DR.

VIKASH MURMU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, R V S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

Network diagram

It is the flow of diagram consisting of activities and events connected logically and sequentially.

Majorly there have been two systems of networking in project management. These are

1 PERT
2 CPM

The network diagram are of following types. These are

1 Activity-on-Arrow(A-O-A)
2 Activity-on-Node(A-O-N)

Elements of a network

EVENT:

 An event is either start or completion of an activity.

 Events are significant point in a project which acts as control of the project.
 An event is an instant of time and it does not require time or resources.
 The events can be represented as circle, Square, Rectangle, Oval.

Circle Square Rectangle oval

Tail event or the start event:

 It makes the beginning of an acivity.

 It is the first event of project then known as initial as start event.
 It has only out going arrow.

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Tail Event

Head event of the final event:

 The event which marks the completion of an activity is known as head event.
 If this event represents completion of entire project then it is called finish event.
 It has only incoming arrow.

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DR. VIKASH MURMU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, R V S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

 DR. VIKASH MURMU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, R V S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

Dual role events:

 All events except the first and the last event of the project are dual role event. They
have both incoming and outgoing arrows.

Successor Events:

The event or events that follows another event are called successor events to that
event.

Predecessor Events:

The event or events that occur before another event is called predecessor events.

ACTIVITY

Activity is defined as actual performance of job. It requires time and resources for its completion.

Dummy activity

A dummy is an activity that neither requires time and resources for its completion it just shows the
dependency of activities upon another activities.

RULES OF A NETWORK FORMATION.

There are certain rules for making the network, these are as follows.

1 There can be only one initial and one final event.

2 An event cannot occur unless all preceding activities are completed.
3 An event cannot occur twice.
4 Number of arrows should be equal t number of activities.
5 Time should always flow from left to right.
6 Length of arrow should not show any magnitude.
7 Arrow should normally not cross each other if some situation occurs it should be bridged.
8 No activity can start until tail event occurs.

CRITICAL PATH METHOD (CPM):

This is based on deterministic approach in which only one time estimate is is made for activity
completion.

 It is activity oriented network

 It is used for repetitive types of work.

Example;

Activity Precedence Duration

A - 5
B - 4
C A 8
D B 8
E B 8
F B 5
G C,D 8

DR. VIKASH MURMU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, R V S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

 DR. VIKASH MURMU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, R V S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

H E,I 22
I F 2
J F 12
The network diagram will be

C
A
G

B D
H
E

J
F
Paths are as follows

 A-C-G = 5+8+8= 21
 B-D-G= 4+8+8= 20
 B-E-H = 4+8+22= 34 (This is the longest duration hence this will be the critical path).
 B-F-J= 4+5+12= 21
 B-F-I-H= 4+5+2+22= 33

PROGRAMME EVALUATION AND REVIEW TECHNIQUE (PERT)

PERT stands for Programme evaluation and review technique. It is an numerical technique and it is
generally used for the project where time cannot be estimated accurately such as research projects.

PERT has three time estimate. These are as follows.

1 Optimistic time (to): This is the minimum possible time in which an activity can be completed
under the most ideal condition.
2 Pessimistic time (tp): This is the maximum time required for completing an activity under
worst possible condition.
3 Most Likely Time: This is the time require for completing an activity under normal working
condition.

Therefore the estimated time will be.

𝑡𝑜 + 4𝑡𝑚 + 𝑡𝑝
𝑡𝑒 =
6
Example

The following table shows the job of a network along with their time estimates

Activity Optimistic(to) Most likely(tm) Pessimistic(tp)

1-2 1 7 13
1-6 2 5 14
2-3 2 14 26
2-4 2 5 8
3-5 7 10 19
4-5 5 5 17
6-7 5 8 29

DR. VIKASH MURMU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, R V S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

 DR. VIKASH MURMU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, R V S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

5-8 3 3 9
7-8 8 17 32

Question 1) Draw the project network.

Question 2) Find the expected duration and variance of each activity.

Question 3) Calculate the earliest and latest occurrence for each event.

Question 3) Calculate the earliest and latest occurrence for each event.

Question 4) Calculate expected project length.

Question 5) Calculate the variance and standard deviation of project length.

Question 6) Find the probability of the project completing in 40 days.

Answer) At first the estimated is calculated using the formula provided above.
21
7 32
21
14 3 11
7 32

0 36
2 25
7 5
0 4 36
5 12 7

1 8
4

6 18 18
7
17
6

11
6 7

Activity Estimated duration 𝑡𝑜 + 4𝑡𝑚 + 𝑡𝑝 𝑡𝑝 − 𝑡𝑜 2

𝑡𝑒 = 2
to tm tp 𝜎 =( )
6 6
1-2 1 7 13 7 4
1-6 2 5 14 6 4
2-3 2 14 26 14 16
2-4 2 5 8 5 1
3-5 7 10 19 11 4
4-5 5 5 17 7 4
6-7 5 8 29 11 16
5-8 3 3 9 4 1
7-8 8 17 32 18 16

Expected project duration = 7+14+11+4 = 36 weeks

DR. VIKASH MURMU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, R V S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

 DR. VIKASH MURMU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, R V S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

Critical path= 1-2-3-5-8

Project length variance, 𝜎 2 = 4+16+4+1= 25

Project length standard deviation, 𝜎= 5

FLOAT

The float represents the time availability (cannot be negative). It is the range within which start or
finish time of an activity may fluctuate without affecting the project completion time.

Float are of three types. These are

1. Total float= Total float is the amount of time an activity in a project can be delayed without
delaying the project's completion date. It's also known as slack.
2. Free float= Additional time available.
3. Independent float.

It can also be represented through block diagram which is as follows.

Free float

5 10 EF
ES

5
4 9

LS 10 15 LF

From this figure it is understandable that 4, 9 are event. The floats can be calculated as follows.

Total float = LF – ES – D= 15-5-5= 5

Independent float= EF – D – LS

Free Float = EF – D – ES

Comparison between PERT and CPM

PERT CPM
It is event oriented It is activity oriented
It has probabilistic approach It is an deterministic approach
Three types of time are estimated on the basis It is one time estimate
of whi9ch expected time is derived
Cost is directly proportional to time Time and cost are related by the given curve.
It is suitable for newer type product. It is used for repetitive type of work.
Example: Research work Example: Construction work.

DR. VIKASH MURMU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, R V S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

DR. VIKASH MURMU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, R V S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY

DR. VIKASH MURMU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, R V S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY