Process 12 of 49

Develop Schedule

Analyzes activity sequences, durations, resources, and constraints to create the schedule model and the approved schedule baseline. This is where the plan finally gets real dates.

Process Group Planning Knowledge Area Project Schedule Management

Develop Schedule pulls together activities, their sequence, durations, and resource availability into a schedule model, then sets the schedule baseline. Critical path method reveals which activities drive the end date, while resource optimization and schedule compression (crashing, fast-tracking) reconcile the schedule with constraints.

Develop Schedule: key inputs and outputs
The key inputs feeding Develop Schedule and the deliverables it produces — full ITTOs are listed below.

It is iterative: the team adjusts assignments, leads and lags, and sequencing until the schedule is both realistic and acceptable. The critical path and total float become the levers the PM watches and manages for the rest of the project.

Common pitfalls. An over-optimistic baseline no one believes; ignoring resource constraints and producing an unachievable schedule; crashing or fast-tracking without accounting for the added cost and risk; and a baseline that is never re-validated as work proceeds.

Inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs

Inputs

  • Project management plan
  • Project documents
  • Agreements
  • Enterprise environmental factors
  • Organizational process assets

Tools & Techniques

  • Schedule network analysis
  • Critical path method
  • Resource optimization
  • Data analysis
  • Leads and lags
  • Schedule compression
  • Project management information system
  • Agile release planning

Outputs

  • Schedule baseline
  • Project schedule
  • Schedule data
  • Project calendars
  • Change requests
  • Project management plan updates
  • Project documents updates

How This Process Connects

Every process hands artifacts to other processes. Follow the flow of this one:

Where its inputs come from

Where its outputs go

More in Project Schedule Management

Plan Schedule ManagementProcess 8 · PlanningDefine ActivitiesProcess 9 · PlanningSequence ActivitiesProcess 10 · PlanningEstimate Activity DurationsProcess 11 · PlanningControl ScheduleProcess 41 · Monitoring and ControllingProject Schedule ManagementView the full Knowledge Area →

In the Domains & Principles View

The PMBOK® Guide frames this work through performance domains and principles:

Planning Performance DomainPerformance DomainMeasurement Performance DomainPerformance DomainTailor based on contextPrinciple

In the Eighth Edition

This process describes the framework as set out in the Sixth and Seventh Editions. The Eighth Edition reorganized it into 6 principles, 7 performance domains and 40 processes.

PMBOK 8 Crosswalkwhat changed, item by item

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