Steps in Creating a Schedule
There are nine steps in creating a schedule. The first step is the task list followed by creating a
WBS and then identifying milestones. The fourth step is assigning responsible people which
means knowing your team and what skills they are best at. Developing network diagrams is the
fifth step which is putting all the milestones and tasks into boxes where appropriate to better
show how things will get done in what order. The sixth step is to estimate task effort which is
what it sounds like; guessing the amount of time for each task. The seventh step; estimate task
duration and assign dates is a little similar yet different because you are now putting it on a
calendar. The eight and ninth step are reviewing and controlling the schedule. Where the team
reviews it and then you basically get it stay on schedule.
Task effort and task duration use a similar method however task effort is done beforehand and is
used to estimate the amount of time each task might take and to account for optimistic, most
likely and pessimistic estimates. Task duration is putting all this into a calendar yourself and
referencing it to everyone’s schedules to make sure you can get things done on time.
Milestones are used on top of task activities because tasks are broken down to detail but the
milestones are given as a run down to summarize important events.
“A Gantt chart gives you a visual way of understanding the relationships and dependencies of the
tasks by using bars.”
