Department of Homeland Security’s Scheduling Handbook

DHS’s Program Management Center of Excellence developed the Scheduling Handbook to describe (1) scheduling best practices DHS and other agencies use; (2) scheduling techniques and tools for creating reliable schedules; and (3) how the creation and maintenance of schedules coincide with DHS’s acquisition framework, including acquisition decision events.48 The handbook contains a scorecard for evaluators to ensure that the IMS meets the four characteristics of a reliable schedule: comprehensive, well-constructed, credible, and controlled. DHS’s Program Accountability and Risk Management (PARM) office reviews the scorecard before an acquisition decision event. In addition to reviewing the IMS, PARM also reviews the schedule narrative, baseline schedule document, the WBS, and other necessary documentation.

Best practices defined in the handbook are designed to align with the ten best practices described in GAO’s Schedule Assessment Guide. We found no substantive differences between them.

  1. Scheduling Handbook, August 29, 2014.↩︎