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Integrated Master Schedule

The Driving and Critical Paths to Schedule Delivery

The Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) – also called “The Schedule” – is the culmination of detailed planning. The schedule models the entire project scope broken down into key phases, tasks, and milestones. If the Integrated Master Plan (IMP) is the roadmap, then the IMS is the zoomed out, street-level view of the detailed work required to deliver on big events, deliverables, and the ultimate project finish milestone.

By setting interim waypoints and credible timelines, the schedule becomes the predictive indicator for the project team, leadership, and the customer. We understand how we will get there and when we will likely arrive.

Challenging road conditions. The complex project schedules our clients depend on typically contain hundreds, thousands, and even tens of thousands of tasks. To manage this, anything less than a robust scheduling system almost guarantees missing important schedule targets.

Bottom line: A less than rigorously built schedule is a show-stopper to successful project execution.

Our Experts

3 Key Factors for a Magnificent Integrated Master Schedule

Build

Model your Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) from Project Start to Project Completion.

List the key tasks required to model the entire project.
Logically link or sequence the tasks to establish the time-phasing.
Set realistic task durations.
Integrate your Statement of Work (SOW).
Allocate and level task resources.
Manage Driving and Critical Paths.
Snap the baseline.

Assess

Regularly update schedule status, analyze performance and compliance metrics — and control baseline changes.

Update progress (actual starts and finishes, % complete).
Revise forecasts (forecast starts and finishes).
Assess schedule health and fitness.
Dial in authorized baseline changes.

Perform

Use your schedule as the tool to provide realistic progress and to forecast (predict) the project trajectory.

Determine if tasks are late to the baseline.
Assess negative Total Float (Total Slack) to project deadlines and deliverables.
Analyze Driving and Critical Paths and mitigate issues.
Identify and actively work the bow wave tasks (those stacking up when delayed, pushed to the right).
Identify and dial in Risks and Opportunities (via risk mitigation and opportunity capture tasks).
Conduct Schedule Risk Assessments (SRA) to estimate the likelihood of hitting schedule targets.
Develop workarounds and recovery plans for schedule slippage.

Schedule Assurance

“We feel strongly that AzTech is the only resource that not only aligns culturally and strategically with our efforts but has the technical wherewithal to provide Schedule Assurance support.”

Why AzTech

For over 30 years, we have helped some of the top defense and energy contractors with their schedule needs. We have helped government agencies manage large IT projects and schedule analytics for schedule compliance, surveillance, and performance. We detail your project into a comprehensive, bottom-up Integrated Master Schedule (IMS).