Next, the students prepared a work plan for the project.
One of the most important tasks to be accomplished to ensure the success of a Field Study is to prepare a work plan – laying out the tasks to be performed against the time allotted for conducting the work.
The tasks required for most Field Studies are relatively straightforward, and may be thought of as five separate, but sometimes overlapping phases:
- Phase One – Planning the Project
- Phase Two – Data Collection
- Phase Three – Analysis
- Phase Four – Report Writing
- Phase Five – Report Presentation
The tool used for project management in this Field Study was the Gantt Chart – a simple-to-understand technique easily mastered by the students. At the time, the Gantt Chart was the most widely used device for simple project planning and scheduling – using bars to symbolize time spent on or scheduled for a project. Project tasks are listed on the left axis (the Y-axis) and time is represented on the horizontal axis (the X-axis). The chart gives an overall view of the project steps – time to be spent on each phase of the project, work step descriptions and deadlines.
The team captain prepared the Gantt Chart as follows:
The project was broken down into five work steps;
Time was estimated for each work step;
Work steps were listed on the left side (Y-axis) in order of proper sequence and overlapping.
Lines were drawn horizontally to designate the work steps on the X-axis;
Diamond symbols represented deadlines or important milestone events as meetings or end of a work step.
The actual Gantt Chart for this project may be viewed by clicking on the link below.