HKSM
Rolling Wave Planning
A progressive, iterative planning approach where near-term work is broken down and scheduled in detail, while activities further in the future remain at a higher-level outline until they get closer to execution.
Key Points
- Detail what will be done soon; keep distant work at a high-level until more is known.
- Embodies progressive elaboration of scope, schedule, and estimates as information improves.
- Uses regular planning checkpoints to expand future work packages into detailed tasks.
- Balances uncertainty by preserving an overall roadmap while refining details just in time.
Example
On a 12-month facilities upgrade, the team fully decomposes and schedules the first two months of demolition and cabling. Later phases like commissioning and handover stay as high-level work packages with rough estimates. Each month, the next "wave" of work is elaborated in detail and added to the schedule and WBS.
PMP Example Question
A project manager creates a detailed task breakdown and estimates for the next eight weeks, while leaving work planned for later quarters as high-level packages with rough order of magnitude estimates. What technique is being used?
- Rolling wave planning
- Parametric estimating
- Crashing
- Scope validation
Correct Answer: A — Rolling wave planning
Explanation: The scenario describes planning near-term work in detail and keeping future work at a higher level until it is closer, which is the essence of rolling wave planning.
