THE ORDO7 BLOG
Schedule health, explained without the jargon.
Practical writing for the people who own construction schedules — no PSP certification required.
FEATURED
DCMA & compliance
How to Fix Negative Float in Primavera P6 (Before It Fixes Your Finish Date for You)
Negative float in P6 means your schedule can't hit its finish date as currently logic-driven. Here's why it shows up, how to find it, and how to fix it.
SCHEDULE NETWORK
16 posts · live logic map
MORE FROM THE BLOG
FOUNDER LOG
I Shipped a Version of Ordo7 That Needs Zero Signup
A new, completely free way to check a schedule's health — no account, no card, nothing stored. Here's why I built it and exactly where the free line sits.
FOUNDER LOG
A Lead Is a Lie Your Schedule's Logic Is Telling You
The second of DCMA's 14 checks flags something schedulers use without naming: an activity starting before its predecessor is done. Why DCMA wants leads at zero.
FOUNDER LOG
Manufacturing's Capital Boom, Seen From the Inside
Data centers and manufacturing plants are surging — the project controls function meant to run them hasn't scaled to match. A firsthand look.
FOUNDER LOG
Improving Baseline Accuracy 17%, One Portfolio at a Time
On a $1M–$25M energy project portfolio, disciplined schedule logic and milestone placement improved baseline accuracy by 17%. Here's what that actually took.
DCMA
Your Schedule Says This Can't Start Yet. The Field Already Did It Anyway.
Out-of-sequence progress means an activity started before its Finish-to-Start predecessor finished. Why it happens in P6, how it skews float, and how to fix it.
DCMA
What Is a Schedule Health Score? (And Why One Number Actually Helps)
A schedule health score is a 0-100 number from real DCMA-style checks on your P6 or MS Project file. What it measures, dimension by dimension.
DCMA
An Open End Won't Slow Down. It'll Just Stop Reporting.
An open end in a P6 schedule is an activity with no predecessor or successor. Here's why it breaks float and the critical path, and how to find and fix it.
DCMA
The DCMA 14-Point Check, Explained Without the Jargon
The DCMA 14-point check, explained: all 14 official metrics, real thresholds, and which ones Ordo7 automates today, sourced from DCMA's own standard.
FOUNDER LOG
Why Ordo7 Will Never Fabricate a Metric It Can't Compute
Self-reported and objectively measured schedule quality are different things. Why Ordo7 only shows numbers it can back up, marking the rest unavailable.
FOUNDER LOG
An Activity With No Predecessor Isn't a Schedule, It's a Guess
The first of DCMA's 14 checks is the simplest: every activity needs something driving it and something depending on it. Why that rule catches so much.
FOUNDER LOG
In Utility Work, a Missed Schedule Isn't Just Late. It's a Safety Problem.
Compliance-driven maintenance schedules don't get extensions. A water utility program where enforcing schedule discipline cut safety incidents by 9%.
FOUNDER LOG
Eight Years in Project Controls Taught Me One Thing Keeps Breaking
PMP-certified, deep in P6 and EVM, across $100M+ in portfolios and five industries. Powerful tools, never built for the person running the schedule.
FOUNDER LOG
No Big Team. No Funding Round. Just the Work, in Public.
Building in public isn't a growth tactic here — it's the only way I know how to build something honest. Why the Founder Log exists and what it means.
FOUNDER LOG
There Aren't Enough Project Controls Analysts. Everyone Feels It.
A capital-projects boom is outpacing the supply of trained project controls talent — the gap gets absorbed by whoever's already on the project. Usually the PM.
FOR OWNERS
The Non-Scheduler's Survival Guide: 5 Red Flags to Check Before You Accept a Contractor's Baseline
You don't need a PSP certification to catch a bad baseline. 5 things to check in a contractor's schedule before you sign off — and why each matters.