Recently there was a post on a discussion board asking what 12 to 15 critical skills are needed to be an effective Scheduler/Planner and how someone should approach the acquisition of these skills.

Surprisingly, many of the comments highlighted computer skills and software knowledge in the top 3.  While those are always useful skills to have, I wouldn’t consider these to be ‘critical’ skills for a Scheduler/Planner role. It is more important for a good Scheduler/Planner to have a solid understanding of the theory of developing a schedule and have the ability to connect it to a computer modeling simulation tool.

To expand on this point, the Scheduler/Planner should be able to translate what happens on the job into mathematical relationships that can be quantified, evaluated and measured.  If they cannot do this, and are relying on strong computer skills and software knowledge, they will not be successful.

Learning a new software application such as Microsoft Project, is typically acquired during 1 or 2 weeks of a training course where as learning how to model the actual job in the given software and then interpret the results takes many other skills such as:

1. Practice and experience
2. Communication skills
3. Effective active listening
4. Asking questions (and knowing what questions to ask)
5. An understanding of the project environment
6. An understanding of the organizational culture
7. The theory of float and how to use it
8. The building in of and managing contingency
9. An understanding of critical chain and how to apply it
10. How to track progress
11. How to measure earned value
12. An understanding of project management

When accessing a candidate’s suitability for a Scheduler/Planner position, testing on the above skills will provide a better assessment of how well they will perform on the job as opposed to testing their software knowledge and computer skills.

As for approaching the acquisition of these skills, it is always good to get an accurate assessment of where you’re currently stand with the critical skills, conduct a gap analysis between where you are and where you need to be and then use the results to determine what areas of focus will provide you the greatest return on investment.  In additional to this approach, I’ve always found it beneficial to find a mentor in the field that you are looking to move into and work with this person to help prepare you for your future career.

Do you agree that the skills specified here are more important for the Scheduler/Planner role than software knowledge and computer skills?  I’d love to hear your thoughts either way!