Schedule Updating and Project Control - Construction Project Scheduling and Control - page 160

changes in the logic, cost, and resources required and allocated at any activity level”
(p. 566).
Tip Box 7.1
Why is updating schedules a must? The answer is simple: because construction
projects never run exactly as planned!
What Is the Data Date?
The data date is the date on which all progress on a project is reported. It is also called
the as-of date ,the cut-off date ,andthe status date .Itis not the “current date” or
the “time now,” because the word current or now moves with time and is not tied to
a specific time or date. For instance, the latest data date may be Friday, 19 FEB 2014.
This means that the update contains all work completed up to and including that day.
The report may not reach the scheduler until Monday, 22 FEB 2014, or later, and the
scheduler may not actually update the schedule until a day or so after that. Thus, it
would be wrong to call the data date the current date or the time now . The data date
is similar to the closing date on your checking account or credit card statement. By
the time you receive the statement, several days have passed, and the statement reflects
the account activities as of that date. However, that date is not “current” or “now.”
Tip Box 7.2
The data date reflects the end of the reporting period. It is not “time now” or the
“current date” because these two terms represent moving, not fixed, dates.
What Kind of Information Is Needed for Updating Schedules?
Any new information that was not known for the previous update and relates to the
schedule must be recorded on and implemented in the schedule. This information
falls into two main categories:
1. Past information: What has happened since the last update? Past information
includes the following:
a. Activities that have started and the actual start date, percent complete, and
remaining duration of each
b. Activities that are complete and the actual completion date of each
c. Ongoing activities and their new percent complete and remaining durations
d. The actual budget spending or resource consumption for each activity