Activity Codes

In addition to having descriptive names, activities within the schedule must be consistent with key documents and other information through activity or task codes. Activities should be consistent with such information as the related WBS element, contractor, location, phase, contract line item number (CLIN), work package number, control account, and SOW paragraph as applicable.10 Consistent coding can help ensure the vertical integration of the summary and detailed work schedules. These data should be stored in custom fields rather than appended to activity names.

It is also helpful to include references to the organizational breakdown structure (OBS). The OBS reflects the responsible organization of the project and describes the hierarchy that will provide resources to perform the work identified in the WBS. If work is delayed by an issue within an organization, OBS codes within the schedule allow planners to quickly identify the activities that are affected. In addition, every activity should be identified with an activity owner. The activity owner is the person responsible for understanding the scope of work and objectives, defining the entrance and exit criteria, providing the schedule updates to the scheduler, and understanding any variances that might occur.

Each activity should be associated with a unique alpha-numeric code that allows it to be immediately identified, particularly in a complex schedule with many embedded projects. This unique code should preserve the hierarchical relationship between the activity and its parent elements. For example, the activity “Software Unit 1A test” could be mapped to the code “ADZT125” to represent the Alpha project (A), development phase (D), Zeta prime contractor (Z), testing activity (T), and activity ID number (125).

Other commonly used codes that are mapped to schedule activities, either placed in separate columns or embedded in a unique identifier, identify the responsible owner of the activity and the related integrated product team (IPT). Codes such as phase, department, area, system, and step also greatly facilitate the filtering and organization of schedule data for reporting, metric analysis, and auditing purposes. LOE activities should be identified as such in the schedule, and government and contractor efforts should be clearly delineated. Any custom text fields or coding scheme within the schedule should be defined in the schedule basis document. Case study 4 shows how activities in a detailed schedule can be quickly sorted, filtered, or categorized by means of codes.

Case Study 4: Successfully Coding Detailed Work, from VA Construction, GAO-10-189
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) required by contract that the schedule for the expansion of the medical centers in Cleveland, Ohio, include approximately 2,500 activities in order to sufficiently detail the level of work required. The actual schedule contained 2,725 activities—approximately 75 detail activities per milestone. Each activity was mapped to an activity identification number, building area, and work trade, which allowed the scheduler to quickly filter the schedule by type of work or subcontractor. Additionally, the VA Office of Construction and Facilities Management reviewed the schedule for completeness to ensure that all necessary activities and milestones were included.
GAO, VA Construction: VA Is Working to Improve Initial Project Cost Estimates, but Should Analyze Cost and Schedule Risks, GAO-10-189 (Washington, D.C.: December 14, 2009).

  1. In addition, some agencies, particularly DOD, may choose to align the IMS to an integrated master plan (IMP). The IMP is an event-based plan that allows the tracking of accomplishments for each event, as well as completion criteria for each accomplishment. The IMS flows directly from the IMP and includes the detailed activities necessary to support the criteria. The IMS is traceable to all IMP events, accomplishments, and criteria. When used, the IMP is typically contractually binding.↩︎