Lesson 3 Overview

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Planning and scheduling are essential processes in project management that transform an idea into actionable steps, ensuring a project’s success from start to finish. After defining the project scope, tasks are organized by setting start and end dates, allocating resources, identifying dependencies, and sequencing activities appropriately. Scheduling is a key component of the project management plan, providing a road map for efficient task completion within time and budget constraints. The initial schedule serves as the baseline, though modifications are expected as tasks and project scope evolve. By providing structure, scheduling enables effective resource management, risk mitigation, and informed decision-making throughout the project life cycle.

Lesson Objectives

By the time you successfully complete this lesson, the readings, and the assignments, you should be able to

• outline the components of a schedule management plan,
• recognize commonly used project scheduling tools and their applications,
• develop a project schedule,
• explain what is meant by a schedule baseline, and
• avoid planning and scheduling pitfalls.

Lesson Readings and Activities

By the end of this lesson, make sure you have completed the readings and activities found in the Lesson 3 Course Schedule.