Schedule Quality Analyser

Check the programme before you trust its dates

Every planner receives schedules they do not trust. Open ends, negative lag, hard constraints, activities dragged into place rather than linked. The DCMA 14-point assessment catches all of it, mechanically. Paste your export in, read the scorecard.

See the 14 checks
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What it found in the sample schedule

The workbook ships loaded with a 40-activity sample that deliberately fails. This is the scorecard it produces the moment you open it.

40 activities, 51 relationships

A schedule that looks perfectly reasonable as a Gantt chart, and is structurally unusable.

Example schedule, data date 2026-03-31, 40 activities and 51 relationships
3 pass10 fail1 not run
DCMA 14-point schedule quality scorecard for the sample programme
#CheckCountResultThresholdVerdict
1Logic (open ends)410.0%≤ 5%FAIL
2Leads (negative lag)330FAIL
3Lags611.8%≤ 5%FAIL
4Relationship types (FS)4690.2%≥ 90%PASS
5Hard constraints37.5%≤ 5%FAIL
6High float410.0%≤ 5%FAIL
7Negative float220FAIL
8High duration37.5%≤ 5%FAIL
9Invalid dates13130FAIL
10Resources512.5%≤ 5%FAIL
11Missed tasks25.0%≤ 5%PASS
12Critical path testn/an/amanualNOT RUN
13CPLIn/a1.00≥ 0.95PASS
14BEI00.0%≥ 0.95FAIL
Checks failed
10
Checks passed
3
Not assessed
1
Open ends
10%
Four activities with no predecessor or successor, three negative lags, two activities already in negative float, and five carrying duration with no cost against them. None of that is visible on a Gantt chart. All of it is visible in ten seconds here.

The 14 checks

DCMA thresholds by default, and every one of them adjustable on the Settings sheet if your client works to different tolerances.

# Check Threshold Why it matters
1 Logic <5% open ends Activities missing a predecessor or successor. The schedule cannot calculate properly without complete logic.
2 Leads (negative lag) zero Negative lag hides logic and corrupts the critical path. There is never a good reason for it.
3 Lags <5% A lag is usually a missing activity in disguise. Model the work instead of padding the link.
4 Relationship types >90% FS Finish-to-Start should dominate. Heavy SS/FF use is usually overlapping guesswork.
5 Hard constraints <5% Constraints override logic. The schedule stops being a network and becomes a wish.
6 High float <5% over 44d Excess float almost always means missing successors, not genuine slack.
7 Negative float zero Negative float means the schedule is already impossible as drawn.
8 High duration <5% over 44d Long activities hide progress. If it runs over two months, break it down.
9 Invalid dates zero Actuals in the future or forecasts in the past mean the update was not done properly.
10 Resources <5% Activities with duration but no cost or resource cannot be earned against.
11 Missed tasks <5% Activities finishing later than baseline. The rate of slippage matters more than the count.
12 Critical path test manual Add 600 days to a critical activity and confirm the finish date moves by the same amount.
13 CPLI ≥0.95 Critical Path Length Index. Below 0.95, the finish date is not realistically achievable.
14 BEI ≥0.95 Baseline Execution Index. Tasks actually finished against those that should have been.

Who buys this

Client-side planners

  • Assessing contractor submissions
  • Programme acceptance gates
  • Evidence for rejection

Contractors

  • Self-check before submitting
  • Avoid rejection and rework
  • Subcontractor programme review

PMO & assurance

  • Consistent quality bar across projects
  • Gate review evidence
  • Portfolio schedule health

Claims & disputes

  • Demonstrate a programme was unsound
  • Baseline credibility
  • Documented, repeatable method

Pricing

Schedule Quality Analyser

£149
One-time purchase
  • All 14 DCMA checks
  • Per-activity findings drill-down
  • Adjustable thresholds
  • 2,000 activity capacity
  • Free updates

Complete suite

£1,399
Everything, one price
  • PROJECT CONTROL CENTER
  • Forecast Engine
  • All eight industry packs
  • Schedule Quality Analyser
  • Progress Measurement System
  • NEC4 Programme Compliance Tracker
  • Disruption & Productivity Loss Register
  • Carbon & PAS 2080 Tracker
  • Priority updates

Forecast Engine

£299
Sold separately
  • Monte Carlo P50 / P80 / P90
  • Earned Schedule forecasting
  • Cash flow & peak funding
  • Eight industry packs available
See the Engine

Questions

Two tables. Activities: ID, name, type, original and remaining duration, start, finish, baseline finish, total float, constraint type, actual start and finish, % complete and budgeted cost. Relationships: predecessor, successor, type and lag. Paste each into its sheet and the scorecard fills itself in.
The checks that need it report NO DATA rather than passing. A check that could not run must never look like a check that passed. That is how bad schedules get signed off.
Yes. The analysis works off the exported columns, not the source tool. Anything that can export activities and relationships to Excel will work.
Two thousand activities and two thousand relationships as shipped. For larger programmes, extend the formula ranges or run the analysis one WBS branch at a time.
The critical path test requires deliberately corrupting a copy of the schedule and recalculating it in P6, which no spreadsheet can do for you. The tool records your result so the scorecard is complete.
No, and this matters. It means the schedule is built correctly. The logic can still be wrong, the durations optimistic and the sequence unbuildable. This checks construction, not judgement.

Stop signing off schedules you have not checked

Fourteen checks. Ten seconds. One paste.