Planning Approaches

📅 Schedule Management: Planning Approaches

Imagine you’re planning a road trip. You know your destination, but the roads might change, weather might shift, and your car might need repairs. Smart travelers plan for the known AND the unknown. That’s exactly what schedule planning approaches help us do in projects!

🌊 The Big Picture: Why Planning Approaches Matter

Think of building a project schedule like planning a year-long adventure. You can’t know everything upfront!

• Some things you know clearly (like where you’re starting)
• Some things will become clearer as you go (like which hotels to book)
• And you need calendars to track when you AND your resources can actually work

Let’s explore four powerful planning tools that make this journey smooth!

🌀 Rolling Wave Planning

What Is It?

Rolling Wave Planning is like planning your trip in chunks:

• Plan the next few weeks in great detail
• Plan the distant future in rough outlines
• As you get closer, add more details

🎯 Simple Example

Imagine planning a birthday party 6 months away:

As you get closer to month 3, THAT becomes your detailed plan!

💡 Why It Works

• Near future = crystal clear (you have good info)
• Far future = fuzzy (things will change anyway!)
• You update as time “rolls” forward

graph TD
    A["TODAY"] --> B["Week 1-2: Detailed Tasks"]
    B --> C["Month 1-2: Key Milestones"]
    C --> D["Month 3+: High-Level Goals"]
    D --> E["As Time Passes..."]
    E --> F["Update & Add Detail!"]

🔑 Key Takeaway

Don’t waste time planning what you can’t predict. Plan what you CAN see clearly, and update the rest as you learn more!

📈 Progressive Elaboration

What Is It?

Progressive Elaboration means your plans get richer and more detailed over time as you learn more about the project.

It’s like drawing a picture:

1. First, you sketch rough shapes
2. Then add outlines
3. Then add colors
4. Finally, add tiny details

🎯 Simple Example

Building a treehouse:

The plan grows as you learn!

💡 How It Differs from Rolling Wave

🔑 Key Takeaway

Your initial plan is a sketch. As you work, you add colors and details. That’s not failure—that’s SMART planning!

graph TD
    A["🎨 Rough Sketch"] --> B["📝 Add Outlines"]
    B --> C["🖌️ Add Colors"]
    C --> D["✨ Fine Details"]
    D --> E["🖼️ Complete Picture!"]

📆 Project Calendar

What Is It?

A Project Calendar shows when work CAN happen on your project. It defines:

• Working days vs. non-working days
• Holidays and company shutdowns
• Standard working hours

🎯 Simple Example

Your school calendar:

A project calendar works the same way—it tells everyone when the project “doors are open”!

💡 Why It Matters

Without a project calendar:

• Someone might schedule work on a holiday 😱
• You’d miscalculate how long tasks take
• Deadlines would be wrong

With a project calendar:

• Everyone knows “project hours”
• Schedule calculations are accurate
• No surprises about when work can happen

🔑 Key Takeaway

A project calendar is your project’s “store hours” sign. It tells everyone when the project is OPEN for business!

👥 Resource Calendar

What Is It?

A Resource Calendar shows when specific people, teams, or equipment are available to work.

It’s different from the project calendar because:

• Project Calendar = when the PROJECT can run
• Resource Calendar = when EACH RESOURCE can work

🎯 Simple Example

You’re planning a movie night with friends:

To find a time that works, you overlap all resource calendars!

💡 Real Project Example

🔑 Key Takeaway

Just because the project is “open” doesn’t mean everyone is available. Resource calendars track WHO can work WHEN!

graph TD
    A["📆 Project Calendar"] --> B{When can project run?}
    C["👤 Resource Calendar"] --> D{When can each person/thing work?}
    B --> E["🎯 OVERLAP = Actual Work Time"]
    D --> E

🧩 How They All Work Together

Think of planning a big family road trip:

All four approaches work together to create realistic, flexible schedules!

🎯 Quick Summary

🌟 Remember This!

Planning isn’t about predicting the future perfectly—it’s about being SMART about what you know NOW and staying flexible for what you’ll learn LATER!

These four approaches help you:

• ✅ Not waste time over-planning the unknown
• ✅ Build better plans as you learn
• ✅ Know when work CAN happen (project)
• ✅ Know when resources ARE available (people & things)

You’re now ready to plan like a pro! 🚀