According to the PMBOK® Guide, the Plan Schedule Management process is the first process in the Project Schedule Management knowledge area. It establishes policies, procedures, and documentation for planning, developing, managing, executing, and controlling the project schedule.
Expert Judgment: This involves individuals or groups with specialized knowledge or training in schedule development, management, and control. This expertise is used to decide which scheduling methodology to use (e.g., critical path or agile) and how to combine various tools and techniques.
Analytical Techniques: These are used to provide a strategic basis for the schedule. They may include choosing among various options such as:
Scheduling methodology.
Scheduling tools and techniques.
Estimating approaches (e.g., PERT, analogous).
Formats for the schedule (e.g., Gantt charts, milestone charts).
Meetings: Project teams hold planning meetings to develop the Schedule Management Plan. Attendees may include the project manager, the project sponsor, selected team members, and any stakeholders with responsibility for schedule planning or execution.
Why the other options are incorrect:
A. Benchmarking, expert judgment, and analytical techniques: While expert judgment and analytical techniques are correct, benchmarking is primarily a tool used in Plan Quality Management or Collect Requirements to compare planned or actual practices to those of comparable organizations.
B. Statistical sampling, benchmarking, and meetings: Statistical sampling is a specific tool used in Control Quality to inspect a portion of a population for inspection. It is not used in high-level schedule planning.
C. Negotiations, pre-assignment, and multi-criteria decision analysis: These are tools and techniques used in the Acquire Resources process. They focus on obtaining the human and physical resources needed for the project, rather than defining the schedule management methodology.
