INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Submitted To : Mr. Sheikh Addul Qadir Submitted By : Majid Khan Roll No Date :20/11/2011 : 10293

Project Management

Assignment on Project Time Management

Time Management & Scheduling in Project Management

The management projects require analytical tools for time management & scheduling activities and allocating resources. This assignment describes a set of tools that has proven to be consistently valuable to project managers. The tools are collectively known as the Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and the Critical Path Method (CPM). These include the construction of network diagrams, the calculation of feasible project schedules, determining the effect of uncertainty on project schedules, and adjusting schedules to conform to time and resource constraints. The tools are important for planning a project and for keeping it on track once it has begun. Throughout this assignment we will refer to a particular project: the installation of an Maximo 6.2.2 at Engro Polymer Cheimical Ltd. Once in place, the system will collect information about the inventory. The Engros present system is with Maximo 6.3.1, and once the new system is up and running it will upgrade the system and would remove the errors from the inventory management. Table 1 below describes the projects activities and expected durations. The system will be developed and installed by computer programmers, systems analysts, and personnel from the accounting function. Currently, only three systems analysts are available to the firm, and the number of analysts needed for each activity is listed in the table. The table also specifies immediate predecessors, the smallest possible list of tasks which must be completed before starting each activity.

S.No A B C D E F G H

Descriptions
Specify functional and user interface features Design and code functional component Test and debug functional component Internal audit of functional test Design and code graphical user interface Integrate functional component and interface Train Inventory personnel on interface Train personnel on test bed using integrated system

Predecessor

Duration

System Analyst

A B C A C,E E F, G

4 4 4 2 6 6 6 4

2 2 2 1 1 2 1 2

Table 1: Description of Engro Polymer & Cheimical Ltd

Network Diagrams and Critical Paths

The information in the table may also be represented by a network diagram in which rectangles, or nodes, signify activities. The relationships between activities are represented by arrows between the nodes. All arrows to a node begin at the nodes immediate predecessors, indicating that the activity cannot be started until all activities prior to that node in the network are completed. Figure 2 displays the complete project network for InterTrust. Activity A must be completed before activities B and E are started. Activity F cannot be started until both activities C and E are completed.

B, 4

C, 4

D, 2

A, 4

E, 6

F, 6

H, 4

END, 0

G, 6

Key
Activity, Duration Figure 2: Project Network for Maximo 6.2.2 Engro Polymer Cheimical Ltd Project

Once the project network is drawn, the answer is also simple: the duration of the project is equal to the longest path from the beginning to the end of the network. Since all activities along this path must be completed, the duration of the project must be at least the length of the longest path. Since all other paths are shorter, the duration of the project must be the length of the longest path. For InterTrust, the longest path from A to END may be found easily by trying all paths (how many are there?) and choosing the longest. This path is A-B-C-F-H-END and its duration is 4+4+4+6+4 = 22 weeks.

Earliest and Latest Start and Finish Times

For each activity we will calculate the following: Quantity Earliest Start Time Abbreviation Description ES Earliest time the activity may begin after allowing preceding activities to finish Earliest time the activity may finish after allowing preceding activities to finish

Earliest Finish Time

EF

Latest Start Time

LS

Latest time the activity may begin without delaying project completion Latest time the activity may finish without delaying project completion Extra time an activity is allowed before it delays the project (assuming that it begins at ES). Under this definition, slack is sometimes also called total slack or total float.

Latest Finish Time

LF

Activity Slack

SLACK

ES = max[EF of immediate predecessors] EF = ES + activity duration For Maximo 6.2.2 project, begin with activity A at week zero. The earliest finish time for A is fourweeks later, and this is the earliest start times for activities B and E. The earliest finish time for B is 4 + 4 = 8 weeks, and the earliest start time for its successor, C, is 8 weeks. Figure 3 displays the results of these calculations. One must be careful with activity F since it has two predecessors. The earliest start time for F is the later of the earliest finish times of its predecessors:

ES for activity F = max(EF for activity C, EF for activity E) = max(12, 10) = 12 weeks Similar calculations are completed for remaining activities until we reach END. We find that the project will take 22 weeks.

Latest Finish time = LF = min [LS of immediate successors] Latest Start time = LS = LF - activity duration For END, latest start and finish times are set equal to the earliest start and finish times since any delay to END will delay project completion. The latest finish time for activity

H is the latest start time for END, 22 weeks, and the latest start time for activity H is 22 4 = 18 weeks. The latest finish time for D is also 22 weeks, while the LF for F is the LS for H, 18 weeks. Activity C has two immediate successors, so: LF for activity C = min (LS for activity D, LS for activity F) = min (20, 12) = 12 weeks These calculations are repeated until latest times for activity A are found. See Figure 3 for the results.

4 4 B 4

8 8

8 8 C 4

12 12

12 12 C 2

14 14

0 0 A 4

4 4

6 6 E 6

10 2 12

12 12 F 6

18 18

18 18 H 4

22 22

22 22

22 END 0 22

10 12 G 6

16 2 18

Resource Constraints

An invaluable method for shortening the duration of a project is the ability to run multiple activities in parallel. For example, the Maximo 6.2.2 project allows both activities B and E to run in tandem from week four to week eight. If all its activities were to occur in series, the project would last 36 weeks rather than 22. A Gantt chart, such as the one shown in Figure 4, displays the degree of parallelism in the project. The chart displays the activities beginning at their earliest start times, as well as the number of analysts needed for each activity.

(Time in Weeks from Project Start)

Figure 4: Gantt chart for Maximo with All Activities at Their Earliest Start Times

However, sufficient resources must be available for activities to be completed in parallel. If all activities in the Maximo 6.2.2 project were to begin on their earliest start dates, then the number of systems analysts needed varies from two to four, which is derived from the resource listing in the Gantt chart. Note that the period from the end of week 12 to the end of week 14 requires four programmers: one for activity D, two for F and one for G.