Project Management: A Managerial Approach

Chapter 8 Scheduling
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Overview
WBS to Schedule Process PERT Schedule Types CPM

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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
Chapter 8-1

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Simple Schedule Gantt Chart

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Network Techniques: PERT and CPM

With the exception of Gantt charts, the most common approach to scheduling is the use of network techniques such as PERT and CPM The Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) was developed by the U.S. Navy in 1958 The Critical Path Method (CPM) was developed by DuPont, Inc during the same time period

2006 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Chapter 8-7

Scheduling Terminology
Activity - A specific task or set of tasks that are required by the project, use up resources, and take time to complete Event - The result of completing one or more activities. An identifiable end state occurring at a particular time. Events use no resources. Network - The combination of all activities and events define the project and the activity precedence relationships
2006 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Chapter 8-9

Scheduling Terminology
Path - The series of connected activities (or intermediate events) between any two events in a network Critical - Activities, events, or paths which, if delayed, will delay the completion of the project. A projects critical path is understood to mean that sequence of critical activities that connect the projects start event to its finish event
2006 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Chapter 8-10

Scheduling Terminology
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

Interconnections from horizontal links in vertical WBS

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Hypothetical Network
3
13 30 16 5

2
20 6

6
TE=64

4 Calculate t(e) and Z for this network

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Activity and Project Frequency Distributions

ACTIVITY PROJECT

m (A)

TE (B)

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PERT Activity Calculation

t(e) = a + 4m + b
6

a = Most Optimistic (MO)

m = Most Likely (ML) b = Most Pessimistic (MP) t(e) = Activity Duration

When a single estimate for activity time is not sufficient!

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PERT Schedule Probability

Z = T(S) T(E) SSD(T[E])2 Z = Probability of Meeting Schedule T(S) = Scheduled Duration
T(E) = Critical Path Duration

Z is derived from a table of predetermined probabilities

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PERT Activity Times & Variances

Activity

a
17

m
29

b
47

t(e)

1-2

2-3
2-4

6
16

12
19

24
28

3-5
4-5

13
2

16
5

19
14

5-6

5
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Variance of Activity Estimates

Activity

a 17 6 16 13

m 29 12 19 16

b 47 24 28 19

t(e) 30 13 20 16

[(b-a)/6]2 Var

1-2 2-3 2-4 3-5

4-5 5-6

2 2

5 5

14 8

6 6

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Possible Project Durations

TS=67 TE=64

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Z Table
Z Value
-2.0 -1.5 -1.0 -0.7 -0.5 -0.3 -0.1

Probability
0.02 0.07 0.16 0.24 0.31 0.38 0.36

Z Value
+2.0 +1.5 +1.0 +0.7 +0.5 +0.3 +0.1

Probability
0.98 0.93 0.84 0.76 0.69 0.62 0.54

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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
2006 John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Chapter 8-14

Drawing Networks
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

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Chapter 8-12

Hypothetical Network
3

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AOA Network Building Blocks

Activity Event

Install software

79

80

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Partial Koll Business Center - AOA

B Construction plans 4

A Application approval

C Traffic study D Service availability check

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Partial AOA Network

3

X
1 A 2 C (A) 3

B
4 E

B
1 A 2 C (B) 4 B C 1 A 2 X (C)
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X
4 E

Partial AOA Network

4 B

X
1 A 2 C

3
D 5

(D)

4 B X A C ? D (E)
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E 5

Full AOA Network

B 15 X 1 A 5
Legend Activity Duration

4 0

Y 5

E 15 F 10 6 G 170 7 H 35 8

C 10

D 5

KOLL BUSINESS CENTER County Engineers Design Department

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Activity-on-Node Network Fundamentals

J A B C K L M J, K, & L can all begin at the same time, if you wish (they need not occur simultaneously) but All (J, K, L) must be completed before M can begin

A is preceded by nothing B is preceded by A C is preceded by B

(A)

(C)

Y X Z

Y and Z are preceded by X

Z is preceded by X and Y

Y and Z can begin at the same time, if you wish

AA

AA is preceded by X and Y

(B)
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(D)

Copyright 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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