Step 4: Activity Listing
All the activities required to achieve the project scope must be defined. There should be an adequate number of activities to accurately plan and model the project's full scope of works.
Level of Detail
- Consider the type of schedule being developed — is it a high-level summary schedule or a detailed hour-by-hour maintenance schedule?
- Consider the unit of measurement: hours, days, weeks, or months.
- Consider the overall project duration and the duration units.
- Does the contract or specification nominate maximum task durations for activities?
- The level of detail within a schedule should be consistent with the level of discussion needed to understand and deliver the works.
Too few activities
Not detailed enough to forecast deliverables accurately. Makes it difficult to define critical paths, track progress, and identify delays and their causes.
Too many activities
Becomes difficult to manage and may be ignored. Excessive activities clutter the program, add no value to logic or float values, and place unnecessary demand on planning resources.
In most cases, programs should contain a consistent level of detail for each phase of works.
Activity Naming Conventions
Activity descriptions should contain verbs, nouns, and area descriptions so that the activity can be easily identified.
✓ Good: Install structural steel level 2 to 3 — clear verb, noun, and location.
✗ Poor: SS L2/3 — abbreviation with no context.
Intelligent Activity Naming
For a multi-level building project, a repetitive task name like Slab formwork does not clearly describe the location. A better approach:
South Tower — Level 2 (North) Slab Formwork
- Building identification: South Tower
- Level: Level 2
- Location: North
Grouping & Continuity Rules
- Avoid bundling dissimilar works — "Pour Concrete Level 2 Slab" is correct, whereas "Pour Concrete Level 2 Slab and Lay Pavers Ground Floor" is not, as it contains two unconnected works in one activity.
- Consider continuity of work. If the scope defined by an activity may be executed during separate time intervals, consider splitting it into multiple activities.
- Summary/Hammock/Level-of-Effort (LOE) activities should only be used as summary activities and should not be used to represent work associated with a physical product or deliverable.