PERT AND CPM

BY DEEKSHA BAJAJ

Project
A project is a series of activities directed to accomplishment of a desired objective PERT AND CPM The two basic Project network techniques.

PERT
PERT-Project evaluation and review technique Developed-By US NAVY. Missile project-US govt. Suitable for R&D, Aerospace projects etc. Designed to handle risk and uncertainty. Probabilistic-bcoz time required is variable. It includes activities

CPM
CPM-Critical path method. Developed by DU PONT COMPANY Suitable for industrial undertakings. Primary concern with cost and time. Suitable for stable technology and risk free. Deterministic orientation Includes events.

Project Network
Use of nodes and arrows Arrows An arrow leads from tail to head directionally o Indicate ACTIVITY, a time consuming effort that is required to perform a part of the work. Nodes A node is represented by a circle - Indicate EVENT, a point in time where one or more activities start and/or finish. Activity A task or a certain amount of work required in the project Requires time to complete Represented by an arrow Dummy Activity Indicates only precedence relationships Does not require any time of effort

CPM CALCULATION
Path o A connected sequence of activities leading from the starting event to the ending event Critical Path o The longest path (time); determines the project duration Critical Activities o All of the activities that make up the critical path

 Earliest Start Time (EST) o earliest time an activity can start Earliest finish time (EFT) o earliest time an activity can finish o earliest start time plus activity time EFT=EST+ t

Latest Start Time (LST)

Latest time an activity can start without delaying critical path time LST= LFT - t Latest finish time (LFT) latest time an activity can be completed without delaying critical path time

LST = minimum LST of immediate predecessors

o Compute the activitys float float = LST - EST = LFT - EFT o Float is the maximum amount of time that this activity can be delay in its completion before it becomes a critical activity, i.e., delays completion of the project critical path is that the sequence of activities and events where there is no slack i.e.. Zero slack o Longest path through a network

PERT
PERT is based on the assumption that an activitys duration follows a probability distribution instead of being a single value. Three time estimates are required to compute the parameters of an activitys duration distribution: o pessimistic time (tp ) - the time the activity would take if things did not go well o most likely time (tm ) - the best estimate of the activitys duration o optimistic time (to ) - the time the activity would take if things did go well MEAN(expected time), te=tp+4tm+to 6 Variance, V= (tp-to) whole square 6

Benefits of PERT And CPM

Useful at many stages of project management Mathematically simple Give critical path and slack time Provide project documentation Useful in monitoring costs.

LIMITATIONS
Clearly defined, independent and stable activities Over emphasis on critical paths Deterministic CPM model Activity time estimates are subjective and depend on judgment