PMBOK Schedule Management

Overview

The PMBOK Schedule Management skill supports the elaboration of documents for the Schedule Management knowledge area — establishing the policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, developing, managing, and controlling the project schedule. It covers schedule management plans, activity lists derived from WBS work packages, milestone lists, activity sequencing with precedence relationships (FS, FF, SS, SF with leads and lags), three-point duration estimates using PERT, schedule baselines with critical path identification, and schedule performance reports using Earned Value metrics (SPI, SV, EAC forecasting).

Getting Started

Upload your WBS or deliverables list to the workspace and activate the PMBOK Schedule Management skill. The agent will ask about the scheduling methodology (CPM, Critical Chain, Agile iterations, or hybrid), calendar constraints, and estimation technique preference. It then decomposes work packages into activities, sequences them, estimates durations, identifies the critical path, and produces the schedule baseline. For monitoring, provide current EV data to get a performance report with variance analysis and corrective action recommendations.

Example Conversation

Below is an example of a typical session building duration estimates and identifying the critical path for a construction project.

You: I need three-point duration estimates for our office renovation project. We have the activity list ready — 12 activities from demolition through final inspection. I want PERT estimates and the critical path identified. The activities and their predecessors are in schedule/activity_list.md.

Agent: I’ve read your activity list. I’ll produce three-point estimates using the PERT formula (O + 4M + P) / 6. For each activity, I need your best assessment of optimistic, most likely, and pessimistic durations. Do you want to provide these, or should I propose initial estimates based on typical office renovation benchmarks that you can then adjust?

You: Propose initial estimates and I’ll adjust. Standard 500 sqm office space, concrete structure, no structural changes.

Agent: Here are the proposed estimates. I’ve also sequenced the activities, calculated the critical path, and identified float for each activity. Key findings:

• Critical path: Demolition → Electrical Rough-In → HVAC Installation → Drywall → Painting → Flooring → Final Inspection — total 48.3 working days (PERT)
• Near-critical path: Plumbing Rough-In runs parallel with only 2.2 days of float
• Project PERT duration: 48.3 days with a standard deviation of 4.1 days
• At P90 confidence, the project would take approximately 53.6 days

The full estimate table, sequencing diagram, and critical path analysis are saved in output/schedule_estimates.md. Please review the optimistic/pessimistic ranges — I’ve noted two activities where the spread is unusually wide and may warrant further investigation.

Document Excerpt

Below is a representative excerpt from a PERT estimate table with critical path analysis drafted with the skill.

Duration Estimates & Critical Path — Excerpt

Project: Office Renovation — Building C, Floor 3 Methodology: CPM with PERT three-point estimates Calendar: 5-day work week, 8 hours/day

Duration Estimates

Critical Path

Critical path duration: 40.3 working days (PERT) Project standard deviation: 2.1 days P90 estimate: 40.3 + (1.28 × 2.1) = 43.0 working days

This excerpt is illustrative. Final content must reflect the specific project’s activities, durations, and sequencing logic.