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Construct Network Diagram. Perform CPM analysis and the calculation of LS,
EF, ES, LF, and TF based on Table 1. Identify the activities on the critical path.
(12 marks)
Company XYZ contracts objective is to move its office to a bigger and more strategic location
in order to serve its customer better. Since the company has committed itself to the moving
project, project planning and scheduling must be constructed. The project management plan is
a concise document that can be distributed to all members of the project team. This is a process
of choosing the method and the work order (procedure) to be performed for the project to be
completed. The key questions that must be answered during project planning are (Lester,
2014):
According to British Standard Institution (BSI), a model project management plan must include
a bar chart and network under Programme Management section to answer the question of
when the project and work packages have to be started and finished (BSI, 2010).
Network method for project planning and scheduling is a tool used to explicitly show the
relationships among activities or the effects of delaying activities and shifting resources on the
overall project. Network methods are preferable over Gantt chart when the inter-dependencies
between activities and the resource allocations need to be clearly presented. With network
methods, alternative schedule can be quickly analyzed to satisfy the project constraints
(Nicholas & Steyn, 2008).
Two common methods for network diagrams are activity-on-arrow (AOA) and activity-onnode (AON). Based on Table 1, the nodes in the network diagram would represent events for
AOA and activities with the time details for AON while the arrow represents activity and
logical linkages respectively.
Table 1
ID
Activity
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Plan move
Kickoff meeting
Select furniture
Prepare office
Set up utilities
Install new signs
Complete internal
construction
Install new
IPA
Duration(days
A
B
B
A
B
A
)
20
1
25
20
30
15
45
C,G
10
furniture/computers
I
Move/relocate
D, H,E
5
J
Close out project
F,I
5
In practice, AON is preferable compared to AOA as it form the basis for Critical Path Method
(CPM). Consequently, only AON method will be constructed and presented for Table 1.
In order to construct AON for Table 1, the logical relationship between activities must be
established accordingly. This can be identified from Table 1s Immediately Preceding Activity
(IPA). At the same time, each activitys successors can be determined as well as which
activities can be done at the same time. Using AON, Figure 1.1 shows the network diagram
representing Table 1 project plan.
Critical path indicates to the project manager which activities are most critical to completing
the project on time. If any of the activity from the critical path take longer than planned, the
entire project will take longer than expected and vice-versa. The process of determining the
project critical path from the network diagram is called CPM analysis.
Following the procedure of CPM, Figure 1.2 shows the steps taken and the computed value of
ES, EF, LS and LF using forward pass and backward pass method.
its latest time without compromising the project completion due date. For example, activity E
can be started on 45th day instead of the 20th day without exceeding the due date for the project
completion. By having earliest and latest time to start an activity, project manager can be more
flexible in allocating resources in order to complete the project.
By computing the difference between ES and LS or EF and LF, the amount of allowable
deviation between when an activity must take place at the latest and when it can take place at
the earliest can be determined (Nicholas & Steyn, 2008). Total slack or Total Float (TF)
computed from the difference between ES and LS can be used to identify the critical and noncritical path. Critical activity is defined as an activity that have zero slack or TF value is equal
to zero. A continuous chain of activities with zero TF from start to end signifies the critical
path. The following table shows the tabulation of ES, EF, LS, LF and TF for each activity.
ID
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Activity
Plan move
Kickoff meeting
Select furniture
Prepare office
Set up utilities
Install new signs
Complete internal
ES
0
20
21
21
20
21
20
EF
20
21
46
41
50
36
65
LS
0
39
40
55
45
65
20
LF
20
40
65
75
75
80
65
TF
0
19
19
34
25
44
0
construction
Install new
65
75
65
75
I
J
furniture/computers
Move/relocate
Close out project
75
80
80
85
75
80
80
85
0
0
From the tabulated value of TF, it is obvious that the critical path is found out to be A, G, H, I
and J as highlighted. Any delay in any of these activities will cause an overall delay to the
project completion. Nonzero TF value on the other hand signifies the total amount of slack
allowable in the corresponding activities without affecting the project timeliness.
In summary, if sufficient resources are available, then noncritical activities should be started as
early as possible (ES) which will preserve slack time and minimizes the risk that delay in
noncritical activities will cause a project delay.
Construct an S-curve and calculate SV, CV, SPI and CPI. Comment on the status
of the project. (Refer to Table 2 and Table 3).
Assume that the Moving Project has 10 activities as shown in Table 1.
(10 marks)
S-Curve is a tool used in Earned Value (EV) technique for project monitoring and controlling.
By continuously comparing the quantitative value of the work done with the value of work that
was planned as the baseline, project manager can grasp the progress and performance of the
project and proactively adopting corrective action as necessary.
Specifically, S-Curve compare the budget of the project with its actual cost. Periodic review of
the S-curve provides a good estimate of the project performance in terms of expenditure or
commitments depending on the type of the S-Curve developed.
In order to construct S-Curve for the purpose of EV analysis regarding company XYZs
Moving Project, data from Table 2 have to be tabulated in such a way that the sum cost of all
work and apportioned effort scheduled to be completed at any given period as specified in the
budget can be computed. As such, work breakdown analysis is used to compute the cumulative
Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS). As shown in Table 2.1, it is assume that the cost
is uniformly distributed over the work day for each activity to obtain the daily direct cost for
BCWS based from the data provided in Table 2 and Table 1.
Table 2
ID
Activity
BCWS
Planned
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Plan move
Kickoff meeting
Select furniture
Prepare office
Set up utilities
Install new signs
Complete
$5,000
$2,000
$3000
$20,000
$30,000
$3,500
$5000
Finish
May 10
May 14
June 15
June 24
July 1
July15
July 15
$80,000
July 20
ID
A
B
C
D
E
F
Time
(Days)
20
1
25
20
30
15
G
H
45
10
Total
Cost ($)
5000
2000
3000
20000
30000
3500
Daily Direct
Cost ($)
250.00
2000.00
120.00
1000.00
1000.00
233.33
5000
80000
111.11
8000.00
internal
H
construction
Install new
furniture/compu
I
J
ters
Move/relocate
Close out
$50,000
$1500
project
Total
200,000
July 28
Aug 1
50000
10000.00
5
Total
1500
200000
300.00
Similarly, using the data provided in Table 3 and Table 1 and using the work breakdown
analysis with uniform distribution assumption, the cumulative Budgeted Cost of Work
Performed (BCWP) and Actual Cost of Work Performed (ACWP) can be computed as shown
in Table 3.1 and Table 3.2.
Table 3
Activity
Plan move
Kickoff meeting
Select furniture
Prepare office
Set up utilities
Install new signs
Complete internal
construction
Install new
BCWS
Planned
Current
Actual
Earned
Finish
status
Cost
Value
May 10
May 14
June 15
June 24
Completed
Completed
Completed
60%
(AC)
$5,000
$1,800
$3,000
$11,000
(EV)
$5,000
$2,000
$3,000
$12,000
July 1
July15
July15
Completed
Completed
Completed
90%
$36,700
$3,500
$4,000
$30,000
$3,500
$4,500
$80,000
July 20
complete
0
$50,000
$1500
200,000
July 28
Aug 1
0
0
0
0
0
0
$60,000
$5,000
$2,000
$3000
$20,000
$30,000
$3,500
$5000
furniture/computer
s
Move/relocate
Close out project
Id
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
Time
(Days)
20
1
25
20
30
15
45
10
5
5
Total
Id
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
Time
(Days)
20
1
25
20
30
15
45
10
5
5
Total
Earned Value
($)
5000
2000
3000
12000
30000
3500
4500
0
0
0
60000
Daily Direct
Cost ($)
250
2000
120
600
1000
233.33
100
0
0
0
In general, BCWS served as the guideline/baseline on how the project should performed while
ACWP give the project manager the ability to measure how close the actual performance of the
project up to date in term of expenditure. BCWP on the other hand, is useful to project manager
to measure the timeliness of the project against the baseline. The worksheet presented below
tabulate the daily value of BCWS, ACWP and BCWP until the latest review at 15th July.
Table 3.3 Worksheet for constructing S-Curve for Company XYZs Moving Project
Days
21-Apr
22-Apr
23-Apr
24-Apr
25-Apr
26-Apr
27-Apr
28-Apr
29-Apr
30-Apr
1-May
2-May
3-May
4-May
5-May
6-May
7-May
8-May
ID
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
Daily
Expense
(BCWS)
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
Cumulat
ive
Expense
(BCWS)
250
500
750
1000
1250
1500
1750
2000
2250
2500
2750
3000
3250
3500
3750
4000
4250
4500
Daily
Expens
e
(ACWP)
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
Cumulati
ve
Expense
(ACWP)
250
500
750
1000
1250
1500
1750
2000
2250
2500
2750
3000
3250
3500
3750
4000
4250
4500
Daily
Expens
e
(BCWP)
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
250
Cumula
tive
Expens
e
(BCWP)
250
500
750
1000
1250
1500
1750
2000
2250
2500
2750
3000
3250
3500
3750
4000
4250
4500
9-May
10May
11May
12May
13May
14May
15May
16May
17May
18May
19May
20May
21May
22May
23May
24May
25May
26May
27May
28May
29May
30May
31May
1-Jun
2-Jun
3-Jun
4-Jun
5-Jun
6-Jun
250
4750
250
4750
250
4750
250
5000
250
5000
250
5000
5000
5000
5000
5000
5000
5000
5000
5000
5000
2000
7000
1800
6800
2000
7000
7000
6800
7000
7000
6800
7000
7000
6800
7000
7000
6800
7000
7000
6800
7000
7000
6800
7000
7000
6800
7000
120
7120
120
6920
120
7120
120
7240
120
7040
120
7240
120
7360
120
7160
120
7360
120
7480
120
7280
120
7480
120
7600
120
7400
120
7600
120
7720
120
7520
120
7720
120
7840
120
7640
120
7840
120
7960
120
7760
120
7960
120
8080
120
7880
120
8080
120
231.11
1231.11
1231.11
1231.11
8200
8431.11
9662.22
10893.33
12124.44
120
208.89
1432.22
1432.22
1432.22
8000
8208.89
9641.11
11073.33
12505.55
120
220
1220
1220
1220
8200
8420
9640
10860
12080
2231.11
2231.11
14355.55
16586.66
1982.22
1982.22
14487.77
16469.99
1820
1820
13900
15720
C
C,G
C,E,G
C,E,G
C,E,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
24-Jun
25-Jun
26-Jun
27-Jun
28-Jun
29-Jun
30-Jun
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
C,D,E
,G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
D,E,
G
E,G
E,G
E,G
E,G
E,G
E,G
1-Jul
E,F,G
1344.44
63677.74
1545.55
60488.82
1333.33
2-Jul
F,G
344.44
64022.18
322.22
60811.04
333.33
3-Jul
F,G
344.44
64366.62
322.22
61133.26
333.33
4-Jul
5-Jul
F,G
F,G
344.44
344.44
64711.06
65055.5
322.22
322.22
61455.48
61777.7
333.33
333.33
7-Jun
8-Jun
9-Jun
10-Jun
11-Jun
12-Jun
13-Jun
14-Jun
15-Jun
16-Jun
17-Jun
18-Jun
19-Jun
20-Jun
21-Jun
22-Jun
23-Jun
2231.11
18817.77
1982.22
18452.21
1820
17540
2231.11
21048.88
1982.22
20434.43
1820
19360
2231.11
23279.99
1982.22
22416.65
1820
21180
2231.11
25511.1
1982.22
24398.87
1820
23000
2231.11
27742.21
1982.22
26381.09
1820
24820
2231.11
29973.32
1982.22
28363.31
1820
26640
2231.11
32204.43
1982.22
30345.53
1820
28460
2231.11
34435.54
1982.22
32327.75
1820
30280
2231.11
36666.65
1982.22
34309.97
1820
32100
2111.11
38777.76
1862.22
36172.19
1700
33800
2111.11
40888.87
1862.22
38034.41
1700
35500
2111.11
42999.98
1862.22
39896.63
1700
37200
2111.11
45111.09
1862.22
41758.85
1700
38900
2111.11
47222.2
1862.22
43621.07
1700
40600
2111.11
49333.31
1862.22
45483.29
1700
42300
2111.11
51444.42
1862.22
47345.51
1700
44000
2111.11
53555.53
1862.22
49207.73
1700
45700
2111.11
1111.11
1111.11
1111.11
1111.11
1111.11
1111.11
55666.64
56777.75
57888.86
58999.97
60111.08
61222.19
62333.3
1862.22
1312.22
1312.22
1312.22
1312.22
1312.22
1312.22
51069.95
52382.17
53694.39
55006.61
56318.83
57631.05
58943.27
1700
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
47400
48500
49600
50700
51800
52900
54000
55333.3
3
55666.6
6
55999.9
9
56333.3
2
56666.6
6-Jul
F,G
344.44
65399.94
322.22
62099.92
333.33
7-Jul
F,G
344.44
65744.38
322.22
62422.14
333.33
8-Jul
F,G
344.44
66088.82
322.22
62744.36
333.33
9-Jul
10-Jul
F,G
F,G
F,G,
H
F,G,
H
F,G,
H
F,G,
H
F,G,
H
H
H
H
H
H
~
~
~
I
I
I
I
I,J
J
J
J
J
344.44
344.44
66433.26
66777.7
322.22
322.22
63066.58
63388.8
333.33
333.33
8344.44
75122.14
322.22
63711.02
333.33
8344.44
83466.58
322.22
64033.24
333.33
8344.44
91811.02
322.22
64355.46
333.33
8344.44
100155.46
322.22
64677.68
333.33
8344.44
8000
8000
8000
8000
8000
0
0
0
10000
10000
10000
10000
10300
300
300
300
300
108499.9
116499.9
124499.9
132499.9
140499.9
148499.9
148499.9
148499.9
148499.9
158499.9
168499.9
178499.9
188499.9
198799.9
199099.9
199399.9
199699.9
199999.9
322.22
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
64999.9
333.33
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
11-Jul
12-Jul
13-Jul
14-Jul
15-Jul
16-Jul
17-Jul
18-Jul
19-Jul
20-Jul
21-Jul
22-Jul
23-Jul
24-Jul
25-Jul
26-Jul
27-Jul
28-Jul
29-Jul
30-Jul
31-Jul
1-Aug
5
56999.9
8
57333.3
1
57666.6
4
57999.9
7
58333.3
58666.6
3
58999.9
6
59333.2
9
59666.6
2
59999.9
5
Table 3.3 worksheet provide a complete dataset for plotting the S-Curve. Figure 2.0 shows the
plotted S-Curve for EV analysis.
$200,000
$150,000
42200; 108499.9
$100,000
42200; 64999.9
42200; 59999.95
$50,000
$0
BCWS
ACWP
BCWP
BCWP
BCWS
60000
108500
0.5530
Cost Performance Index (CPI )=
BCWP
ACWP
60000
65000
0.9231
A negative value SV and SPI value less than 1 indicates the project is behind the schedule. SV
and SPI value only give project manager an overall indicator that the project is behind the
schedule but cannot pin point the problematic activities that caused the delay. Closer
examination upon each work package is required for a more comprehensive result.
Upon examining the work package closely, its clear that activity D and G are the reason for a
low amount of BCWP and SPI. Specifically, activity D and G had used up its allocated
duration for its completion but only managed to accomplished 60% and 90% completion
accordingly. In order to have a more comprehensive look on the reason for activity D and G
delay, the planned finished date given in Table 2 is compared with the network diagram
resulting the following network diagram shown in Figure 3.0.
Assuming the planned due date for activity A as the starting point, we can compute the ES, EF,
LS and LF for each activity as shown in Figure 3.0. By comparing Figure 3.0 with each
activity planned finish date, it is clear that the planned finish date given in Table 2 does not
correspond to the network diagram project planning. In particular, activity G was started way
too late compared to LS date. Furthermore, activity G is on the critical path that would affect
the entire project timeliness. Although activity F is not on the critical path, missing its LS date
effectively delaying the project completion. In fact, activity H, I and J finished plan in Table 2
which are on the critical path also does not correspond to the plan laid by the network diagram.
Also, a peculiar situation arise where according to Table 1, activity J must be completely
preceded by activity I, however in Table 2, activity I and J overlapped by one day. In practice,
this situation might cause a significant problem in term of resource allocation.
Negative value CV and CPI value less than 1 indicates that the project suffers from cost
overrun. Examining the work packages revealed that activity E has a significant cost overrun.
However, the CV value might be misleading due to the exclusion of overhead.
In summary, the cause of the delay and cost overrun might have been due to improper project
scheduling resulting in underutilizing the resources the company allocate for the project. Given
the current status, the project cannot recover from the delay and cost overrun especially when
activity G is on the critical path without changing the plan or work packages.
Bibliography
BSI, B. S. (2010). 6079-1: 2010 Project management. Principles and Guidelines for the
Management of Projects.
Lester, A. (2014). Project Management, Planning, and Control (Sixth Edit.). Elsevier Ltd.
Nicholas, J., & Steyn, H. (2008). Project Management for Business, Engineering and
Technology. Technology (Thrid Edit.). Elsevier Inc.