SCHEDULING THE PROJECT
Intro of Project Network Language of PERT & CPM
SCHEDULE
A schedule consists of a list of a project's terminal elements with intended start and finish dates. Terminal elements are the lowest element in a schedule, which is not further subdivided
PERT & CPM Networks
PERT vs CPM 1. Developed by the U.S. Navy, 1. Developed by DuPont a consulting firm & Lockheed Aircraft 2. Uses probabilistic estimates of activity durations It is used for non repetitive jobs Makes use of the dummy activities Deals with the concept of crashing. 2. Uses deterministic estimates of both cost and time to allow cost/time trade-offs Used for repetitive jobs Does not make use of the dummy activities Does not deal with crashing.
Continued.
PERT & CPM Networks
PERT & CPM similarities
1. Both methods employed networks to schedule and display task sequences 2. Both methods identified activities a critical path of tasks that could not be delayed without delaying the projects;
3. Both methods identified activities with slack (float)that could be somewhat delayed without extending the project time; 4. Anything that could be done with PERT can also be determined through CPM
The language of PERT/CPM
Activity- a set of tasks required by a project; use resources &
time
Event- An identified state resulting from the completion of one
or more activities. Events consume no resources or time
Milestones- identifiable and noteworthy events marking
significant progress on the project
Network- a diagram of nodes connected by directional arcs; Path- a series of connected activities between any two
events in a network Critical path- the set of activities on a path from the projects start to finish event, that if delayed, will delay the completion date of the project. Marked by events having a zero slack.
Building the Network
Two ways to display a network: AON (CPM), AOA (PERT) Example:
Tasks a b c d e f g
Predecessor --a b b c,d e AON S t a r t
c
f d S t a r t e
b
e
Example: Activity on Arrow
A completed sample of AOA network showing the use of a dummy task: 1 S S t t a a r r t t a a
c
1 d
d
b 2 2 e 4 e
S S t t a a r r t t
Dummy task: It shows a technological linkage. These are used in
situations where two activities have the same start and finish nodes or where a single activity connects to two or more nodes.
Critical Path & critical time
Activity A B C D E F G H Predecessor -A A A B, C D D, E Duration 5 days 4 3 4 6 4 5 6
I J
F G, H
6 4
Slack time
Slack/Float: It is the amount of time that an activity can be delayed without delaying the project; Slack= LST-EST = LFT-EFT
Problem
Activity Immediate Predecessor(s) Time Taken
A B C D E F G H I J K
A B B A C D A E,G,H F,I,J
12 9 10 10 24 10 35 40 15 4 6
Probabilistic Time Estimates
Pessimistic time (Tp): the maximum possible time required to accomplish a task, assuming everything goes wrong;
Most likely time (Tm): the best estimate of the time
required to accomplish a task, assuming everything proceeds as normal.
Optimistic time (To): the minimal possible time required to accomplish a task, assuming everything is in your
favour
Construct a PERT Network
Activity Precedences Optimistic A B C D E F None None A B C C 2 8 7 6 9 10 Time Estimates (Weeks) Pessimistic 4 8 11 6 11 18 Most Likely 3 8 9 6 10 14
G H
I J
C, D F, G
E I
11 6
4 3
11 14
6 5
11 10
5 4
Slacks/Floats Types
Total float
extra
time available to complete an activity if its started as early as possible and finished as late as possible. (LF- ES)
time available to complete an activity when its started at EOT of its preceding activity and finished at EOT of its succeeding activity an activity is started at LOT of preceding activity and finished at EOT of succeeding
Free float
Extra
Independent float
When
PROJECT CRASHING
Project Crashing
Crashing
reducing project time by expending additional resources
an amount of time an activity is reduced
Crash time
Crash cost
cost of reducing activity time Activity Cost Slope: It indicates the additional cost incurred per unit of[Crash cos t NormalCost ] time saved in reducing the duration [ Normal Time Crash Time ] of an activity. Activity cost slope:
Goal
Project Cost
Direct costs
Consists
of labor, material, machine time, etc. and is associated with individual activities. If the time duration of the activities are reduced, the direct cost increases.
Indirect Costs
Associated
with the project not the activities If the duration of the project is reduced/ crashed, the indirect costs decrease. Administrative overhead, rent of equipment, etc.
Time-Cost Tradeoff
Minimum cost = optimal project time Total project cost Indirect cost Cost ($)
Direct cost Crashing Project duration Time
Problem on crashing
For a network shown below, normal time, crash time, normal cost and crash cost are given in the table. Construct the network by crashing it to the optimum level and find out the optimal project cost. Indirect cost is given as Rs 100per day.
Activity NORMAL Time (days) Cost(Rs) CRASH Time (days) Cost(Rs)
1-2
2-3 2-4 2-5 3-4 4-5
3
6 7 8 4 5
300
480 2100 400 320 500
2
4 5 6 3 4
400
520 2500 600 360 520
Resource Leveling
Resource leveling is a project management technique used to examine unbalanced use of resources (usually people or equipment) over time, and for resolving over-allocations or conflicts
