PERT EXAMPLES

EXAMPLE 1

From the information given below construct a PERT network, labeling activities, activity times,
and nodes.

Activity Description Immediate Time

Predecessors (days)

A Receive production authorization 0

B Determine parts requirements A 2
C Determine production factors B 4
D Determine material availability C 6
E Determine labor availability C 3
F determine equipment availability C 5
G Prepare operation schedule D,E,F 8
H Prepare and issue shop forms G 7

6
E,3

1
A,0 2
B,2 3
C,4 4
D,6 7
G,8 8
H,7 9

F,5
5

EXAMPLE 2

If the completion time for the project in example 1 is 27 days, what are the ES, LS, EF, and LF for
each activity?

The ES, LS, EF, and LF can be placed in a block adjacent to each activity in the format of
ES,LS EF,LF . The ES and EF are determined by a forward pass (via addition) through the
network. The EF of each activity is equal to the ES plus the activity time:

1
 6

E,3
6 9

A,0 B,2 C,4 D,6 G,8 H,7

1 2 3 4 7 8 9

0 0 0 2 2 6 6 12 12 20 20 27

F,5

6 11 5

The LS and LF are determined by a backward pass (via subtraction) through the network. The
LS of each activity is equal to the LF minus the activity time:

6
9 12

E,3

A,0 B,2 C,4 D,6 G,8 H,7

1 2 3 4 7 8 9

0 0 0 2 2 6 6 12 12 20 20 27

F,5

5
7 12

When moving forward (forward pass) in the network with activities D, E, and F converging on
activity G, the ES for activity G is the largest EF, which is 12 days from activity D. When
moving backward (backward pass) in the network with activities D, E, and F converging on
activity C, the LF for activity C is the smallest LS, which is 6 days for activity D. The final
network combines the forward pass and backward pass and appears as follows:

2
 6

6, 9 9, 12

E,3

1
A,0 2
B,2 3
C,4 4
D,6 7
G,8 8
H,7 9

0, 0 0, 0 0, 0 2, 2 2, 2 6, 6 6,6 12, 12 12, 12 20, 20 20, 20 27, 27

F,5

6, 7 11, 12
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EXAMPLE 3

From the information given below develop a PERT network, labeling activities, and activity
times and nodes. If the target date for competition of the project is three days longer than the
critical path time, calculate the earliest start, latest start, earliest finish, and latest finish for each
activity, i.e.,
ES, LS EF, LF

What activities are on the critical path? Determine the total and free slack for each activity.

Activity Immediate Time

Predecessors (days)
a (start) 0
b a 2
c a 1
d b 3
e b 4
f c 2
g e,f 3
h d 1
i (finish) g,h 0

3
 2, 8 5, 11

3 d,3
0, 3 2, 5
6
h,1
b,2 e,4 2, 5 6, 9 5, 11 6, 12
a,0 2
1

0, 3 0, 3 g,3 i,0
5 7 8

c,1 6, 9 9, 12
9, 12 9, 12

f,2
0, 6 1, 7
1, 7 3, 9
4

The earliest start is time 0, and you work through the network until the last activity. The LF for
the project is three days longer than the EF of the last activity (i), so the LF for the project is 9 +
3 or 12. Note that the ES for activity g is the later earliest finish (EF) of its predecessors e and f,
so it is the 6 from activity e. Note also that the LF for activity a is the smaller latest start (LS) of
its successors b and c, so it is the 3 from activity b. The critical path contains those activities with
three days of slack, and it is the path a, b, e, g, and i. The total and free slack for each activity are
as follows:

Activity Total slack Free slack Critical path

a 3 0 *
b 3 0 *
c 6 0
d 6 0
e 3 0 *
f 6 3
g 3 0 *
h 6 3
i 3 -- *

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EXAMPLE 4

Activity Predecessor Expected time Optimistic time Most likely time Pessimistic time
t a m b

A 8 7 8 9
B 12 5 10 27
C 7 5 7 9
D A 3 1 3 5
E A 12 5 13 15
F A 5 4 4.5 8
G C,F 4 3 3.75 6
H C,F 2 1 2 3
I B,D 7 4 6 14
J B 9 6 8.5 14.5
K E,G,I 6 4 6 8
L H,K 10 3 10.5 15

Listed in the above table are activities, sequence requirements, and activity times for a project. The
project completion date is 36 days after the project begins. Perform the following:
a. Draw the PERT network, labeling activities and computing ES, EF, LS, and LF for
each activity.
b. Determine the critical path for the network as well as the total slack and the free slack
for each activity.
c. What is the probability the project will be completed within 34 days?
d. What is the probability the project will require more than 39 days for completion?

The following network contains the information from item a. The subsequent table
contains the critical path, total slack, and free slack for item b.
12,27 21,36
3
J,9
0, 1 12, 13

8,10 11,13 I,7 12,13 19,20

B,12 D,3 4

1
A,8 E,12 6 8
2
20,20 26,26
0, 0 8, 8 8, 8 20, 20 G,4
F,5 8,11 13,16 K,6 L,10
C,7
0, 9 7, 16 13, 16 17, 20 26,26 36,36

5
H,2 7

13,24 15,26

5
 Sequence Total slack Free Variance
Activity i j t EF LF LF-EF slack s2

Aa 1 2 8 8 8 0 0 0.111
B 1 3 12 12 13 1 0 13.444
C 1 5 7 7 16 9 6 0.444
Dummy 3 4 0 12 13 1 0 --
D 2 4 3 11 13 2 1 0.444
Ea 2 6 12 20 20 0 0 2.777
F 2 5 5 13 16 3 0 0.444
G 5 6 4 17 20 3 3 0.250
H 5 7 2 15 26 11 11 0.111
I 4 6 7 19 20 1 1 2.777
J 3 8 9 21 36 15 -- 1.777
Ka 6 7 6 26 26 0 0 0.444
La 7 8 10 36 36 0 -- 4.000
a
Activities along the critical path.

c. The probability of completion within 34 days is determined as follows:

Tc = ∑tc = 8 + 12 + 6 + 10 = 36 days

S2 = ∑sc2 = 0.111 + 2.777 + 0.444 + 4.000 = 7.332

Z = (T – Tc )/S = (34 – 36)/2.71 = - 0.74

From a Normal Distribution Table, a Z of 0.74 gives a probability of a 0.2703. The

probability of completion within 34 days is 0.2297 (0.5000 – 0.2703 = 0.2297).

d. The probability that the project will require more than 39 days to complete is
determined as follows:

Z = (T – Tc )/S = (39 – 36)/2.71 = 1.11

From a Normal Distribution Table, a Z of 1.11 gives a probability of 0.3665. The

probability of the project requiring more than 39 days is 0.1335 (0.5000 – 0.3665 =
0.1335).

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