Activity Attributes
Define schedule activities by detailing their exact dependencies, expected effort, constraints, and resource requirements.
§1 Purpose of Activity Attributes
While the schedule baseline provides the visual timeline, Activity Attributes are the underlying data layer that validates every node in the schedule network.
A simple list of tasks is insufficient for rigorous project control. For a schedule to be reliable, every discrete activity must be fully defined with its precursors, successors, required resources, imposed constraints, and assumptions. This document ensures that when the Project Manager estimates an activity will take "5 days," there is a documented justification for exactly who is doing the work and what materials they require to succeed.
§2 Blank Template
A standardised framework consisting of a high-level summary table, followed by detailed profiles for each activity.
ACTIVITY ATTRIBUTES
Summary Table
| ID | Activity | WBS | Owner | Effort (hrs) | Duration (days) | Predecessors | Critical? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [A001] | [Activity Name] | [#.#.#] | [Name] | [Hrs] | [Days] | [ID] | [Yes/No] |
Detailed Entry Profile
| Predecessor | Relationship | Lead/Lag | Successor | Relationship | Lead/Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [ID] | [e.g. Finish-to-Start (FS)] | [Days] | [ID] | [e.g. Finish-to-Start (FS)] | [Days] |
§3 Worked Example: Mary's Consulting
A completed example demonstrating the relationship between the high-level activity list and the detailed constraints governing individual tasks.
This example showcases the master schedule data for a website implementation project. Notice how the detailed cards capture exact logical relationships (like Finish-to-Start dependencies) and the assumptions under which the effort estimates were made.
ACTIVITY ATTRIBUTES – SUMMARY
Summary table for all activities. Detailed attribute entries follow for representative activities.
| ID | Activity | WBS | Owner | Effort (hrs) | Duration (days) | Predecessors | Critical? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A001 | Develop Project Charter | 1.1.1 | Andrew (PM) | 20 | 5 | Yes | |
| A002 | Identify Stakeholders | 1.1.1 | Andrew (PM) | 16 | 3 | A001 | Yes |
| A003 | Develop Subsidiary Plans | 1.1.2 | Andrew (PM) | 60 | 12 | A002 | Yes |
| A004 | Establish Baselines | 1.1.2 | Andrew (PM) | 20 | 5 | A003 | Yes |
| A005 | Project Closeout | 1.1.4 | Andrew (PM) | 40 | 8 | A045 | Yes |
| A006 | Conduct Requirements Interviews | 1.2.1 | Andrew (PM) | 30 | 5 | A004 | Yes |
| A007 | Run Requirements Focus Groups | 1.2.1 | Andrew (PM) | 16 | 3 | A006 | |
| A008 | Distribute Consultant Questionnaire | 1.2.1 | Christine | 12 | 7 | A006 | Yes |
| A009 | Document Requirements & RTM | 1.2.2 | Andrew (PM) | 40 | 5 | A007, A008 | Yes |
| A010 | Develop Information Architecture | 1.2.3 | Bill (UX) | 50 | 7 | A009 | Yes |
| A011 | Develop Visual / Brand Design | 1.2.4 | Bill (UX) | 120 | 15 | A010 | Yes |
| A012 | Sponsor Design Review & Approval | 1.2.5 | Mary (Sponsor) | 8 | 3 | A011 | Yes |
| A013 | Develop Content Strategy | 1.3.1 | Christine | 30 | 4 | A009 | |
| A014 | Write Marketing Page Copy | 1.3.2 | Christine | 100 | 18 | A013 | |
| A015 | Produce Case Studies | 1.3.3 | Christine | 80 | 20 | A013 | |
| A016 | Collect Consultant Bios | 1.3.4 | Christine | 60 | 25 | A013 | |
| A017 | Write Blog Seed Content | 1.3.5 | Christine | 40 | 10 | A013 | |
| A018 | Source / License Imagery | 1.3.6 | Bill (UX) | 40 | 8 | A012 | |
| A019 | Draft Legal Pages | 1.3.7 | Andrew (PM) | 16 | 4 | A013 | |
| A020 | Marketing & Legal Content Review | 1.3.2 | Andrew (PM) | 24 | 5 | A014, A015, A016, A017, A018, A019 | |
| A021 | Set Up Dev / Staging / Prod Environments | 1.4.1 | Bob (Dev) | 40 | 5 | A012 | Yes |
| A022 | Configure CMS | 1.4.2 | Bob (Dev) | 60 | 7 | A021 | Yes |
| A023 | Build Component Library | 1.4.3 | Bob (Dev) | 80 | 12 | A022 | Yes |
| A024 | Build Page Templates | 1.4.3 | Bob (Dev) | 100 | 15 | A023 | Yes |
| A025 | Develop Backend APIs | 1.4.4 | Bob (Dev) | 120 | 12 | A022 | |
| A026 | Implement CRM Integration | 1.4.5 | Bob (Dev) | 60 | 8 | A025 | |
| A027 | Configure Search & Analytics | 1.4.6 | Bob (Dev) | 40 | 5 | A024 | Yes |
| A028 | Develop Test Plan | 1.5.1 | Andrew (PM) | 20 | 3 | A009 | |
| A029 | Execute Functional Tests | 1.5.2 | Bob (Dev) | 60 | 8 | A024, A026, A027, A028 | Yes |
| A030 | Execute Performance Tests | 1.5.3 | Bob (Dev) | 30 | 4 | A029 | Yes |
| A031 | Conduct Accessibility Audit | 1.5.4 | Bill (UX) | 40 | 5 | A024 | |
| A032 | Resolve Defects | 1.5.6 | Bob (Dev) | 60 | 8 | A029, A030, A031 | Yes |
| A033 | Conduct UAT | 1.5.5 | Andrew (PM) | 40 | 5 | A032 | Yes |
| A034 | Final UAT Sign-off | 1.5.5 | Mary (Sponsor) | 8 | 2 | A033 | Yes |
| A035 | Develop Launch Communications Plan | 1.6.1 | Christine | 16 | 3 | A012 | |
| A036 | Migrate Content from Legacy Site | 1.6.2 | Christine | 40 | 5 | A020, A024 | |
| A037 | Pre-Launch Internal Communications | 1.6.1 | Christine | 8 | 2 | A034, A035 | Yes |
| A038 | Production Cutover (Go-Live) | 1.6.3 | Bob (Dev) | 16 | 1 | A036, A037 | Yes |
| A039 | Post-Launch Hypercare | 1.6.4 | Bob (Dev) | 60 | 10 | A038 | Yes |
| A040 | CMS Training for Marketing | 1.6.6 | Christine | 16 | 1 | A038 | |
| A045 | Operations Handoff | 1.6.5 | Andrew (PM) | 20 | 3 | A039, A040 | Yes |
Detailed Activity Profiles
| Predecessor | Relationship | Lead/Lag | Successor | Relationship | Lead/Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A007 | FS | 0 | A010 | FS | 0 |
| A008 | FS | 0 | A013 | FS | 0 |
| A028 | FS | 0 |
| Predecessor | Relationship | Lead/Lag | Successor | Relationship | Lead/Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A023 | FS | 0 | A027 | FS | 0 |
| A029 | FS | 0 | |||
| A031 | FS | 0 | |||
| A036 | FS | 0 |
| Predecessor | Relationship | Lead/Lag | Successor | Relationship | Lead/Lag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A036 | FS | 0 | A039 | FS | 0 |
| A037 | FS | 0 | A040 | FS | 0 |
Effort vs. Duration
Notice the distinction between effort and duration in the summary table. A009 takes 40 hours of effort, but is spread over 5 days of duration (an 8-hour daily burn rate). Confusing the two leads to severe resourcing errors.
Dependency Logic
The predecessor/successor tables use standard CPM logic like FS (Finish-to-Start). In A038, the DNS cutover cannot start until the legacy content migration (A036) finishes.
Critical Path Marking
The "Critical?" column explicitly marks the tasks that determine the project's end date. If A024 (Build Page Templates) slips by a single day, the entire November 24th Go-Live slips with it.