LEARNING OUTCOMES

• After completing this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Understand and apply key scheduling terminology.
2. Apply the logic used to create activity networks, including
predecessor and successor tasks.
3. Develop an activity network using Activity-on-Node (AON)
techniques.
4. Perform activity duration estimation based on the use of
probabilistic estimating techniques.
 Chapter 4
LEARNING OUTCOMES
• After completing this chapter, you should be able to:
5. Construct the critical path for a project schedule network
using forward and backward passes.
6. Identify activity float and the manner in which it is
determined.
7. Calculate the probability of a project finishing on time
under PERT estimates.
8. Understand the steps that can be employed to reduce the
critical path.
 PMBOK Core Concepts
Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMB0K) covered in this chapter includes:
1. Plan Schedule Management.
2. Define Activities .
3. Sequence Activities .
4. Estimate Activity Resources.
5. Estimate Activity Durations.
6. Develop Schedule.
7. Control Schedule.

Copyright ©2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. 3

NETWORK DIAGRAM – SERIAL
SEQUENTIAL LOGIC
(
NETWORK DIAGRAM – NONSERIAL
SEQUENTIAL LOGIC
)
 Project Scheduling Terms

• Project Network Diagram: Any schematic display of the logical

relationships of project activities.
• Path: A sequence of activities defined by the project network logic.
• Event: A point when an activity is either started or completed.
• Node: One of the defining points of a network; a junction point joined
to some or all of the other dependency lines (paths).
 Project Scheduling Terms
• Float: The amount of time an activity may be delayed from its early
start without delaying the finish of the project.
• Critical path: The path through project network with the longest
duration.
• Critical Path Method: A network analysis technique used to determine
the amount of schedule flexibility on logical network paths in project
schedule network and to determine minimum project duration.
• Resource-limited schedule: Start and finish dates reflect expected
resource availability.
 AOA Versus AON
The same mini-project is shown with activities on arc…

D E
B F
C

…and activities on node.

D E
B F

C
Node Labels
 Serial Activities

Serial activities are those that flow from one to

the next, in sequence.
 Concurrent activities
)

When the nature of the work allows for more than one activity
to be accomplished at the same time, these activities are called
concurrent, and parallel project paths are constructed
through the network.
Merge Activity
Burst Activity
Complete Activity Network
Partial project activity network with task durations
 Options for Reducing the Critical
Path
1. Eliminate tasks on the critical path.
2. Replan serial paths to be in parallel.
3. Overlap sequential tasks.
4. Shorten the duration on critical path tasks.
5. Shorten early tasks.
6. Shorten longest tasks.
7. Shorten easiest tasks.
8. Shorten tasks that cost the least to speed up.
 Constructing the Critical Path

• Forward pass – an additive move through the network from start to

finish

• Backward pass – a subtractive move through the network from finish

to start

• Critical path – the longest path from end to end which determines the
shortest project length
 Summary
1. Understand and apply key scheduling terminology.
2. Apply the logic used to create activity networks, including
predecessor and successor tasks.
3. Develop an activity network using Activity-on-Node (AON)
techniques.
4. Perform activity duration estimation based on the use of
probabilistic estimating techniques.
 Summary
5. Construct the critical path for a project schedule network using
forward and backward passes.
6. Identify activity float and the manner in which it is determined.
7. Calculate the probability of a project finishing on time under PERT
estimates.
8. Understand the steps that can be employed to reduce the critical
path.
Module 3: Project Scheduling

Welcome to Module 3. The objective of this module is to introduce you to

Project Scheduling.

The Topics that will be addressed in this Module include:

• Define Planning vs. Scheduling

• Define and Illustrate Basic Scheduling Concepts

• Define Logic Relationships and Critical Path

• Define and Illustrate Different Schedule Formats

Project Scheduling

Project scheduling in the earned value management system involves a clear,

five step process. This process aids managers in determining the project
schedule and, eventually, the project schedule baseline. The process steps
are:

1. Develop the list of project activities

2. Sequence the list of project activities

3. Determine the relationships between activities

4. Establish the duration for each activities

5. Determine the project duration (start and completion dates)

For the purpose of explaining the process in detail, we will use the smaller
BEST Management Books project from Module 2 instead of the ACME
House Building project. At the end of the process will will look at the
outcome of using this process on the ACME House Building project.

Module 3 – Project Scheduling

Project Scheduling
 INTRODUCTION
 Schedule converts action plan into operating
time table
 Basis for monitoring and controlling project
 Scheduling more important in projects than
in production, because unique nature
 Sometimes customer specified/approved
requirement-e.g: JKR projects
 Based on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

23
 NETWORK TECHNIQUES

PERT CPM
-Program Evaluation and Critical Path Method
Review Technique Developed by El Dupont
- developed by the US for Chemical Plant
Navy with Booz Shutdown Project- about
Hamilton Lockheed same time as PERT
- on the Polaris
Missile/Submarine
program 1958

 Both use same calculations, almost similar

 Main difference is probabilistic and deterministic in time
estimation
 Gantt Chart also used in scheduling
24
 DEFINITION OF TERMS IN A NETWORK
 Activity : any portions of project (tasks) which required
by project, uses up resource and consumes
time – may involve labor, paper work,
contractual negotiations, machinery operations
Activity on Arrow (AOA) showed as arrow, AON
– Activity on Node
 Event : beginning or ending points of one or more
activities, instantaneous point in time, also
called ‘nodes’

 Network : Combination of all project activities and the

events
PRECEEDING SUCCESSOR
ACTIVITY

EVENT

25
 Sequence of activities
 Can start work on activities A and B anytime, since
neither of these activities depends upon the
completion of prior activities.
 Activity C cannot be started until activity B has been
completed
 Activity D cannot be started until both activities A
and C have been completed.
 The graphical representation (next slide) is referred to
as the PERT/CPM network

26
 Network of Four Activities
Arcs indicate project activities

A D
1 3 4

B C

Nodes correspond to the beginning

and ending of activities

27
 RESOURCE ANALYSIS AND SCHEDULING

 Ability to carry out projects depend on the availability

of resources

Analyze resource implication

-How requirements can be met and changes needed

Use resources efficiently

Use network to give information about time, resources

and cost

28
Importance of Project Schedules

 Managers often cite delivering projects on time as one

of their biggest challenges
 Time has the least amount of flexibility; it passes no

matter what happens on a project

 Schedule issues are the main reason for conflicts on

projects, especially during the second half of projects

29
Project Time Management Processes
 Planning schedule management: determining the policies, procedures,
and documentation that will be used for planning, executing, and
controlling the project schedule
 Defining activities: identifying the specific activities that the project team
members and stakeholders must perform to produce the project
deliverables
 Sequencing activities: identifying and documenting the relationships
between project activities
 Estimating activity resources: estimating how many resources a project
team should use to perform project activities
 Estimating activity durations: estimating the number of work periods that
are needed to complete individual activities
 Developing the schedule: analyzing activity sequences, activity resource
estimates, and activity duration estimates to create the project schedule
 Controlling the schedule: controlling and managing changes to the
project schedule

30
Planning Schedule Management
 The project team uses expert judgment, analytical
techniques, and meetings to develop the schedule
management plan
 A schedule management plan includes:

◦ Project schedule model development

◦ The scheduling methodology
◦ Level of accuracy and units of measure
◦ Control thresholds
◦ Rules of performance measurement
◦ Reporting formats
◦ Process descriptions

31
Defining Activities
 An activity or task is an element of work normally
found on the work breakdown structure (WBS) that has
an expected duration, a cost, and resource
requirements
 Activity definition involves developing a more detailed
WBS and supporting explanations to understand all the
work to be done so you can develop realistic cost and
duration estimates

32
Milestones
 A milestone is a significant event that normally has no
duration
 It often takes several activities and a lot of work to
complete a milestone
 They’re useful tools for setting schedule goals and
monitoring progress
 Examples include obtaining customer sign-off on key
documents or completion of specific products

33
Sequencing Activities
 Involves reviewing activities and determining
dependencies
 A dependency or relationship is the sequencing of

project activities or tasks

 You must determine dependencies in order to use

critical path analysis

34
Network Diagrams
 Network diagrams are the preferred technique for
showing activity sequencing
 A network diagram is a schematic display of the

logical relationships among, or sequencing of, project

activities
 Two main formats are the arrow and precedence

diagramming methods

35
Figure Network Diagram for Project X

36
Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)

 Also called activity-on-arrow (AOA) network diagrams

 Activities are represented by arrows
 Nodes or circles are the starting and ending points of

activities
 Can only show finish-to-start dependencies

37
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)

 Activities are represented by boxes

 Arrows show relationships between activities
 More popular than ADM method and used by project

management software
 Better at showing different types of dependencies

38
Activity Duration Estimating

 Duration includes the actual amount of time worked on

an activity plus elapsed time
 Effort is the number of workdays or work hours

required to complete a task

 Effort does not normally equal duration
 People doing the work should help create estimates,

and an expert should review them

39
Developing the Schedule
 Uses results of the other time management processes
to determine the start and end date of the project
 Ultimate goal is to create a realistic project schedule
that provides a basis for monitoring project progress for
the time dimension of the project
 Important tools and techniques include Gantt charts,
critical path analysis, and critical chain scheduling, and
PERT analysis

40
SMART Criteria
 Milestones should be
◦ Specific
◦ Measurable
◦ Assignable
◦ Realistic
◦ Time-framed

41
Critical Path Method (CPM)
 CPM is a network diagramming technique used to
predict total project duration
 A critical path for a project is the series of activities
that determines the earliest time by which the project
can be completed
 The critical path is the longest path through the network
diagram and has the least amount of slack or float
 Slack or float is the amount of time an activity may be
delayed without delaying a succeeding activity or the
project finish date

42
Program Evaluation and Review
Technique (PERT)
 PERT is a network analysis technique used to estimate
project duration when there is a high degree of
uncertainty about the individual activity duration
estimates
 PERT uses probabilistic time estimates

◦ duration estimates based on using optimistic, most likely, and

pessimistic estimates of activity durations, or a three-point
estimate

43
Schedule Control Suggestions
 Perform reality checks on schedules
 Allow for contingencies
 Don’t plan for everyone to work at 100% capacity all

the time
 Hold progress meetings with stakeholders and be clear

and honest in communicating schedule issues

44
Using Software to Assist in Time Management

 Software for facilitating communications helps people

exchange schedule-related information
 Decision support models help analyze trade-offs that

can be made
 Project management software can help in various time

management areas

45
Words of Caution on Using Project
Management Software
 Many people misuse project management software
because they don’t understand important concepts and
have not had training
 You must enter dependencies to have dates adjust

automatically and to determine the critical path

 You must enter actual schedule information to compare

planned and actual progress

46
Chapter Summary
 Project time management is often cited as the main
source of conflict on projects, and most IT projects
exceed time estimates
 Main processes include
◦ Plan schedule management
◦ Define activities
◦ Sequence activities
◦ Estimate activity resources
◦ Estimate activity durations
◦ Develop schedule
◦ Control schedule

47