BMGMT 3203 • Project Management

CHAPTER 5

Scheduling the Project

Faculty of Business Management & Globalization
Tel : 603 8317 8833 (Ext 8407)
 BMGMT 3203 • Project Management

PERT AND CPM NETWORKS

CHAPTER 5

Scheduling the Project

Faculty of Business Management & Globalization
Tel : 603 8317 8833 (Ext 8407)
Scheduling

• A schedule is the conversion of a project

action plan into an operating timetable
• It serves as the basis for monitoring and
controlling project activity
• Taken together with the plan and budget,
it is probably the major tool for the
management of projects

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 3

 Scheduling
• The basic approach of all scheduling
techniques is to form a network of activity
and event relationships
• This network should graphically portray the
sequential relations between the tasks in a
project
• Tasks that must precede or follow other tasks
are then clearly identified, in time as well as
function
BMGMT 3203 Project Management 4
 Scheduling
• Such networks are a powerful tool for
planning and controlling a project and have
the following benefits:
– It is a consistent framework for planning,
scheduling, monitoring, and controlling the
project
– It illustrates the interdependence of all tasks,
work packages, and work elements
– It denotes the times when specific individuals
must be available for work on a given task
BMGMT 3203 Project Management 5
 Scheduling
• Network benefits (cont.):
– It aids in ensuring that the proper
communications take place between departments
and functions
– It determines an expected project completion
date
– It identifies so-called critical activities that, if
delayed, will delay the project completion time
– It identifies activities with slack that can be
delayed for specific periods without penalty
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 Scheduling
• Network benefits (cont.):
– It determines the dates on which tasks may be started -
or must be started if the project is to stay on schedule
– It illustrates which tasks must be coordinated to avoid
resource timing conflicts
– It illustrates which tasks may run, or must be run, in
parallel to achieve the predetermined project completion
date
– It relieves some interpersonal conflict by clearly showing
task dependencies

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 7

History

• Late 1950s
– Program Evaluation and Review Technique
(PERT)
• U.S. Navy, Booz-Allen Hamilton, and Lockeheed
Aircraft
• Probabilistic activity durations
– Critical Path Method (CPM)
• Dupont De Nemours Inc.
• Deterministic activity durations
BMGMT 3203 Project Management 8
The Language of PERT/CPM

• Activity
– task or set of tasks
– use resources
• Event
– state resulting from completion of one or more
activities
– consume no resources or time
– predecessor activities must be completed
BMGMT 3203 Project Management 9
The Language of PERT/CPM
continued

• Milestones
– events that mark significant progress
• Network
– diagram of nodes and arcs
– used to illustrate technological relationships
• Path
– series of connected activities between two
events
BMGMT 3203 Project Management 10
The Language of PERT/CPM
continued
• Critical Path
– set of activities on a path that if delayed will
delay completion of project
• Critical Time
– time required to complete all activities on the
critical path

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The Language of PERT/CPM
conclude
• An activity can be in any of these conditions:
– It may have a successor(s) but no predecessor(s)
- starts a network
– It may have a predecessor(s) but no successor(s)
- ends a network
– It may have both predecessor(s) and
successor(s) - in the middle of a network
• The interconnections depend on the technological
relationships described in the action plan
BMGMT 3203 Project Management 12
 Building the Network
• Activity-on-Arrow (AOA) networks use arrows
to represent activities while nodes stand for
events
• Activity-on-Node (AON) networks use nodes
to represent activities with arrows to show
precedence relationships
• The choice between AOA and AON
representation is largely a matter of personal
preference
BMGMT 3203 Project Management 13
Table 5-1 A Sample Set of
Project Activities and Precedences

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Figure 5-1 Stage 1 of a Sample
AON Network

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Figure 5-2 Stage 2 of a Sample
AON Network

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Figure 5-3 A Completed Sample
AON Network

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Figure 5-4 Stage 1 of a Sample
AOA Network

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Figure 5-5 Stage 2 of a Sample
AOA Network

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Figure 5-6a A Completed Sample
AOA Network

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Figure 5-6b A Completed Sample AOA
Network Showing the Use of a Dummy Task

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Table 5-2 A Sample Problem for
Finding the Critical Path and Critical Time

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Figure 5-7 Stage 1 of a Sample
Network

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Figure 5-8 A Complete Network

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Figure 5-9 Information
Contents in an AON Node

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Figure 5-10 The Critical Path
and Time for Sample Project

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Calculating Activity Slack

• Slack or Float
LST - EST = LFT - EFT = Slack

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Figure 5-11 An MSP Version of
PERT/CPM Network

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Figure 5-12 A Modified Version
of MSP Network

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 29

 BMGMT 3203 • Project Management

PROJECT UNCERTAINTY AND

RISK CHAPTER 5
MANAGEMENT

Scheduling the Project

Faculty of Business Management & Globalization
Tel : 603 8317 8833 (Ext 8407)
Calculating Probabilistic Activity
Times

• Three Time Estimates

– pessimistic (a)
– most likely (m)
– optimistic (b)

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 31

Calculating Probabilistic Activity
Times

• pessimistic (a)
– This is the maximum time required to
complete an activity.
– In this case, it is assumed that many things go
wrong related to the activity.
– A lot of rework and resource unavailability are
assumed when this estimation is derived.

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 32

Calculating Probabilistic Activity
Times

• most likely (m)

– Most of the times, project managers are asked
only to submit one estimate.
– In that case, this is the estimate that goes to
the upper management.

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 33

Calculating Probabilistic Activity
Times

• optimistic (b)
– This is the fastest time an activity can be
completed.
– For this, the assumption is made that all the
necessary resources are available and all
predecessor activities are completed as
planned.

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Figure 5-13 The Statistical Distribution
of all Possible Times for an Activity

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 35

Activity Expected Time and
Variance

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 36

95 Percent Level

• Task will be a or lower 5 percent of the

time
• Task will be b or greater 5 percent of the
time
(b  a )

3 .3

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 37

90 Percent Level

• Task will be a or lower 10 percent of the

time
• Task will be b or greater 10 percent of the
time
(b  a )

2 .6

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 38

95 Percent Level (Alternative
Interpretation)

• Task will be between a and b 95 percent

of the time

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 39

90 Percent Level (Alternative
Interpretation)

• Task will be between a and b 90 percent

of the time

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 40

Figure 5-14 An AON Network

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Figure 5-15 An MSP Version of a
Sample Problem Network

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Figure 5-16 A Pert/CPM Network
for the Day Care Project

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Figure 5-17 An MSP Calendar for the
Day Care Project, 4/16/00 to 5/27/00

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The Probability of Completing
the Project on Time

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Figure 5-18 The Statistical Distribution of
Completion Times of the Path a-b-d-g-h

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 46

Selecting Risk and Finding D

NORMINV(probability,,,TRUE)

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 47

 BMGMT 3203 • Project Management

CHAPTER 5
SIMULATION

Scheduling the Project

Faculty of Business Management & Globalization
Tel : 603 8317 8833 (Ext 8407)
Traditional Statistics Versus
Simulation

• Similarities
– must enumerate alternate paths
• Differences
– simulation does not require assumption of
path independence

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 49

 BMGMT 3203 • Project Management

THE GANNT CHART

CHAPTER 5

Scheduling the Project

Faculty of Business Management & Globalization
Tel : 603 8317 8833 (Ext 8407)
 Gantt Charts
• The Gantt chart shows planned and actual progress for
a number of tasks displayed against a horizontal time
scale
• It is an effective and easy-to-read method of indicating
the actual current status for each set of tasks compared
to the planned progress for each item of the set
• It can be helpful in expediting, sequencing, and
reallocating resources among tasks
• Gantt charts usually do not show technical
dependencies

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Gantt Chart

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 52

 Gantt Chart
• There are several advantages to the use of
Gantt charts:
– Even though they may contain a great deal of
information, they are easily understood
– While they may require frequent updating, they
are easy to maintain
– Gantt charts provide a clear picture of the current
state of a project
– They are easy to construct
BMGMT 3203 Project Management 53
Figure 5-23 A Gantt Chart of a
Sample Project

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 54

Figure 5-24 A Gantt Chart of Sample Project
Showing Critical Path, Path Connections, Slack,
EST, LST, EFT, and LFT

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Figure 5-25 A Gantt Chart of a Day Care Project
Showing Expected Durations, Critical Path,
Milestone, and Resource Requirements

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 56

Figure 5-26 A Progress Report on a Day Care
Project Showing Actual Progress Versus Baseline

BMGMT 3203 Project Management 57

 BMGMT 3203 • Project Management

CHAPTER 5
EXTENSIONS TO PERT/CPM

Scheduling the Project

Faculty of Business Management & Globalization
Tel : 603 8317 8833 (Ext 8407)
Precedence Diagramming

• Finish-to-start linkage:
– Finish to Start Activity 2 must not start before
Activity 1 has been completed.
– This is the typical arrangement of an activity
and its predecessor.

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Precedence Diagramming

• Start-to-start linkage
– Activity 5 cannot begin until Activity 4 has
been underway for at least two days.
– Setting electrical wires in place cannot begin
until two days after framing has begun.

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Precedence Diagramming

• Finish-to-finish linkage
– Activity 7 must be complete at least one day
before Activity 8 is completed.
– If Activity 7 is priming the walls of a house,
Activity 8 might be the activities involved in
selecting, purchasing, and finally delivering the
wallpaper.
– It is important not to hang the paper until the
wall primer has dried for 24 hours.
BMGMT 3203 Project Management 61
Precedence Diagramming

• Start-to-finish linkage
– Activity 11 cannot be completed before 7 days
since the start of Activity 10.
– If Activities 10 and 11 are the two major
cruising activities in a prepaid weeklong ocean
cruise, the total time cannot be less than the
promised week.

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Figure 5-27 Precedence
Diagramming Conventions

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Other Methods

• Graphical Evaluation and Review

Technique (GERT)
– combines flowgraphs, probabilistic networks,
and decision trees
– allows loops back to earlier events and
probabilistic branching

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