and

ACTIVITY ON ARROW ACTIVITY ON NODE

TEODORO A. AMATOSA, Jr., D. Eng.

Professorial Lecturer
[email protected]

Department of Civil Engineering

Northwest Samar State University
Activity on arrow (AoA) is a project management technique for planning
and scheduling activities. It uses circles, called nodes, to represent
each event in a project and arrows to represent acivities. The first node
is always the "START" event and the last node is the "END" event.
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Nodes Shows Where
Activities Begins And End
In A Sequence
 The Ending Node
The Starting Node
For an activity is the
For an activity is the
activity’s
activity’s
“I-node” “J-node”
• Determine the required order of tasks within a project
• Schedule tasks or activities in the most streamlined way possible
• Determine the optimal sequence of events, and their interconnectivity
• Determine the critical path through nodes
The CRITICAL PATH, which represents the longest path
through the project, is identified to determine the minimum
project duration. Key steps in scheduling computation for
AOA include:
 through the project, is identified to determine the minimum
project duration. Key steps in scheduling computation for
AOA include:

Forward Pass:
• Calculate the earliest start (ES) and earliest finish (EF) time for each
event.
• Begin with the project's start event and proceed forward through the
network.
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 through the project, is identified to determine the minimum
project duration. Key steps in scheduling computation for
AOA include:

Backward Pass
• Calculate the latest start (LS) and latest finish (LF) times for each event.
• Begin with the project's end event and proceed backward through the
network.
N
 through the project, is identified to determine the minimum
project duration. Key steps in scheduling computation for
AOA include:

Slack Calculation
• Calculate the slack (or float) for each activity, which is the time an
activity can be delayed without delaying the project.
• Slack = LS - ES or LF - EF.
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TASK PROPERTIES

DR Duration
ES Early Start
EF Early Finish
LS Late Start
LF Late Finish
SL Slack or Float
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5

A,2
1 2 6
C,10
F,6
4
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5

A,2
1 2 6
C,10
F,6
4
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5
A,2 A+B+D+E =19
1 2 A+C+F 6
C,10
F,6
4
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5
A,2 A+B+D+E =19
1 2 A+C+F =18 6
C,10
F,6
4
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5
A,2 A+B+D+E =19
1 2 CRITICAL PATH 6
C,10
F,6
4
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5
A,2
FORWARD PASS
1 2 6
ES+DR=EF
C,10
F,6
4
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5
A,2
FORWARD PASS
1 2 6
0
ES+DR=EF
C,10
F,6
4
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5
A,2
FORWARD PASS
1 2 6
0 2
ES+DR=EF
C,10
F,6
4
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5
A,2
2 6
2
C,10
F,6
4
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5
2
A,2
2 6
2
C,10
F,6
4
2
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5
2 7
A,2
2 6
2
C,10
F,6
4
2 12
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5
2 7

2 6
C,10
F,6
4
2 12
 B,5 D,6 E,6
3 5
2 7 7 13

2 6
C,10
F,6
4
2 12
5 D,6 E,6
3 5
2 7 7 13

6
,10
F,6
4
2 12
5 D,6 E,6
3 5
2 7 7 13 13 17

6
,10
F,6
4
2 12 12 18
5 D,6 E,6
3 5
2 7 7 13 13 17

BACKWARD PASS 6
LF-DR=LS
,10
F,6
4
2 12 12 18
5 D,6 E,6
3 5
2 7 7 13 13 19
2 7 7 13 13 18

BACKWARD PASS 6
LF-DR=LS
,10
F,6
4
2 12 12 18
3 13 13 18
5 D,6 E,6
3 5
2 7 7 13 13 19
2 7 7 12 13 19

BACKWARD PASS 6
LF-DR=LS
,10
F,6
4
2 12 12 18
3 13 13 19
 B,5 D,6
3 5
2 7 7 13
A,2 2 7 7 12
2 ALWAYS TAKES SMALLER NUMBER
0 2 ON BACKWARD PASS
0 2 C,10
4
2 12
3 13
 through the project, is identified to determine the minimum
project duration. Key steps in scheduling computation for
AOA include:

• Simplicity: AOA is relatively easy to understand and implement, making it

ADVANTAGES:

suitable for smaller projects.

• Clear Dependency Visualization: The arrow direction clearly shows task
dependencies, facilitating project understanding.
• Easy Critical Path Determination: Identifying the critical path, which indicates
the longest path through the project, is straightforward.
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 through the project, is identified to determine the minimum
project duration. Key steps in scheduling computation for
DISADVANTAGES: AOA include:

• Lack of Detail: AOA may not provide sufficient detail for complex projects with
multiple parallel activities.
• Limited Resource Management: Resource allocation and resource leveling are
more challenging in AOA.
• Less Commonly Used: AOA is less common in practice compared to AON.

N
is another network analysis method that represents activities as
nodes, with arrows indicating dependencies between activities.
AON offers a more intuitive representation of project activities.
Key components of AON include:
 through the project, is identified to determine the minimum
project duration. Key steps in scheduling computation for
ADVANTAGES: AOA include:

• Detailed Representation: AON can represent complex projects with multiple

parallel activities and complex dependencies.
• Resource Management: AON is more suitable for resource allocation and
leveling.
• Common Usage: AON is widely used in various industries due to its flexibility.
 through the project, is identified to determine the minimum
project duration. Key steps in scheduling computation for
DISADVANTAGES: AOA include:

• Complexity: AON can become complex for large projects, making it challenging
to visualize without appropriate software tools.
The CRITICAL PATH is also identified to determine the minimum project
duration. Key steps in scheduling computation for AON include:
Forward Pass
• Calculate the earliest start (ES) and earliest finish (EF) times
for each activity.
• Begin with the activities that have no predecessors and work
forward through the network.
Backward Pass
• Calculate the latest start (LS) and latest finish (LF) times for each
activity.
• Begin with the activities that have no successors and work backward
through the network.
Slack Calculation
• Calculate the slack (or float) for each activity.
• Slack = LS - ES or LF - EF.
 n

Critical Path Identification

• Identify the critical path by selecting the path with zero slack.
• Any delay on the critical path will delay the project's completion.
NETWORK

•
•

•
•
•
•
•
Activity
Parallel (Concurrent)
Activity:
Merge Activity:
Burst Activity:
Milestone
TASK PROPERTIES

DR Duration
ES Early Start
EF Early Finish
LS Late Start
LF Late Finish
SL Slack or Float
TASK PROPERTIES

ES A EF
SL

LS DR LF
 B D D

8 2
A FF

4 C E 10

3 3
Longest path through the project network (not the
path with the most number of tasks, but the one
that takes the longest

Any delay of a task on the critical path will

delay the entire project. Pm needs to watch

Task with zero slack

 B D
D

8 2
A FF
A-B-D-F
A-C-E-F
4 10
C E

3 3
 B D
D

8 2
A FF
A-B-D-F 4+8+2+10
A-C-E-F 4+3+3+10
4 10
C E

3 3
 B D
D

8 2
0 A FF
FORWARD PASS
ES+DR=EF
4 10
C E

3 3
 B D
D

8 2
0 A 4 FF
FORWARD PASS
ES+DR=EF
4 10
C E

3 3
 4 B 12 12 D 14
D

8 2
0 A 4 14 FF 24
ALWAYS TAKES LARGER NUMBER
ON FORWARD PASS
4 10
4 C 7 7 E 10

3 3
 4 B 12 12 D 14
D

4 8 12 12 2 14
0 A 4 14 FF 24
BACKWARD PASS
LF-DR=LS
4 14 10 24
4 C 7 7 E 10

3 3
 4 B 12 12 D 14
D

4 8 12 12 2 14
0 A 4 14 FF 24
BACKWARD PASS
LF-DR=LS
4 14 10 24
4 C 7 7 E 10

8 3 11 11 3 14
 4 B 12 12 D 14
D

4 8 12 12 2 14
0 A 4 14 FF 24
ALWAYS TAKES SMALLER NUMBER
ON BACKWARD PASS
0 4 4 14 10 24
4 C 7 7 E 10

8 3 11 11 3 14
 4 B 12 12 D 14
D

4 8 12 12 2 14
0 A 4 14 FF 24
SLACK OR FLOAT
SL=LS-ES
0 4 4 14 10 24
4 C 7 7 E 10

8 3 11 11 3 14
 4 B 12 12 D 14
D
0 0
4 8 12 12 2 14
0 A 4 14 FF 24
SLACK OR FLOAT
0 0
SL=LS -ES
0 4 4 14 10 24
4 C 7 7 E 10

8 3 11 11 3 14
 4 B 12 12 D 14
D
0 0
4 8 12 12 2 14
0 A 4 14 FF 24
SLACK OR FLOAT
0 0
SL=LS -ES
0 4 4 14 10 24
4 C 7 7 E 10
4 4
8 3 11 11 3 14
 A B

8
START TO START
 A B

8
FINISH TO FINISH
 A B

8
START TO FINISH
 A B

8
FINISH TO START