1 Introduction

Construction project scheduling has evolved into a powerful and complex management tool. The level
of expertise for schedulers has risen considerably; however, the level of understanding of managers and
executives who supervise them has lagged. As a result, the proper use of scheduling language and an
appreciation of the importance and complexity of the scheduling process have decayed. In order to bridge
the
growing divide, this report emphasizes the key management aspects of scheduling. Accordingly, the
intended
audience is an executive or manager who needs to know why scheduling benefits project management and
how schedules are produced and used. The topics encompass the basics of scheduling with specific
emphasis
on language, the inputs to the process, and the outputs. The first section defines scheduling and
establishes
its utility, describing what we want a schedule to do. Appropriately, there is information that must be
provided
to the process, inputs such as activities, logic, and resources. Because the growth of computer-aided
scheduling, the process is largely hidden within the black box of scheduling software. However, to gain an
appropriate appreciation for what the software do, this discussion explains and illustrates the basics of the
process, calculating starts, finishes, and floats, leveling resources, and creating commodity curves. The
resulting outputs and a general understanding of their implications are subsequently discussed.

1.1 Planning and Scheduling

Planning establishes what, how, where and in what order work will be performed, while scheduling
sets forth who and when. Construction planning is the development of a feasible operational design for
completing the work. The process involves the selection of work sequence and methods, and provides
information for the scheduling process. Scheduling determines the timing and specific sequence of tasks
necessary to carry out the plan. The schedule is a result of the planning process and reflects the selected
plan.
Therefore, an inability to schedule stems from a reluctance or incapacity to plan.