs can be expected to start and finish, and this requires a schedule. We also need to know which job should be done in the time period being considered.”
"The work being processed is needed to allow other jobs to meet a predetermined deadline further down the line, and if good control is not exercised on the jobs at the beginning of the entire process, then the knock-on effect of late jobs can be quite severe. If a department has an expensive resource (whether people or equipment) it makes good economic sense to try to make the most effective use of that resource, and careful timetabling helps here."
"Effective scheduling will also help to keep idle time as low as possible." (Chapter 12, pp. 250-251)

Techniques

[1992] Howard Barnett, Operations Management. Macmillan, London
Critical Path Analysis : “The most common name for project management techniques is Critical Path Analysis (CPA); other names in current use are Networking or Pert.
Pert (Project Evaluation and Review Technique) ... differs principally from CPA in that it uses probabilities for estimating likelihood of on time completion of a project.” (p. 262)
“Critical Path Analysis identifies those tasks which run sequentially through a project, producing the overall longest route and therefore the duration of the project.” (p. 263)
Gantt Chart : “The [Gantt] chart provides an easy visual picture of the separate tasks required to complete a job, showing the start and finish of each task. The layout of the chart also shows the relationship between the start and finish of each task. The chart can also be easily updated by indicating the proportion of completion at the time of review.”
(Chapter 12, p. 250)

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