Ch08

Project Management: A Managerial Approach 4/e

By Jack R. Meredith and Samuel J. Mantel, Jr.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Presentation prepared by RTBM WebGroup

Project ManagementA Managerial Approach

Chapter 8

Scheduling

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

Scheduling

In a project environment, the scheduling function is more important than it would be in an ongoing operation

Projects lack the continuity of day-to-day operations and often present much more complex problems of coordination

Chapter 8-2

Scheduling

The basic approach of all scheduling techniques is to form a network of activity and event relationships

This network should graphically portray the sequential relations between the tasks in a project

Tasks that must precede or follow other tasks are then clearly identified, in time as well as function

Chapter 8-3

SchedulingSuch networks are a powerful tool for

planning and controlling a project and have the following benefits: It is a consistent framework for planning,

scheduling, monitoring, and controlling the project

It illustrates the interdependence of all tasks, work packages, and work elements

It denotes the times when specific individuals must be available for work on a given task

Chapter 8-4

SchedulingNetwork benefits (cont.):

It aids in ensuring that the proper communications take place between departments and functions

It determines an expected project completion date

It identifies so-called critical activities that, if delayed, will delay the project completion time

It identifies activities with slack that can be delayed for specific periods without penalty

Chapter 8-5

SchedulingNetwork benefits (cont.):

It determines the dates on which tasks may be started - or must be started if the project is to stay on schedule

It illustrates which tasks must be coordinated to avoid resource timing conflicts

It illustrates which tasks may run, or must be run, in parallel to achieve the predetermined project completion date

It relieves some interpersonal conflict by clearly showing task dependencies

Chapter 8-6

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 was developed by the U.S. Navy in 1958

The Critical Path Method was developed by DuPont, Inc during the same time period

Chapter 8-7

Network Techniques: PERT and CPM

PERT has been primarily used for research and development projects

CPM was designed for construction projects and has been generally embraced by the construction industry

The two methods are quite similar and are often combined for educational presentation

Chapter 8-8

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 Chapter 8-9

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 project’s critical path is understood to mean that sequence of critical activities that connect the project’s start event to its finish event Chapter 8-10

TerminologyAn 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 networkThe interconnections depend on the

technological relationships described in the action plan Chapter 8-11

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

Chapter 8-12

Drawing Networks

Chapter 8-13

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

Chapter 8-14

Scheduling

Chapter 8-15

Gantt Charts

There are several advantages to the use of Gantt charts: Even though they may contain a great

deal of information, they are easily understood

While they may require frequent updating, they are easy to maintain

Gantt charts provide a clear picture of the current state of a project

They are easy to construct Chapter 8-16

Summary

Scheduling is particularly important to projects because of the complex coordination problems

The network approach to scheduling offers a number of specific advantages of special value for projects

Critical project tasks typically constitute fewer than 10 percent of all the project tasks

Chapter 8-17

Summary

Although research indicates technological performance is not significantly affected by the use of PERT/CPM, there did seem to be a significantly lower probability of cost and schedule overruns

Network techniques can adopt either an activity-on-node or activity-on-arc framework without significantly altering the analysis

Chapter 8-18

Summary

Networks are usually constructed from left to right, indicating activity precedence and event times as the network is constructed

Gantt charts are closely related to network diagrams, but are more easily understood and provide a clearer picture of the current state of the project

Chapter 8-19

Scheduling

Questions?

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Picture Files

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Figure 8-30

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Table Files

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