Project Scheduling

INTRODUCTION
• Schedule converts action plan into operating
time table
• Basis for monitoring and controlling project
• Scheduling more important in projects than in
production, because unique nature
• Sometimes customer specified/approved
requirement-e.g: JKR projects
• Based on Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
 NETWORK TECHNIQUES

PERT CPM
-Program Evaluation and Critical Path Method
Review Technique Developed by El Dupont
- developed by the US for Chemical Plant
Navy with Booz Shutdown Project- about
Hamilton Lockheed same time as PERT
- on the Polaris
Missile/Submarine
program 1958

Both use same calculations, almost similar

Main difference is probabilistic and deterministic in time
estimation
Gantt Chart also used in scheduling
 NETWORK
• Graphical portrayal of activities and event
• Shows dependency relationships between
tasks/activities in a project
• Clearly shows tasks that must precede
(precedence) or follow (succeeding) other tasks in
a logical manner
• Clear representation of plan – a powerful tool for
planning and controlling project
Example of Simple Network – Survey
Example of Network – More Complex
 DEFINITION OF TERMS IN A NETWORK

• Activity: any portions of project (tasks) which required by project, uses up

resource and consumes time – may involve labor, paper work, contractual
negotiations, machinery operations
• Activity on Arrow (AOA) showed as arrow,
• AON – Activity on Node
• Event:beginning or ending points of one or more
activities, instantaneous point in time, also called
‘nodes’

• Network : Combination of all project activities and the events

PRECEEDING SUCCESSOR
ACTIVITY

EVENT
Emphasis on Logic in Network Construction

• Construction of network should be based on logical or

technical dependencies among activities
• Example - before activity ‘Approve Drawing’ can be
started the activity ‘Prepare Drawing’ must be completed
• Common error – build network on the basis of time logic
(a feeling for proper sequence ) see example below

WRONG !!!

CORRECT 
Example 1- A simple network
Consider the list of four activities for making a simple product:

Activity Description Immediate

predecessors
A Buy Plastic Body -
B Design Component -
C Make Component B
D Assemble product A,C

Immediate predecessors for a particular activity are the activities

that, when completed, enable the start of the activity in question.
 Sequence of activities
• Can start work on activities A and B anytime, since
neither of these activities depends upon the completion
of prior activities.
• Activity C cannot be started until activity B has been
completed
• Activity D cannot be started until both activities A and
C have been completed.
• The graphical representation (next slide) is referred to
as the PERT/CPM network
 Network of Four Activities

Arcs indicate project activities

A D
1 3 4

B C

Nodes correspond to the beginning

and ending of activities
 Example 2
Develop the network for a project with following activities and
immediate predecessors:
Activity Immediate
predecessors
A -
B -
C B
D A, C
E C
F C
G D,E,F
Try to do for the first five (A,B,C,D,E) activities
Network of first five activities

A D
1 3 4

E
B

C 5

2
We need to introduce
a dummy activity
 Network of Seven Activities
1 A 3 D 4 G
7
dummy E
B
C 5 F
2 6
•Note how the network correctly identifies D, E, and F as the
immediate predecessors for activity G.

•Dummy activities is used to identify precedence relationships

correctly and to eliminate possible confusion of two or more
activities having the same starting and ending nodes
•Dummy activities have no resources (time, labor, machinery, etc) –
purpose is to PRESERVE LOGIC of the network
 EXAMPLES OF THE USE OF DUMMYACTIVITY
Network concurrent activities
a
a 2

1 2 1 Dummy

b 3
b
WRONG!!! RIGHT 

Activity c not WRONG !

required for e
a
a e
d
1
b 1 b
e
d
c
2
c
WRONG
RIGHT
!!!

RIGHT 
 WRONG!!! RIGHT!!!

a d a d
1 1

b e b
2 2 4
e

c f c f
3 3

a precedes d.
a and b precede e,
b and c precede f (a does not precede f)
Scheduling with activity time
Activity Immediate Completion
predecessors Time (week)
A - 5
B - 6
C A 4
D A 3
E A 1
F E 4
G D,F 14
H B,C 12
I G,H 2
Total …… 51

This information indicates that the total time required to complete

activities is 51 weeks. However, we can see from the network that several
of the activities can be conducted simultaneously (A and B, for example).
Earliest Start (ES) & Earliest Finish(EF) time

• We are interested in the longest path through the network,

i.e., the critical path.

• Starting at the network’s origin (node 1) and using a

starting time of 0, we compute an earliest start (ES) and
earliest finish (EF) time for each activity in the network.

• The expression EF = ES + t can be used to find the earliest

finish time for a given activity.
For example, for activity A, ES = 0 and t = 5; thus the
earliest finish time for activity A is
EF = 0 + 5 = 5
Arc with ES & EF time
EF = earliest finish time

ES = earliest start time

Activity

2
]
A [0,5

5
1
t = expected activity
time
Network with ES & EF time
D[5,8] 5
2 3 ]
E[5 ,10

G [1 4
6
1 6]
, F[
5]

0,2
1
4
0,

7
A[

4]
26]
C[5,9]

4 4 ,
5

2
4

I[
1 6 2
B [0
,6 [9 ,21]
6 ] H
12
3

Earliest start time rule:

The earliest start time for an activity leaving a particular node is equal to
the largest of the earliest finish times for all activities entering the node.
 Activity, duration, ES, EF, LS, LF
EF = earliest finish time

ES = earliest start time

Activity
3

]
C [5,9 ]
2
4 [8,1
2
LF = latest finish time
LS = latest start time
 Latest start & latest finish time
• To find the critical path we need a backward pass calculation.

• Starting at the completion point (node 7) and using a latest finish

time (LF) of 26 for activity I, we trace back through the network
computing a latest start (LS) and latest finish time for each activity

• The expression LS = LF – t can be used to calculate latest start time

for each activity. For example, for activity I, LF = 26 and t = 2, thus
the latest start time for activity I is LS = 26 – 2 = 24
 Network with LS & LF time

D[5,8] 5
2 3[7,10]
0]

14[
G[1 ,24]
E[5 1
6, 0]

10
1[5 ,6] F[ 6,1

0,2
5[ 0,5]

,6]
4[

4]
7
5]
A[

26]
0,

4 24 ,
I[
C[5,9]
4[8,12]

2 4 ,26]
1 6 2[
B [0
6[6 ,6] [9 ,21]
,12
H
[ 1 2 ,24]
] 12
3

Latest finish time rule:

The latest finish time for an activity entering a particular node is equal to
the smallest of the latest start times for all activities leaving the node.
Slack or Free Time or Float
Slack is the length of time an activity can be delayed without affecting the
completion date for the entire project.
For example, slack for C = 3 weeks, i.e Activity C can be delayed up to 3
weeks 3
(start anywhere between weeks 5 and 8). ]
C [5,9 ]
4 [8,12
2
ES LS EF EF
5 8 9 12

LF-EF = 12 –9 =3

LS-ES = 8 – 5 = 3

LF-ES-t = 12-5-4 = 3
Activity schedule for our example
Activity Earliest Latest Earliest Latest Slack Critical
start (ES) start (LS) finish (EF) finish (LF) (LS-ES) path

A 0 0 5 5 0 Yes
B 0 6 6 12 6
C 5 8 9 12 3
D 5 7 8 10 2
E 5 5 6 6 0 Yes
F 6 6 10 10 0 Yes
G 10 10 24 24 0 Yes
H 9 12 21 24 3
I 24 24 26 26 0 Yes
 IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
• What is the total time to complete the project?
• 26 weeks if the individual activities are completed on schedule.

• What are the scheduled start and completion times for each activity?
• ES, EF, LS, LF are given for each activity.

• What activities are critical and must be completed as scheduled in order to

keep the project on time?
• Critical path activities: A, E, F, G, and I.

• How long can non-critical activities be delayed before they cause a delay in
the project’s completion time
• Slack time available for all activities are given.
Importance of Float (Slack) and Critical Path

1. Slack or Float shows how much allowance each activity has, i.e how
long it can be delayed without affecting completion date of project

2. Critical path is a sequence of activities from start to finish with zero

slack. Critical activities are activities on the critical path.

3. Critical path identifies the minimum time to complete project

4. If any activity on the critical path is shortened or extended, project

time will be shortened or extended accordingly
Importance of Float (Slack) and Critical Path (cont)

5. So, a lot of effort should be put in trying to control activities along this
path, so that project can meet due date. If any activity is lengthened, be
aware that project will not meet deadline and some action needs to be
taken.

6. If can spend resources to speed up some activity, do so only for critical

activities.

7. Don’t waste resources on non-critical activity, it will not shorten the

project time.

8. If resources can be saved by lengthening some activities, do so for non-

critical activities, up to limit of float.

9. Total Float belongs to the path

PERT For Dealing With Uncertainty

• So far, times can be estimated with relative certainty, confidence

• For many situations this is not possible, e.g Research, development, new
products and projects etc.

• Use 3 time estimates

m= most likely time estimate, mode.
a = optimistic time estimate,
b = pessimistic time estimate, and

Expected Value (TE) = (a + 4m + b) /6

Variance (V) = ( ( b – a) / 6 ) 2
Std Deviation (δ) = SQRT (V)
Precedence And Project Activity Times
Immediate Optimistic Most Likely Pessimistic EXP Var S.Dev

Activity Predecessor Time Time Time TE V 

a - 10 22 22 20 4 2
b - 20 20 20 20 0 0
c - 4 10 16 10 4 2
d a 2 14 32 15 25 5
e b,c 8 8 20 10 4 2
f b,c 8 14 20 14 4 2
g b,c 4 4 4 4 0 0
h c 2 12 16 11 5.4 2.32
I g,h 6 16 38 18 28.4 5.33
j d,e 2 8 14 8 4 2
The complete network

d 6
2
(15,25)
j
a (8,4)
(20,4) e
(10,4)
1 f 7
3
b (14,4)
(20,0)
g
c
(4,0)
(10,4) i
(18,28.4)
h 5
4
(11,5.4)
The complete Network

EF=20 35
d 6
2
a (15,25) j
(20,4) (8,4)
e
20 43
b(20,0) (10,4)
f CRIT. TIME = 43
1 3 7
(14,4)
g
c (4,0)
(10,4) i
(18,28.4)
h 5
4
(11,5.4)
10 24
 Critical Path Analysis (PERT)
Activity LS ES Slacks Critical ?
a 0 0 0 Yes

b 1 0 1

c 4 0 4

d 20 20 0 Yes

e 25 20 5

f 29 20 9

g 21 20 1

h 14 10 4

i 25 24 1

j 35 35 0 Yes
Assume, PM promised to complete the project in the fifty days.
What are the chances of meeting that deadline?
Calculate Z, where

Z = (D-S) / V
Example,
D = 50; S(Scheduled date) = 20+15+8 =43; V = (4+25+4) =33
Z = (50 – 43) / 5.745
= 1.22 standard deviations.

The probability value of Z = 1.22, is 0.888

1.22
What deadline are you 95% sure of meeting

Z value associated with 0.95 is 1.645

D = S + 5.745 (1.645)
= 43 + 9.45
= 52.45 days

Thus, there is a 95 percent chance of finishing the project by 52.45

days.
 Comparison Between CPM and PERT
CPM PERT
1 Uses network, calculate float or slack,
identify critical path and activities, Same as CPM
guides to monitor and controlling
project
2 Uses one value of activity time Requires 3 estimates of activity time
Calculates mean and variance of time

3 Used where times can be estimated Used where times cannot be estimated
with confidence, familiar activities with confidence.
Unfamiliar or new activities

4 Minimizing cost is more important Meeting time target or estimating

percent completion is more important

5 Example: construction projects, Example: Involving new activities or

building one off machines, ships, etc products, research and development
etc
 BENEFITS OFCPM / PERT NETWORK

Consistent framework for planning, scheduling, monitoring,

and controlling project.

• Shows interdependence of all tasks, work packages, and work

units.

• Helps proper communications between departments and

functions.

• Determines expected project completion date.

• Identifies so-called critical activities, which can delay the

project completion time.
 BENEFITS OFCPM / PERT NETWORK (cont.)

• Identified activities with slacks that can be delayed for

specified periods without penalty, or from which resources
may be temporarily borrowed

• Determines the dates on which tasks may be started or must be

started if the project is to stay in schedule.

• Shows which tasks must be coordinated to avoid resource or

timing conflicts.

• Shows which tasks may run in parallel to meet project

completion date