UNIT FIVE: PROJECT PLANNING AND

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
4.1. Project planning
• Project Planning is foreseeing with blue print towards
some predicated goals or ends.

• Project plan is a skeleton which consists of bundle of

activities with its future prospects; it is a guided
activity.

• It is a plan for which resources are allocated and

efforts are being made to commence the project with
great amount of preplanning.
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• Need For Project Planning
• To Completely define all work requested so that it will
be readily identifiable to each project participant.
Besides,

– To eliminate or reduce uncertainty

– To improve efficiency of the operation
– To obtain a better understanding of the objectives
– To provide a basis for monitoring and controlling
work
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Functions of Project Planning

• It should provide a basis for organizing the work on the

project and allocating responsibilities to individuals.

• It is a means of communication and co-ordination

between all those involved in the project.

• It induces the people to look ahead.

• It instills a sense of urgency and time consciousness

• It establishes the basis for monitoring and control.

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• In planning a project, the project manager must
structure the work into small elements that are:
– Manageable,
– Independent,
– Integrated and
– Measurable in terms of progress.

• Project planning must be systematic and flexible

enough to handle unique activities, disciplined
through reviews and control and capable of
accepting multifunctional inputs.
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Tools of project planning and
management techniques
• These planning tools sometimes called Scheduling
techniques for project implementation.
• The most common scheduling techniques will
be discussed as follows:
i. Work break down
ii. Ghantt chart
iii. Network analysis.
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1. Work breakdown structure (WBS)
• The purpose of work breakdown structure
(WBS) is to help plan effectively for a project
by breaking key tasks or activities down in to
more manageable and smaller units of work.

• WBS produces a detailed list of tasks to be

performed for a project, helping to deliver
better costing, scheduling and resource
planning for a project.
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• It is a convenient means of graphically
presenting the work of the project in readily
understandable format.

• The project key stages form the highest level

of the WBS, which is then used to show the
detail at the lower levels of the project.

• The WBS does not show dependencies and is

not time based (no time scale on the drawing).
• See the sample WBS in pp.63
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2. Gantt Charts
• A time chart devised by Henry Gantt in 1917, an American engineer.

• A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart used for project scheduling.

• Each activity or task is depicted as a block over time; actual performance is

recorded in real time and compared to planned deadlines necessary for
achieving completion.

• The use of Gantt Charts as a tool

• Can be used to plan time scale for a project

• Can be used to estimate resources required
• Graphical illustration of a schedule of tasks to complete
• Helps to plan, coordinate, and track specific tasks for a project
• Good for small projects when the number of tasks or activities are small
and not complex e.g. good for simple projects.
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Sample Gantt chart
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3. Critical path analysis (CPA) or network
analysis
• Gantt charts are a poor time management tools when
projects are lengthy and complex, can not display or
indicate interdependencies in large projects .

• Network (or critical path) analysis can display more logically

the sequence and timing of each activity, they communicate
interdependency and a more effective time management
tool for large and complex projects.

The use of critical path analysis as a tool:

• Good visual communication and planning tool for effective
time management
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• Displays clearly interdependent relationships that exist
between the different activities or tasks to be completed
• Arranges tasks or activities into an optimum sequence
of events allowing a project to be completed in the
most efficient time possible

• ̧Elapsed time (or estimated time) to complete the

project can be calculated.

• Highlights those activities which are critical activities’

e.g. those tasks which must be completed within their
planned time otherwise the elapsed time (or estimated
time) of the project will not be achieved.
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• Enables more effective resource planning,
resources can be diverted away from non-critical
to critical activities

• Highlight ‘float times for all activities e.g. the

amount of time an activity or task can slip past its
planned completion time without delaying the
elapsed time (or estimated time) of the project.

• All critical activities have a float time of zero,

because each must be completed within their
planned completion time otherwise the elapsed
time of the project wont be achieved.
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Process of critical path analysis
• Break down project in to a logical sequence of
activities to be completed
• Estimate the time duration of each activity.
• Arrange activities in the most efficient
sequence of events and estimate the elapsed
time of the project
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• The technique can be broken down into 3 stages:
• 1. Planning:
• Identify tasks and estimate duration of times;
• Arrange in feasible sequence;
• Draw diagram.
•
• 2. Scheduling:
• Establish timetable of start and finish times.
•
• 3. Analysis:
• Establish float;
• Evaluate and revise as necessary.
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Example of an Activity Network

➢ Circles, representing events within the development lifecycle, such as

the start or completion of a task.
➢ lines, which represent the tasks themselves. Each task is additionally
labeled by its time duration.
➢ The primary benefit is the identification of the critical path.
➢ The critical path = total time for activities on this path is greater
than any other path through the network (delay in any task on the
critical path leads to a delay in the project).
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To Produce the Diagram

• There is a single start and end event;

• Time flows from left to right
• Events are given a unique number (activities then have a unique
label i.e. head & tail event numbers);
• The network can then be drawn taking into account the
dependencies identified;
• Working from the start event forward, calculate the earliest
times, setting the earliest time (EET) of the first event to zero.
• Add the job duration time to the earliest event time (EET) to
arrive at the earliest time for the successor event.
• Where the successor has more than one activity dependent on,
the latest time is entered;
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• Workings from the finish event backwards,
calculate the latest times (LET).
• Set the latest time to the earliest time for the
finish event.
• Subtract job duration from the latest time to
obtain predecessor latest event times.
• Where the predecessor event has more than one
arrow emanating from, it enter the earliest time;
• Event slack(ES) is calculated by subtracting the
earliest event time (EET) from the latest event
time (LET); ES= LET-EET
• Critical path(s) are obtained by joining the events
with zero event slack (ES=0).
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• Example
• Activity Durations (weeks) preceded by
(dependent on)
• A 5 --
• B 4 --
• C 3 B
Interpretation
A and B could start immediately, therefore can start
on the same circle (Event).
C must be preceded by B e.g. C cannot start until B
has been completed.
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• Activity Durations (weeks) Preceded by
(Dependent on)
• A 5 --
• B 4 --
• C 3 A, B
• Interpretation
• Activity A and B could start immediately, on the
same circle (Event).
• C must be preceded by A and B e.g. C cannot
start until A and B has been completed.
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Example 3
• Task preceded by) Duration
• A - 3
• B - 6
• C - 3
• D A 5
• E C 2
• F B, D, E 6
• G A 9
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• Interpretation
• Activity A, B and C could start immediately;
therefore, they can start on the same circle
(Event).
• D and G must be preceded by A; they can not
start until A has been completed.
• E must be preceded by C; E can not start until
C has been completed and
• F must be preceded by B, D and E. F can not
start until B, D & E has been completed.