Module - 3 Project Scheduling
Module - 3 Project Scheduling
PROJECT SCHEDULING
Differentiate types of cost and able to estimate various costs for given projects
A project schedule is created during the planning phase and includes the following:
The manufacture and assembly of a large generator (or other job-lot operations).
The most common form of project schedule is a Gantt chart. Both a milestone schedule and a
detailed project schedule can be created as a Gantt chart.
Two other popular project management scheduling techniques include the critical path method (CPM)
and the program evaluation and review technique (PERT).
CPM stands for Critical Path Method which was developed by DuPont Company and applied first to
the construction projects in the chemical industry while PERT developed during 1950’s and used in
conjunction with the planning and designing of the Polaris missile project.
Though both PERT and CPM techniques have similarity in terms of concepts, the basic difference is;
CPM has single time estimate and PERT has three time estimates for activities and uses probability
theory to find the chance of reaching the scheduled time.
CPM
Critical path method is an approach commonly used in construction project management
that bases the project schedule on the project’s critical path, i.e., the number of tasks involved in
the project and the order in which those tasks must be completed.
The critical path is the group of tasks essential to the project’s success, put in sequential order.
There can be other tasks involved in a project too, but if they are not on the critical path, they’re
known as float tasks.
The jobs may be started and stopped independently of each other, within a given sequence.
The jobs are ordered—that is, they must be performed in technological sequence. (For example, the
foundation of a house must be constructed before the walls are erected.)
COMPONENTS OF PERT/CPM NETWORK
PERT / CPM networks contain two major components
i. Activities, and
ii. Events
Activity: An activity represents an action and consumption of resources (time, money, energy) required
to complete a portion of a project.Activity is represented by an arrow, .
Event: An event (or node) will always occur at the beginning and end of an activity. The event has no
resources and is represented by a circle. The ith event and jth event are the tail event and head
event respectively.
MERGE AND BURST EVENTS
One or more activities can start and end simultaneously at an event
• The critical path for any network is the longest path through the entire network.
• Since all activities must be completed to complete the entire project, the length of
the critical path is also the shortest time allowable for completion of the project.
• Thus if the project is to be completed in that shortest time, all activities on the
critical path must be started as soon as possible.
• These activities are called critical activities.
• If the project has to be completed ahead of the schedule, then the time required for
at least one of the critical activity must be reduced.
• Further, any delay in completing the critical activities will increase the project
• duration.
The activity, which does not lie on the critical path, is called non-critical activity.
These non-critical activities may have some slack time.
The slack is the amount of time by which the start of an activity may be
delayed without affecting the overall completion time of the project.
But a critical activity has no slack.
To reduce the overall project time, it would require more resources (at
extra cost) to reduce the time taken by the critical activities to complete
PERT
You can use the PERT formula to calculate the expected duration of a task and
completion time using:
For example, if the optimistic time is 30 minutes, the pessimistic time is 60 minutes, and the most
likely time is 45 minutes, the PERT formula would be: (30min + (4 × 45min) + 60min) ÷ 6 = 45
minutes.
EXAMPLE
Activities Immediate Optimistic Most Likely Pessimistic Expected Duration (Mean) Variance
Predecessor Time Time (Tm) Time (Tp)
(T0)
A Gantt chart is a project management tool that illustrates work completed over a period of time in
relation to the time planned for the work.
It typically includes two sections: the left side outlines a list of tasks, while the right side has a timeline
with schedule bars that visualize work.
The Gantt chart can also include the start and end dates of tasks, milestones, dependencies between
tasks, and assignees.
In the early part of the 20th century, Henry Gantt created charts that recorded the progress of
workers to a task. It allowed supervisors to quickly see if production schedules were behind, ahead, or
on track
CONTINUE
Project managers use Gantt charts for three main reasons:
Build and manage a comprehensive project
Gantt charts visualize the building blocks of a project and organize it into smaller, more manageable tasks. The
resulting small tasks are scheduled on the Gantt chart's timeline, along with dependencies between tasks,
assignees, and milestones.
Determine logistics and task dependencies
Gantt charts can be employed to keep an eye on the logistics of a project. Task dependencies ensure that a
new task can only start once another task is completed. If a task is delayed (it happens to the best of us), then
dependent issues are automatically rescheduled. This can be especially useful when planning in a multi-team
environment.
Monitor progress of a project
As teams log time towards issues in your plan, you can monitor the health of your projects and make
adjustments as necessary. Your Gantt chart can include release dates, milestones, or other important metrics
to track your project’s progress.
BUILDING THE COST ESTIMATE
The funding of the project is governed by the total costs estimated for the
work to be performed, plus additional reserves to cover risk contingency
plans and estimation contingency, and general management reserves to
address the unknowns.
To build the cost estimate, it requires;
Establishing the Project Cost and Funding
The Cumulate Cost Curve
ESTABLISHING THE PROJECT COST AND FUNDING
Project
Cost
General Risk
Human
Admin. Contingency
Shared Estimation
Materials
Services Contingency
Managemen
Equipment R&D
t Reserves
Services &
Fees
THE CUMULATE COST CURVE
The project manager establishes a cumulative cost
curve that represents the financial “burn rate”
requirements of the project.
The curve will serve primarily to secure funding for
the total project.
In many cases, the project schedule can be divided
into convenient periods of time (monthly or
quarterly) or when key deliverables and milestones
are set.
At these milestones, management can review project
progress and release funds for the next period2
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
The project schedule cannot be concluded, nor approved, until such time as the appropriate resources are
allocated to the project.
The resource providers are:
Functional managers responsible for human resources who can contribute to the project and have the required
skills and competence profile. These managers must also consider the net availability of human resources who
may have involvement in operational work.
Line managers responsible for the allocation and distribution of asset resources such as equipment.
Providers of services.
Suppliers of products.
Contractors for turnkey projects.
The project manager must discuss the resource requests with all the resource provider entities and adapt the
project schedule accordingly
RESOURCE PLANNING TECHNIQUES
The goal of a resource plan is to identify and assign the resources necessary to
execute the work. While largely focused on human resources and time, it may also
involve equipment, tools, supplies, production materials and so on, depending on the
nature of the project or program.
Resource-Loading Table and Histogram: A resource histogram is a visualization
and statistical tool used to manage resources. Typically, a simple table might give you
an idea of how you monitor your resources daily
Resource leveling is a project management technique that involves resolving over
allocation or scheduling conflicts to ensure a project can be completed with the
available resources. Resources include the time, materials, or tools needed to
complete a project.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES—RACI CHART
To conclude the agreement and assignment of resources, the project manager will
draft a matrix that highlights the roles and responsibilities of the functions assigned
to perform on the project.
This matrix can be a mirror of the WBS or can represent the project deliverables.
The RACI chart is commonly used to illustrate the roles and responsibilities matrix:
R—the resource responsible to perform the work
A—the individual accountable for the work to be performed
C—the individuals who are consulted to participate in the performance of the work
I—the individuals who will be informed about the work to be performed
PROJECT COMMUNICATION PLAN
Frequent and comprehensive communication is a key project success factor.
The project manager is the pivotal point of communication to the project team, the sponsor, and all stakeholders,
namely: internal functional managers who will provide resources, other internal departments, and all contributing
external organizations.
The communication plan will cover the information flow from and to the project. The plan is comprised
principally of project performance reports: scope, costs, and schedule and project status reports with progress
and forecasts.
Additionally, the communication plan will include project presentations, meeting minutes, change request status,
issues, and other pertinent information that needs to be circulated within the project.
The communication plan must illustrate how the information needs of all project team members and stakeholders
will be satisfied and verified with a feedback loop.
The plan defines for each stakeholder the type of communication most likely to be effective, specifying the timing
and frequency, the medium and the expected outcomes.
The results of the stakeholder communication plan are integrated into the project communication plan and the
project schedule. During project implementation, they are monitored through team meetings and regular report
SUMMARY