Pert & CPM

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
CPM/PERT
Dr. Gnanasekar Thirugnanam

Assistant Professor
Department of Hospital Administration
Project
 “Aproject is a series of activities directed

to accomplishment of a desired objective.”
Plan your work first…..then work your plan

Network analysis
Introduction
Network analysis is the general name given to certain specific

techniques which can be used for the planning, management and
control of projects.
One definition of a project:
“A project is a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a "unique" product
or service”
History
 Developed in 1950’s
 CPM by DuPont for chemical plants
 PERT by U.S. Navy for Polaris missile
CPM was developed by Du Pont and the emphasis was on the

trade-off between the cost of the project and its overall
completion time (e.g. for certain activities it may be possible
to decrease their completion times by spending more money -
how does this affect the overall completion time of the
project?)
PERT was developed by the US Navy for the planning and control of
the Polaris missile program and the emphasis was on completing the
program in the shortest possible time. PERT had the ability to cope
with uncertain activity completion times (e.g. for a particular
activity the most likely completion time is 4 weeks but it could be
anywhere between 3 weeks and 8 weeks).
CPM - Critical Path Method
 Definition: In CPM, activities are shown as a network of

precedence relationships using activity-on-node network
construction
 Single estimate of activity time
 Deterministic activity times
USED IN : Production management - for the jobs of

repetitive in nature where the activity time estimates can
be predicted with considerable certainty based on
existence of past experience.
PERT -
Project Evaluation & Review Techniques
 Definition: In PERT activities are shown as a network

of precedence relationships using activity-on-arrow
network construction
 Multiple time estimates
 Probabilistic activity times
USED IN : Project management - for non-repetitive

jobs (research and development work), where the
time and cost estimates tend to be quite
uncertain. This technique uses probabilistic time
estimates.
CPM/PERT
These deficiencies can be eliminated to a large extent by

showing the interdependence of various activities by means of
connecting arrows called network technique.
 Overtime CPM and PERT became one technique
 ADVANTAGES:
 Precedence relationships
 large projects
 more efficient
The Project Network
 Use of nodes and arrows
Arrows  An arrow leads from tail to head

directionally
 Indicate ACTIVITY, a time consuming effort that is
required to perform a part of the work.
Nodes  A node is represented by a circle

- Indicate EVENT, a point in time where one or more
activities start and/or finish.
Activity on Node & Activity on Arrow
Activity on Node Activity on Arrow
- A completion of an activity - An arrow represents a task,

is represented by a node while a node is the
completion of a task
- Arrows represent order of
events
Activity Slack
Each event has two important times associated with it :

- Earliest time (Te) which is a calendar time when a event can occur
when all the predecessor events completed at the earliest possible
times
- Latest time (Tl) which is the latest time the event can occur with
out delaying the subsequent events and completion of project.
 Difference between the latest time and the earliest time of an event
is the slack time for that event
Positive slack : Slack is the amount of time an event can be delayed

without delaying the project completion
Critical Path
 Is that the sequence of activities and events

where there is no “slack” i.e.. Zero slack
 Longest path through a network

 minimum project completion time
Benefits of CPM/PERT
 Useful at many stages of project

management
 Mathematically simple
 Give critical path and slack time
 Provide project documentation
 Useful in monitoring costs
Questions Answered by CPM & PERT
 Completion date?
 On Schedule?
 Within Budget?
 Critical Activities?
 How can the project be finished early at the least
cost?
example
Illustration of network analysis of a minor redesign of a product and

its associated packaging.
The key question is: How long will it take to complete this
project ?
For clarity, this list is kept to a minimum by specifying only
immediate relationships, that is relationships involving activities
that "occur near to each other in time".
Before starting any of the above activity, the questions
asked would be
•"What activities must be finished before this activity can start"
•could we complete this project in 30 weeks?

•could we complete this project in 2 weeks?
One answer could be, if we first do activity 1, then activity 2, then activity
3, ...., then activity 10, then activity 11 and the project would then take the sum
of the activity completion times, 30 weeks.
“What is the minimum possible time in which we can complete this project ? “
We shall see below how the network analysis diagram/picture we construct
helps us to answer this question.
CRITICAL PATH TAKES 24 WEEKS FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT
Packages are available to determine the shortest path
and other relevant information.
Data entry window
Output of the package
Limitations to CPM/PERT
 Clearly defined, independent and stable activities

 Specified precedence relationships
 Over-emphasis on critical paths
Gantt chart
Originated by H.L.Gantt in 1918
Advantages Limitations
- Gantt charts are quite commonly used. - Do not clearly indicate details regarding
They provide an easy graphical the progress of activities
representation of when activities (might)
take place. - Do not give a clear indication of
interrelation ship between the separate
activities

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PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Dr. Gnanasekar Thirugnanam

 “Aproject is a series of activities directed

Plan your work first…..then work your plan

Network analysis is the general name given to certain specific

CPM was developed by Du Pont and the emphasis was on the

 Definition: In CPM, activities are shown as a network of

USED IN : Production management - for the jobs of

 Definition: In PERT activities are shown as a network

USED IN : Project management - for non-repetitive

These deficiencies can be eliminated to a large extent by

 Overtime CPM and PERT became one technique

 Use of nodes and arrows

Arrows  An arrow leads from tail to head

Nodes  A node is represented by a circle

Activity on Node Activity on Arrow

- A completion of an activity - An arrow represents a task,

Each event has two important times associated with it :

Positive slack : Slack is the amount of time an event can be delayed

 Is that the sequence of activities and events

 Longest path through a network

 Useful at many stages of project

Illustration of network analysis of a minor redesign of a product and

•"What activities must be finished before this activity can start"

•could we complete this project in 30 weeks?

 Clearly defined, independent and stable activities

Originated by H.L.Gantt in 1918

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