Time Plan
A time and action plan enables you to plan your project according to your time allowance. It ensures that you know where you should be up to at what stage and gives you achievable steps to work towards. It is an essential tool when completing such large major projects. Time and action plans must have the following essential features:
- Key- Always include a colour coded key in your time plan/. One colour cell should be dedicated to your planned time (what you plan at the start of the project) and a different colour dedicated to the actual time spent on that action.
- Extensive actions- You must look closely at your WHOLE project and break it into smaller actions rather than project and portfolio.
- Formatting- Your time plan must be formatted so it is clearly legible and can be understood clearly. Use borders on cells, spacing, font and colour to format your time plan appropriately.
- Evaluation- All time and action plans must include an evaluation. How did you actually manage your time over the project compared to what you had intended? Where could you improve? Did some actions take longer than expected?
The Time plan
Planning your HSC Major Project is no different to the goal setting and planning carried out in industry. Time planning is necessary to ensure the progress of a project progresses smoothly and is completed by a due date. The timeline for your Industrial Technology Major Project is guided by the assessment and reporting schedule established by NSW Board of Studies for the Higher school Certificate. Your time plan should start at the beginning of your HSC year, generally this is early in Term 4 in Year 11 and it should be used constantly as you work on your major project to help you stay on track.
Thorough planning means you need to know what processes, activities and operations need to be carried out to complete the project. This will vary according to the Focus Area you are studying, but will include such things as:
– research
– design sketching
– documentation
– evaluation
– construction/production
– etc.
Each activity or process will need an estimation of time taken to successfully complete the project.
Time plans need to be flexible. Initially, the time available to you to complete your major project might be judged to be your class time plus some of your weekend time. However, the actual time available to you will decrease depending on holidays, exam periods, sports carnivals, absences and some of your home commitments. These variations need to be taken into account when constructing your proposed time plan. A good way to develop a time plan is with a tool called a Gantt Chart. (A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that show a projects schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of a project.)
As you work through your project you will be able to indicate how long each activity actually took to complete. The actual time plan can be documented against your proposed time plan. As you near the end of your project you should evaluate your time plan by explaining the reasons for the differences between the actual and proposed plans.
Planning your HSC Major Project is no different to the goal setting and planning carried out in industry. Time planning is necessary to ensure the progress of a project progresses smoothly and is completed by a due date. The timeline for your Industrial Technology Major Project is guided by the assessment and reporting schedule established by NSW Board of Studies for the Higher school Certificate. Your time plan should start at the beginning of your HSC year, generally this is early in Term 4 in Year 11 and it should be used constantly as you work on your major project to help you stay on track.
Thorough planning means you need to know what processes, activities and operations need to be carried out to complete the project. This will vary according to the Focus Area you are studying, but will include such things as:
– research
– design sketching
– documentation
– evaluation
– construction/production
– etc.
Each activity or process will need an estimation of time taken to successfully complete the project.
Time plans need to be flexible. Initially, the time available to you to complete your major project might be judged to be your class time plus some of your weekend time. However, the actual time available to you will decrease depending on holidays, exam periods, sports carnivals, absences and some of your home commitments. These variations need to be taken into account when constructing your proposed time plan. A good way to develop a time plan is with a tool called a Gantt Chart. (A Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that show a projects schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of a project.)
As you work through your project you will be able to indicate how long each activity actually took to complete. The actual time plan can be documented against your proposed time plan. As you near the end of your project you should evaluate your time plan by explaining the reasons for the differences between the actual and proposed plans.
Gantt Chart
A Gantt Chart is a visual display which uses horizontal lines to indicate the amount of work to be done to complete the portfolio and practical tasks and the time allocated to complete each task. A Gantt Chart is used to help organise time and keep on track with all required tasks and complete them by a due date.
You should also have one or more evaluations (ongoing and time stamped) to reflect on your management of time.
Activity:
In your portfolio, create your own Proposed Gantt Chart similar to the examples below. You must create a copy of your Proposed Gantt Chart before filling it out so that you can show your actual time taken on your Actual Gantt Chart
You should also have one or more evaluations (ongoing and time stamped) to reflect on your management of time.
- Where are you at now in terms of your major project development? Explain challenges faced up to this point and how you overcame them.
- What do you intend to achieve in the next 6 weeks?
- What measures will you take to ensure you achieve these goals?
Activity:
In your portfolio, create your own Proposed Gantt Chart similar to the examples below. You must create a copy of your Proposed Gantt Chart before filling it out so that you can show your actual time taken on your Actual Gantt Chart
Evaluation of Time Plan and Time Management
Some questions you could ask yourself when doing an evaluation of your time plan include:
– Have you completed all set goals on time?
– If not, why not?
– What do you need to do to stay on time and complete your project as planned?
– Have you completed all set goals on time?
– If not, why not?
– What do you need to do to stay on time and complete your project as planned?
Proposed Finance Plan & Actual Finance Plan
The successful completion of your Major Project will mean you have to spend some money. But how much? This will depend on the Focus Area you are studying, your budget and your access to other ‘funds’.
A Finance Plan will help you to manage your expenditure by listing everything you need to spend money on and knowing approximately how much each item will cost.
You should set a budget. Your budget is how much you can afford to spend to produce your Project. To keep costs down you could consider using recycling materials, hiring or borrowing equipment, making props, etc. You should acknowledge the source of your funds. For example, your budget may be made up from income from a part time job or a loan/gift from parents. Some materials or resources you may have already had or may have been given to you so no money was spent on these – ensure this is documented in your plan by a $0 in the amount spent section.
How do you know the cost of items needed? You should not just guess how much something will cost. You are expected to research the costs. This will give you a good indication of what you can expect to spend.
Remember to include the cost of folders, printer ink, printer, phone calls, internet access and dial up charges, transport fares, graphic art supplies, paper, mounting board, software, rendering materials, delivery charges and so on. You will need to show estimated costs and actual expenditure. Try to explain any differences. An evaluation of your finance plan at the completion of your project should analyse how you did or did not stay within your budget.For example, you may have had to rehire equipment because you didn't get the footage you needed, causing you to go over your budget. Therefore, your Finance Plan cannot be devised without considering all aspects of your planning from research and design to time planning and construction.
Create a table that includes items specific to your project. Include an evaluation of your management of time and finances with each table.
A Finance Plan will help you to manage your expenditure by listing everything you need to spend money on and knowing approximately how much each item will cost.
You should set a budget. Your budget is how much you can afford to spend to produce your Project. To keep costs down you could consider using recycling materials, hiring or borrowing equipment, making props, etc. You should acknowledge the source of your funds. For example, your budget may be made up from income from a part time job or a loan/gift from parents. Some materials or resources you may have already had or may have been given to you so no money was spent on these – ensure this is documented in your plan by a $0 in the amount spent section.
How do you know the cost of items needed? You should not just guess how much something will cost. You are expected to research the costs. This will give you a good indication of what you can expect to spend.
Remember to include the cost of folders, printer ink, printer, phone calls, internet access and dial up charges, transport fares, graphic art supplies, paper, mounting board, software, rendering materials, delivery charges and so on. You will need to show estimated costs and actual expenditure. Try to explain any differences. An evaluation of your finance plan at the completion of your project should analyse how you did or did not stay within your budget.For example, you may have had to rehire equipment because you didn't get the footage you needed, causing you to go over your budget. Therefore, your Finance Plan cannot be devised without considering all aspects of your planning from research and design to time planning and construction.
Create a table that includes items specific to your project. Include an evaluation of your management of time and finances with each table.