Developing a Project Plan

Gray and Larson, Project Management: the Managerial Process. Chapter 6

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 Developing a Project Plan
• The basic approach of project scheduling techniques is to
form a network of activity and event relationships – Project
Network

• The network shows graphically the sequential relations

between the tasks in a project
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The Project Network

 Project networks have the following benefits:

 It illustrates the sequential relation between all
activities
 It denotes the times when specific individuals must be
available for work on a given task
 It determines an expected project completion date
 It identifies so-called critical activities that, if
delayed, will delay the project completion time
 It identifies activities with slack that can be
delayed for specific periods without penalty
 It provides a basis for budgeting cash flow. 3
 Constructing a Project Network
Path: a sequence of connected activities between any two
events in a network
Critical path:
the longest path through the activity network that allows
for the completion of all project-related activities;
Delays on the critical path will delay completion of the
entire project.

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Activity-on-Arc Vs. Activity-on-Node
Activity-on-Node (AON): Uses a node to depict an activity.
Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)
P[B]=A
S[B]= D Terminal activity :=
Initial activity :=
An activity with no
An activity with no B D successors
predecessors
(S[E] is empty).
A E
(P[A] is empty).
C
S[A]={B, C}
P[C]=A

Activity-on-Arc (AOA): Uses an arc to depict an activity.

Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)

B D
A E
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C
 Basic Rules to Follow in Developing
Project Networks (AON)
• Networks typically flow from left to right.
• An activity cannot begin until all of its predecessors
are complete.
• Arrows indicate precedence and can cross over each
other.
• Identify each activity with a unique number; this
number must be greater than its predecessors.
• Looping is not allowed.
• Conditional statements are not allowed.
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 Network Information
Example: This project is about a new business center that is to be
developed. The activities represent the work and services the county
engineering design department must provide as it coordinates with other
groups such as the business center owners and contractors.

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Koll Business Center—Partial
Network

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Koll Business Center—Partial Network

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Koll Business Center—Partial Network

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Koll Business Center—Partial Network

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Koll Business Center—Partial Network

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Koll Business Center—Complete
Network

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Task Predecessor Draw the project network
A --
B A
C A
D B
E B
F C
G D, F
H E, G
K H
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Task Predecessor
A --

B A
C A
D B
E B
F C E

G D, F
H E, G
K H

B D

G H K

C F

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Consider the following project:

Activity Immediate Predecessor.

A --
B --
C A
D A
E A
F B,C
G B,C
H E,F
I E,F
J D,H
K G,I
Draw its project network 16
Activity Immediate Predecessor.
A --
B --
C A
D A
E A
F B,C
G B,C
H E,F
I E,F
J D,H
K G,I

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 Network Computation Process
• Forward Pass—Earliest Times
– How soon can the activity start? (early start—ES)
Earliest time at which an activity can start, assuming all
predecessors have been completed
– How soon can the activity finish? (early finish—EF)
Earliest time at which an activity can be finished
EF = ES + Activity Duration
– How soon can the project finish? (expected time—ET)
ET = The largest earliest finish time of the last activities in the
network (activities with no successors: terminal activities)

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 Network Computation Process
• Backward Pass—Latest Times
– How late can the activity start? (late start—LS)
Latest time at which an activity can start so as not to delay the
completion time of the entire project.
– How late can the activity finish? (late finish—LF)
Latest time by which an activity has to be finished so as not to
delay the completion time of the entire project.
LS = LF - Activity Duration
– Which activities represent the critical path?
– How long can it be delayed? (slack or float—SL)
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Network Information

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 Node Labels

Early ID Early
Start Number Finish
Activity
Float (SL) Activity Descriptor

Late Start Activity Late

Duration Finish

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 Activity-on-Node Network
For Koll Business Center’s example

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 Forward Pass Computation
• Begin at starting event and work forward
• The earliest finish time (EF) of an activity is the
sum of its earliest start time (ES) and its activity
duration
(EF = ES + Duration)
• Carry the early finish (EF) to the next activity
where it becomes its early start (ES) unless…
• The next succeeding activity is a merge activity, A
in which case the largest EF of all preceding
B D
activities is selected.
C
ES = Max (EF of all immediate predecessors)
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Activity-on-Node Network Forward Pass

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Activity-on-Node Network Forward Pass

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Activity-on-Node Network Forward Pass

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Activity-on-Node Network Forward Pass

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Activity-on-Node Network Forward Pass

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Activity-on-Node Network Forward Pass

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Activity-on-Node Network Forward Pass

Expected time = ET = 235 30

 Backward Pass Computation
• Set the LF of the last activities equal to ET
• Begin with the last event and work backward
• The latest start time (LS) of an activity is the
difference of its latest finish time (LF) and its
activity duration
(LS = LF - Duration) B

• Carry the late start (LS) to the next activity where

it becomes its late finish (LF) unless A C
• The next succeeding activity is a burst activity, in
which case the smallest LF of all preceding
activities is selected. D

LF = Min (LS of all immediate following 31

activities)
Activity-on-Node Network Backward
Pass

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Activity-on-Node Network Backward
Pass

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Activity-on-Node Network Backward
Pass

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Activity-on-Node Network Backward
Pass

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Activity-on-Node Network Backward
Pass

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 Determining Slack
• After computing ES, EF, LS, and LF times for all
activities, compute the slack time for each activity)
• Slack
– The amount of time an activity can be delayed
without delaying the entire project.
Slack = SL = LS – ES or SL = LF – EF
• Slack represents the degree of flexibility the project
manager will have in changing resources or
rearranging work.
• The critical path is the network path(s) that has
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(have) zero slack.
 Activity-on-Node Network with Slack

The critical path is marked with dashed arrows and 38

nodes
Practice Problem Task Predecessor Time

A -- 4
B A 9
C A 11
D B 5
E
E B 3
F C 7
G D, F 3
H E, G 2
D K H 1
B

G H K

C F

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 Task Predecessor Time

A -- 4
B A 9
C A 11
D B 5
E B 3
13 E 16
F C 7
9
G D, F 3
22 3 25
H E, G 2
K H 1

4 B 13 13 D 18
4 4
8 9 17 17 5 22

22 G 25 25 H 27 27 K 28
0 0 0
0 A 4
22 3 25 25 2 27 27 1 28
0
0 4 4
4 C 15 15 F 22
0 0 40
4 11 15 15 7 22
 Spreadsheet Calculation
Task Pred. duration ES EF LS LF Slack
A -- 4
B A 9
C A 11
D B 5
E B 3
F C 7
G D, F 3
H E, G 2
K H 1

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 Spreadsheet Calculation

Task Pred. duration ES EF LS LF Slack

A -- 4 0 4
B A 9 4 13
C A 11 4 15
D B 5 13 18
E B 3 13 16
F C 7 15 22
G D, F 3 22 25
H E, G 2 25 27
K H 1 27 28

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 Spreadsheet Calculation

Task Pred. duration ES EF LS LF Slack

A -- 4 0 4 0 4
B A 9 4 13 8 17
C A 11 4 15 4 15
D B 5 13 18 17 22
E B 3 13 16 22 25
F C 7 15 22 15 22
G D, F 3 22 25 22 25
H E, G 2 25 27 25 27
K H 1 27 28 27 28

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 Spreadsheet Calculation

Task Pred. duration ES EF LS LF Slack

A -- 4 0 4 0 4 0
B A 9 4 13 8 17 4
C A 11 4 15 4 15 0
D B 5 13 18 17 22 4
E B 3 13 16 22 25 9
F C 7 15 22 15 22 0
G D, F 3 22 25 22 25 0
H E, G 2 25 27 25 27 0
K H 1 27 28 27 28 0

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 Practice Problem
Task Pred. duration ES EF LS LF Slack
A -- 6
B -- 4
C A 3
D A 5
E A 1
F B,C 4
G B,C 2
H E,F 6
I E,F 5
J D,H 3
K G,I 5

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Task Pred. duration ES EF LS LF Slack
A -- 6 0 6 0 6 0
B -- 4 0 4 5 9 5
C A 3 6 9 6 9 0
D A 5 6 11 15 20 9
E A 1 6 7 12 13 6
F B,C 4 9 13 9 13 0
G B,C 2 9 11 16 18 7
H E,F 6 13 19 14 20 1
I E,F 5 13 18 13 18 0
J D,H 3 19 22 20 23 1
K G,I 5 18 23 18 23 0

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 Gantt Chart

• Gantt chart is one of the final outputs from the planning and
scheduling process.
• It represents the activity information as a bar graph, where
the length is the duration of each activity plus its slack time
• It is also an effective visual method for monitoring the
progress of a project
• They can be helpful in expediting and reallocating resources
among tasks

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 Air Control Company, Custom Order
Project. Problem 9, p.175
Compute the early and late activity times and the slack times.
ID Predecessor Time
A - 2
B A 15
C A 10
D A 13
E A 18
F C, D 15
G B, F 10
H E, G 5 48
A
D
B
C

E
F

G
H 49
50
Practice Problem

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Practice Problem

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 Critical Path Method: CPM
CPM assumptions:
• An activity cannot begin until all of its predecessors
are complete.
• Fixed activity duration
• unlimited resource availability

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 Extended Network Techniques
Lags:
• The minimum amount of time an activity must be delayed to
begin or end.
• It is the time delay between the start or finish of an activity
and the start or finish of its successor's
• The lag is added during the forward pass and subtracted
during the backward pass

L =FS = 4 The start of B must lag 4 days

Activity A Activity B after the finish of A

L =FF = 2
The finish of B must lag 2 days
Activity A after the finish of A
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Activity B
 Lags in Precedence Relationships
The logical relationship between the start and finish
of one activity and the start and finish of another
activity.
Four logical relationships between tasks
1. Finish to Start
2. Finish to Finish
3. Start to Start
4. Start to Finish
Lags can be used to constrain finish-to-start, finish-to-finish,
start-to-start, start-to-finish, or combination relationships.
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 Finish-to-Start Lag
• The finish-to-start lag is the minimum amount of time that
must pass between the finish of one activity and the start of
its successor(s).
• The default finish-to-start lag is zero.

0 A 6 6 B 11 15 C 22
Spec Design Design Check Lag 4 Blueprinting
6 5 7

Ordering materials example:

X: Placing order (1 day) 14 days Y: Receipt of order

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 Finish-to-Start Lag

FS/1 days

X: Applying plaster to wall Y: Painting the wall

The plaster has to dry before the walls can be painted. This creates a lag
of one day between the finish of activity X and the start of activity Y.

Place concrete FS/m days Strip concrete forms

1 day 2 days
 Start-to-Start Lag
Start-to-start lag is the minimum amount of time that must pass between
the start of one activity and the start of its successor(s).
Example. Installing concrete forms in a
foundation trench might begin a few hours
after the start of the trench excavation.

Lag 0

Digging one
mile of trench
Laying Pipe

Lag 3 Laying one

mile pipeline

Lag 3
Refilling trench 58
 Finish-to-Finish Lag
• The finish-to-finish lag is the minimum amount of time that
must pass between the finish of one activity and the finish
of its successor(s).
• If the predecessor's finish is delayed, the successor activity
may have to be slowed or stopped to allow the specified
time period to pass.

Prototype

Testing cannot be completed any earlier

Testing than 4 days after the prototype is complete

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 Start-to-Finish Lag

Least common type of lag relationship

Start-to-Finish Relationship: Finish of an activity depends on the
start of another activity

Install Wood Paneling & Base Lag 10

Install Carpeting

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 Modified CPM Calculations
FS
i

SS j
Forward Pass Calculations i
FF
i
SF

i
ES( j )  Max{EF(i)  FS(i, j ); ES(i)  SS (i, j )}
EF ( j )  Max{ES( j )  Dur( j ); EF (i)  FF (i, j ); ES(i)  SF (i, j )}

Hint: Consider only arcs entering node j.

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 Modified CPM Calculations
i
SF

SS i Backward Pass

i Calculations
FF

FS i
j

LF ( j )  Min{LS (i)  FS( j, i); LF (i)  FF( j, i)}

LS ( j )  Min{LF ( j )  Dur( j ); LS (i)  SS ( j, i); LF (i)  SF ( j, i)}

Hint: Consider only arcs leaving node j. 62

Example Using Lags

Install
software

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Example Using Lags

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Example Using Lags

Lag 8

Install
software

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Example Using Lags
22

19 22

18 20
Lag 8
00

18 20

18

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Practice Problem 6-19

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68