From the course: Project Management Foundations: Schedules

Adjust the level of work over time - Microsoft Project Tutorial

From the course: Project Management Foundations: Schedules

Adjust the level of work over time

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- [Instructor] Adjusting work over time can help you even out workloads and improve your schedule's accuracy. When you first assign people to activities, the typical model is that work runs at the person's full allocation from start to finish. But work levels can vary in several ways over the duration of an assignment. You've probably experienced a work contour like a bell curve. Work starts off slow as someone gathers the info they need and gets used to their assignment. Then they hit their stride and they're completely productive through the middle of the work. Finally, the effort tapers off near the finish while they tie up loose ends. Another common contour is the late peak. This is the one for people who work well on adrenaline. The work starts slow and continues to build to a peak as the deadline grows closer. These are a couple examples of work contours. Some scheduling programs have contours you can apply to activities. If someone's work hours vary day by day, find the contour that best reflects those varying work levels and assign it to the activity. If you're unfamiliar with the type of project you're working on, ask other project managers or your team members which contours make sense. Not every activity needs a work contour. You'll get better at deciding whether to use one and how to choose as you gain more experience. A contour does increase the length of an activity because the person doesn't work 100% from start to finish. For instance, a task might go from five days to eight days with a contour applied. However, the less than full-time allocations mean that the person can ramp up on one activity while they ramp down on another. Contouring work helps even out workloads without lengthening the overall schedule too much. The added advantage of work contours is they provide a better picture of how work really gets done.

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