In periodic project progress reporting, the client's project manager always wants to see the tracking of variance of the tasks in the schedule. This is to monitor the progress and to identify early indicator for problems.
Before we can show the variances, first we need to set the schedule baseline. The schedule baseline is the agreed benchmark between the client and the vendor. Usually, the first baseline is set upon completion of the project kick-off meeting.
After the detailed system study, there may be additional tasks to be included or some of the tasks may be moved under other summary task. Under this situation, a new schedule is needed. Therefore, a change request is needed to propose a new project schedule. The change request must have a supplementary information to show the variances.
We need to take a few things into consideration while we are preparing for the change request:
- The changes in terms of total duration of the project as the major impact to the schedule.
- The changes in terms of total duration by the major milestones.
If delay is involved, then for each change, we have to show the separation of the responsibilities between the client and the vendor. This is especially critical when penalty is one of the focus.
For example, the System Study task is delayed by 20 calendar days. Between these 20 days, 10 days are due to unavailability of the vendor's system analyst. Therefore, that is the vendor's respobility. Then for the other 10 days are due to the clarification activities after the analyst found some issues that are not mentioned during the initial proposal. So, the following is a simple workout:
System Study. Total Delay is 20 calendar days.
- Vendor's delay (not equitable delay) is 10 calendar days.
- Client's delay (equitable delay) is 10 calendar days.
I have created an Ms Excel file containing the separation of variances. I have also included the Ms. Project file containing the baseline and the current schedule in the
zip file. Please feel free to comment or share with me how you handle this situation :)
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