Time Dynamics...

Stylised image of a deep Gantt chart

Our product "Chronograph" delivers coordinated time planning, time tracking, and task assignment by agreement, for engineers and scientists everywhere or anywhere on earth Every user sees all times and dates of others on the project around the world translated into their own local times and datas, for complete and accurate synchronisation of everything. .

With the ability to use the disciplines and deadlines (typical of CPM Critical Path Method (CPM) is a formal, mathematical approach to scheduling and optimising project timelines, in 1957 revolutionising how industries managed complex projects. DuPont needed a systematic way to plan plant maintenance and construction projects, where delays in key tasks could hold up the entire project. CPM was designed to identify the longest sequence of dependent tasks (the critical path) that determines the project’s minimum completion time and to identify float, helping managers see which tasks can be delayed without affecting the final deadline. CPM was developed by James E. Kelley Jr. of Remington Rand and Morgan R. Walker of DuPont and first used in 1957.
(Click on photos for "The origins of Critical Path Method.") ) mixed with the freedom and flexibility (typical of Agile Agile project management prioritises adaptability, collaboration, and customer value over rigid planning - reshaping how software and many industries manage projects. It was developed in 2001 as a response to rigid, project management methods like CPM, which cannot easily handle tasks where duration cannot easily be determined and where new discoveries can easily disrupt the project plan and lead to unclear and evolving customer requirements. The software industry needed faster, more adaptive approaches. In February 2001, the group met at a ski resort in Utah and drafted the Manifesto for Agile Software Development, which emphasized:
  • Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
  • Working software over comprehensive documentation
  • Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
  • Responding to change over following a plan (Click on photo for more "agile" history.) ) on a task by task basis and with unlimited depth to the task hierarchies, Chronograph helps humans from concept to completion.

Whether any task's priority is time, cost, quality or value Time Dynamics handles mixed priorities with ease.

From simple time sheets, to organisation wide aims, programs and interdependent projects, Chronograph accommodates Human Factors The concept of 'Human Factors' arose from the recognition that machines and systems must be designed around human strengths and weaknesses, not just technical requirements, a lesson made dramatically clear by WWII experience. Military equipment (like aircraft and radar) had become complex, and many failures were traced not to hardware malfunctions but to human errors that could be avoided by improvements in the human machine interface. The field expanded into aviation, space, healthcare, and consumer products and formally becoming known as human factors engineering. Psychologists, engineers, and physiologists were brought in to improve cockpit layouts, control systems, and interfaces to reduce pilot and operator errors. , understanding the important difference between people, facilities and resources!

Evolution of plans is to be expected particularly in research & development projects. Chronograph supports adaptation of plans to changing circumstances but within any fixed limits that may have been set, showing immediate time and cost implications.

Even after any project has started, tasks can be further broken down into even lower level tasks, as the understanding of a task is more clearly resolved.

Task hierarchies may be just a few tasks or can reflect the management structure of an entire organisation's goals, programs and projects, providing critical aggregated time and cost information, and with each user's access limited to the tasks relevant to them.

Time Dynamics can help you today to evolve your project management methodologies towards tomorrow.

...time is our business

Coordinated time planning and time tracking...

Because worked time and planned time can be shown together on the Gantt chart for each task, for each calendar column, reviews are made easy.

Chronograph requires an agreed plan between the assignor (often the manager) and the performer of a task before its execution so responsibilities become crystal clear. Any task's Status can be reviewed as required, but the Status only changes by agreement.

If there is any necessary re-planning it is likely to take minutes rather than hours. There are clear warnings of possible consequences or infringement of pre-set limits.

...with task assignment by agreement

Evolving plans are to be expected...

In research and development projects, new sub-tasks may emerge and tasks may take more or less time than expected. Yet this reality is often overlooked or badly handled. Chronograph plans adapt, rather than fall apart.

Assignment by agreement, supports thoughtful adaptation to changing circumstances, with well understood carefully contained consequences.

With Chronograph it is easy to switch pre-prepared contingency plans in or out of a larger plan, as required.

...in research & development projects

We learn...

Time Dynamics isn't drawn into fads and fashions in the project management world, but would rather learn from history carefully selecting real achievements like NASA's Apollo program The Apollo program’s project management (1960s–1970s) was one of the most complex management efforts in history and pioneered several key practices:
  • Systems management approach - NASA used systems engineering and systems management to coordinate thousands of contractors, subsystems, and components, ensuring all parts worked together smoothly.
  • Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) - NASA formally adopted WBS, breaking the enormous program into hierarchical tasks, making it easier to assign responsibilities, track progress, and manage costs.
  • Configuration management - With constant design changes, NASA set up formal configuration control processes to document, approve, and communicate changes across all teams.
  • Integrated schedules and milestones - Project plans included critical milestones, master schedules, and interlinked contractor timelines, all tracked centrally.
  • Earned Value Management (EVM) - NASA used early forms of EVM to measure cost and schedule performance against planned objectives, detecting problems early.
  • Risk management - Apollo teams systematically identified technical and programmatic risks and developed mitigation plans (e.g., redundancy, parallel development).
  • Strong centralized oversight - NASA’s program office had clear authority over major contractors and subsystems, with disciplined reporting, regular reviews, and decisive leadership.
(Click on image to enlarge) , Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson is the Albert Einstein of aerospace design. Johnson's aircraft programs were so groundbreaking and historically influential, that he and Lockheed's Skunk Works are forever enshrined in humanity's technology hall of fame. Kelly Johnson, the father of today's Skunk Works, is sometimes cited as the originator of the "keep it simple stupid" (KISS) principle, and his famed "down-to-brass-tacks" management style was summed up by his motto: "Be quick, be quiet, and be on time." Click here to see Kelly Johnson's had 14 Management Rules.
(Click on image to enlarge) , or the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) was first introduced in 1987 by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University. It was developed under the leadership of Watts Humphrey to help the U.S. Department of Defense evaluate and improve the software development processes of its contractors. The original CMM provided a structured, five-level framework to assess how mature an organization’s software development processes were:
  1. Initial (chaotic, ad hoc)
  2. Repeatable (basic project management)
  3. Defined (standard, documented processes)
  4. Managed (measured and controlled)
  5. Optimizing (continuous improvement) Click here to see more on the CMM. Below NASA Space Shuttle General Purpose Computer (GPC) IBM AP-101S, 1991 used for the Space Shuttle software development program.

Most of the lessons learned are still applicable today.

...from the best

From simple time sheets...

Choose the tools to suit you. In its very simplest mode of operation you use only Time Tracker viewing your data through Chronograph's Time Line page and Time Chart page for typical time sheets, but you can do far more than this...

...through small multi-level multi-person projects with time tracking and time planning...

Chronograph gives you the numbers like nothing else will, combining past time tracking with future planning, visible for every task in the task hierarchy, from any one person to the whole organisation with the ability to copy any task with its sub-tasks to form a new plan or become a component in a new plan.

Below are four simple Chronograph Deep Gantt Chart windows, combined in one image, each window giving a different view of the same project; the first window for the project manager and then one window for each of the people working for them on the project. Of course a project might have hundreds of people in multiple departments across the organisation each with their own view. The manager can also allow people to view the whole project so as to see clearly how their work and the work of others fits in.

...to organisation wide aims, programs and interdependent projects

Today we are importing and testing Chronograph on the thousands of tasks and thousands of dependencies of NASA's Moon to Mars Architecture. It is the way we embrace challenge.

Clip of photo NASA

We are still looking for more details on the projects related to the Moon to Mars Architecture and program. So this chart is still just a rough start simply because there is a lot of detailed information we just don't have.

  CHART BELOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION  

  CHART ABOVE UNDER CONSTRUCTION  

Combine the discipline and deadlines of CPM...

Chronograph is the trusted tool you need to go from concept to completion, to dynamically adjust low level plans on the fly, while not disrupting higher level plans when you do it.

Chronograph's Task Tree allows you to fit your task structures to your organisation's structure so that at every level the use of time is clearly appreciated, managed and understood. Projects can be coordinated or independent, sharing people, facilities and resources.

Chronograph supports a new paradigm in time management, combining the discipline and also the freedom people need to smoothly bring concepts into reality.

...with the freedom and flexibility of Agile.