The beginning of the 20th century saw companies and organisations increase their investments in project management. The investments were aimed at ensuring objectives were met. Despite increased investments in project management processes, still not much was achieved by most companies since they still experienced wastage of resources and further delays in delivery of projects.

These delays and wastage pushed experts in the field of project management to device ways on how companies could reduce wastage and time delivery. After a long and intensive research, software expert came up with the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) application. Its main target was to help project managers undertake easy monitoring and evaluation of projects hence ensuring an end to end result from the projects.

Moreover it was aimed at ensuring there was data flaw within the relevant departments.In order to ensure projects are operating within the needed scope, ERP breaks down the project planning and scheduling process into five major flawing schedules. These schedules are aimed at ensuring easy coordination, proper utilisation of resources and reduced time in project delivery. The five major components include:

Project character This basically outlines and segments the various business rationales which drive the projects. Moreover, it helps in defining the values which the company or organisation aims to achieve from the project.

Scope statement Defines the boundaries of the project and in most cases it is always derived from the company charter. The statement of scope of any project under the ERP is always under the guidance of two components. These components include the Strategic Business Accomplishment (SBA) and the Measurable Success Factors (MSF). The SBA is majorly aimed at addressing the operational and administrative targets of the project.

Budget and schedule It is important to allocate time and cost for every component within the project. This helps in ensuring that milestones and deliverable are achieved without much struggle. Organisation structure and human capital Any project within an organisation must have a clear organisation structure and enough human resource. Having a clear organisation structure helps in defining lines of communication, responsibility and authorities within the project process. More so having the required work force in each and every department provides room for smooth running of the project and eliminates finger pointing and misuse of funds.

Subsidiary plans In order to manage any project, ERP recommends the importance of breaking down the project into mini sub project which are further broken down into individual tasks, budget. This helps the project manager in easy management of the project and it ensures timely delivery of the project.

Importance of project planning and scheduling It is the desire of every organisation to achieve its deliverable and targets within any given project. One of the ways of ensuring that is achieved is through project planning and scheduling. It is worth to note that project planning and scheduling is of great importance to any organisation.

Planning and scheduling helps an organisation in cost minimisation within any project. Through this process, it is easier for an organisation to allocate the required resource within a specific area of the project hence minimizing the risk of misappropriation of funds. With companies and individuals working under deadlines, project planning and scheduling ensures that specific tasks within the projects are completed on time hence in a bigger picture it helps in eliminating time wastage by employees.

When working on any project, the project managers always works with a team. In most cases teams are involved in planning and implementation of the project components as such having a project plan and schedule helps in promoting team work within the organisation and this goes a long way in enhancing cohesiveness and unity of purpose within the team. Delivering specific components on time may be a challenging task for those working on a project, as such it requires an extra step for the team working on the same to achieve its target.

Through planning and scheduling, it allows for innovation and invention within the team so as to be able to achieve specific tasks within time. When working on a project there are unforeseen aspects of risks in terms of financial and even planning. Having such unforeseen risks in most cases may drag the project and this can be eliminated through planning and scheduling. In most cases it always assists the project manager and team leaders to easily identify gaps within the project which may subject the project to unforeseen risks. The tendency of employees lazing around is always eliminated through the planning and scheduling process since it allocates specific task s to specific individuals hence pushing everyone to work towards achieving his/her set target.

Practical areas for project planning and scheduling Any business project within an organisation requires planning and scheduling. However there are specific projects which cant operate without planning and scheduling .One of the projects which require planning and scheduling is the area of marketing and advertisement. While marketing and advertisement is an essential aspect when it comes to growing the company, the same may be an expensive affair to the company.

To ensure the company is achieving its target, it s important for the project manager to have a plan and schedule of operation. This will enable him/her to minimise the cost while achieving the set goals of increasing the sales. Moreover planning will enable him/her to identify gaps within the project and as such he/she will be able to fill them and ensure the project is on course. Furthermore medical research project need planning and scheduling.

In most scientific researches, the project managers are always working on a strict timeline. Having a plan and schedule always helps the project manager achieve his/her target within a specified time at the same time eliminating any milestone within the project. Construction industry is another specific area where project planning and scheduling is required. In most cases construction project managers are faced with time limits from their clients as such they are always under pressure to deliver projects while ensuring reduced costs and risks. Hence having a plan and schedule is an aspect that the project manager cant neglect.

Conclusion Project planning and scheduling is an important aspect in as far as project management is concerned. Having the ERP application system has made it easier for project managers when it comes to planning and ensuring timely delivery of project. To this extend It is important for project managers to understand how to set the application so as to suite their scenario.