COVID-19 and project schedules: Key things to keep in mind

Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, the unthinkable happened: I tested positive for COVID-19. 

Being young, healthy and having taken all of the necessary precautions to not get the coronavirus, I was surprised to say the least. 

At first, it felt like nothing more than allergies: I had a weird cough and a tickle in my throat. The next morning I worked out (at F3), but began feeling unusually tired. Despite the mild symptoms, I decided to get tested before my flight home to Houston and ended up spending the next two weeks quarantined in our unfurnished New Orleans apartment: no family, no turkey, and definitely no fun. 

While I’m feeling better now, my personal experience with coronavirus has taught me that this could happen to anyone and it’s important to plan project schedules with this specific risk in mind. 

Here are key things to consider:

Demographic of employees

For me and the people I know that have gotten the coronavirus, we’re in the age group where we’re not at risk for severe infection. Being under 40 with no underlying conditions and a healthy lifestyle, we’re recovering at home within a week. The amount of float added to a project is going to be much less than it would be if my team were predominantly older. The older a person is, the greater the risk for severe infection from COVID-19, so the amount of float added to a project would need to be greater. 

Risk appetite

How much risk is your company willing to take? How much risk are you as the project manager willing to take? If you’re at a Fortune 500 company, the appetite for risk is going to be much less than if you were at a start-up. Take this into consideration when planning for COVID-19 in your project schedule. If a threat were to materialize, would you have been expected to play it safe or keep the train moving fast and take the chance?

The amount of uncertainty

If you were planning a project schedule at the beginning of the pandemic, there were so many unknowns. How long would the pandemic last? Would we ever get a vaccine? How many people would get sick? Back then, you could have been justified in adding months upon months of float as a cushion. 

However, despite being in the midst of a winter surge, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel and there is less uncertainty around COVID-19: we have vaccines that work, healthcare workers are getting better at treating the virus, and businesses are learning how to avoid disruptions. 

This may be controversial, but I think it’s okay to start reducing or eliminating the amount of float added to projects now that much of the uncertainty has lifted. Had we been at the start of the pandemic, the increased uncertainty would have called for more float.

At the end of the day, planning project schedules around COVID-19 will vary greatly depending on your industry, your company, your project management style, and your team. But the above considerations can help you shape a custom plan that works for your unique situation. 

How has the pandemic shaped your approach to scheduling? Is it working out so far? Tell me in the comments below or tweet @theomarproject on Twitter.