5.

1
Lesson 5:
Activity Sequencing & Scheduling

In this lesson we shall consider the nature of activities, the logical relationship
between them, and how networks can be used as a basis for planning and
scheduling.

On completion of this lesson you should be able to:

• List and describe the relationships that might exist between activities

• Construct a network diagram and use it to identify the critical path through a
project

• Construct and interpret a simple Gantt Chart.

Lesson 5 covers Chapters 10 & 11 of the Text Book by Burke

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.2
Study Guide

• Almost all the material for this lesson is contained in Chapters 10 and 11
of the Text Book “Project Management Planning and Control
Techniques” by Rory Burke

• Chapter 10 introduces the Critical Path Method (CPM), whilst the focus
of Chapter 11 is on Schedule Bar Charts.

• You are encourage to read these Chapters from the Text Book by
Burke in conjunction with this lecture notes.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.3
Time Management
• In Lesson 1, PMBOK defines Time Management as a subset of project
management that includes the processes required to ensure timely
completion of the project. It consists of:

– Activity definition: identifying the specific activities that must be

performed to produce the various project deliverables

– Activity sequencing: identifying and documenting interactivity

dependencies

– Activity duration estimating: estimating the number of work periods that

will be needed to complete individual activities

– Schedule development: analyzing activity sequences, activity durations,

and resource requirements to create the project schedule

– Schedule control: controlling changes to the project schedule

• This lesson will focus on activity definition, activity sequencing and schedule
development.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.4
Activities
• It is pointed out in the PMBOK that activity definition involves identifying the
specific activities that must be performed to produce the deliverables and
sub-deliverables identified in the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS).

• You should read Sections 1 to 3 in Chapter 10 of the Text Book by Burke

• In agreement with PMBOK, Burke points out that the WBS breaks the project
down into manageable work packages that can be further broken down into a
list of activities.

• The PMBOK defines an activity as, “an element of work performed during
the course of a project”. PMBOK goes on to say that an activity normally
has an expected duration, an expected cost, and expected resource
requirements.

• Activities can themselves be broken down into tasks that require, ‘the lowest
level of effort on a project’.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.5

• Activity definition then can be seen as an extension of the Work Breakdown

Structure, which produces three main outputs.:

1. An Activity List
– A list that includes all activities that will be carried out on the project.

2. Supporting Detail
– This might include all assumptions and constraints.

3. Work Breakdown Structure Updates

– The process of activity definition might identify gaps in the Work
Breakdown Structure or areas where clarification is needed. In such
situation, the WBS should be modified accordingly.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.6

• Understanding the relationship between tasks is a fundamental requirement

in scheduling. We need to be able to identify which activities must precede
or be preceded by others.

• Burke suggests that relationships can be either mandatory or discretionary.

According to him, certain activities must be preceded by others. He
describes these as mandatory and gives as an example the absolute need
for foundations to be in place before walls can be built. In such cases the
planner has no choice about which activity must be completed first.

• In contrast, he points to activities where the sequence is determined by

best practice as set out by the team or perhaps in an agreed code of
practice. He describes these relationships as discretionary or the subject of
‘soft logic’.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.7
Network Diagrams
• The network diagram may be defined as a graphical presentation of the
project’s activities showing planned sequence of work. It is also called
the PERT chart (Program Evaluation Review Technique)

• In Chapter 10, of the Text Book, Burke refers to activity-on-node

(AON) and describes it as a concept where each activity is represented as
a node or box. The arrows are used merely to show the logical flow of the
project.

• Besides AON, the other convention used in constructing networks is known

as activity-on-arrow (AOA).

• In this convention (AOA) arrows represent activities whilst circles represent

events.

• Read Sections 3 to 6 in Chapter 10 of the Text Book by Burke.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.8
Logical Relationships

The two logical relationships that can exist between all activities are:

(1) Activities in Series:

• Are those in which the preceding activity must be completed before the
next can start.

• For example, activities performed in series on a house project would be the

foundation (activity A100), followed by the walls (A200), followed by the roof
(A300). The network diagram is as shown below.

A100 (Task 1) A200 (Task 2) A100 (Task 3)

Foundations Walls Roof

Fig. 1. Activities in Series

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.9

(2) Activities in Parallel:

• Are those which can be performed at the same time, which is more
efficient use of time than activities in series.

• For example, a house project would include the installation of plumbing

(activity A400) and electrical fittings (A500) carried out simultaneously
after the roof is fitted (A300), followed by the painting (A600). The network
diagram is as shown below.

A400 (Task 4)
Plumbing

A300 (Task 3) A600 (Task 6)

Roof Painting

A500 (Task 5)
Electrical
Fig. 2. Activities in Parallel

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.10
Activity Logic Table
• Consider the activity logic given in Table 1 below and see how this information
is used to construct the network diagram shown in Fig. 3.

• Do not worry by the labels i.e. A100, C1 etc. In a real project the labels would
be more meaningful in either naming or representing real activities and
constraints.

Table 1. Example of an Activity Logic Table

Preceding Activity Constraint Succeeding Activity

Start C1 A100
A100 C2 A200 The
A100 C3 A300 network
diagram
A200 C4 A400
is shown
A300 C5 A500 in Fig. 3.
A400 C6 A600
A500 C7 A600
A600 C8 Finish

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
 5.11

C4
A200 A400
C2 C6
C1 C8
A100 A600
Start Finish

C3 C5 C7
A300 A500

Fig. 3. The PERT chart or network diagram drawn using the data in Table 1
• Numbered rectangles are nodes and represent activities or events
• Directional arrows represent dependent tasks that must be completed sequentially
• Diverging arrow directions (e.g. A100-A300 and A100-A200) indicate possibly
concurrent tasks

• The advantage of the network diagram is that dependencies are easily

seen.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.12

Review Q3

With reference to Fig. 3, classify the activity relationships below as either

series or parallel.

1) A100, A200, A400, A600

2) A200, A300
3) A400, A300

Answer:

1) Activities A100, A200, A400, A600 must take place in sequence, each
being completed before the next can begin. The activities are therefore in
a series relationship.

2) Activities A200, A300 can proceed together provided A100 has been
completed. They therefore have a parallel relationship. Note that they
can be done at the same time but may not be necessary.

3) A400, A300 are also in a parallel relationship.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.13

• Now assuming that the network diagram as shown in Fig. 3 is given. Transpose
the logic and fill up Table 2 below:

Table 2. Activity Logic Table (obtained from Fig. 3)

Activity Preceding Activity Duration

A100 Start 2
A200 2
A300 1
A400 4
A500 2
A600 2

• Table 2 is a commonly adopted convention. It is useful in showing each

activity and its duration. It also shows for each activity all the other
activities that must be completed before it can be started. The table therefore
shows the activity logic by including activity duration is a basis for further
planning.
Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.14
Critical Path Method (CPM)

• Having identified activity relationships and durations it is possible to establish

the start and finish dates for each activity and for the project as a whole.

• You should read the remainder of Chapter 10: Critical Path Method in the
Text Book by Burke. Take care to become familiar with the terminology
used and to work through and understand the worked examples provided.

• Most projects involve a large number of related activities. The logic diagram
enables the project planner to understand the order in which activities can take
place.

• Meeting the target completion date for a project normally requires that some
activities are started as soon as the preceding ones are completed. In other
cases there is likely to be some flexibility about when activities can be started
and completed.

• It is in understanding and planning these issues of timing that network diagrams

and critical path analysis assist the project planner.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.15

• Activity boxes such as the one shown in Fig. 4 below are the basic building
blocks of the network diagram.

Early Start Early Finish

ES EF

Activity Number F No Dur

Float Duration short
(description)
form
LS LF
Late Start Late Finish

Fig. 4. Typical layout of an Activity Box showing time analysis

• The activity box contains vital information that facilitates and is the result of the
analysis of the network. Details of the activity number, description and duration
are available prior to the analysis.

• Information on activity start, finish and float are the result of the analysis.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.16
CPM: Forward Pass

• The term forward pass is used to define the process of calculating the early
start date (ES) and early finish date (EF) for all activities.

• Consider a simple project activity logic table with two activities A and B as
shown below. The relationship between A and B is finish-to-start, this means
activity A must be completed before B can start.

Table 3. Activity logic table

Activity No. Preceding Activity Duration (days)

A Start 3
B A 4

• From the logic table, assuming that Activity A starts on Day 1 (e.g. Mon) and
finishes on day 3 (i.e. Wed), and Activity B starts on Day 4 (i.e. Thurs) and
finishes on Day 7 (Sun), these activities can then be represented in a bar chart
as shown in Fig. 5.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.17

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat Sun
Activity A
(3 days duration) ES EF

Activity B
(4 says duration) ES EF

Fig. 5. Bar chart or Gantt chart

The calculation of the various parameters for both Activities are as follow:

• To Find Early Finish (ES)

EF = ES + Duration – 1

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.18

• The EF of Activity A as depicted in Fig. 6 can be found as follow:

EF(A) = ES(A) + Dur(A) – 1 (note “ – 1” is to account for the start day

=1+3–1=3 of activity A)

• The ES of Activity B is found from:

ES(B) = EF(A) + 1 (note “+ 1” Activity B can only start the day after
=3+1=4 Activity A has finished)

• The EF of Activity B is found from:

EF(B) = ES(B) + Dur(B) – 1

=4+4–1=7

• The complete forward pass diagram of the two activities are as below:

1 3 4 7
FS
A 3 B 4
Finish-to-Start Fig. 6. Forward pass

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.19

• Tips to carry out Forward Pass:

Step 1: ES(A) is taken as 1 1

A 3 B 4

Step 2: Find EF(A) 1

+ –1
A 3

Step 3: Find ES(B) 1 3 +1 EF(B)

+ –1
A 3 B 4

Step 4: Find EF(B)

Follow Step 2

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.20
CPM: Backward Pass
• The term backward pass is used to define the process of calculating the late
start date (LS) and late finish date (LF) for all activities.

• The late finish date for the last activity may be assigned, if not, use the early
finish date. E.g. consider the previous example for Activities A and B:

LF(B) = EF(B) = 7

• The LS of Activity B is found from:

LS(B) = LF(B) – Dur(B) + 1 = 7 – 4 + 1 = 4

• The LF of Activity A is found from:

LF(A) = LS(B) – 1 = 4 – 1 = 3

• The LS of Activity A is found from:

LS(A) = LF(A) – Dur(A) + 1 = 3 – 3 + 1 = 1

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
 5.21

• Tips to carry out Backward Pass:

Step 1: LF(B) is taken as EF(B) = 7

A 3 B 4

Step 2: Find LS(B)

+1 4
–
7

Step 3: Find LF(A) 1 3

+A1 3 B 4
–
LS(A) –1 4 7

Step 4: Find LS(A)

Follow Step 2

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.22
CPM: Float
• The backward pass diagram, adding on from the forward pass diagram of the
two activities are as below:

1 3 4 7
FS
A 3 B 4
Finish-to-Start Fig. 7. Backward pass
1 3 4 7

• The activity float is a measure of flexibility in activity’s scheduling. It indicates

how many days the activity can be delayed or extended before it will effect the
completion date of the activity or milestone of the project.

• Float can be calculated by either of the two equations:

Float (F) = Late Start (LS) – Early Start (ES)

Float (F) = Late Finish (LF) – Early Finish (EF)

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.23

• The float of Activity A and Activity B are found as follow:

F(A) = LS(A) – ES(A) and F(B) = LS(B) – ES(B)

=1–1=0 =4–4=0

• When the activity has ZERO (0) float this indicates it is on the critical path.

• The complete network diagram of activities A and B of the earlier example is

as shown below.

1 3 4 7
FS
0 A 3 0 B 4 Fig. 8. Network diagram
Finish-to-Start
1 3 4 7 showing float

• As an exercise, carry out the CPM time analysis for the logic Tables 1 & 2
and Fig. 3 of the earlier example (see next 3 slides)

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.24

Example 1

Using the logic table and activity data below,

draw the complete network diagram and the Gantt chart.

Table 4.
Activity Preceding Duration
Number Activity

A100 Start 2

A200 A100 2

A300 A100 1

A400 A200 4

A500 A300 2

A600 A400, A500 2

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.25

Solution:

Step 1: Fill up the Table below

Table 5.
Activity Duration Early Early Late Start Late Finish Float (F)
Number Start (ES) Finish (EF) (LS) (LF)
A100 2 1 2 1 2 0

A200 2 3 4 3 4 0

A300 1 3 3 6 6 3

A400 4 5 8 5 8 0

A500 2 4 5 7 8 3

A600 2 9 10 9 10 0

You must understand how these

values are obtained !
Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
 5.26

Step 2: Plot the Network Diagram as shown below Thick line showing
the Critical Path
4 8 of the project
3 5
0 A200 2 0 A400 4
3 4 5 8

1 2 9 10
0 A100 2 0 A600 2
1 2 9 10

3 3 4 5
Key
3 A300 1 3 A500 2
Fig. 6 ES EF
6 6 7 8
F No Dur
LS LF

The Critical Path by definition links all the activities with zero float. It is important to
identify the critical path, because if any of these activities are delayed the end date
of the project will be extended. In this case, the following activities have zero float:
A100, A200, A400 & A600 as highlight in thicker line in the network diagram.
Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.27

Step 3: Plot the Bar chart or Gantt chart of the activities as shown below

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Mon Tues Weds Thurs Fri Sat Sun Mon Tues Weds
A100
A200
A300
A400
A500
A600

Fig. 7

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.28

Example 2

Find LF of A100 for the below network diagram situation by backward pass:

Solution:
There is 2 options:
A200
5 (a) LF (A100) = LS (A200) – 1
= 5–1=4
1 2 or
0 A100 2 (b) LF (A100) = LS (A300) – 1
1 LF = 8–1=7

The answer is the smallest of the

A300 two, i.e. 4. This is because if activity
Key
8 A100 is not completed by latest day
ES EF 4, activity A200 cannot start by latest
F No Dur day 5. Activity A300 is not affected
since it can start by latest day 8.
LS LF

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.29

Example 3

Find ES of A600 for the below network diagram situation by forward pass:

Solution:
10 There is 2 options:
A400
(a) ES (A600) = EF (A400) + 1
= 10 + 1 = 11
or
ES
A600 (b) ES (A600) = EF (A500) + 1
= 6+1=7

6 The answer is the biggest of the

Key two, i.e. 11. This is because activity
A500
ES EF A600 can only start when both
F No Dur
preceding activities are completed.
Note that activity A400 will be
LS LF completed earliest by day 10.
Activity A500 is not affected since it
is completed by day 6.
Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.30

Example 4

Using the logic table and activity data below, draw the complete network diagram.

Table 6
Preceding Succeeding Activity Duration
Activity Activity
100 2
Start 100
200 3
100 200
100 300 300 6
100 400 400 2
200 500
500 5
300 600
600 7
400 700
500 800 700 3
600 800 800 1
700 800
800 Finish

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
 5.31

Solution
You should be able to get the below completed network diagram !.

3 5 6 10
5 200 3 5 500 5
8 10 11 15

1 2 3 8 9 15 16 16
0 100 2 0 300 6 0 600 7 0 800 1
1 2 3 8 9 15 16 16

3 4 5 7
Key
8 400 2 8 700 3
ES EF
Fig. 8 11 12 13 15
F No Dur

= activities with zero float and thus are on critical path LS LF

In this case the critical path that links activities with zero float are 100, 300,
600 & 800 as highlight in thicker line in the network diagram.
Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.32

Example 5: Project Acceleration (Crashing Resources)

Assume the given below table that provide additional activity information for data
presented in Example 4.
Table 7
Activity No. Normal Time Resource per day Additional Crash Cost per
day ($)
100 2 2 $100

200 3 3 $50

300 6 3 $20

400 2 2 Cannot be crash

500 5 3 $10

600 7 2 $15

700 3 3 $55

800 1 2 Cannot be crash

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.33

• The network diagram in Fig. 8 indicates that the project will complete on day
16. Also activities that are on critical path are 100, 300, 600 & 800.

• Based on the given Table 7, note that activity 400 and activity 800 cannot
be crashed as indicated by the zero cost as shown in the last column.

• Now consider a situation where the client requests the contractor to advise
the cost implication to complete the project in 10 days (i.e. to shorten the
project duration by 6 days).

Procedure For Analysis:

Step 1:

• Re-analyse the network diagram by setting the LF of activity 800 to day 10

and then perform a backward pass to calculate the new LS, LF and F for all
other activities.

• You should be able to get the new network diagram as shown in the next slide
(Fig. 9).
Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
 5.34

The new network diagram for project duration 10 days.

3 5 6 10
– 1 200 3 – 1 500 5
2 4 5 9

1 2 3 8 9 15 16 16
– 6 100 2 – 6 300 6 – 6 600 7 – 6 800 1
–5 –4 –3 2 3 9 10 10

3 4 5 7
Key
2 400 2 2 700 3
Fig. 9 ES EF
5 6 7 9
F No Dur
= activities with negative float LS LF

The negative float (in circles) indicate which activities need to be crashed and the
priority can now be set starting by looking at the cost to crash activities that is on
the critical path first and then followed by other activities.
Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.35

Step 2:

• From the new network diagram in Fig. 9, the negative float will indicate which
activities need to be crashed. These activities are 100, 200, 300 500, 600 and
800.

• Looking at the earlier slide, Table 7, activities 400 and 800 cannot be crashed.

• Also note that activities 100, 300, 600 and 800 are on critical path.

• Now we can prepare a cost priority data for each activity with least cost to crash
first.

• So we have:

Activities that are on critical path and cannot be crashed = 800

Activities that are on critical path and have negative float = 100, 300 and 600
Other activities with negative float = 200 and 500
Prepare the following table:

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.36 Prepare these additional columns
Table 8
Activity No. Crash Days Crash cost per Total crash cost
day ($)

100 6 $100 $600

200 1 $50 $50

300 6 $20 $120

400 +2 - Cannot be crash

500 1 $10 $10

600 6 $15 $90

700 +2 $55 none as this activity has a float

of 8 days, see Fig. 8
800 6 - Cannot be crash

= activities on critical path

= activities with negative float

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.37

• Cost to crash the project by 6 days can be determined as analyzing Table 8.

Decision:

• The total cost that would be involved to crash the project by 6 days in
this example is $870.

• Note that this is a simple example and the cost may be in hundred of
thousands if not millions to crash large scale projects.

• From the revised network arm, since activity 800 also goes critical and
for some reason that activity which is on critical path and cannot be
crashed as stated in Table 7 when the target completion date is
reduced to 10 days, the client will most probably decides not to crash
the project.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.38
Time Cost Trade-Off
• Critical Path Method (CPM) was originally developed to address the time cost
trade-off (crashing).

• If a project’s duration is reduced or extended how will the costs change? To

do this calculation, one need to determine how costs are affected by time.

• Consider the following case:

- Rent increases with time
- Running cost such as water, electricity and gas would increase with time
- If the project duration is reduced, employee labour rate will increase if the
workers have to do overtime
- Contract labour on a fixed rate is not affected by time, but their productivity
may reduce if they work long hours
- Fixed price contracts may not be affected by time

• Simulating all these costs will give the Project Manager the overall effect of time
changes on project costs.

• This technique can be used for project acceleration where one need to know the
trade-off between cost of accelerating a project to meet certain milestones
compared with penalties of failing to achieve them.
Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.39
Time Cost Trade-Off
The below example shows how one can decide whether to accelerate a project.

Assume the following costs have been given for the latest company project:

• Indirect cost = $15 per day

• Project normally lasts for 18 days but could be reduced to 16 days for an
additional $50 per day

Activity Cost estimated $ per activity

A10 120
A20 90
A30 90
A40 105
A50 150
A60 240
A70 50
A80 30
A90 40

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.40
Time Cost Trade-Off
Analysis:

(a) Total activity cost (A10 to A90) for the project = $915
(b) Total indirect cost based on 18 days = (18  $15) = $270
(c) Additional cost incurred to accelerate the project to 16 days
= (16  $15) + (16  $50) = $1040

(d) Total cost of the project based on 18 days = (a) + (b) = $1185

(e) Total cost to accelerate the project to 16 days = (a) + (c) = $1955

• The increase in project cost can be found from:

[(e)  (d)]
% increase  100%  65%
(d )
Thus, this analysis indicate that the project cost will increase by 65% if the
project duration is reduced by 2 days to 16 days. The chances are, the
project will not be accelerated.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.41

Review Q

a) Briefly describe the purpose of Forward Pass and Backward Pass.

b) Outline what is meant by Activity Float.

Answer:

a) During the process of analyzing the network, a forward pass is used to calculate
the early start and finish dates or times for each activity. The backward pass is
used to calculate the late start and finish dates or times for each activity.

b) An important reason for analyzing a network is to determine what flexibility there

is in precisely when each activity must be started and completed. Activity float, or
slack, is a measure of the extent to which an activity can be delayed or extended
before having any effect on subsequent activities or the project as a whole.

If an activity has no float, there is no flexibility for it to be delayed or extended.

The sequence of activities in which there is no float is referred to as the Critical
Path and determines the duration of the project. If left unattended, a delay in any
activity on the critical path will inevitably lead to a delay in the project as a whole.
The progress of items on the critical path should therefore be closely monitored.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.42

Review Q

In Chapters 10 & 11, why does Burke suggest that it is advisable for the planner
to walk through the sequence of work with those who are going to perform the
work?

Answer:

Burke suggests that discussions with managers, supervisors and those who are
going to perform the work will help to ensure the build method is correct, gain
their commitment, and ensure objectives are achievable.

It will also help in gaining a clearer understanding of the logical relationships

between activities.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.43

Review Q

Finish-to-Start (FS) is generally accepted as the most common logical

relationship between activities. This simply means that the initiation of work
on the succeeding activity depends on the completion of work on the
preceding one. What are the other three logical relationships identified by
Burke in Chapter 10?

Answer:

Start-to-Start (SS): The initiation of work on the succeeding activity depends

on the initiation of work on the preceding one.

Finish-to-Finish (FF): The completion of work on the succeeding activity

cannot be accomplished until completion of work on the preceding one.

Start-to-Finish (SF): The completion of the succeeding activity depends on

the initiation of work on preceding one.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.44
Bar Chart and Gantt Chart
• Logic and network diagrams can be rather complicated, especially on large
projects with many activities.

• In such situations, a bar chart and Gantt chart, commonly used in project
management, is one of the most popular and useful ways of showing activities
(tasks or events) displayed against time.

• A typical Bar Charts and Gantt Charts will show on the left of the chart is a list
of the activities and along the top is a suitable time scale. Each activity is
represented by a bar; the position and length of the bar reflects the start date,
duration and end date of the activity, as shown in the below example.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.45

• This allows you to see at a glance:

 What the various activities are
 When each activity begins and ends
 How long each activity is scheduled to last
 Where activities overlap with other activities, and by how much
 The start and end date of the whole project

• The charts can be further developed to show activity float and the
relationships between activities.

• Bar Charts and Gantt Charts can also be further developed to show events
and milestones.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.46
Other Important Bar Charts

• Finally, in Chapter 11 of the Text Book, Burke draws attention to how

Revised Bar Charts, Rolling Horizon Bar Charts and Trend Bar Charts
can be used for monitoring and control.

• A progress bar can be drawn on the Bar Chart to do this by showing how
each activity is progressing against the original plan.

• You should read Chapter 11 for further clarification on this topic.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.47

Review Q

How might a Trend Bar Chart help a project manager to monitor and control a
project?

Answer:

An up-to-date Trend Bar Chart shows at intervals how activities are progressing
against the base line plan. The chart will show which activities are behind and
whether they are catching up or going further behind. The chart will also show
which activities are ahead and whether or not they are maintaining their position.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.48

Review Q

How does Burke define the term ‘Network Diagram’?

Answer:

The network diagram may be defined as a graphical representation of the

project’s activities showing the planned sequence of work.

In its simplest form only two items of information are required:

1) List of activities
2) Logic constraints

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.49

Review Q

What is meant by the following terms?

a) Early Start
b) Early Finish
c) Late Start
d) Late Finish

Answer:

a) The Early Start is the earliest date or time by which an activity can start
assuming all the preceding activities are completed as planned.

b) The Early Finish is the earliest date or time by which an activity can be
completed assuming all the preceding activities are completed as planned.

c) The Late Start is the latest date an activity can start to meet the planned
project completion date.

d) The Late Finish is the latest date an activity can finish to meet the planned
project completion date.
Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.50

Review Q

In the following the start and end are shown as two events, that is they have
zero duration. It has also been assumed that a succeeding activity can be
started as soon as the preceding one has been completed i.e. if a preceding
activity end on day 3, the succeeding activity can start on that day.

Perform a forward and backward pass and enter the start, finish and float
information for each activity.

0 1 5 2 4 4 3 F 0

Start
Finish

3 6

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.51

Answer:

The completed network should look like below.

0 0 5 5 9 11 14 14
0 0 1 5 2 2 4 0 4 3 F 0
0 0 5 7 11 11 14 14

Start
Finish
5 11
0 3 6
5 11

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.52

Review Q

Briefly define the three types of float identified by Burke in Chapter 10.

Answer:

1) Total Float. Float is shared with all other activities. If the float is used by
one activity, float available for other activities will be reduced.

2) Free Float. This is a measure the amount of float an activity can use up
without affecting the early start of other activities.

3) Negative Float. This is an indication that an activity must start before the
preceding activities are finished.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.53

Review Q

State the advantages and disadvantages of Gantt Chart or Bar Chart in terms of
planning and controlling projects.

Answer:
Advantages: Disadvantages

• Easy to assimilate and understand 1) Inter-Relationships. The Charts do not

explicitly indicate the sequence and
• Displays activity progress clearly interrelationships between activities.
and simply
2) Multiple Decision-Making. Before an
• Float is easily comprehended when activity can be placed on a chart a
shown on a chart number of factors have to be
considered and decided on
• Can be used to communicate and simultaneously:
disseminate schedule information – The logical sequence of the activities
– The activity duration, which depends
• Can be used as a key document for on procurement delivery, availability of
the management decision-making resources and funds available.
function
Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.54

Homework 1

a) Using the following logic table, draw a precedence network diagram.

b) Using the network diagram, carry out a forward and backward pass to
complete a time analysis.

c) Highlight the importance of the information obtained from the time analysis and
how they can be used in the project.

Activity Preceding Activity Duration (Days)

A - 5
B - 4
C A, B 2
D C 4
E C 6
F C 4
G E 5
H E, F 4
J D, G 2

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.55

Homework 2

a) Discuss the different methods of reducing project duration. Explain how

they could be used to achieve an earlier start date.

b) Describe the steps that should be undertaken, and the factors that need
to be considered when reducing the time scale (or crashing) a project.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.56

Homework 3

Outline the different types of activity relationships. Give examples of

how two different types of activity relationships can work.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.57

Homework 4

a) Draw a network diagram for the project information given below. Complete the
diagram with all the information including ES, EF, LS and LF.

b) Discuss the meaning of project Float (F) time and calculate it for each task.

c) Identify the Critical Path on the network diagram.

d) What is the expected time of completion of this project?

Tasks Predecessors Duration (Days)

100 - 2
200 100 3
300 100 6
400 100 2
500 200 5
600 300 7
700 400 3
800 500, 600, 700 1

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.58

Homework 5
a) Draw a precedence network diagram using the below logic diagram.

b) Highlight the important information that can be drawn from the network diagram.
Explain why this information is needed and how it can be used.

c) Based on the time analysis obtained from the network diagram, we can draw a
Gantt chart. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of the Gantt chart, and
highlight its uses in planning and controlling projects.

Activity Predecessors Duration (Days)

A - 5
B - 4
C A, B 2
D C 4
E C 6
F C 4
G E 5
H E, F 4
J D, G 2
Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.59

Homework 6
a) Draw a network diagram for the project information given in the table below.

b) Analyse the network and identify the Critical Path and project duration.

c) With reference to examples, critically discuss how a detailed analysis of the

network can help in effective Project Management.

Activity Predecessors Duration (Days)

A - 8
B A 12
C A 16
D A 20
E C 8
F B, C 24
G B 16
H F, G 20
J D, E, F 12
K J, H 8

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.60

Homework 7
a) For the logic table given below, draw and shown all the necessary data in the
network diagram.

b) Highlight the critical path on your diagram and state the earliest project
completion time?

c) It is suggested that the duration of the whole project could be shortened by 3 days
by completing Activity B in 3 days rather than 6 days. Rework the Network
Diagram and comment on whether this strategy would succeed. State the reasons
for your answer.

Tasks Predecessors Duration (Days)

A - 4
B A 6
C A 4
D C 2
E B 1
F B, C 3
G D, E, F 5

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.61
Lesson Summary

• The main points of this Lesson are summarized as follows:

– During this lesson we have considered the use of Network Diagrams

and Bar Charts. We have introduced a number of concepts and terms
and considered in particular the following:

– Establishing the logical relationship between all the project activities

– Identifying the sequence in which project activities must take place

– Used network analysis to calculate activity start and finish times and
activity float

– Defined a number of terms including the critical path

– Considered the use of bar and Bar Charts and Gantt Charts in
deriving, displaying and controlling schedules.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11
5.62
Resources

• Lesson 5 of this module requires you to read in their entirety Chapters 10

& 11 of the Text Book by Burke.

References

Project Management Body of Knowledge. (2000) PMI.

Lockyer and Gordon (1996) Project Management and Project Network

Techniques. Pitman.

Young, T. L. (1997) Planning Projects. The Industrial Society.

Source: Project Management, Planning & Control Techniques, 3E (1999) or 4E (2003), R. Burke: Chapters 10 & 11