The PERT/CPM Technique
Completing a project on time and within budget is not an easy task. The project scheduling phase plays a central role in predicting both the time and cost aspects of a project. More precisely, it determines a timetable in order to be able to predict the e
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The PERT/CPM Technique
Abstract Completing a project on time and within budget is not an easy task. The project scheduling phase plays a central role in predicting both the time and cost aspects of a project. More precisely, it determines a timetable in order to be able to predict the expected time and cost of each individual activity. In this chapter, the basic critical path calculations of a project schedule are highlighted and the fundamental concept of an activity network is presented. Throughout all chapters of Part I, it is assumed that a project is not subject to a limited amount of resources. The project is structured in a network to model the precedences between the various project activities. The basic concepts of project network analysis are outlined and the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) is discussed as an easy yet effective scheduling tool for projects with variability in the activity duration estimates.
2.1 Introduction In this chapter, the basic concepts of the definition phase (Sect. 2.2) and the scheduling phase (Sect. 2.3) of the project life cycle are discussed. It is assumed that projects belong to the first quadrant of the project mapping matrix of Fig. 1.4 and hence are assumed to have no resource limits and a low level of uncertainty. The chapter aims to give answers to fundamental questions, such as: • • • •
What is the expected project finish date? How can precedence relations between activities be modeled in a network? What are the expected activity start and finish times? What is the effect of variability in activity time estimates on the project duration?
M. Vanhoucke, Project Management with Dynamic Scheduling, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-40438-2 2, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
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2 The PERT/CPM Technique
2.2 Project Definition Phase In the definition phase of a project’s life cycle, the organization defines the project objectives, the project specifications and requirements and the organization of the entire project. In doing so, the organization decides on how it is going to achieve all project objectives. The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is a fundamental concept of the definition phase that, along with the Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS), identifies the set of activities needed to achieve the project goal as well as the responsibilities of the project team for the various subparts of the project. This information needs to be transformed into a network diagram that identifies a list of project activities and the technological links with the other activities. This project network is an easy and accessible tool for the critical path calculations to determine the earliest and latest activity start times of the scheduling phase.
2.2.1 WBS and OBS The preparation of a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is an important step in managing and mastering the inherent complexity of the project. It involves the decomposition of major project deliverables into smaller, more manageable components until the deliverables are defined in sufficient detail to sup
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