Project planning
is part of project management, which relates to the
use of schedules such as Gantt charts to plan and subsequently
report progress within the project environment.[1]
Initially, the project
scope is defined and the appropriate methods for completing
the project are determined. Following this step, the
durations for the various tasks necessary to complete
the work are listed and grouped into a work breakdown
structure. The logical dependencies between tasks are
defined using an activity network diagram that enables
identification of the critical path. Float or slack
time in the schedule can be calculated using project
management software[2]. Then the necessary resources
can be estimated and costs for each activity can be
allocated to each resource, giving the total project
cost. At this stage, the project plan may be optimized
to achieve the appropriate balance between resource
usage and project duration to comply with the project
objectives. Once established and agreed, the plan becomes
what is known as the baseline. Progress will be measured
against the baseline throughout the life of the project.
Analyzing progress compared to the baseline is known
as earned value management.[3]