Hammock activity explained

A hammock activity (also hammock task) is a schedule or project planning term for a grouping of tasks that "hang" between two end dates it is tied to.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

A hammock activity can group tasks that are not related in the hierarchical sense of a Work Breakdown Structure, or are not related in a logical sense of a task dependency, where one task must wait for another.^[5]

Usage includes:

• Group dissimilar activities that lead to an overall capability, such as preparations under a summary label, e.g. "vacation preparation";
• Group unrelated items for the purpose of a summary such as a calendar-based reporting period, e.g. "First-quarter plans";
• Group ongoing or overhead activities that run the length of an effort, e.g. "project management".

The duration of the hammock activity (the size of the hammock) may also be set by the subtasks within it, so that the abstract grouping has a start date of the earliest of any of the subtasks and the finish date is the latest of any of the contents.

A hammock activity is regarded as a form of Summary activity^[6] that is similar to a Level of Effort (LOE) activity.^{[7] [8]} Use of hammock activities is also a way to simplify the difficulties of performing Work Breakdown Structure decomposition to low levels.^[9] Also, hammock tasks can represent any group of tasks in the Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) regardless of their physical location or parent Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) element.^[10]

External links

• Create a hammock task (Bonnie Biafore)
• Wideman Comparative Glossary of Project Management Terms

Notes and References

1. Web site: COST ENGINEERING TERMINOLOGY, AACE® International Recommended Practice No. 10S-90. 10 June 2014.
2. Web site: A Glossary of Project Management Terms.
3. Web site: How to Build a Hammock Task.
4. Web site: Project Management Knowledge Summary. 10 June 2014.
5. Web site: Project Management Questions - Hammock Activity. 27 Apr 2016.
6. Book: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide). registration. Project Management Institute. 4th. 2009. 450. 978-1933890517.
7. Web site: "Level of Effort" in Primavera P6. 10 June 2014.
8. Web site: Level of Effort Activity - Primavera P6 step by step tutorial. 10 June 2014.
9. Book: Kerzner , Harold . Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. 10th. Wiley. March 2009. 978-0470278703.
10. Web site: Planning & Scheduling References Book. Manazanera. Ignacio. 2013. 120. 5 May 2017.