CPM

Q1. Information related to a project that involves the merger of two marketing firms (in
days).
Activity Immediate Predecessor(s) Estimated Duration(days)

A - 10
B - 15
C A 5
D B 12
E C,D 14
F B 8
G D,F 15
H E 10
I E,G 6
J F,I 9

a. Draw the project network.
b. Develop the project schedule (EST, EFT, LST, LFT).
c. What are the critical activities?
d. What is the project completion duration?

A1. Network Diagram


Project Schedule
Activity EST EFT

LST LFT
A 0 10 13 23
B 0 15 0 15
C 10 15 23 25
D 15 27 15 27
E 27 41 28 42
F 15 23 19 27
G 27 42 27 42
H 41 51 47 57
I 42 48 42 48
J 48 57 48 57

Critical Activities
A-C-E-H
A-C-E-I-J
B-D-E-H
B-D-E-I-J
B-D-G-I-J
B-F-G-I-J
Project Completion Time
57 Days

Q2. A publisher has a contract with an author to publish a textbook. The activities associated
with the production of the textbook are given below. The author is required to submit to the
publisher a hard copy and a computer file of the manuscript. Develop the associated network
for the project and calculate the project duration along with the critical paths.
Activity Immediate Predecessor(s) Estimated Duration(weeks)

A - 3
B - 2
C - 4
D - 3
E A,B 2
F E 4
G F 2
H D 1
I G,H 2
J C,I 4

A2.

Critical Activities
A-E-F-G-I-J = 3+2+4+2+2+4 = 17 weeks
B-E-F-G-I-J = 2+2+4+2+2+4 = 16 weeks
C-J = 4+4 = 8 weeks
D-H-I-J = 3+1+2+4 = 10 weeks

Since the length of the path A-E-F-G-I-J is the longest i.e. 17 weeks, hence it is the critical
path.
Critical Path
A-E-F-G-I-J

Project Completion Time
17 weeks

Q3. The following table gives the activities in a construction project and the time duration of
each activity:
Activity Immediate Predecessor(s) Estimated Duration(days)

A - 16
B - 20
C A 8
D A 10
E B,C 6
F D,E 12

(i) Draw the activity network of the project.
(ii) Find critical path.
(iii) Find the total float and free-float for each activity
A3.

Critical Activities
A-C-E-F = 16+8+6+12 = 42 days
A-D-F = 16+10+12 = 38 days
B-E-F = 20+6+12 = 38 days
Since the length of the path A-C-E-F is the longest i.e. 42 days, hence it is the critical path.
Critical Path
A-C-E-F

Project Completion Time
42 days

Total Float is the difference between the maximum time available to perform the activity and
the activity duration
Free Float is the portion of the total float within which an activity can be manipulated
without affecting the floats of subsequent activities.


Activity
Immediate
Predecessor
(s)
Estimated
Duration(d
ays)

Total
Float
Free Float
A - 16 0 0
B - 20 4 4
C A 8 0 0
D A 10 4 4
E B,C 6 0 0
F D,E 12 0 0


PERT
Q4. Consider the network information shown in question1 in the above section. The duration
of some activities is not known with certainty. The estimates of these activities are shown
below, assuming that the duration for the other activities remains unchanged.
Activity Optimistic Most Likely

Pessimistic
A 8 10 12
C 3 5 7
D 10 12 14
G 13 15 17
H 8 10 12

a. What is the critical path?
b. What is the projects expected completion time and variance?
c. What is the probability that the project will be completed in 60 days or more?

A4.

Activity to tm

tp te=(to+4tm+tp)/6 Variance=
((tp-to)/6)^2
A 8 10 12 10 4/9
B 15 0
C 3 5 7 5 4/9
D 10 12 14 12 4/9
E 14 0
F 8 0
G 13 15 17 15 4/9
H 8 10 12 10 4/9
I 6 0
J 9 0

Critical Activities
A-C-E-H = 39 Days
A-C-E-I-J = 44 Days
B-D-E-H = 51 Days
B-D-E-I-J = 56 Days
B-D-G-I-J = 57 Days
B-F-G-I-J = 53 Days
Since the length of the path B-D-G-I-J is the longest i.e. 57 days, hence it is the critical path.

Critical Path
B-D-G-I-J
Project Completion Time
57 Days
Probability that the project will be completed in 60 days or more
Expected time = 57 days
Scheduled time= atleast60 days
Total Variance = 4/9*5=2.22
Z=(60-57)/2.2=1.363
According to the z table, the z value 1.363 corresponds to a probability of 91.35%. So, there
is a 91.35% probability that the project will be completed in 60 days or more.

Q5. A mother notes that when her son uses the telephone, he takes no less than 10 minutes for
a call and sometimes as much as an hour. Twenty-minute calls are more frequent than calls of
any other duration. If sons phone call were an activity in a PERT project:
a) What would be the phone calls expected duration?
b) What would be its variance?
c) In scheduling the project, how much time would be allocated for the phone call?

A5. to = 10 minutes, tp = 60 minutes, tm = 20 minutes
So, te = (to+4tm+tp)/6 = (10+80+60)/6 = 25 minutes
Variance = ((tp-to)/6)^2 = ((60-10)/6)^2 = 69.45
In scheduling the project, expected duration of the phone call should be allocated i.e. 25
minutes.

Q6. The time estimate(in weeks) for the activities of a PERT network are given below:
Activity to tm

tp
1-2 1 1 7
1-3 1 4 7
1-4 2 2 8
2-5 1 1 1
3-5 2 5 14
4-6 2 5 8
5-6 3 6 15

(a) Draw the project network and identify all the paths through it.
(b) Determine the expected project length.
(c) Calculate the standard deviation and variance of the project length.
(d) What is the probability that the project will be completed:
1. At least 4 weeks earlier than expected time?
2. No more that 4 weeks later than expected time?
(e) If the project due date is 19 weeks, what is the probability of not meeting the due date?
(f) What should be the scheduled completion time for the probability of completion to be
90%?