To illustrate some of the differences between Chronolog and
other scheduling tools, here's an example of what a project manager
might do to schedule a new task:
A client requests a few changes to a recently released product. The project
manager discusses the changes with a technology manager and
establishes a time estimate of 12 hours to complete the work.
The project manager views the Capacity of Individual Users report, selecting
all the developers on the team.
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The report shows that in two weeks, one of the developers has two tasks
and a meeting scheduled, for a total of 17 hours, with
13 hours free (that particular developer is on a 4-day
schedule with 30 available hours per week, leaving two
hours for unscheduled admin time).
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The project manager schedules the 12 hour task for that entire week,
and tells the client it will be finished by the end of that
week. The developer now has three tasks scheduled for that week, nearly
totaling the developer's available time.
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As the developer works on the first task, it starts to take longer than
expected, so the developer switches gears to the second task
and finishes that one relatively quickly. The next day, the
developer makes a fresh start on the first task and overcomes
the previous day's obstacle. At the same time, the developer
starts planning the third task.
The project manager checks in at mid-week to make sure the developer
is on target with all three tasks. Although the developer
has been jumping around and spending a little more or less
time than expected on each of the tasks, the developer's
work for the week is on target overall. The project manager
is satisfied and doesn't need to make any schedule adjustments.
By the end of the developer's workweek, all three tasks are completed.
The first two took 18 hours, and the third one took 10 hours, so the time
estimates weren't exactly right. However, the developer's
schedule was flexible enough to absorb the variances,
and all the work was completed on time.
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