PGM 4811 Study Unit 4: Prepare a project programme/schedule
STUDY UNIT 4: PREPARE A PROJECT
PROGRAMME/SCHEDULE
Please note: This study guide should be read in conjunction with the module overview.
Table of contents
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………….1
LEARNING OUTCOMES ...................................................................................................... 1
KEY CONCEPTS .................................................................................................................. 2
PRESCRIBED MATERIAL .................................................................................................... 2
Recommended material and additional resources ..............................................................3
Activity 4.1 ........................................................................................................................... 4
Activity 4.2 ........................................................................................................................... 4
SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 5
INTRODUCTION
This Study Unit, as described in the Module overview, will provide you with all the tools of
deconstructing work packages from the WBS and establishing an inventory of activities. You will
also learn the process of determining activity duration, establishing logic of activities and
establishing a project schedule (programme), both in a Critical Path Method (CPM) and
programme evaluation and technique (PERT) method. You will learn the application of a project
programme and how to manage a project schedule and make decisions connected with
scheduling.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
This Study Unit deals with the following Specific Learning Outcome (SLO):
SLO: Prepare the project scheduling process through application of scheduling models
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PGM 4811 Study Unit 4: Prepare a project programme/schedule
On completion of this Study Unit, you should be able to prepare a
project schedule through application of scheduling models.
After having studied this Study Unit you will be able to:
▪ Identify and analyse an inventory of activities prepared from the
WBS
▪ Estimate working and calendar times for project activities, while
concepts related to parametric values are applied to learning
curves and project programme models
▪ Identify a comprehensive set of key performance indicators for
project deliverables and activities
▪ Determine project resource requirements and allocate them
appropriately
KEY CONCEPTS
▪ Deconstruction of a WBS
▪ roject scheduling
▪ Bar chart/Gantt chart
▪ Critical Path Method (CPM)
▪ Programme evaluation and review technique (PERT)
▪ Resource levelling
▪ Project acceleration and/or crashing
PRESCRIBED MATERIAL
Module slides for Study Unit 4.
Meredith, J. R., Mantel, S. J., & Shafer, S.M (2019). Project
Management - A Managerial Approach, 10th Edition, John Wiley &
Sons (Chapters 8 & 9).
Gaur, A. (2017). Critical Path Method Schedule Analysis, 21
September.
https://milestonetask.com/critical-path-method-network-
analysis/#.Xqia0kl7nSE
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PGM 4811 Study Unit 4: Prepare a project programme/schedule
Recommended material and additional resources
The following additional resources are not compulsory but are highly recommended as they
will help to broaden your understanding of project scheduling models and how they are applied
in practice. Specifically, you will come to appreciate various approaches of using project
scheduling tools and interpretation of information/data. It will also help you to understand
project scheduling fundamentals as understood by various project practitioners and
researchers.
READ
Conceptual reading:
Brown, K. B. & Hyer, N. L. (2010). Managing Projects – A team-based
approach, McGraw-Hill International Edition, New York, USA
(Chapters 7 & 8).
Gray, C. F. & Larson, E. W. (2006). Project management – The
managerial process, McGraw-Hill International Edition, New York,
USA (Chapter 6,8 &9).
Contextual reading:
Association for project management (APM). (2019). Body of
Knowledge. 7th edition. Available at:
https://www.apm.org.uk/resources/what-is-project-management/
Project Management Institute (PMI) (2021). A Guide to the Project
Management Body of Knowledge (7th Edition), Newtown Square, PA:
Project Management Institute, USA.
WATCH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK8ss3EfzbM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNWSQOynrl0
What you have covered so far has equipped you with all the necessary fundamentals and
tools to prepare a project detailed programme or schedule. You are now in a position to
prepare a project schedule in CPM and PERT and use the same to manage the project and
make informed decisions. The subsequent Activities 4.1 and 4.2 are testing your ability to
prepare any project schedule and to make appropriate decisions based on information
contained in the programme.
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PGM 4811 Study Unit 4: Prepare a project programme/schedule
Activity 4.1
Based on compulsory and recommended contextual reading, think
about any project based in any sector or industry and located in any
country across the African continent.
Now, try to answer the following questions and post your answers to a
discussion forum for your peers to discuss and make commentaries:
▪ How are WBS and project networks linked and how do activities
differ from events?
▪ Reducing the project duration increases the risk of being late.
Explain why? To support your answer, cite relevant examples.
REFLECTION
▪ Are you able to deconstruct a WBS, generate an inventory of
activities and prepare a fully-fledged project programme? Work on
an example starting from any list of activities and their
predecessors, prepare a network, determine the project duration
and identify the project critical path.
▪ Summarise the salient fundamentals of a project programme by
using both CPM and PERT.
Activity 4.2
Step 1: Take a critical look at any project, based in any sector or
industry and located in any country across the African continent.
Step 2: Now, assess the assumed project against the knowledge
gained in this unit and answer the following questions:
▪ Establish a list of steps which are necessary before preparing a
project timetable (programme) and qualify each step by
describing possible deliverables for each step.
▪ If you were preparing a project timetable (programme), what
information would you extract from the programme to help you
make informed decisions on offering extension of time to project
service providers and accelerate (or crash) the project?
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PGM 4811 Study Unit 4: Prepare a project programme/schedule
REFLECTION
▪ What is the fundamental project scheduling aspect of project
implementation? Comment on what Activity-On-Arrow (AOA)
and Activity-On-Node (AON) approaches are?
▪ Can you schedule a project using both AOA and AON
approaches? In your opinion, which of the two approaches is
extensively used in practice?
▪ Do you think you are now able to understand the difference
between project deterministic and probabilistic scheduling
models?
▪ Now, go a step further and reflect on scheduling tools and
fundamentals and your ability to use them to make decisions in
preparing project programmes during project planning phases
and applying them during project implementation using them to
control project parameters. Describe the scheduling tools and
their fundamentals in practice.
SUMMARY
This Study Unit aimed to introduce you to the fundamentals and tools of project scheduling. It
also exposed you to the benefits of using a network in both AOA or AON for planning and
controlling a project. This Study Unit also attempted to put you in a position to master the
rudiments of constructing networks and enable you to identify early and late dates for all project
activities, critical activities, activities floats (slacks) of different types and probabilities of project
completion by various times. Towards the end, this unit provided you a picture of scheduling
processes where your mastery provided you a sound base to manage a project timetable and
the ability to make informed decisions.
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