This recommended practice (RP) characterizes management summary schedules, describing their intended use, and identifies considerations for development and updating these summary schedules. It also addresses roles and responsibilities relating to, and considerations in, communicating management summary schedules to ensure these schedules are used as effective planning, scheduling, and control tools in projects. This RP for management summary schedules is intended to be a guideline, not a standard.

A project controls plan describes “specific processes, procedures, tools and systems that guide and support effective project control”. The project controls plan prepared for the project should be relied upon as a reference for specifications and requirements of management summary schedules. The project controls plan should characterize the management summary schedule; and specify its structure, content, update and communication requirements, and roles and responsibilities of project participants. (The term project as used in this RP may be used interchangeably with project, program, or portfolio.)