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What are the keys to choosing the correct level for my project?

You must tell BigWave what level you need to run your project.  If you have a simple task to accomplish for each site in the project, then the “Work Order” level may be the best choice.  If you have a few important milestones to track for each project then the “Activity” level may be the best choice (as in the example above).  If you have sub-milestones to track for each major milestone, then the “Task” level may be the best choice.  Most projects are run on the “Activity” level.

If you are unsure which level to choose, the best method is to start with the highest level “Work Order” and see if that gives sufficient enough detail to meet the demands of the project.  If more milestones need to be tracked, then move down a level and see if that will fit.  You may change your level as the project is worked, so if you start with “Activity”, and halfway through the project you need to use “Tasks”, then you have the flexibility to change on the fly.

Most people are familiar with the phrase “work breakdown structure” (WBS) and understand that project plans are fundamentally defined by these.  Each item in a WBS is systematically worked until the project is completed and the overall objective accomplished.

WBS’s may be very detailed depending upon the needs of the project.  The more detailed the WBS (lots of steps and levels) means more work for the project team keeping the project plan up-to-date.  Large and detailed WBS’s are the norm for most projects, but large and detailed WBS’s for multi-site projects are next to impossible to keep current and relevant.

BigWave aids execution of multi-site projects by keeping the WBS applied to each site as simple as required to get the job done.  BigWave discourages over-engineering and over-thinking the problem enabling you to create a simple and clean WBS that is ultimately applied to each site in the project.  Typically only important milestones are tracked.

BigWave offers three “levels” to track these milestones and each successive level offers the ability to track more detail.  They are Work Order, Activity, and Task.  Work Orders are containers for Activities which are containers for Tasks.

BigWave has always had these levels, but previous versions required the user to maintain all dates across all levels.  SimpleSchedule™ eliminates the chore of entering these dates by calculating dates for the parent levels from the level you are working.

For example, if the level you are scheduling at is Activity, and your WBS for each site looks like the following…

The Work Order level dates adjust to the dates entered for each of the Activities (Check in, Install, Day after support, Sign off) as seen below.

In this example, we have chosen Activity to be the level we wish to enter dates for.  Notice the parent levels become read-only and schedule data for each milestone need only be entered in a single field.

SimpleSchedule™provides an easy means to enter and monitor scheduling data across many sites at the same time.  Here are some highlights of this exciting functionality that is now part of BigWave.

·         Less data entry.  Dates of parent schedule items now auto-calculate based upon the dates of their component parts.

·         A new health meter color codes the project schedule for easy analysis of important dates.

·         A new project dashboard keeps you on top of the important issues of the day.

·         The new import/export scheduling process is easier to use and provides even more feedback on changes to the schedule from external sources.

·         Schedule dates may be recalculated as many times as needed based upon changes to the lead times and durations in the templates.