Project

Temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product,

service, or result.
A project ends when its objectives have been reached, or the
project has been terminated.
Projects can be large or small and take a short or long time to
complete.
A sequence of unique, complex and connected activities:
 Having one goal or purpose with
 Unique scope of work and
 That must be completed by:
• A specific time,
• Within budget
 Features of Project
Temporary Endeavour: Defined beginning and end.
Unique in some way: The process to produce the deliverable as
well as the deliverable itself is unique.
Progressive Elaboration: Revealing and focusing of details
through time.

Types of Projects:
Organizational Project ( Building Construction, Launching a new
product).
National Project (launching new satellite, literacy campaign).
Global Projects (UN peace mission).
Developing military weapons systems, aircrafts, new ships.
Developing and implementing new computer systems.
 Project Management
 Project management is the application of knowledge, skills,
tools and techniques to project activities, in order to meet
project requirements and meet or exceed stakeholder needs
and expectations from a project which tries to balance
competing demands for project scope, time, cost, quality and
resources.

 Is accomplished through the application and integration of the

project management processes of initiating, planning,
executing, monitoring & controlling, and closing.
 Project Management
A method for organizing tasks.
A structured framework to help a group work productively.
Tools to aid in task sequencing, dependency analysis,
resource allocation, scheduling, etc.

Complex project needs coordination of:

Multiple people, resources (labs, equipment, etc.)
Multiple tasks – some must precede others and Multiple
decision points – approvals
Phased expenditure of funds and
Matching of people/resources to tasks

The triple constraint of Project management:

 Scope goals: What work will be done?
 Time goals: How long should it take to Resources
complete?
 Cost goals: What should it cost?
Scope/Quality
 Project Life Cycle
 Projects will generally be sub-divided into several stages or phases.
Each project phase is marked by completion of one or more
deliverables. A deliverable is a tangible, verifiable work product (such as
feasible study, a detail design or working prototype). Collectively, these
project phases are called the Project Life Cycle.
 Key frameworks for Project Management:
− Project Life Cycle (PLC): subdivides scope of work into sequential
project phases
− Work Breakdown Structure (WBS):hierarchical subdivision of
scope of work into work packages
Why project fail ?
 Project Planning
 Planning is determining what needs to be done, by whom, and
when, in order to fulfill one’s assigned responsibility.
 Major components of the planning phase:
Objective: a goal, target or quota to be achieved by a certain time.
Schedule: a plan showing when individual or group activities or
accomplishments will be started and/or completed.
Budget: planned expenditures required to achieve or exceed
objectives.
Forecast: a projection of what will happen by a certain time.
Organization: design of the number and kind of positions, along
with corresponding duties and responsibilities, required to achieve
or exceed objectives.
Policy: a general guide for decision-making and individual actions.
Procedure: a detailed method for carrying out a policy.
Standard: a level of individual or group performance defined as
adequate or acceptable.
 Work Breakdown Structure(WBS)
A work breakdown structure defines the hierarchy of project tasks,
subtasks, and work packages.
A method of breaking down a project into individual elements (
components, subcomponents, and tasks) in a hierarchical structure
which can be scheduled and cost.
The WBS is used to help in project planning and control as well as
to develop a common understanding of the scope of the project.
‡It defines tasks that can be completed independently of other tasks,
facilitating resource allocation, assignment of responsibilities and
measurement and control of the project.
It can be used to identify the tasks in the CPM and PERT.
 Work Breakdown Structure
Level Program

1 Project 1 Project 2

2 Task 1.1 Task 1.2

3 Subtask 1.1.1 Subtask 1.1.2

4 Work Package [Link] Work Package [Link]

Work Breakdown Structure
 Network Scheduling
 Network diagram is the basic feature of network planning. It is a diagram which
represents all the events and activities in sequence (in which they are required to be
performed to complete the project), along with their interrelationships and
interdependencies.
 Terms related to network planning methods:
– Event: An event is a specific instant of time which marks the start and the end of an
activity. Event consumes neither time nor resources. It is represented by a circle
and the event number is written with in the circle. Event and node are synonyms.
– Activity: Every project consists of a number of operations or tasks which are called
activities.
– An activity is an element of project and it may be a process, a material handling or
material procurement cycle, etc.
– An activity is shown by an arrow and it begins and ends with the event. Unlike
event, an activity consumes time and resources. An activity may be performed by
an individual or a group of individuals. An activity is normally given a name like,
A, B, etc.
 Building Activity Network
(Precedence diagram)
 Questions to construct network.
− Which is a Start Activity?
− Which is a Finish Activity?
− What Activity Precedes this?
− What Activity Follows this?
− What Activity is Concurrent with this?
 Define activities from WBS work packages.
 Estimate duration and resources for each activity.
 Define precedence relationships between activities.
 Network Representation Schemes.
− AON Network [Activity-on-Node]
− AOA Network [ Activity-on- Arrow]
Activity on arrow (AOA) method

3
Lay Dummy
foundation

2 0 Build Finish
house work
3 1
1 2 4 3
6 1
7
Design house Order and
and obtain receive 1 1
financing materials Select Select
paint carpet

5
 Activity on a node
Lay foundations
Build house

2 4
Finish work
2 3

7
Start 1 1
3

Design house 6
and obtain 3
financing 1 5 1
1 Select carpet
Order and receive
materials Select paint
 Situations in Network Diagram
B
A A must finish before either B or C can start.
C

A
C Both A and B must finish before C can start.
B

A
C
Both A and B must finish before either of
B C or D can start.
D

A B
A must finish before B can start
Dummy
both A and C must finish before D can start.
C
D
 Critical Path Method (CPM)
 CPM is a technique used for planning and controlling
the most logical and economic sequence of operations
for accomplishing a project.

 The project is analyzed into different activities whose

relationships are shown on the network diagram. The
network is then utilized for optimizing the use of
resources, progress and control.

 CPM
 Used when activity times are known with certainty.
 Used to determine timing estimates for the project,
each activity in the project, and slack time for
activities.
 Critical Path Method (CPM)
 Path: A connected sequence of activities leading from the starting
event to the ending event.
 Critical Path: The longest path (time); determines the project
duration.
 Critical Activities: All of the activities that make up the critical
path.
 Forward pass
Earliest Start Time (ES): Earliest time an activity can
start.
 ES = maximum EF of immediate predecessors.
Earliest finish time (EF): Earliest time an activity can
finish, earliest start time plus activity time.
 EF= ES + t, where t is activity time.
 Critical Path Method (CPM)
 Backward pass
Latest Start Time (LS): Latest time an
activity can start without delaying critical
path time.
• LS= LF - t
Latest finish time (LF): Latest time an
activity can be completed without delaying
critical path time.
• LF = minimum LS of immediate successors.
Example:1. Determining the critical path
Example:2.
Develop a critical path diagram and determine the duration
of the critical path and slack times for all activities.
S/N Activity Designation Precedence Time(Weeks)
1 Asses Customer Needs A None 2
2 Write And Submit Proposal B A 1
3 Obtain Approval C B 1
4 Develop Service Vision And Goals D C 2
5 Train Employees E C 5
6 Quality Improvement F D,E 5
7 Write Assessment Report G F 1

First draw the precedence diagram.

D(2)

B(1) C(1) F(5) G(1)

A(2)

E(5)
 Determine early starts and early finish times

Forward Pass
EF= ES + t
D(2)
ES=0 ES=2 ES=3 ES = 9
EF=2 EF=3 EF=4 EF =14
ES=4
EF=6 ES=14
A(2) B(1) C(1) F(5) G(1) EF=15

Hint: Critical path:

Start with ES=0 E(5) A–B–C–E–F–G
and go forward in
the network from ES=4
A to G. EF=9
 Determine late starts and late finish times

Hint: Start with LF=15 or the

total time of the project and go ES=4 Backward Pass.
backward in the network from EF=6
G to A.
LS= LF - t

ES=0 ES=2 ES=3 D(2)

ES =9 ES=14
EF=2 EF=3 EF=4 LS=7 EF=14 EF=15
LF=9
A(2) B(1) C(1) F(5) G(1)
ES=4
LS=0 LS=2 LS=3 EF=9 LS=9 LS=14
LF=2 LF=3 LF=4 LF=14 LF=15
E(5)

LS=4
LF=9
 Critical Path & Slack

ES=4
Float = LS - ES = LF - EF Slack=(7-4)=(9-6)= 3 Wks
EF=6

D(2)
ES=0 ES=2 ES=3 ES=9 ES=14
EF=2 EF=3 EF=4 LS=7 EF=14 EF=15
LF=9
A(2) B(1) C(1) F(5) G(1)
ES=4
LS=0 LS=2 LS=3 EF=9 LS=9 LS=14
LF=2 LF=3 LF=4 LF=14 LF=15
E(5)
Duration=15 weeks
LS=4
LF=9
 Program Evaluation and Review Techniques
(PERT)
PERT is based on the assumption that an activity’s duration
follows a probability distribution instead of being a single
value, Because of the uncertainty of activity timings.
The statistical probability feature of PERT foretells the
probability of reaching the specified target date.
Three time estimates are required to compute the parameters
of an activity’s duration distribution:
 Pessimistic time (tp) - the time the activity would take if things did not go well.
 Most likely time (tm) - the consensus best estimate of the activity’s duration.
 Optimistic time (to) - the time the activity would take if things did go well.
 Program Evaluation and Review Techniques
(PERT)
The fundamental assumption in PERT is that the three time
estimates form the end points and mode of Beta distribution.
It is further assumed that to and tp are about equally likely to
occur whereas the probability of occurrence of tm is 4 times
that of tp or to .
Example:1
Consider the following tasks from A to I and find the critical path,
longest path on the network.

Immediate
Task Predecesors Optimistic Most Likely Pessimistic
A None 3 6 15
B None 2 4 14
C A 6 12 30
D A 2 5 8
E C 5 11 17
F D 3 6 15
G B 3 9 27
H E,F 1 4 7
I G,H 4 19 28

Opt. Time + 4(Most Likely Time) + Pess. Time

Expected Time =
6
Con..
Immediate Expected
Task Predecesors Time Te(A)= 3+4(6)+15
ET(A)=42/6=7
A None 7 6
B None 5.333
C A 14 Te(B)= 2+4(4)+14
D A 5 ET(B)=32/6=5.333
E C 11 6
F D 7
G B 11 Te(C)= 6+4(12)+30
ET(C)=84/6=14
H E,F 4 6
I G,H 18
C(14) E(11)
Critical path:
A(7) H(4) A–C–E–H–I
D(5) F(7)

I(18) Duration = 54 Days

B G(11)
(5.333)
 Example : Probability
What is the probability of finishing this project in less than
53 days?

Task Optimistic Most Likely Pessimistic Variance

A 3 6 15 4
B 2 4 14
C 6 12 30 16
D 2 5 8
E 5 11 17 4
F 3 6 15
G 3 9 27
H 1 4 7 1
I 4 19 28 16
P essim . - O ptim . 2
A ctivity v ariance,  2
= ( )
6

(Sum the variance along the critical path.)  2

= 41
Solution: probability

p(t < D)

t
D=53 TE = 54
X - TE 53 - 54
Z= = = - .156

2
cp
41

p(Z < -.156) = .438, or 43.8 %

Refer Z table

There is a 43.8% probability that this project will be completed in

less than 53 weeks.
 Example :2. Probability Exercise and Solution
 What is the probability that the project duration will
exceed 56 weeks?

p(t <X)

TE = 54 t
X=56
X - TE 56 - 54
Z= = = .312

2
cp
41

p(Z > .312) = .378, or 37.8 %