What Is Schedule Data?

Schedule Data is the collection of information used to describe and control the project schedule — the supporting detail behind the Project Schedule document. In PMBOK 8, Schedule Data includes the activity list, activity attributes, network diagrams, schedule milestones, resource histograms, alternative schedules (optimistic, pessimistic, most likely), and schedule contingency reserves. It is the raw material from which the schedule model is built and the evidence that justifies the schedule's dates and logic. While the Project Schedule presents the "what and when," Schedule Data explains the "why and how" behind every date.

What's Inside This Schedule Data Example

This Schedule Data example covers Project Phoenix — MCG's $72,250 website launch, March 17 to June 13, 2025. The workbook contains five tabs:

• Activity List: All 87 activities with ID, name, phase, duration (optimistic/most likely/pessimistic estimates using PERT), and activity attributes
• Network Logic: Predecessor/successor relationships for all 87 activities, including relationship type (FS, SS, FF, SF) and any leads or lags
• Resource Histogram: Weekly resource demand chart by role — showing the Week 5–6 peak (52 person-hours/week) and the steady-state average (38 person-hours/week)
• Float Analysis: Total float and free float for all activities, sorted from zero float (critical path) to highest float
• PERT Calculations: Three-point estimates and expected duration calculations for the 15 highest-uncertainty activities

How Alex Morgan Used This Schedule Data

The Schedule Data was Alex Morgan's primary analytical workspace for schedule management decisions. Two analyses from this document were consequential during execution:

• PERT analysis for content migration: The content migration activity was estimated using three-point PERT: optimistic 30h, most likely 40h, pessimistic 80h. The PERT expected duration was 43.3 hours — Alex used the most likely (40h) in the baseline but noted the pessimistic scenario in the schedule data. When the content audit revealed 180 pages (nearly the pessimistic scenario), the PERT data gave Alex the analytical context to frame CR-002 to Riley Park: "We're experiencing the pessimistic scenario I flagged during planning." That context made the change request easier to approve.
• Float analysis for CR-001 insertion: When the blog module was approved (CR-001), Alex used the float analysis to identify where to insert the 12-day development activity without extending the project end date. Three activity chains had sufficient float to absorb the new work by re-sequencing, not extending. The float analysis made that insertion precise rather than approximate.

The Resource Histogram was shared with MCG's IT manager at the Week 2 planning review, giving the manager a visual picture of resource demand across the project's duration. The Week 5–6 peak was identified and confirmed as manageable — preventing the resource crunch that typically surprises IT managers who only see individual resource requests, not aggregate demand.

Download and Customize

This Schedule Data example is available as a free download. Use it as a reference to build your own schedule data workbook, or start with the blank template and populate it for your project's activity network.

• Download the Schedule Data Template — PMBOK 8 (blank, ready to use)
• Read the article: Schedule Data in PMBOK 8 — Guide and Best Practices

Schedule Data Example: Key Takeaways

Schedule Data is the analytical infrastructure that enables fast, accurate responses to schedule disruptions. When CR-001 needed to be inserted without extending the project, Alex could answer the question "can we absorb this?" in 30 minutes because the float analysis was already built. When the content migration risk triggered, the PERT analysis was already in the workbook, providing instant analytical context for the sponsor conversation. Schedule Data does not prevent disruptions, but it dramatically compresses the time required to analyze and respond to them — and in project management, response speed is often the difference between a managed change and a crisis.

Want to go deeper? The PMBOK Guide 8th Edition is the definitive reference for modern project management. Get your copy and use it alongside these examples to build a solid, practical understanding of every performance domain.