The level of detail contained in a schedule:

1. Nothing is achieved by planning to a greater level of detail than that required for control.
2. One cannot control to any greater level of detail than that to which you have planned.
3. Activities should be defined by the durations. The average duration of activity is between 2 and 12 days.
4. No Activity should be longer than 20 duration days.
5. No activity should be shorter than 1 duration day.

The following steps should be methodically followed:

1. Set-up Project
2. Set-up Work Breakdown Schedule (WBS)
3. Define Work in the quantifiable activities
4. Add Durations to each activity
5. Add Predecessors to each activity
6. Add Successors to each activity
7. Build Project Calendars for the Project (7 Day, 5Day w/holidays,5day w/weather & holidays, Asphalt)
8. Add applicable Calendars to each task.
9. Compress the project duration to meet contractional requirements.
10. Add cost resources to applicable tasks.
11. Reduce excess float of construction activities.
12. Remove redundancy within schedule logic.
13. Conduct final review of schedule from start to finish.
14. Create project schedule narrative
15. Review schedule logs for errors and makes corrections.
16. Run applicable reports

The courts have established rules for allowing the schedule to admissible evidence in a case. The basic requirements are:

1. The network diagram method must show the interrelationships of activities.
2. The project schedule must contain the design sequence, the procurement sequence, and the construction sequence.
3. The project schedule should have the planned weather anticipated each month, inspections and testing, owner furnished items, separate contracts negotiated by the owner, closeout procedures, and commissioning activities.
4. The schedule must be updated regularly to show the contract change order and all delays whether caused by the contractor, the owner, the subcontractors, or weather-caused delays.