FCA - Objective Schedule Quality That Builds Trust In Your Plan

Every project lives or dies by confidence in the plan. Not optimism. Not noise. Confidence. FCA gives teams a straight answer on schedule quality - fast, objective, and backed by clear visuals that anyone on the job can understand.

Inside SMACT, FCA runs fundamental integrity checks and pairs them with a visual read of how your schedule is actually put together - structure, density, coding, and logic. The outcome is a shared baseline the whole team can rally around.

FSH Fundamental Check Analyser (FCA) dashboard

The problem - opinions masquerading as truth

Most schedule debates are really debates about facts. Is the plan coded well enough to support delivery decisions? Are relationships clean? Is the rolling wave sensible? Without an objective lens, meetings drift and trust erodes.

FCA replaces opinion with a consistent, repeatable check suite and a visual overview that makes composition obvious - the structure, activity mix, and coding completeness.

The shift - quality, context, and an executive readout

Quality checks alone are not enough. Context matters. FCA shows the composition of the plan - a sunburst over the WBS, activity type distribution, and a treetable of activity codes - then layers an AI executive summary from SMACTai to explain what it means for leaders.

  • Visual context: Sunburst, distribution, and coding density make the structure and complexity of the schedule clear.
  • Checks that matter: Forecasts, relationships, durations, float, and other fundamentals are verified consistently.
  • SMACTai summary: A structured, decision ready executive summary that connects composition and check results.

What leadership actually sees

Leaders want a clear story. SMACTai provides a concise summary of schedule complexity, overall health versus density, and the checks that matter most - ready to share. It is consistent, traceable, and built to support decisions.

"FCA: objective schedule quality in minutes - transparent, data rich, and powered by SMACTai."

Inputs and activation

Upload a schedule file and get to value fast - no desktop installs needed.

  • Inputs: .xer, .mpp, .xml - read directly inside SMACT, no native P6 or MS Project required.
  • Typical steps: Upload, select fundamental checks, review the overview dashboard, review flagged checks, open the AI executive summary, then export findings for action or governance.

Use cases - where FCA pays off

  1. Kickoff quality baseline: Establish an objective quality bar before detailed planning accelerates - align team expectations early.
  2. Assurance and governance packs: Export findings and owner actions in a form PMO and assurance leads can track.
  3. Leadership clarity: Share the SMACTai executive summary so decisions tie to facts, not screenshots.
  4. Continuous improvement: Track outcomes like analyses run, issues flagged and resolved, and re-tests completed to prove progress over time.

Objections you might hear

"We already spot check in spreadsheets."

Manual checks are inconsistent and slow. FCA is objective, repeatable, and covers more rules in less time.

"Our planner knows the quality already."

FCA provides an auditable baseline so conversations move from opinion to shared facts.

"Quality rules differ across teams."

Start with fundamentals, then layer team policies as custom rules where appropriate.

"We do not want another tool just for checks."

FCA also visualises composition and generates AI summaries to set context before detailed review.

"AI summaries might be inconsistent."

SMACTai follows a strict, transparent structure policy for consistency, traceability, and decision readiness.

Why it matters

FCA is more than a checklist. It is a credibility engine. With a shared, visual read of structure and a consistent check suite, teams reduce rework and leaders make calls with confidence. Over time you can track the pass rate of fundamentals, the reduction in high severity findings, and time to green after first analysis. That is how trust in the plan compounds.

Plans and access

FCA is available on Trial, Fundamental, and Professional. It is not available on the Free tier. The Trial unlocks the full check suite, overview dashboard, SMACTai executive summary, and exports for action or governance.