Project Planning Using Pert

1 PROGRAM EVALUATION AND REVIEW TECHNIQUE (PERT) Category: Planning/ Monitoring - Control ABSTRACT Program (Project) Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT…. In this helpful article, Software Advice breaks down what PERT chart is, how it benefits project managers and best practices for using one. Critical Path Analysis and PERT Charts Planning and. Click the link below for the full circle and arrow diagram for the computer project we are using as an. ANALYSIS OF PROJECT PLANNING USING CPM AND PERT Rogelio Acuña Spring 2010 In Partial Fulfillment of Math 4395-Senior Project Department of Computer and ….

Using PERT Diagrams in Project Planning. PERT is an acronym for Program Evaluation and Review Techniques. A program (a synonym for a project) is represented by a network of nodes and arrows that are then evaluated to determine the critical activities, improve the schedule if necessary, and review progress once the project is undertaken. PERT was developed in the late 1. U. S. Navy’s Polaris nuclear submarine project. It reportedly saved the U. S. Navy two years’ development time.

PERT is useful when activities can be done in parallel rather than in sequence. The systems analyst can benefit from PERT by applying it to systems projects on a smaller scale, especially when some team members can be working on certain activities at the same time that fellow members are working on other tasks. Figure 1 compares a simple Gantt chart with a PERT diagram. The activities expressed as bars in the Gantt chart are represented by arrows in the PERT diagram. The length of the arrows has no direct relationship with the activity durations.

Circles on the PERT diagram are called events and can be identified by numbers, letters, or any other arbitrary form of designation. The circular nodes are present to (1) recognize that an activity is completed and (2) indicate which activities need to be completed before a new activity may be undertaken (precedence). Figure 1 – Gantt charts compared with PERT diagrams for scheduling activities. In reality activity C may not be started until activity A is completed.

Precedence is not indicated at all in the Gantt chart, so it is not possible to tell whether activity C is scheduled to start on day 4 on purpose or by coincidence. A project has a beginning, a middle, and an end; the beginning is event 1. To find the length of the project, each path from beginning to end is identified, and the length of each path is calculated. In this example path 1. Even though one person may be working on path 1. The project requires that both sets of activities (or paths) be completed; consequently, the project takes 1.

The longest path is referred to as the critical path. Although the critical path is determined by calculating the longest path, it is defined as the path that will cause the whole project to fall behind if even one day’s delay is encountered on it. Note that if you are delayed one day on path 1. The leeway to fall behind somewhat on noncritical paths is called slack time. Occasionally, PERT diagrams need pseudo- activities, referred to as dummy activities, to preserve the logic of or clarify the diagram. Figure 3. 2. 0 shows two PERT diagrams with dummies. Project 1 and project 2 are quite different, and the way the dummy is drawn makes the difference clear.

468 10 Project Management with PERT/CPM One of the most challenging jobs that any manager can take on is the management of a large-scale project that requires. PERT charts have a long history, and they've become an essential tool in the Project Management toolbox. In this article, we'll discuss the origins of PERT charts and. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 4, ISSUE 08, AUGUST 2015. ISSN 2277-8616. Project Planning And Scheduling Using PERT ….

In project 1 activity C can only be started if both A and B are finished, because all arrows coming into a node must be completed before leaving the node. In project 2, however, activity C requires only activity B’s completion and can therefore be under way while activity A is still taking place. Figure 2 – Precedence of activities is important in determining the length of the project when using a PERT diagram. Project 1 takes 1. The dummy in project 1 is necessary, of course, because it indicates a crucial precedence relationship.

The dummy in project 2, on the other hand, is not required, and activity A could have been drawn from 1. Therefore, there are many reasons for using a PERT diagram over a Gantt chart. The PERT diagram allows: Easy identification of the order of precedence. Easy identification of the critical path and thus critical activities. Easy determination of slack time. A PERT EXAMPLE. Suppose a systems analyst is trying to set up a realistic schedule for the data gathering and proposal phases of the systems analysis and design life cycle.

Analysis of Project Planning Using CPM and PERT Análisis de planeación de proyectos usando CPM y PERT. Autor: Acuña, Rogelio. Critical Path Analysis & PERT Charts (taken from www.business.com. - Planning and scheduling more complex projects Critical Path Analysis and PERT are powerful tools.

The systems analyst looks over the situation and lists activities that need to be accomplished along the way. This list, which appears in Figure 3, also shows that some activities must precede other activities. The time estimates were determined as discussed in an earlier section of this chapter. Figure 3 – Listing activities for use in drawing a PERT diagram. DRAWING THE PERT DIAGRAM. In constructing the PERT diagram, the analyst looks first at those activities requiring no predecessor activities, in this case A (conduct interviews) and C (read company reports).

In the example in Figure 4, the analyst chose to number the nodes 1. These arrows represent activities A and C and are labeled as such. Nodes numbered 2. The next step is to look for any activity requiring only A as a predecessor; task B (administer questionnaires) is the only one, so it can be represented by an arrow drawn from node 2. Figure 4 – A completed PERT diagram for the analysis phase of a systems project. Because activities D (analyze data flow) and E (introduce prototype) require both activities B and C to be finished before they are started, arrows labeled D and E are drawn from node 3.

B and C. This process is continued until the entire PERT diagram is completed. Notice that the entire project ends at an event called node 8. IDENTIFYING THE CRITICAL PATH. Once the PERT diagram is drawn, it is possible to identify the critical path by calculating the sum of the activity times on each path and choosing the longest path.

In this example, there are four paths: 1. The longest path is 1. It is essential that the systems analyst carefully monitors the activities on the critical path so as to keep the entire project on time or even shorten the project length if warranted.