Chapter 8

Scheduling

Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Useful Abbreviations
l CPM

- Critical Path Method

l GERT - Graphical Evaluation and
Review Technique
l PERT - Program Evaluation and
Review Technique

Background
l
l
l
l
l

Schedule is the conversion of a project action

plan into an operating timetable
Basis for monitoring project
One of the major project management tools
Work changes daily so a detailed plan is
essential
Not all activities on a project need to be
scheduled to the same level of detail

Background
l Most

Continued

scheduling is at the WBS level,

not the work package level
l Only the most critical work packages
may be shown on schedule
l Most scheduling is based on network
drawings

Network Scheduling Advantage

l Consistent

framework
l Shows interdependences
l Shows when resources are needed
l Ensures proper communication
l Determines expected completion date
l Identifies critical activities

Network Scheduling Advantage

Continued

l Shows

which activities can be delayed

l Determines start dates
l Shows which tasks must be
coordinated
l Shows which tasks can run in parallel
l Relieves some conflict
l Allow probabilistic estimates

Network Scheduling Techniques

l
l

Developed 1958 1959 for Polaris missile/

submarine project
Initially, CPM and PERT were two different
approaches

CPM used deterministic time estimates and

allowed project crunching
PERT used probabilistic time estimates

Microsoft Project (and others) have blended

CPM and PERT into one approach

Terminology
l

l
l

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
Network - The combination of all activities
and events that define a project

Drawn left-to-right
Connections represent predecessors

Terminology
l
l

Continued

Path - A series of connected activities

Critical - An activity, event, or path which, if
delayed, will delay the completion of the
project
Critical Path - The path through the project
where, if any activity is delayed, the project is
delayed

There is always a critical path

There can be more than one critical path

Terminology
l
l
l

Continued

Sequential Activities - One activity must be

completed before the next one can begin
Parallel Activities - The activities can take
place at the same time
Immediate Predecessor - That activity that
must be completed just before a particular
activity can begin

Terminology
l Activity

Continued

on Arrow - Arrows represent

activities while nodes stand for events
l Activity on Node - Nodes stand for
events and arrows show precedence

AON and AOA Format

Figure 8-2

Figure 8-3

Constructing the Network (AON

Version)
l Begin

with START activity

l Add activities without precedences
There will always be one
May be more

l Add

activities that have those activities

as precedences
l Continue

Gantt Charts
l Developed

by Henry L. Gantt
l Shows planned and actual progress
l Easy-to-read method to show current
status

Advantages and Disadvantages

l Easily

understood
l Provide a picture of the current state of
a project
l Difficult

to follow with complex projects

Microsoft Project Gantt Chart

Figure 8-11

Microsoft Project AON Network

Figure 8-12

Solving the Network

Table 8-1

The AON Network

Figure 8-14

Calculating Activity Times

(
a + 4m + b )
TE =
6

(b a )
=

6
2

The Results

Table 8-2

Critical Path and Time

Figure 8-15

Critical Path and Time

Continued

Figure 8-16

Slack

Figure 8-16

Slack Values

Table 8-3

Precedence Diagramming
l Finish

to start
l Start to start
l Finish to finish
l Start to finish

Precedence Diagramming Conventions

Figure 8-17

Microsoft Projects

Table 8-4

Gantt Chart

Figure 8-18

AON Network

Figure 8-19

Microsoft Project Calendar

Figure 8-23

Uncertainty of Project Completion

Time
l Assume

activities are statistically

independent
l Variance of a set of activities is the sum
of the individual variances
l Interested in variances along critical
path

Example

Z=

(D )

50 43)
(
=
=
33

7
= 1.22
5.745

The probability value of Z=1.22 is almost 89% likehood that project will be
completed within 50 days (see Table 8-5)

Example

D = + Z = 43+ 5.745 (1.645) = 52.45

The probability value of Z=1.645 is 95% likehood that project will be

completed within 52.45 days (see Table 8-5)

Toward Realistic Time Estimates

l
l
l
l
l

Calculations are based on 1% chance of

beating estimates
Calculations can also be based on 5% or
10%
Changing the percentage requires changing
the formulae for the variance
When using 5%, the divisor changes to 3.29
When using 10%, the divisor changes to 2.56