Truly Understanding Schedule Metrics

Are you being seduced by meaningless beautiful graphics?

Scheduling metrics are the flavor of the month.  But just as we find in Monte Carlo schedule Risk analysis many practitioners engage in the exercise of running schedule metrics without truly understanding the significance or implications of the output.  This is understandable, especially since some of the output has no significance, meaning, or value.   Or as Shakespeare wrote eons ago…

“it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

For instance, take a look at the Deltek Acumen Fuse Merge Hotspot.  What does this metric tell us about our schedule?  It highlights activities in the schedule that have a high number of predecessor tasks.   Figure one would be an example of a Merge Hotspot.

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