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LMA8X05 – PROJECT MANAGEMENT

15 August 2022

Scheduling

Schedule is the conversion of a project action plan into an

operating timetable

Basis for monitoring a project

One of the major project management tools

Work changes daily, so a detailed plan is essential

Background Not all project activities need to be scheduled at the same level of
detail

Most of the scheduling is at the WBS level, not the work package
level

Only the most critical work packages may be shown on the

schedule

Most of the scheduling is based on network drawings

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Network Scheduling Advantages

• Consistent framework

• Shows interdependences

• Shows when resources are needed

• Ensures proper communication

• Determines expected completion date

• Identifies critical activities

Network Scheduling Advantages

• Shows which of the activities can be delayed

• Determines start dates

• Shows which task must be coordinated

• Shows which task can be run parallel

• Relieves some conflict

• Allows probabilistic estimates

Activity: A specific task or set of tasks that are required by

the project, use up resources, and take time to complete

Event: The result of completing one or more activities

Network: The combination of all activities and events that

define a project

Terminology
Path: A series of connected activities

Critical: An activity, event, or path which, if delayed, will

delay the completion of the project

Critical Path: The path through the project where, if any

activity is delayed, the project is delayed

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Terminology
Sequential Activities: One activity must be completed before the
next one can begin

Parallel Activities: The activities can take place at the same time

Immediate Predecessor: That activity that must be completed just

before a particular activity can begin

AON and AOA Format

Constructing the Network

• Begin with START activity
• Add activities without precedences as nodes
• There will always be one
• May be more
• Add activities that have those activities as precedences
• Continue

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Sample of Network Construction

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Sample of Network Construction

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Developed by Henry L. Gantt

Gantt (Bar) Shows planned and actual

progress
Charts

Easy-to-read method to know

the current status

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Advantages

• Easily understood
• Provide a picture of the
Advantages current state of a project
and
Disadvantage
Disadvantage

• Difficult to follow complex

projects
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Microsoft Project Gantt Chart

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Microsoft Project AON Network

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An Important Aside on Estimating Activity Times

• It is vital to good project management to be meticulously honest in estimating the time required to
complete each of the various tasks included in the project

• No false deadlines

• Evaluate alternative ways of completing work.

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Solving the Network

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The AON Network from the previous table

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Calculating Activity Times

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(a + 4m + b )
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æ (b - a ) ö
2

s2 =ç ÷
è 6 ø
s = s2

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Critical Path and Time

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Calculating Early and Late Start and Finish Dates

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Calculating Early and Late Start and Finish Dates

•Forward Pass

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Calculating Early and Late Start and Finish Dates

•Backward Pass

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Critical Path and Time

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Slack

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Slack Values

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First develop a good network diagram

Add the duration estimates for all activities on each

Calculating path through the network diagram

the Critical
Path The longest path is the critical path

If one or more of the activities on the critical path

takes longer than planned, the whole project
schedule will slip unless the project manager takes
corrective action

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Example of Determining the Critical Path

• Consider the following project network diagram. Assume all times are in days.

C=2 4 E=1
A=2 B=5
start 1 2 3 6 finish

D=7 5 F=2

1. How many paths are on this network diagram?

2. How long is each path?
3. Which is the critical path?
4. What is the shortest amount of time needed to complete this project?

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Example of Determining the Critical Path

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Exercise
• Given the information on the student data set for this problem, create the project schedule network.
Then, using the Two-pass method, calculate and show the early and late starts and slack for each
activity and the critical path.
Activity Days Immediate Predecessor
A 5
B 2 A
C 4 A
D 7 A
E 3 B
F 6 B,C
G 8 E,F

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Resource Allocation

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Allocating resources (human,

technical, etc) to projects
What is
Use in both individual and
Resource multiple, simultaneous projects
Allocation?
Relates to scheduling and
costs

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Critical Time and

Faster an
activity is
completed,
Path
costs are
interrelated more is the
cost

Method— Thus many

Crashing Change the

schedule and
you change
activities can
be speeded
up by
a Project the budget spending
more money

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To speed up, or expedite, a project

Of course, the resources to do this

must be available
What is
Crunching a project changes the
Crashing / schedule for all activities
Crunching?
This will have an impact on schedules
for all the subcontractors

Crunching a project often introduces

unanticipated problems
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Crashing – Example

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Crashing – Example

Activity B on the
critical path is
the least
expensive
choice

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Crashing – Example

After 2 rounds,
both critical
paths are 23
days.

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Crashing – Example

Continuing to
crash activities
until it is not
worthwhile

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Crashing – Example

Continuing to
crash activities
until it is not
worthwhile

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Fast-tracking is another way

to expedite a project
• Mostly used for construction projects
• Can be used in other projects

Refers to overlapping design

Fast- and build phases
Tracking
Increases number of change
orders

Increase is not that large

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CPM/PERT ignore resource

utilization and availability

The With external resources, this may

Resource not be a problem

Allocation It is, however, a concern with

Problem internal resources

Schedules need to be evaluated in

terms of both time and resources

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Time limited: A project must be finished

by a certain time

Time Use Resource limited: A project must be

finished without exceeding some specific
and level of resource usage

Resource Overdetermined: when time, cost, and

Use scope are fixed

System-constrained: A project requires a

fixed amount of time and resources

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Resource Loading
• Resource loading describes the amount of resources an existing schedule requires

• Gives an understanding of the demands a project will make of a firm’s resources

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Resource Usage Calendar

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Less hands-on May be able to use

management is just-in-time inventory Improves morale
required

Resource Fewer personnel

When an activity has
slack, we can move
May also be possible
to alter the sequence

Levelling
problems that activity to shift of activities to
its resource usage levelize resources

Large projects with

Small projects can Software can multiple resources
levelize resources
be levelized by hand for larger projects are complex to
levelize

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Standards to Measure Schedule Effectiveness

1. Schedule slippage

2. Resource utilization

3. In-process inventory

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(1) Schedule Slippage

• The time past a project’s due date

• Slippage may cause penalties

• Different projects will have different penalties

• Expediting one project can cause others to slip

• Taking on a new project can cause existing projects to slip

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(2) Resource Utilization

• The percentage of a resource that is actually used

• Excess resource utilization and uncoordinated multiproject

scheduling can be expensive

• We want a schedule that smoothes out the dips and peaks of

resource utilization

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(3) In-Process Inventory

• This is the amount of work waiting to be processed because there

is a shortage of some resource

• Similar to WIP in manufacturing

• Holding cost is incurred

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Due 29 August 2022

Using the WBS of assignment 3, complete the following activities:

• Create a Gantt chart using Microsoft Projects
• Determine the critical path
• Determine the duration of the project
• Perform a resource allocation for each activity
• Calculate the overall cost of the project
• Create a budget for the project

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