Project Management

(Batch 2010 2012) TRIMESTER IV ( April- June 2011)

Session 6

Dr NK Mehta
(Visiting Faculty)
For internal use only 1

For Internal Use Only

Project Network
Network is a tool used for planning, scheduling and monitoring project progress. It shows the project activities, their logical sequence and inter-dependencies, in a graphical format. When things go wrong, it is easy to identify impact using n/w on completion date and resource deployment. It is developed from the information collected for the WBS. WBS shows work division but not the sequence / relationship among sub-divisions.
For Internal Use Only 2

Terminologies of a Project Network

Activity: An element of a project that requires time and
other resources. Some activities may not require resources e.g. lead time for material delivery, waiting for approval but takes time

Path: A sequence of connected, dependant activities Critical Path: If any activity on this path is delayed the
project gets delayed by the same amount.

Event: A point in time when an activity is started or

completed. It does not consume.

Milestone: An important event

For Internal Use Only 3

Project Networks Two Alternatives

Both use same building block: arrow and node Activity on Node (AON): Node represents activity. Arrow represents precedence. Activity on Arrow (AOA): Arrow represents activity AON is more common approach, but both are used.

For Internal Use Only

Activity on Node Depictions

A B C
Nothing precedes A B is preceded by A C is preceded by B

X
Z J L K

Y and Z preceded by X Y and Z can begin at the same time, if desired X is called a burst activity.

J and K can begin independent of each other BUT J and K must be completed before L can start L is called a merge activity.
5

For Internal Use Only

Basic Rules for Development of a Project Network

N/w flow typically from left to right Arrows in network indicate precedence and flow. They can cross each other. When multiple start points are possible, a common start node can be defined to indicate a clear project start point. Similarly with closure a clear end point can be defined. Looping is not allowed. Conditional statement not possible to show e.g. if successful do activity A else do activity B.
For Internal Use Only 6

Development of Project Plan

Example - Ex 11/ p.245 Park & Ride facility
Act ID
A B C

Description
Survey Soil Report Traffic Analysis

Predecessor
None A A

Time
5 20 15

D
E F G

Lot layout
Approve design Illumination details Drainage details

A
B, C, D E E

5
10 15 20

H
I J K L

Landscape
Signage Prepare bid proposal Review and approve proposal Identification of resources for execution Draw N/w first for A- J activities
For Internal Use Only

E
E F, G,H, I J E

15
10 10 5 10
7

AON Node convention

Earliest start Activity id Earliest Finish

Slack

Activity Description

Latest start

Activity Duration

Latest finish

For Internal Use Only

N/w Computation
(After Drawing N/w) Forward pass Earliest Times
How soon can the activity start (Earliest start ES) How soon can the activity finish (Earliest finish EF) How soon can the project be finished?

Backward pass Latest Times

How late the activity can start (Latest start LS) How late the activity can finish (Latest finish LF)

N/w Analysis
Which is Critical Path? How long can an activity be delayed (slack or float -SL)? Slack (total and free)
For Internal Use Only 9