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 1. Introduction to Project Management

Introduction
Realization of these objectives requires systematic planning and careful
implementation. To this effect, application of knowledge, skill, tools and techniques in
the project environment, refers to project management. Project management in
recent years has proliferated, reaching new heights of sophistication. It has emerged
as a distinct area of management practices to meet the challenges of new economic
environment, globalization process, rapid technological advancement, and quality
concerns of the stakeholders.

Project Definition
Project in general refers to a new endeavor with specific objective and varies so
widely that it is very difficult to precisely define it. Some of the commonly quoted
definitions are as follows. Project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a
unique product or service or result. (AMERICAN National Standard ANSI/PMI99-001-
2004)

Project is a unique process, consist of a set of coordinated and controlled

activities with start and finish dates, undertaken to achieve an objective confirming
to specific requirements, including the constraints of time cost and resource.
(ISO10006)

Examples of project include Developing a watershed, Creating irrigation

facility, Developing new variety of a crop, Developing new breed of an animal,
Developing agro- processing centre, Construction of farm building, sting of a
concentrated feed plant etc. It may be noted that each of these projects differ in
composition, type, scope, size and time.

Project Characteristics
Despite above diversities, projects share the following common characteristics.
▪ Unique in nature.
▪ Have definite objectives (goals) to achieve.
▪ Requires set of resources.
▪ Have a specific time frame for completion with a definite start and finish.
▪ Involves risk and uncertainty.
▪ Requires cross-functional teams and interdisciplinary approach.

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 Project Performance Dimensions
Three major dimensions that define the project performance are scope, time, and
resource. These parameters are interrelated and interactive. The relationship
generally represented as an equilateral triangle. The relationship is shown in figure 1.

Time Cost

Scope

Figure 1. Project performance dimensions

It is evident that any change in any one of dimensions would affect the other. For
example, if the scope is enlarged, project would require more time for completion
and the cost would also go up. If time is reduced the scope and cost would also be
required to be reduced. Similarly any change in cost would be reflected in scope and
time. Successful completion of the project would require accomplishment of specified
goals within scheduled time and budget. In recent years a forth dimension,
stakeholder satisfaction, is added to the project. However, the other school of
management argues that this dimension is an inherent part of the scope of the
project that defines the specifications to which the project is required to be
implemented. Thus the performance of a project is measured by the degree to which
these three parameters (scope, time and cost) are achieved.

Mathematically
Performance = f(Scope, Cost, Time)

In management literature, this equilateral triangle is also referred as the

“Quality triangle” of the project.

Project Life Cycle

Every project, from conception to completion, passes through various phases
of a life cycle synonym to life cycle of living beings. There is no universal consensus
on the number of phases in a project cycle. An understanding of the life cycle is
important to successful completion of the project as it facilitates to understand the
logical sequence of events in the continuum of progress from start to finish. Typical
project consists of four phases- Conceptualization, Planning,

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Execution and Termination. Each phase is marked by one or more deliverables such
as Concept note, Feasibility report, Implementation Plan, HRD plan, Resource
allocation plan, Evaluation report etc.

Conceptualization Phase
Conception phase, starting with the seed of an idea, it covers identification of
the product / service, Pre-feasibility, Feasibility studies and Appraisal and Approval.
The project idea is conceptualized with initial considerations of all possible
alternatives for achieving the project objectives. As the idea becomes established a
proposal is developed setting out rationale, method, estimated costs, benefits and
other details for appraisal of the stakeholders. After reaching a broad consensus on
the proposal the feasibility dimensions are analyzed in detail.

Planning Phase
In this phase the project structure is planned based on project appraisal and
approvals. Detailed plans for activity, finance, and resources are developed and
integrated to the quality parameters. In the process major tasks need to be
performed in this phase are
 Identification of activities and their sequencing
 Time frame for execution
 Estimation and budgeting
 Staffing
A Detailed Project Report (DPR) specifying various aspects of the project is
finalized to facilitate execution in this phase.

Execution Phase
This phase of the project witnesses the concentrated activity where the plans
are put into operation. Each activity is monitored, controlled and coordinated to
achieve project objectives. Important activities in this phase are
 Communicating with stakeholders
 Reviewing progress
 Monitoring cost and time
 Controlling quality
 Managing changes

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Termination Phase
This phase marks the completion of the project wherein the agreed
deliverables are installed and project is put in to operation with arrangements for
follow-up and evaluation.

Life Cycle path

The life cycle of a project from start to completion follows either a “S” shaped
path or a “J “ shaped path (Figure 2 and 3). In “S” shape path the progress is slow at
the starting and terminal phase and is fast in the implementation phase. For
example, implementation of watershed project. At the beginning detailed sectoral
planning and coordination among various implementing agencies etc. makes
progress slow and similarly towards termination, creating institutional arrangement
for transfer and maintenance of assets to the stakeholders progresses slowly.
Error!
100
Slow finish
Percentage completion

Quick
Momentum

Slow start

Time
Figure 2. Project life path –“S” shape

In “J” type cycle path the progress in beginning is slow and as the time moves
on the progress of the project improves at fast rate. Example, in a developing an
energy plantation. In this the land preparation progresses slowly and as soon as the
land and seedling are transplantation is under taken. This is shown in figure 3.

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Error!
100

% Completion

Time
Figure 3. Project life cycle path - “J” Shape

Project Classification
There is no standard classification of the projects. However considering project
goals, these can be classified into two broad groups, industrial and developmental.
Each of these groups can be further classified considering nature of work (repetitive,
non-repetitive), completion time (long term, shot term etc), cost (large, small, etc.),
level of risk (high, low, no-risk), mode of operation ( build, build-operate-transfer etc).

Industrial projects also referred as commercial projects, which are undertaken to

provide goods or services for meeting the growing needs of the customers and
providing attractive returns to the investors/stake holders. Following the background,
these projects are further grouped into two categories i.e., demand based and
resource / supply based. The demand based projects are designed to satisfy the
customers’ felt as well the latent needs such as complex fertilizers, agro-processing
infrastructure etc. The resource/ supply based projects are those which take
advantage of the available resources like land, water, agricultural produce, raw
material, minerals and even human resource. Projects triggered by successful R&D
are also considered as supply based. Examples of resource based projects include
food product units, metallurgical industries, oil refineries etc. Examples of projects
based on human resource (skilled) availability include projects in IT sector, Clinical
Research projects in bio services and others.

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 Development projects are undertaken to facilitate the promotion and acceleration
of overall economic development. These projects act as catalysts for economic
development providing a cascading effect. Development projects cover sectors like
irrigation, agriculture, infrastructure health and education.

The essential differences between Industrial projects and Developmental

project aresumerised in the following table 1.

Table 1. Difference between Industrial and Developmental Projects

Dimension Industrial Project Developmental Project
Scale of Project Limited Large
Promoters Entrepreneurs or Government, Public
corporates Sectors,
NGOs
Investment --- High
Gestation Period --- High
Profitabilty High, Considered on IRR Modest, Considered on
( ERR
Internal Rate of Return) (Economic Rate of Return)
Finance Stringent debt equity Operates on higher
norms debt-
equity norms
Source of fund National stock markets International
and from domestic organizations like
financial institutions World
Bank,
IMF,ADB,DFID and others
mostly as loan ,yet
times
providing for some grants.
Interest rates and Market rate and the Very low for borrowed
repayment period: repayment period is funds and the repayment
generally 7 to 10 years period extends up to 25
years and
even beyond.

Project management
Project management is a distinct area of management that helps in handling
projects. It has three key features to distinguish it from other forms of management
and they include: a project manager, the project team and the project management
system. The project management system comprises organization structure,
information processing and decision- making and the procedures that facilitate
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integration of horizontal and vertical elements of the

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project organization. The project management system focuses on integrated
planning and control.

Benefits of Project Management Approach

The rationale for following project management approach is as follows.
 Project management approach will help in handling complex, costly
and risky assignments by providing interdisciplinary approach in
handling the assignments. Example: R&D organizations.
 Project management approaches help in handling assignments in a
specified time frame with definite start and completion points .Example
handling customer orders by Industries involved in production of
capital goods.
 Project management approaches provide task orientation to personnel
in an Organization in handling assignments. Example: Organizations in
IT sector handling software development assignments for clients.

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 2. Project Identification and Formulation

Introduction

A project in the economic sense directly or indirectly adds to the economy of

the Nation. However an introspection of the project performance clearly indicates
that the situation is far from satisfactory. Most of the major and critical projects in
public sector that too in crucial sectors like irrigation, agriculture, and infrastructure
are plagued by tremendous time and cost overruns. Even in the private sector the
performance is not all that satisfactory as is evident from the growing sickness in
industry and rapid increase in non-performing assets (NPAS) of Banks and Financial
Institutions. The reasons for time and cost over runs are several and they can be
broadly classified under-technical, financial, procedural and managerial. Most of
these problems mainly stem from inadequate project formulation and haphazard
implementation.

Project Identification
Project identification is an important step in project formulation. These are
conceived with the objective of meeting the market demand, exploiting natural
resources or creating wealth. The project ideas for developmental projects come
mainly from the national planning process, where as industrial projects usually stem
from identification of commercial prospects and profit potential.
As projects are a means to achieving certain objectives, there may be several
alternative projects that will meat these objectives. It is important to indicate all the
other alternatives considered with justification in favour of the specific project
proposed for consideration.
Sectoral studies, opportunity studies, support studies, project identification
essentially focuses on screening the number of project ideas that come up based on
information and data available and based on expert opinions and to come up with a
limited number of project options which are promising.

Project Formulation
Project Formulation Concept
“Project Formulation” is the processes of presenting a project
idea in a form in which it can be subjected to comparative appraisals
for the purpose of determining in definitive terms the priority that
should be attached to a project

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under sever resource constraints. Project Formulation involves
the following steps (Figure 1).

PROJECT FORMULATION
↓
OPPORTUNITY STUDIES/Support Studies
↓
IDENTIFICATION OF PRODUCT/SERVICE
↓
PREFEASIBILITY STUDY
↓
FEASIBILITY STUDY
(TECHNO ECONOMIC
FEASIBILITY)
↓
PROJECT APPRAISAL
↓
DETAILED PROJECT REPORT

Figure 1. Project Formulation –Schematic view

Opportunity Studies
An opportunity study identifies investment opportunities and is normally
undertaken at macro level by agencies involved in economic planning and
development. In general opportunity studies there are three types of study – Area
Study, sectoral and Sub-sectoral Studies and Resource Based Studies. Opportunity
Studies and Support studies provide sound basis for project identification.

Pre feasibility Studies / Opportunity Studies

A pre-feasibility study should be viewed as an intermediate stage between a
project opportunity study and a detailed feasibility study, the difference being
primarily the extent of details of the information obtained. It is the process of
gathering facts and opinions pertaining to the project. This information is then
vetted for the purpose of tentatively determining whether the project idea is worth
pursuing furthering. Pre feasibility study lays stress on assessing market potential,
magnitude of investment, , technical feasibility, financial analysis, risk analysis etc.
The breadth and depth of pre feasibility depend upon the time available and the
confidence of the decision maker. Pre feasibility studies help in preparing a project
profile for presentation to various stakeholders including funding agencies to solicit
their support to the project. It also throws light on aspects of the project that are
critical in nature and necessitate further investigation through functional support
studies.

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 Support studies are carried out before commissioning pre feasibility or a
feasibility study of projects requiring large-scale investments. These studies also form
an integral part of the feasibility studies. They cover one or more critical aspects of
project in detail. The contents of the Support Study vary depending on the nature of
the study and the project contemplated. Since it relates to a vital aspect of the
project the conclusions should be clear enough to give a direction to the subsequent
stage of project preparation.

Feasibility Study
Feasibility Study forms the backbone of Project Formulation and
presents a balanced picture incorporating all aspects of possible
concern. The study investigates practicalities, ways of achieving
objectives, strategy options, methodology, and predict likely outcome,
risk and the consequences of each course of action. It becomes the
foundation on which project definition and rationale will be based so
that the quality is reflected in subsequent project activity. A well
conducted study provides a sound base for decisions, clarifications of
objectives, logical planning, minimal risk, and a successful cost
effective project. Assessing feasibility of a proposal requires
understanding of the STEEP factors. These are as under Social,
Technological, Ecological, Economic, and Political.

A feasibility study is not an end in itself but only a means to arrive at an

investment decision. The preparation of a feasibility study report is often made
difficulty by the number of alternatives (regarding the choice of technology, plant
capacity, location, financing etc.) and assumptions on which the decisions are made.
The project feasibility studies focus on
- Economic and Market Analysis
- Technical Analysis
- Market Analysis
- Financial Analysis
- Economic Benefits
- Project Risk and Uncertainty
- Management Aspects

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Economic and Market Analysis
In the recent years the market analysis has undergone a paradigm shift. The
demand forecast and projection of demand supply gap for products / services can no
longer be based on extrapolation of past trends using statistical tools and techniques.
One has to look at multiple parameters that influence the market. Demand
projections are to be made keeping in view all possible developments. Review of the
projects executed over the years suggests that many projects have failed not
because of technological and financial problems but mainly because of the fact that
the projects ignored customer requirements and market forces.

In market analysis a number of factors need to be considered covering –

product specifications, pricing, channels of distribution, trade practices, threat of
substitutes, domestic and international competition, opportunities for exports etc. It
should aim at providing analysis of future market scenario so that the decision on
project investment can be taken in an objective manner keeping in view the market
risk and uncertainty.

Technical Analysis
Technical analysis is based on the description of the product and
specifications and also the requirements of quality standards. The analysis
encompasses available alternative technologies, selection of the most appropriate
technology in terms of optimum combination of project components, implications of
the acquisition of technology, and contractual aspects of licensing. Special attention
is given to technical dimensions such as in project selection. The technology chosen
should also keep in view the requirements of raw materials and other inputs in terms
of quality and should ensure that the cost of production would be competitive. In
brief the technical analysis included the following aspects.
Technology - Availability
- Alternatives
- Latest / state-of-art
- Other implications
Plant capacity - Market demand
- Technological parameters
Inputs - Raw materials
- Components
- Power
- Water
- Fuel
- Others

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Availability skilled man power
\
Locatio
n
Logistic
s
Environmental consideration – pollution, etc.,
Requirement buildings/ foundation
Other relevant details

Environmental Impact Studies:

All most all projects have some impact on environment. Current concern of
environmental quality requires the environmental clearance for all projects.
Therefore environ impact analysis needs to be undertaken before commencement of
feasibility study.

Objectives of Environmental Impact Studies:

• To identify and describe the environmental resources/values (ER/Vs) or the
environmental attributes (EA) which will be affected by the project (in a
quantified manner as far as possible).
• To describe, measure and assess the environmental effects that the proposed
project will have on the ER/Vs.
• To describe the alternatives to the proposed project which could accomplish
the same results but with a different set of environmental effects
The environmental impact studies would facilitate providing necessary
remedial measures in terms of the equipments and facilities to be provided in the
project to comply with the environmental regulation specifications.

Financial Analysis

The Financial Analysis, examines the viability of the project from financial or
commercial considerations and indicates the return on the investments. Some of the
commonly used techniques for financial analysis are as follows.

 Pay-back period.
 Return on Investment (ROI)
 Net Present Value (NPV)

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 Profitability Index(PI)/Benefit Cost Ratio
 Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

Pay-back Period

This is the simplest of all methods and calculates the time required to recover
the initial project investment out of the subsequent cash flow. It is computed by
dividing the investment amount by the sum of the annual returns (income –
expenditure) until it is equal to the capital cost.
Example1. (Uniform annual return)
A farmer has invested about Rs. 20000/- in constructing a fish pond and gets
annual net return of Rs.5000/- (difference between annual income and expenditure).
The pay back period for the project is 4 years (20000/ 5000).
Example 2.(Varying annual return)
In a project Rs.1,00,000/- an initial investment of establishing a horticultural
orchard. The annual cash flow is as under.

Time Annual Annual Annual return Cumulative

Income Expenditure return
1st Year 60,000 30,000 30,000 30,000
2 nd
Year 70,000 30,000 40,000 70,000
3rd Year 85,000 25,000 60,000 1,30,000
Pay-back period = Two and half years

The drawback in this method is that it ignores any return received after the
payback period and assumes equal value for the income and expenditure
irrespective of the time.

It is also possible that projects with high return on investments beyond the
pay-back period may not get the deserved importance i.e., two projects having same
pay-back period – one giving no return and the other providing large return after pay-
back period will be treated equally, which is logically not correct.

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Return on Investment (ROI);
The ROI is the annual return as percentage of the initial investment and is
computed by dividing the annual return with investment. It is calculation is simple
when the return is uniform. For example the ROI of the fish ponds is (5000/ 10000) X
100 = 50%. When the return is not uniform the average of annual returns over a
period is used. For horticultural orchard average return is (1,30,000/3) = 43333. ROI
= (43333/100000) X 100 = 43.3 %.

Computation of ROI also suffers from similar limitation as of pay-back period.

It does not differentiate between two projects one yielding immediate return (lift
irrigation project) and another project where return is received after some gestation
period say about 2-3 years (developing new variety of crop).

Both the pay-back period and ROI are simple ones and more suited for quick
analysis of the projects and sometimes provide inadequate measures of project
viability. It is desirable to use these methods in conjunction with other discounted
cash flow methods such as Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and
Benefit-Cost ratio.

Discounted Cash Flow Analysis:

The principle of discounting is the reverse of compounding and takes the

value of money over time. To understand his let us take an example of compounding
first. Assuming return of 10
%, Rs 100 would grow to Rs110/- in the first year and Rs 121 in the second year. In a
reverse statement, at a discount rate of 10% the return of Rs.110 in the next
year is equivalent to Rs100 at present. In other words the present worth of next
years return at a discount rate 10 % is only Rs.90.91 i.e., (100/110) Similarly Rs121 in
the second year worth Rs 100/- at present or the present value of a return after two
years is Rs. 82.64 (100/121). These values Rs.90.91 and rs.82.64 are known as
present value of of future annual return of Rs.100 in first and second year
respectively. Mathematically, the formula for computing present value (PV) of a cash
flow “Cn” in “nth” year at a discount rate of “d” is as follows;
PV= Cn / (1+d)n
The computed discount factor tables are also available for ready reference. In
the financial analysis the present value is computed for both investment and returns.
The results are presented in three different measures ie. NPV, B-C Ratio, and IRR.

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Net Present Value (NPV)

Net Present Value is considered as one of the important measure for deciding
the financial viability of a project. The sum of discounted values of the stream of
investments in different years of project implementation gives present value of the
cost (say C). Similarly sum of discounted returns yields the present value of benefits
(say B). The net present value (NPV) of the project is the difference between these
two values (B- C). Higher the value of NPV is always desirable for a project.

Benefit-Cost Ratio (B-C Ratio) or Profitability Index (PI);

The B-C Ratio also referred as Profitability Index (PI), reflect the profitability of
a project and computed as the ratio of total present value of the returns to the total
present value of the investments (B/C). Higher the ratio better is the return.

Internal Rate of Return (IRR):

Internal Rate of Return (IRR) indicates the limit or the rate of discount at
which the project total present value of return (B) equals to total present value of
investments ( C ) i.e. B-C
= Zero. In other words it is the discount rate at which the NPV of the project is zero.
The IRR is computed by iteration i.e. Computing NPV at different discount rate till the
value is nearly zero. It is desirable to have projects with higher IRR.

Risk and Uncertainty

Risk and Uncertainty are associated with every project. Risk is related to
occurrence of adverse consequences and is quantifiable. It is analysed through
probability of occurrences. Where as uncertainty refers to inherently unpredictable
dimensions and is assessed through sensitivity analysis. It is therefore necessary to
analyse these dimensions during formulation and appraisal phase of the programme.
Factors attributing to risk and uncertainties of a project are grouped under the
following;
 Technical –relates to project scope, change in technology, quality and
quantity of inputs, activity times, estimation errors etc.
 Economical- pertains to market, cost, competitive environment, change in
policy, exchange rate etc.

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  Socio-political- includes dimensions such as labour, stakeholders etc.
 Environmental – factors could be level of pollution, environmental degradation etc.

Economic Benefits:

Apart from the financial benefits (in terms of Return on Investment) the
economic benefits of the project are also analyzed in the feasibility study. The
economic benefits include employment generation, economic development of the
area where the project is located, foreign exchange savings in case of import
substitutes or earning of foreign exchange in case of export oriented projects and
others.

Management Aspects:

Management aspects are becoming very important in project feasibility

studies. The management aspects cover the background of promoters, management
philosophy, the organization set up and staffing for project implementation phase as
well as operational phase, the aspects of decentralization and delegation, systems
and procedures, the method of execution and finally the accountability.

Time Frame for Project Implementation:

The feasibility study also presents a broad time frame for project
implementation. The time frame influences preoperative expenses and cost
escalations which will impact the profitability and viability of the project.

Feasibility Report:

Based on the feasibility studies the Techno economic feasibility report or the
project report is prepared to facilitate project evaluation and appraisal and
investment decisions.

Project Appraisal

The project appraisal is the process of critical examination and analysis of the
proposal in totality. The appraisal goes beyond the analysis presented in the
feasibility report. At this stage, if required compilation of additional information and
further analysis of project dimensions are

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undertaken. At the end of the process an appraisal note is prepared for facilitating
decision on the project implementation.
The appraisal process generally concentrates on the following aspects.
• Market Appraisal: Focusing on demand projections, adequacy of
marketing infrastructure and competence of the key marketing
personnel.
• Technical Appraisal: Covering product mix, Capacity, Process of
manufacture engineering know-how and technical collaboration, Raw
materials and consumables, Location and site, Building, Plant and
equipments, Manpower requirements and Break- even point.
• Environmental Appraisal: Impact on land use and micro-environment,
commitment of natural resources, and Government policy.
• Financial Appraisal: Capital, rate of return, specifications,
contingencies, cost projection, capacity utilization, and financing
pattern.
• Economic Appraisal: Considered as a supportive appraisal it reviews
economic rate of return, effective rate of protection and domestic resource
cost.
• Managerial Appraisal: Focuses on promoters, organization structure,
managerial personnel, and HR management.
• Social Cost Benefit Analysis (SCBA): Social Cost Benefit Analysis is a
methodology for evaluating projects from the social point of view and focuses
on social cost and benefits of a project. There often tend to differ from the
costs incurred in monetary terms and benefits earned in monetary terms by
the project SCBA may be based on UNIDO method or the Little-Mirriles (L-M)
approach. Under UNIDO method the net benefits of the project are considered
in terms of economic (efficiency) prices also referred to as shadow prices. As
per the L-M approach the outputs and inputs of a project are classified into (1)
traded goods and services (2) Non traded goods and services; and (3) Labor.
All over the world including India currently the
focus is on Economic Rate of Return (ERR) based on SCBA assume importance
in project formulation and investment decisions.

Detailed Project Report (DPR)

Once the projects are appraised and the investment decisions are made a
Detailed Project Report (DPR) is prepared. It provides all the relevant details including
design drawings, specifications, detailed cost estimates etc. and this would act as a
blue print for project implementation.

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 Project Management Techniques

Introduction

Project management involves decision making for the planning, organizing,

coordination, monitoring and control of a number of interrelated time bound
activities. Project Manager therefore, often depends on tools and techniques that are
effective enough not only for drawing- up the best possible initial plan but also
capable of projecting instantaneously the impact of deviations so as to initiate
necessary corrective measures. The search for an effective tool has resulted in
development of a variety of techniques. These project management techniques can
be classified under two broad categories i.e., Bar Charts and Networks.

Bar Charts
Bar charts are the pictorial representation of various tasks required to be
performed for accomplishment of the project objectives. These charts have formed
the basis of development of many other project management techniques.

Gantt Chart

Henry L Gantt (1861 – 1919) around 1917 developed a system of bar charts for
scheduling and reporting progress of a project. These charts latter were known as
Gantt Charts. It is a pictorial representation specifying the start and finish time for
various tasks to be performed in a project on a horizontal time-scale. Each project is
broken down to physically identifiable and controllable units, called the Tasks. These
tasks are indicated by means of a bar, preferably at equi-distance in the vertical axis
and time is plotted in the horizontal axis (Figure 1). In this figure “Task A” is land
preparation, “Task B” is procurement of inputs etc. Land preparation (Task A) takes
five days starting from day one. However in practice the time scale is superimposed
on a calendar i.e., if land preparation starts on 1 st June it would be completed by 5th
June.
Length of the bar indicates required time for the task whereas the width has no
significance. Though the bar chart is comprehensive, convenient, and very effective,
it has the following limitations:

 Like many other graphical techniques are often difficult to handle large
number of tasks in other words a complex project.

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  Does not indicate the inter relationship between the tasks i.e., if one
activity overruns time what would be the impact on project completion.

Task A (Land preparation)

(Procurement of inputs)
Task B

Task C

Task D

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time (Days)

Figure 1: Bar

Chart

Milestone Chart

Milestone chart is an improvement over the bar chart (Gantt chart) by

introducing the concept of milestone. The milestone, represented by a circle over a
task in the bar chart indicates completion of a specific phase of the task (Figure 2).
For example land preparation (Task A) includes ploughing and leveling. From the
simple bar chart it is difficult to monitor progress of the ploughing. Introduction of a
milestone on day 3 would specify that the ploughing would be completed by day 3 of
the project i.e. 3rd June. In a milestone chart a task is broken down in to specific
phases (activities) and after accomplishment of each of the specific activity a
milestone is reached or in other words an event occurs. The chart also shows the
sequential relationship among the milestones or events within the same task but not
the relationship among milestones contained in different tasks. For example in figure
2, the milestone 2 of task A cannot be reached until the milestone 1 is crossed and
the activity between milestone 1 and 2 is over. Similarly, in task B the milestone 4
can begin only after completion of milestone 3. But the relationship between the
milestone of task A and task B is not indicated in the milestone chart. Other
weaknesses of this chart are as follows:

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  Does not show interdependence between tasks.

 Does not indicate critical activities.

 Does not consider the concept of uncertainty in accomplishing the task.

 Very cumbersome to draw the chart for large projects.

(Ploughing) (Land Leveling)

Task A (Land preparation)

Task B

Task C

. '
' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '
'
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1
0
Time (Days)

Figure 2: Milestone
Chart

Networks

The network is a logical extension of Gantt’s milestone chart incorporating

the modifications so as to illustrate interrelationship between and among all the
milestones in an entire project. The two best-known techniques for network analysis
are Programme Evaluation and review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method
(CPM). These two techniques were developed almost simultaneously during 1956-
1958. PERT was developed for US navy for scheduling the research and development
activities for Polaris missiles programme. CPM was developed by E.I. du Pont de
Nemours & Company as an application to construction project. Though these two
methods were developed simultaneously they have striking similarity and the
significant difference is that the time estimates for activities is assumed deterministic
in CPM and probabilistic in PERT. There is also little distinction in terms of application
of these concepts. PERT is used where emphasis is on scheduling and monitoring
the project and CPM is used

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where emphasis is on optimizing resource allocation. However, now-a-days the two
techniques are used synonymously in network analysis and the differences are
considered to be historical.
Both CPM and PERT describe the work plan of project where arrows and circles
respectively indicate the activities and events in the project. This arrow or network
diagram includes all the activities and events that should be completed to reach the
project objectives. The activities and events are laid in a planned sequence of their
accomplishments. However, there are two types of notations used in the network
diagram. They are as under,
1. Activity-on-Arrow (AOA), and
2. 2. Activity-on-Node (AON).
In AOA notation, the arrow represents the work to be done and the circle
represents an event – either the beginning 0f another activity or completion of
previous one. This is shown in figure 3.
Land Procurement of
Preparation input

Figure 3. Activity on Arrow

For AON notation, a box (or node) is used to show the task itself and the arrow
simply show the sequence in which work is done. This is shown in figure 4.

Land Preparation Procurement of input

Figure 4. AON Diagram

Most project management software usually uses AON diagram. AOA network
diagram are usually associated with the PERT diagram. This would be used in the
following sections.

1.3.1 Programme Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

The PERT technique is a method of minimizing trouble spots, programme

bottlenecks, delays and interruptions by determining critical activities before they
occur so that various activities in the project can be coordinated.

PERT terminology
Some of the terms frequently used in PERT are as follows.

Activity : A recognizable work item of a project requiring time and resource for its completion.

Dummy Activity: An activity that indicates precedence relationship and requires no

time nor resource.

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Critical Activity: Activities on the critical path having zero slack / float time.

Critical Path: The longest time path connecting the critical activities in the project
network. The total time on this path is the shortest duration of the project.

Event: An instantaneous point in time signifying completion or beginning of

an activity. Burst Event: An event which gives rise to more than one activity.

Merge Event: The event which occurs only when more than one activity are accomplished.

Expected Time: The weighted average of the estimated optimistic, most likely and
pessimistic time duration of a project activity:

To + 4 TM + T
Expected Time (TE ) = ------------------------
6

where To is the Optimistic time, TM is the Most likely

time T is the Pessimistic time

Earliest Start Time (EST): The earliest possible time at which the event can occur. The
EST also denotes the Earliest Start Time (EST) of an activity as activities
emanate from events. The EST of an activity is the time before which it can not
commence without affecting the immediate preceding activity.

Latest Start Time (LST): The latest time at which the event can take place. Also
referred as the Latest Start Time (LST) indicating the latest time at which an
activity can begin without delaying the project completion time.
Slack: The amount of spare time available between completion of an activity
and beginning of next activity.

Steps For Network Analysis

The six steps of network analysis are as follows.

1. Prepare the list of activities

2. Define the inter relationship among the activities.
3. Estimate the activity duration
4. Assemble the activities in the form of a flow diagram
5. Draw the network
6. Analyze the network i.e. compute EST and LST; identify critical events, critical
path and critical activities.

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Step1: Prepare the list of activities
An activity in a project is the lowest level of resource consuming, time-bound
work having a specified beginning and endpoint. It should be quantifiable,
measurable, costable, and discrete. The total project is subdivided into activities and
each activity is given an alphabetical symbol / code. When the number of activities is
more than 26, alphanumeric or multi -alphabet codes can be used. This involves a
detailed delineation of the activities to be performed to complete the project. There is
no limit to the number of activities to which the project should be splitted. However,
it is advisable to limit the number to the minimum required from managerial
consideration for avoiding unnecessary complexity. In a simple project it may be
easier to identify the activity. In complex projects project activities are identified by
splitting it into different hierarchical levels (sub-projects). For example in the
activities of a watershed project could be broken down in to sub-projects such as
agricultural sub-projects, Soil & water conservation sub-projects, Aforestation sub-
project etc. For each of these subprojects the activities could be identified.
Depending on the size and nature of the project sub-projects could be further divided
into sub-sub project.

For illustration of the process, a simple example of creating facility for lift
irrigation in a farm would be used in the following text. Some of the assumptions are
as under.

1. It is assumed that the competent authority has approved the project and
the project scheduling starts with the activity of “Site selection”.
2. Irrigation would be provided from a newly dug well.
3. Field channels from the well would be laid after its digging.
4. Suitable pump would be procured and installed for lifting water.
5. Specification for the pump is finalized based on the groundwater
prospecting data before digging.
6. Pump and other inputs would not be procured until the site is selected.
7. Pump would be installed after digging the well.

With above assumptions, the activities of the project are listed in Table 1. It
may be noted the list is not exhaustive. The list would be different with different set
of assumption or the perception of the project manager. More activities could be
added to the list or some of the activities could be further subdivided. The number of
activities in this example has been delineated and limited to only six numbers with
objective of simplicity and to demonstrate the process of networking.

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Table 1. List of activity
Sr. No Activity Symbol / Code
1. Site selection
A
2. Digging well B
3. Laying field channels C
4. Procurement of Pump D
5. Installation of pump E
6. Test run F

Step 2: Define the inter relationship among the activities

The relationship among the activities could be defined by specifying the
preceding and succeeding activity. Preceding activity for an activity is its immediate
predecessor, i.e. the activity that needs to be completed before the start of the new
activity. In the given example, selection of the site precedes digging of well. In other
words the site needs to be selected before digging of the well. Thus the activity
“Selection of site” becomes proceeding activity to the activity of “Digging the well”
Succeeding activity is the one that immediately starts after completion of the
activity. “Digging well” is the succeeding activity to “Selection of site”.
In PERT the interrelationship is generally defined using the preceding activity.
Only the terminating activities will not have any preceding activity. And all other
activities must appear at least once as a preceding activity in the table. The inter
relationship among the activities listed in the example is as in Table 2.

Table 2. Interrelationship of activities

Sr. No Activity Symbol Preceding
activity
1. Site selection A ----
2. Digging well B A
3. Laying field channels C B
4. Procurement of Pump D A
5. Installation of pump E B, D
6. Test run F C, E

Step 3: Estimation of activity time

The activity time is the time, which is actually expected to be expended in
carrying out the activity. In deterministic cases as in CPM one time estimate is used.
In probabilistic cases as

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in PERT, the activity time has some kind of probabilistic distribution and is the
weighted average of three time estimates ( Optimistic time, Pessimistic time and
Most likely time) for each activity. The expected time for each activity is computed
as following:

To + 4 TM + T
Expected Time (TE ) = ------------------------
6

where To is the Optimistic time,(minimum time assuming every thing goes well)
TM is the Most likely time, (modal time required under normal
circumstances) T is the Pessimistic time, (maximum time assuming
every thing goes wrong)

Example: Estimation of estimated time for the activity “Site selection”

For this activity the tree time estimates i.e., Optimistic, Most likely and
Pessimistic times are 4, 6 and 14 days respectively.

i.e. TO = 4, TM = 6, and TP = 14.

TE = 4 + 4*6 + 14 4+24+14 = 42 = 7
= days
6 6 6

Three time estimates, optimistic, pessimistic and most likely, could the
decided on past experiences in execution of similar activities or from the feedback
from individuals with relevance experience. The three time estimates and computed
estimated time for the project activities are given in Table 3.

Table 3. Activity time estimates

Time (Days)
Optimi Most Pessimi Estimat
Sr Activity Sym Precedi s tic likely s tic e d
. b ol ng Time time time TP time TE
N activity TO TM
o
1. Site selection A ---- 4 6 14 7
2. Digging well B A 2 3 4 3
3. Laying field channels C B 7 16 19 15
4. Procurement of Pump D A 4 7 10 7
5. Installation of pump E D, B 3 4 11 3

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6. Test run F C, E 1 2 3 2

Network Diagram
Having decided on activities, their relationship and duration (estimated time
of the activity), next step is to draw the network diagram of the project. PERT
network is a schematic model that depicts the sequential relationship among the
activities that must be completed to accomplish the project.

Step 4: Assemble the activities in the form of a flow chart.

In a flow chart the activity and its duration is shown in a box. The boxes are
connected with lines according to the preceding and succeeding activity relationship.
The flow charts do not give details like start and completion time of each activity until
unless it is super imposed on a calendar. It also does not facilitate computation of
various slacks. However, the critical path for the project can be identified by
comparing the various path lengths (sum of activity time, from start to finish, on any
path). The longest path in the chart is the critical path. The flow diagram for the
project considered for illustration is as in Figure 5 .

START

A 7

B D

C E 3

FINISH

Figure 5. The flow

diagram Path I A-B-E-F 7+3+3+2 = 15

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Path II A-B-C-F 7+3+15+2 = 27
Path III A-D-E-F 7+7+3+2 = 19
Path II i.e., A-B-C-F being the longest path (27 days) is the
Critical path . Step 5: Draw the network
This graphical representation of the project shows the precedence relationship
among the activities. An arrow generally represents activities in the diagram while a
circle represents event. Each activity starts with an event and end in an event.
Activities in a project are performed either sequentially i.e. one after another or they
are undertaken concurrently i.e. simultaneously. To draw the network it requires the
knowledge of specifying which activities must be completed before other activities
can be started, which activities can be performed in parallel, and which activities
immediately succeed other activities. Some of the common combination of activity in
a project is as follows,

Sl No Diagram Logic
1 Activity “A” is preceding activity of “B”.
A B i.e. activity ‘A” need to be completed
before start of activity “B”. In other
words “B” starts after
“A” is finished.

2 A Activity “A” and “B” are concurrent.

C Activity “C” cannot start until both the
B activities “A” and “B” are completed.

3
B Activity “B” and “C” are concurrent
A activities. Any one of these cannot start
C until activity “A” is completed.

4
Neither activity C nor D can start until
both the activities A and B are
completed. But C and D can start
independently.

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 A B Activity D cannot begin until both A & C
are completed. But B can start after A is
Z complete. The activity Z, represented by
C D dashed arrow, is a dummy activity
(Explained bellow). It specifies the inter
relation ship.

Dummy Activity:
For example in a project Crop 2 is to be raised in same plot of land after
harvesting of Crop 1. The activities and there inter relation could be as under

Sl No Activity Code Preceding activity

1 Harvesting of Crop-1 A -
2 Sale of Crop – 1 B A
3 Raising nursery of Crop-2 C -
4 Transplanting Crop-2 D A, C

The network diagram of the above project would be as follows

A B

Z
D

The activity “Z”, represented by dashed arrow in the diagram, is a dummy

activity. This does not consume any resource i.e. have zero time and zero cost. This
only represents the logical relation among the activities.

Rules for Drawing the Network:

1. Each activity is represented by one and only one arrow in the network
2. All the arrows must run from left to right.
3. Dotted line arrows represent dummy activities.
4. A circle represents an event.
5. Every activity starts and ends with an event.
6. No two activities can be identified by the same head and tail event.

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7. Do not use dummy activity unless required to reflect the logic.
8. Avoid Looping and crossing of activity arrows by repositioning.
9. Every Activity, except the first and the last, must have at least one preceding
and one succeeding activity.
10. Danglers, isolated activities must be avoided.
11. For coding use alphabets for all activities including the dummy activity and
numbers for events.

EST
12. Standard representation of the event :
Event
Code
LST

The network diagram for the project detailed in Table 4 is as follows (Figure 6)..

B C

A Z F

D
E

Figure 6. Activity inter-relationship

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 Network Analysis
Introduction
Network analysis helps the manager to calculate the duration and identify
critical activities in a project. Critical activities are those activities, which determine
the overall duration of the project. The duration of the project is not necessarily the
simple arithmetical sum of the individual activity durations because several activities
occur concurrently in the project. Project duration would be equal to the sum of all
individual activity durations only when all the activities in the project are sequential.
The starting and finishing time for each individual activity is calculated through the
network analysis. These computations provide a strong base for determining the
work schedule. The network analysis includes the following.
a. Event numbering
b. Computation of the Earliest Start Time (EST)
c. Computation of the Latest Start Time (LST)
d. Computation of Earliest Finish Time (EFT)
e. Computation of the Latest Finish Time (LFT)
f. Identification of Critical Path
g. Computation of Slack or Float

Event Numbering
It is common practice to number every event in the network so that they are
not duplicated, every event is identified with a reference number in the network and
every activity is identified by its preceding and succeeding event numbers. There are
two systems in vogue for numbering events:

1. Random numbering system

2. Sequential numbering system

Random numbering system; In this system, events of a network are numbered

randomly, thereby avoiding the difficulty in numbering extra events due to insertion
of new jobs.
Sequential numbering system: In this system the events are numbered successively
from the beginning to the end of the network. For any individual job, the head
(succeeding) event must bear a higher number than the tail (preceding) event.
Fulkerson has reduced this sequential numbering to the following routine;
1. Find the initial event and number it ‘1’ (An initial event is one which has arrows
emerging

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 from it but none entering it).
2. Now delete all the arrows emerging from the already numbered event(s). This
will create at least one new initial event.
3. Number all the new initial events ‘2’, ‘3’ and so on till the final event is
reached (the final event is one which has no arrows emerging from it).

The complete sequential numbering system described above is inconvenient

when extra jobs have to be inserted. Extra jobs often mean extra events; when these
events are numbered, all the events following them must be renumbered. One way to
overcome this difficulty is to use tens only like 10 for the first event, 20 for the
second event and so on. The event numbering of the network diagram for the project
below (Table 1) is shown in figure 1.

Table 1. Lift Irrigation in the farm.

Sr. No Activity Symbol Preceding Time (Days)

activity
1. Site selection A ---- 7
2. Digging well B A 3
3. Laying field channels C B 15
4. Procurement of Pump D A 7
5. Installation of pump E D, B 3
6. Test run F C, E 2

3
C
B
F
A Z
1 2 5 6
E
D

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Step 6: Computing Earliest Start Time (EST) and Latest Start Time (LST)

The EST represents the time before which the activity cannot begin
and LST refers to the latest time by which the activity must begin. The EST
and LST are computed in two phases. The EST is calculated first in the
forward pass beginning from the start event. For the start event the EST is
always set to zero so that it can be scaled to any convenient calendar date
at a later stage. The EST at the last event is generally considered to be the
project duration i.e. the minimum time required for project completion.
Therefore, EST and LST are equal at the end event. LST for other events is
then calculated through backward pass starting from the end event. Steps
involved in computation are listed below.

EST LST

Through forward pass Through backward pass

Calculation begins from start event Calculation stars from end event

Proceeds from left to right Proceeds from right to left

At start event EST is Zero At end event LST equals to EST

Adding the activity time to EST Subtracting the activity time from LST

At a merge event take maximum At a burst event take minimum value

value

Example: Computation of EST

EST of an activity = EST of preceding activity + Activity duration
EST at start event 1 (for activity A) is Zero. To compute EST at event number 2, add 7
i.e. the duration of activity A to zero. This is also the EST for both activities B and D
starting from event
2. Continuing, EST at event 3 is 10 i.e. (7+3). At event 4, being a merge event, will
have two estimates of EST (considering Dummy activity Z and activity D). It is 10
(10+0) and 14 (7+7). In cases where there is more than one estimate the maximum
the estimates is considered. In this exercise maximum of 10 and 14 i.e. 14 is the EST
at event 4. It is also EST of activity E. EST for the network is computed figure 2 and
table2 .

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 EST 10
3
C
B
1
A 3
0 7 2 F 2
1 2 Z 5 6
0 2
7
D
E
7
14 3
4

Figure 2. Computation of EST

Example: Computation of LST

LST of an activity = LST of succeeding activity – Activity duration
Computation of LST starts from the end event of the project and proceeds backward.
At the end event the LST is equal to the EST In this example at the event 6, the LST is
equal to the EST and it is 27. At event 5, the LST is 27-2=25. Similarly at event 4 it is
25-3=22. Event 3 being a burst event (i.e. more than one activity emanating from
this event) will have two estimates of LST and in such cases only the minimum value
of the LST is considered. Accordingly at event 3, the two estimates are 22-0=22 and
25-15=10. Minimum of these two values 10 is the LST at event 3. Similarly at event 2
it is the minimum of 10-3=7 and 22-7=15 i.e. 7. Accordingly at event 1, LST is 7-7=0
which is equal to the EST at the start event. Both the EST and LST values for the
project activities are presented in figure 3 . and table 2 .

Table 2. The EST and LST of activities

Event EST Event LST
No. No.
1 0 6 27
2 0+7 = 7 5 27-2 = 25
3 7+3 = 10 4 25-3= 22
4 Max. (7+7=14, 10+0=10) = 10 3 Min.(25-15=10,25-0=25) =10

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5 Max. (10+15=25, 14+3=17) = 2 Min. (10-3=7, 22-7=15) = 15
25
6 25+2 = 27 1 7-7=0

10
3
1
B C
3 1
0 A 7 2 F 2
1 2 z 0 5 2
0 7 7 2 6 2
D
E
7 14 3
4 2

Figure 3. The EST and LST of activities

Computation of the Earliest Finish Time (EFT) and the Latest Finish Time (LFT)
The EFT for each activity is calculated starting from the first activity, which

commences after the start event. It is given by

EFT of an activity + EST of preceding activity + activity duration.

The calculation of LFT starts from the last activity of the network or from the computed LST and
is given by,
LFT = Latest Starting Time (LST) of succeeding event

The various computed for the project is given in table 3.

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Table 3. Computed times for the activities

Sl No Activity Duration EST LST EFT LFT

1 A 7 0 0 7 7
2 B 3 7 7 10 10
3 C 15 10 10 25 25
4 D 7 7 15 14 22
5 E 3 14 22 17 25
6 F 2 25 25 27 27

Calculation Of Slacks / Floats

Slack or float is used to indicate the spare time available with in a non-critical activity.
However, in general slack relates to an event and floats to an activity. These are
important for smoothening the resource utilization in a project. The various floats
and slacks are computed as follows
a. Event Slack = LST-EST
b. Total Flot is the time available for an activity over and above the
requirement for its completion.
Total Float = LST of end event – EST of Starting event- Duration of reference activity
c. Free Float is the time available for an activity to expand without
influencing the later activities.
Free Float = EST of end event – EST of starting event – Duration of reference activity.
d. Independent Float is the time with which an activity can expand without
influencing the preceding or succeeding activities. Seldom the independent
float could be negative. In such cases it would be considered to be equal to
zero.
Independent float = EST of end event – LST of starting event – Duration of
reference activity.

Floats and their relation ship

Various floats and their relationship is shown in Figure 3 . It may be
observed that Total Float is more than or equal to free float. And free float
is more than or equal to
independent float. I.e. TF>= FF >= IF

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Beginning
End Slack
Slack
Total Float
Activity

Free Float
Activity

Independent Float
Activity

Figure 4. Relationship between the floats

Identification of Critical Events

The critical events of the project are identified by the event slack i.e. the
difference between LST and EST. For critical events this slack is zero i.e. the value of
LST and EST are equal. The event slack computed for all the events of the project are
as follows Table 4:

Table 4. Event Slacks

Event No LST EST Event slack Critical / NC

1 0 0 0 Critical
2 7 7 0 Critical
3 10 10 0 Critical
4 14 22 8 Not Critical
5 25 25 0 Critical
6 27 27 0 Critical

With above values of EST, LST and event slack the Critical Events are 1,23,5, and 6.

Identification of Critical Activity

An activity can be called as critical activity if the following conditions are satisfied.

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 i. LST and EST are equal at the head event
ii. LST and EST are equal at tail event
iii. Difference between EST at head and tail event of the activity
equals to the activity time.
iv. Difference between LST at head and tail event of the activity
equals to the activity time.

Review of computation results suggests that the critical activities in the

project are A, B, C, and F.

Identification of Critical Path

The critical path is the chain of critical activity spanning the network from
start to end i.e. the path joining all the critical events. It is also the longest path from
start to end of the project network. Alternatively therefore comparing all the possible
path lengths can identify the critical path (see flow diagram). The critical path time is
the shortest duration of the project. The critical path is denoted preferably by
denoting the critical events on the path.

Critical path for the project is, A – B –C – F.

The critical path of the project can also be denoted in terms of the event
numbers. In the present project it is 1- 2–3 – 5-6. To distinguish the critical path from
other paths in the project, it is preferable to use a thicker line to demarcate the
critical path. It is quite possible that a project can have multiple critical paths. In such
case the length of all the critical paths will be equal.

Critical Path and Project Management:

The critical path time being the shortest project time any delay in completion
of any of the activity on the critical path would delay the entire project. Therefore it is
the critical activity that needs to be monitored for timely completion of the project.
However, the activities with positive event slack could be rescheduled within the
available time frame for efficient utilization
i.e. smoothing of the demand on the available resources. If the duration of the project
requires to be reduced, activities on the critical path will be the ones to be
considered for completion at an early date with allocation of additional resources.

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Network Revision
So far the steps involved in developing the initial network provided two basic
pieces of information an estimate of the project duration and the critical path.
The initial network constructed is examined to convert it into a valid, practical
network which satisfies the project requirements and provides the basis for effective
implementation and control. This process is called network revision.
The purpose of revision is two-fold. Firstly, it is concerned with improving the
quality of the information in the network; information about the relationships and
durations of activities. Secondly, it is concerned with ensuring that the final network
satisfied the project objectives. These relate to four factors; time, cost, resources and
performance.

Reviewing the relationships: The first task is to review the activities and their
relationships. Some relationships may not have been shown properly in the initial
network. A sequence of activities which at first sight appear to need serial
representation, can sometimes be arranged to take place in parallel with one
another. Often it is s only a part of an activity which really conditions the start of the
following activity, and in these cases, the activity can be subdivided and part of it
depicted on the network as occurring in parallel with other activities. If the activity
thus treated is on the critical path, a useful shortening of the project duration can be
achieved.

Reviewing the duration of activities: At the revision stage, the activity durations
must be re- examined in the light of information about the project duration and
critical path. Work may have to be analyzed in greater detail, suppliers may have to
be contacted for confirmation of current delivery periods and so on. Less accurate
estimates can usually be tolerated for activities with plenty of float.
For some activities, the duration is variable. The time required to carry out
the work depends almost entirely upon the quality or accuracy of performance
specified. Estimates for research and development work and producing advertising
copy or design work may be of this type. One approach for reviewing the duration of
the activities when they are not critical is the use of the concept of available time.
One useful little check, which can be applied to the activity durations, is to
calculate the parentage of even number durations in the network. Because of a fairly
general bias towards even numbers, the percentage is rarely as low as the
theoretical 50%.

Project objectives while in theory, the objectives of every project should be clearly
defined at the outset, in practice this is not always done. On the other hand, the
initial network assists and

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forces the clear definition of project objectives. Statement about objectives is usually
expressed in term of time, cost, resources and performance. It will be realized that
the objectives stated in terms of one factor may conflict with others. For example, it
may not be possible to complete a project in the shortest time and at minimum cost.
If a network is to be checked to see whether it satisfies the project objectives, then
these objectives must have been stated in such a way as to recognize and assign
priority to their relationships.

Meeting time objectives; It is likely that the project duration calculated from the
initial network may not be acceptable to the management. This means that at the
revision stage, the network must be modified to satisfy any time limits set for the
project. If the project duration is to be reduced, the critical activities must be
subjected first to careful examination. Changes in the relationships in turn affect the
time along the concerned path as discussed earlier.
But once the possibilities for changes in relationships have been exhausted,
the scope for reduction in the duration of critical activities must be examined. In
some cases, this may mean diverting resources from non critical activities to critical,
ones. In others, this may mean the use of more labour, more machines; overtime
work or extra shifts.

Meeting cost objectives: The cost of a project is usually given in terms of an estimate
which may be required for such purposes as establishing feasibility, finding out return
on investment, obtaining approval or getting out a price for a job, etc. The time
involved will be important and a realistic cost target cannot be set without a careful
study of the plan embodied in the network. The plan will determine in broad terms
the pattern of expenditure over the period of the project. The network can be used to
investigate this pattern of expenditure and the results can be compared with the
availability of money. The network may indicate a pattern of expenditure in excess of
what is possible, in which case the plan will have to be modified.
Certain activities can be speeded up or slowed down depending upon the
amount of money spent on them. The network can be used to examine the
relationship between total time and total cost, and the project duration established
for which the total cost is minimum. These aspects will be discussed in more detail
later.

Meeting resource objectives: The initial network is drawn without considering the
resources as this does not affect the relationships between activities. However, if the
resources are limited, the plan must be examined to see to what extent it will have
to be modified in the light of resource availability. Activities which are independent
may have to be made dependent upon one another because they will be done by

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the same machine or by the same man. For example, a

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number of fitting jobs may be unrelated in the network, but if there is only one fitter
to whom this work can be allocated then the jobs will have to be done one after the
other. If the jobs have sufficient float to allow this, the project completion date will
remain unaffected; but if the float is inadequate, an additional fitter has to be
employed or a later completion date accepted. The plan. should be modified
accordingly.
Another aspect which should be considered at this stage is the relationship
between to duration of an activity and the resources allotted to it. The original
duration assumes normal resources but for some activities, this time may be varied
by altering resources put on the job. Thus certain critical activities may be speeded
up by putting on additional resources, while activities with plenty of float may be
allowed to take longer time with less resources, thus releasing men for more critical
activities.
Examination of the network can throw some light on the resource implications
of the plan in a general way. Often a detailed analysis of the network is necessary, if
the information is going to lead to management action. The analysis of network with
respect to resources will be discussed in detail later.

Meeting the performance objectives: There are two ways in which the plan
influences the specification of the project. Firstly, it will embody methods of working
and procedures which influence performance and these may have to be revised in
order to effect a reduction in the project duration. It may be necessary to find
alternative ways of doing things which are less satisfactory and the implications of
these decisions must be carefully evaluated in relation to the project as a whole and
the possible effect on the specification.
The second aspect, already mentioned, is the relationship between
performance and time for certain activities. Any reduction in the time allowed for
development work and testing may affect ultimate performance and the plan must
be checked to establish whether the original specification can still be met. In this way
the network can give some indication of the relationship between time and
performance, allowing the decisions to be made which are consistent with overall
project objectives.

The final network: There are usually a number of ways in which the plan can be
revised to meet project objectives and each will have different implications. The use
of network to simulate these alternatives can help in finding the right balance
between the objectives. Many changes will be made to the initial network before a
final plan can be agreed upon and on the basis of the final plan detailed work
schedules are worked out.

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Activity Scheduling
Once the final network is drawn the next step is to convert this into a
programme of work. This step is known as Scheduling.
Critical activities, by definition have only one possible starting time if the
project completion date is to be met. All other activities in the network have a range
of possible start times from the earliest to the latest start time. The actual starting
times of activities are decided based upon any one of the following approaches;

All activities started

1. at earliest start times
2. at latest start at times
3. by distributing float
1. at arbitrary start times
2. by considering resource availability

All activities started at earliest start time

In order to minimize the effect of delays on the project completion date due to
unforeseen delays in some activities, it is desirable to preserve the float for later
use. One way of ensuring this is to start all activities at their earliest start times.
The schedule start time can be read straight from the network without further
computation. This approach, though simple has its disadvantages. Using the network
as a rigid schedule to start activities as early as possible may result in unnecessary
increase in costs. Expensive plant and equipment delivered at the earliest possible
time may be lying idle awaiting installation, or staff may be recruited well before
there is any work for them. From the angle of finance, money should be spent as late
as possible; this means carrying out activities as late as possible.

All activities started at latest start times

From the financial point of view this approach is far better and might result in
significant saving of money. But the disadvantages are so obvious, schedulers dare
not use this approach. Starting all activities at their latest start times will mean
deliberately discarding available float with the result that all activities, in the project
become critical. The project becomes extremely sensitive to delays and its chance of
being completed on time is very remote.

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All activities started by distributing float
As a compromise between the two above mentioned extremes, viz, starting all
activities at earliest start times and starting all activities at latest start times, it is
possib1e to distribute the total float which exists in a chain of activities in such a way
that, each individual activity is allocated a portion of it. This approach is based on the
assumption that since most activity times will vary, from the original estimate, it is
advisable to allow for some variation in as many activities as possible.
The main objection to this method is that it allows float to be given up and
used as a contingency allowance, and that if a major delay occurs one may find that
the float given away earlier is now desperately needed. There is always a danger that
once float is allocated to an activity, it will be used up, whether it is really required or
not in accordance with the famous Parkinson’s law which states that ‘work expands
to fill the time available for its completion’.

All activities started at arbitrary start times

One way out of this dilemma is to leave the decision about the actual start
time to the person responsible for the execution of the activity, pointing out that it
must be started between earliest start time and latest start time. This approach is
usually unsatisfactory and leads to lot of confusion as the project proceeds, as no one
can be really sure when activities carried out by others are going to finish, and hence
they cannot easily plan their own work. This approach also has the disadvantage of
distributed float method as for one reason or the other the float would have been
gradually used up leaving all the remaining activities critical.

All activities started by considering resource availability

Resource availability is one factor which may have an important influence on
when activities can actually be started. The initial network ignores this factor, and it
is at the scheduling stage that the resources have to be taken into account. Activities
which could logically be carried out in parallel may have to be done in series and this
phasing of activities to meet resource limitations will involve the use of float. The
planning of work to balance such requirement against availability may be an
overriding factor in deriving schedules and these aspects are discussed in detail
later.
In practice no approach other than that of resource considerations, can be
used to determine the start times of all activities in the project.

Resource Analysis and schedu1ing

In some projects, time is all-important and considerations of cost and resources are

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secondary. Examples of this type are research and development projects. But for
most projects, resources are always limited and hence the success of the projects
depends on the ability to use the available resources effectively. This calls for a
careful analysis of the network to see how far the requirements can be met, what
changes may be needed to the plan and how efficiently the resources can be used. A
network is primarily designed to give information about time, but can be used to
study resources as well, as discussed below:

Resource analysis: By associating with each activity in the network, the units of
resources that would normally be used to carry it out, it is possible to analyse the
total resources requirement against time over the duration of the project. From a
schedule where all activities start at their earliest start times, a resource histogram
can be constructed, showing the total units of resources required for each unit of
time through the project. This procedure is called resource analysis. If the units of
available resources are known, the histogam can be used to investigate whether the
schedule creates less/same/more demands on resources. The procedure is illustrated
in the following example.

Project: Establishment of a Mango orchard

Activity Symbol Preceding Duration (Day) Manpower/day

Land preparation A - 3 4
Digging pits B A 5 4
Purchse saplings C A 3 2
Application of FYM D B 3 3
Transplant saplings E C,D 4 4

The network diagram for the project is given in figure 4.

B D
5 3
A C E
Figure4.1 Network m2of he 4 5
diagraThe t project
3 4
3

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 In the above diagram the critical path is A-B-D-E and the project duration is 15
days. The Total float of the activity C is 5 days. Assuming the activities are scheduled
on the Earliest Start Time (EST) the manpower requirement for the project is shown
in figure 5.

C
Total Float

A B D E

7
Manpower

3
Manpower

3 6 8 11 15

Days

Figure 5: Pattern of manpower requirement

From the above figure it is evident that the manpower requirement is to the
maximum of 7 numbers during 3rd to 6th day of project commencement and the
minimum requirement is 3 persons during 8 th and 11th day. The difference is 4
persons.

Considering the float of the activity C , this activity can be scheduled for any
three days between 3rd to 11th day. If it is scheduled during 9th to 11th day the
manpower requirement pattern would be as in figure . The demand is almost
uniform, the difference between the

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maximum and the minimum is only one person. The manpower demand for the
project duration after rescheduling the activity C is shown in figure 6.

C
Total Float

A B D E
Manpower

5
4

Manpower

3 6 8 11 15

Days

Figure 6. Revised schedule of activities.

The resource smoothing is a technique applied to distribute the resources load

evenly through out the project period. In agricultural projects where the field
operations are highly dependent on weather, cropping pattern, crop characteristics,
application of this technique would be limited to the use of implements or to the
operation those are not bound by natural phenomena.

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 Project Crashing and Project Control

Time-Cost Relationship Of An Activity

The time required for the performance of an activity is estimated according to
the quantity of resources. Except for fixed duration activities such as crop duration,
gestation period etc it is possible to mange the duration of an activity by varying the
quantity of resource. If cost is not a constraint, putting more resources to the activity
duration could reduce be reduced. This in other word means time and cost of a
project are inversely related. The relationship between cost of an activity and its
duration may take the form of the curve as depicted in figure 1.

Crash
C
Activity Cost

Normal Cost
C

Crash time Normal Time

gure 1. Time-Cost relation

F shi
TC i p TN

The time for the

Activity
ivity Duration
at minimum called Normal time and the minimum time
act
cost is
for the activity is called crash time. The costs associated with these times are called
respectively the normal cost and the crash cost. Although it is possible to estimate
the time and cost associated with the normal and crash conditions for each activity it
is difficult to estimate the time and cost at any intermediate stage between these
two points. To overcome this difficulty, it is assumed that the relationship between
the time and cost as linear in the range between normal and crash situations.

Project Crashing
Project crashing is an exercise carried out to reduce the time of a project by
investing more money. This becomes necessary when the dead line has to be met.
For crashing only the critical are considered since duration of the project could be
reduced by crashing these activities only. It is possible that when a project is crashed
another non-critical activity may become critical and in the next cycle this has to
be considered for further crashing. The steps involved in

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crashing are as under.
a. Identify critical path and critical activity
b. Compute crash cost slope i.e. (Crash cost – Normal cost) / (Normal Time
– Crash Time)
c. Select the activity with the least cost slope i.e. minimum crash cost per time.
d. Check for the critical path.
As the project shortening (crashing) continues, a point is reached at which no
further crashing is possible. At this point, some activities might not have reached
their crash points. If these activities are crashed further, costs are increased with no
saving in project duration.

Project Crashing Example

The principles of project crashing are illustrated with the help of the example. Activity
table of the project and the network diagram are shown in Table1 and Figure 1
respectively. Table 2 presents the normal and crash parameters.

Project: Development of Agro-Technology Demonstration

Blocks Table 1. Activity Table
Sl No Activity Symbol Preceding Duration
activity (Weeks)
1 Leveling the land A - 16
2 Stone pitching B A 26
3 Raising seedling C A 26
4 Establishment of irrigation D A 30
system
5 Development of drainage E C 28
system
6 Making pits and F B 27
transplantation
7 Erection of fencing G D,E,F 18

3
F
B 27
26
A D G
2 5 6
1 16 30 18

C E
26
28

4
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Table 2. Normal and Crash parameters
Activity Time in weeks Cost in Rs. Reduction Increase Cost slope
Normal Crash Normal Cost in time in cost (Rs./week)
A 16 11 36000 38000 5 2000 400
B 26 18 27000 33000 8 6000 750
C 26 21 8000 8900 5 900 180
D 30 23 135000 138570 7 3570 510
E 28 20 20000 22400 8 2400 300
F 27 23 12000 13700 4 1700 425
G 18 12 35000 36500 6 1500 2500
Total 273000 291070 43 18070

The above project has a duration (Critical path length) of 88 weeks, normal
cost Rs273000 and crash cost of Rs. 291070. For crashing, the critical activities in the
project A,C,E and G are to be considered first. Activity C has the least cost slope i.e.
Rs180/ week and can be crashed first from 26 to 21 weeks. After this crashing the
project duration is reduced to 83 weeks (Activity C from 26 to 21 weeks) and the cost
has increased from Rs.2,73,000 to Rs.2,73,900.
The revised PERT network of the project after crashing is as in figure 2 .

3
F
B 27
26
A 2 D 5 G 6
1 16 30 18

C E
21
28

Figure 2. The network diagram after crashing activity C

In the redrawn network the new critical path is A,B,F and G. These
activities are to e considered for further crashing. Among these activity G having
least cost can be crashed from 18

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weeks to 12. The project cost would be increased from 2,73900 to Rs 275000. After
crashing the network diagram is to be drawn and the procedures could continue till a
stage is reached when no further crashing is possible. The crashing result for the
project is summarized in Table 3.

Table 3. Summery of crashing exercise

Crash Crash Crash Project duration in weeks Project cost in Rs.
ed ed ed Before After Cumulati Before After Cumulati
activi Time Time crashi crashi ve crashi crashi ve
ty (Week (Wee ng ng Reductio ng ng increase
s k n
) s)
Normal 88 - - 273000 - -
C 5 5 88 87 1 273000 273900 900
G 6 6 87 81 7 273900 275400 2400
A 5 5 81 76 12 275400 277400 4400
F 4 4 76 72 16 277400 279100 6100
E 8 8 72 72 16 279100 281500 8500
B 8 8 72 64 24 281500 287500 14500

It may be noted from the above table that even though the activity C is
crashed by 5 weeks i.e. from 26 to 21 weeks, the critical path length has not reduced
to the same extent. It has reduced by only one week i.e. from 88 to 87 weeks. This in
other words the crashing of 5 weeks in the activity C has resulted only one week
reduction in the project time. This happen only when the difference between the
critical path and the other paths are less than the crashed period ( In the example
Critical path was 88 weeks and the next path length was 87. This difference of one
week which is less than the crashed period of 5 weeks). Cases where the network has
two or more critical paths crashing one activity may not result in any reduction of
project duration as in case of crashing activity. For example after crashing activity F
the project will have two critical paths i.e. A-B-F-G and A-C-E-G. Further crashing of
activity E would not result in reduction of project duration. Because the path A-B-F-G
would still remain as critical path. The project in example could be crashed to the
maximum of 24 weeks by incurring additional expenditure of Rs.14500.

Crashing of project indicates the time-cost trade-off implication. The decision

on the extent to which the project is to be crashed depends on the managerial
decision based on paucity / availability of fund.

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Project Control
Steps in Project Control
Fixing up the Review Period
Obtaining Progress Information
Comparing Actual Progress with the
Schedule Taking Appropriate Corrective
Correction
Reporting to Higher Management
Updating
Conventions for Updating
Frequency of Updating

Redrawing Network
So far the discussions were on the use of PERT/CPM in planning and
scheduling a project. This unit considers the third aspect, viz. the use of this method
during project execution. No management technique, however elegant and
sophisticated, can take away the responsibility of management to exercise
control through making decisions.

Management techniques will, however, by providing the relevant information,

enable management to take better-informed decisions and thereby exercise a finer
degree of control than would be possible
otherwise.
A project being a dynamic entity must respond to changing conditions if it is
to be completed successfully. Further projects are always executed in an
environment of endless change, and there is therefore the need for continuous
reassessment and reappraisal of the project. The original plan and schedule cannot
therefore be executed to the last detail because of a host of influencing factors, of
which the following are a few.
 Changes in the date for completion
 Changes in activity durations
 Changes in resource availability
 Changes in activity relationship
 Failure of suppliers to deliver on time
 Unexpected environmental conditions (strikes, weather, etc.)
It is, therefore, necessary to have some procedure whereby the progress of

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work is checked at regular intervals against the plan, discrepancies highlighted and
the necessary

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corrective active action taken to ensure that objectives are achieved. This is the
function of project control.
Measurement of the actual achievement and comparison with the original
plan is therefore an essential feature of an effective control system. The sequence of
instruction, execution, measurement, feedback and. correction is fundamental to
control theory.
The management of the project is therefore a continuous process involving
both planning and control. While the planning can be done at leisure, the control
phase is carried out under continuous pressure.
The continuous recycling of information helps comparing with the original.
Plan and in cases of deviation (in majority of the cases deviations do, occur as it is
very rare that plan targets are fulfilled exactly) it becomes necessary to reschedule
the plan. This involves considerable work even in smaller projects. In the case of
large projects involving several activities, a computer becomes an invaluable tool.
Project control in action: The steps involved in project control are:
1. Fixing up the review period
2. Obtaining progress information
3. Comparing actual progress with the schedule
4. Taking appropriate corrective action when required.

Fixing up the review period : How often the project is to be reviewed depends upon
a large number of factors and there can be no standard rule or practice about this.
The frequency of reviewing however will depend upon the type of project, its overall
duration and the degree of uncertainty involved.
For the average project, a fortnightly review should be sufficient in the normal
course but in the case of rapidly changing projects, higher frequency of reviewing is
necessary to have close control. Projects of the same overall duration using 3 time
estimates (PERT system) for activities require greater frequency of reviewing than
those using single time estimates (CPM system) for activities. The interval between
reviews may change depending on the management needs.

Obtaining progress information: For obtaining progress, a form shown below is

normally used. The basic information required refers to activities just started,
activities completed, and progress on current activities. While the information
regarding first two can be given precisely, the last may best be quantified by
estimating the comp1etion date.

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 Progress Report
Project For delayed activity
Activity Duration Scheduled Actual date Expected date Remarks
date

Start Finish Start Finish Start Finish

Comparing actual progress with the schedule: The actual progress is transferred
either on to the network or to the scheduling table so that it can be compared with
the schedule to identify deviations.
Taking appropriate corrective action when required: Obtaining progress
information and identification of deviations alone are of little value without effective
follow up. If a delay occurs in a non-critical activity, corrective action will usually be
limited to rescheduling the following activities. If a delay occurs in one of the critical
activities, corrective action would include adding additional resources from non-
critical to critical jobs, rescheduling of series operations in parallel etc. If the time
cannot be made up by any of these methods, completion of the project will be
delayed.
Based on the corrective action taken, fresh schedules are prepared for the
following week/fortnight and the control cycle consisting of execution, measurement,
feedback correction and instruction repeats itself.
Frequency of updating: There is no standard practice regarding the frequency of
updating. Updating may be undertaken at regular intervals or whenever the situation
warrants it. Updating should be done whenever major changes occur that will affect
project completion date or cause a shift in the critical path, or when the impact of
changes on the schedule cannot be readily noticed by inspecting the network.

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 Overview of Microsoft Project

☞ Start MS Project
 Double-click on the MS Project icon.

Or

 Click the Start button, select Programs, select the Project icon.

☞ Using Help
 Click on the Help menu and select Microsoft Project Help or press
[F1].

 The Project Help task pane will open on the right of the screen
enabling you to search for assistance on a specific topic.

The Office Assistant

The office assistant offers tips on what you are doing, can answer questions you have,
and enables you to ask questions in a non-jargon way. The office assistant usually
appears as an animated paper clip.

☞ To Use the Office Assistant

 Click on the Help menu and select Show the Office Assistant

 Type in the topic required.

 Click on Search

Note: When performing certain actions (especially for the first time) the Office
Assistant will appear automatically with a list of help options relative to what
you are doing.

As well as offering help, the Office Assistant also offers tips on quick or short cuts for the
features you are using. If the Office Assistant is visible a light bulb appears next to the
paper clip. Otherwise a light bulb appears on the tool on the toolbar.

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 MS Project - The Screen

The Menus: Always displayed, some options depend on the selected

view.
Tool Bars: Buttons provide quick access to the most common
commands, The bars can be customised

Task Pane With options to help when ‘Getting Started’. Other task
panes are available.

Entry Bar: The entry point for text with outlining buttons.

Status Bar: At the bottom of the screen showing the current status.

Scroll Bars: When using a mouse to scroll the views and to move the
boundary between two views.

Working Area: The area for 1 or 2 views, the size of each can be adjusted.

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 Elements of the Default View
The default Project view is the Gantt Chart view, as displayed below. This view is used
extensively in Microsoft Project. The Gantt Chart consists of a Gantt table and a Gantt
bar chart. The divider bar separates the two and can be repositioned to display more of
the table or more of the chart. The Gantt table consists of rows and columns. Just like on
a spreadsheet, the intersection of a row and a column is called a cell. The Gantt bar chart
graphically displays your schedule on a time line.

The status bar displays the current mode of operation and warning messages and
indicates when special key control modes, such as Num Lock mode, are on. The entry
bar contains an Entry box where all information is input. The default toolbars are the
Standard toolbar, Formatting toolbar and the Project Guide. Other toolbars can be
displayed by choosing Toolbars from the View menu.

Views and Tables

A view is the format of the way that project data is displayed on the screen and there are
a considerable number of different permutations that can be used.

The View Menu is the first place where the view that is required is selected. The
basic selection is between a Chart, a Form, or a Sheet. Some of the options in this
menu can provide a split view to show two different displays for the same Task or
Resource.

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You can also use the View bar, located vertically on the left of the default view (if it is
active). To activate/deactivate the View Bar, select View, View Bar.

As well as the standard views achieved with the View menu or View bar, you can select
More Views to see more detailed and complex views and forms.

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The table below describes some of the main views in Project.

Calendar: Shows the view in the form of a calendar.

Gantt Chart: A diagrammatic view of the Tasks and their time

scale. This chart can also show the relationship
between Tasks and the Critical Path. It usually
shows the task entry form alongside the Gantt chart.

Network Diagram Network Diagram is an acronym for Programme

Chart: Evaluation Review Technique. This view represents
each Task as a box with relevant information within
it. The layout of the boxes on the chart and the
lines that link the boxes represent the structure of
the project.
Task Usage: The Task Usage view displays project tasks with
their assigned resources grouped underneath them.

Tracking Gantt: The Tracking Gantt view displays two task bars, one
on top of the other, for each task. The lower bar
shows baseline start and finish dates, and the upper
bar shows scheduled start and finish dates (or if the
task has already started, meaning that the
percentage complete is greater than zero, the upper
bar shows the actual start and finish dates).
Resource Graph: A graphical representation of a single resource and its
utilisation.

Resource Sheet: A list of all the resources for the project.

Resource Usage: This is a view that shows the use in hours per day for
each resource.

More Views: Allows the showing of combination views as well as

details of a single Task

Table:(Entry): Changes the form alongside the Gantt chart.

Reports: Takes you into Report Wizard.

Toolbars: Allows you to change the Toolbar display.

View Bar: Activates the View bar, located vertically on the left of
the screen.

Zoom: Changes the amount of information you can see on

screen, from days to years.

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 The Tracking Gantt View
When you initially set up your project with tasks and dates, and then save the project with
a baseline, the Tracking Gantt view displays those tasks as shown in the following
example.

The baseline bars and the scheduled or actual bars are synchronized. However, if the start
date of task slips by, say, 2 days, the red scheduled bar will extend 2 days beyond the
lower baseline bar.

Because the tasks are linked, the slipping of task 2 will cause a ripple effect, making its
successor tasks slip by 2 days as well.

You can use the Tracking Gantt view to:

 See how tasks progress across time and evaluate the slippage of
tasks. You can track progress by comparing baseline and scheduled
or actual start and finish dates and by checking the completion
percentage of each task.

 View tasks graphically while still having access to detailed

information about the tasks.

 Create a project by entering tasks and the amount of time each task
will take.

 Establish sequential dependencies between tasks by linking them.

When you link tasks, you can see how a change in the duration of
one task affects the start and finish dates of other tasks and the
project finish date.

 Assign personnel and other resources to tasks.

MS Project - Menus
The File Menu
The File menu is typical of the windows environment. The command which pertains to
MS Project is:

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 Properties: Provides basic information on the Project.

The Edit Menu

The Edit menu is also typical of the windows environment. Commands which pertain to
MS Project include:

Link Tasks: Create links between tasks.

Unlink Tasks: Break an existing link.
Go To: Go to a task or resource. (Depends on view.)

The Insert Menu

Among other things allows you to insert new rows for tasks or columns for information.
You can also go to the Task information dialog box to add more detailed information to
the current task.

The Format Menu

This changes dramatically when different views are selected. The following are the
principal selections.

For a Network Diagram the choices are:

Text Styles: Modifies the size, and type of the selected text.
Box Styles: Changes the appearance of the Network Diagram
boxes.
Layout: Allows you to customise the way links are shown.
Layout Now: Redraws to show changes made to links etc.

For the GANTT chart the choices are:

Font: Used to change the font.
Bar: Change the selected Gantt Bar style
Timescale: Allows you to set the displayed time at anything
from years to minutes.
Gridlines: Allows you to display or hide Gridlines and change
their appearance.
Gantt Chart Wizard: Takes you through the programs method of setting
up your Gantt chart.
Text Styles: Change the font, size and colours
Bar Styles: Change all Gantt bars.
Details: Details of the Gantt chart
Layout: Change the way the bars are displayed including
links.

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The Tools Menu
The main choices here are Change Working Time, Tracking and Multiple Projects.

Assign Resources: Apply various filters to the tasks.

Level Resources: Shows resource levelling
information
Change Working Time: Format a new Calendar.
Tracking: Check the progress.
Links Between Projects: Set up sub projects and links.

The Project Menu

This menu is for retrieving information on the project and its components. Some of
the options launch sub menus. The commands are fairly self-explanatory and will
become clearer later in this course.

There are also the usual Window and Help options.

You will find that the menu choices may change depending on the view selected. If
this happens it simply means that the option you wanted is not available for that
view.
MS Project - The Tool Bars
The Buttons provide quick access to some of the commands available from the pull down
menus. The default arrangement of the toolbars is the Standard and Formatting bars
active.

The formatting bar is virtually identical to the same thing in other Office applications,
except it has the Outline tools attached to it. These tools are for promoting and demoting
tasks, Collapsing and expanding sub tasks plus the usual Text format and alignment
buttons.

The Standard toolbar contains the following buttons:

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  Create a New blank file.  Unlink the selected tasks.
 Open an existing File.  Split the selected tasks
 Save the current file  Open the Task Information
dialog box.
 Perform a File Search
 Attach a note to the current
 Print the active View task.

 Print Preview the active view  Add Resources.

 Spell check the selection.  Publish Information.

 Cut the highlighted section to  Group Information.

the Clipboard
 Zoom in.
 Copy the highlighted section to
the Clipboard  Zoom out.
 Paste from the Clipboard.  Goto selected task.
 Format Painter.  Copy a static Picture so it can
be used in another
 Undo the previous action. application.

 Insert a hyperlink Launch the Web  Display the Office Assistant

toolbar.

 Link the selected tasks with a

Finish-to-Start relationship

☞ Loading and Viewing a Project

 Select File, Open to open any project file.

 Press [Ctrl-Home] and [Alt-Home] to go to the start of the project.

 Use the scroll tools to see the project progress.

 Use the mouse to change the size of the various windows.

 Alter the time scale with View, Zoom.

☞ Change the View

 Click on the View menu.

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  Choose each of the top five and note the different screens.

 Select View, Gantt Chart to return to the original view.

 Move the mouse to the central vertical bar on the screen when it will
change to a double line with a double-headed arrow

 Click and hold the left button and drag left to see more of the
Gantt Chart.

 Repeat but drag right to see more of the Entry Table.

☞ Change the Project Start Date

 Select Project, Project Information from the menus.

 Change the project Start Date.

 Click Add and click OK and examine the views again.

 Select Tools, Tracking, Update Project to see project progress so

far.

☞ Exit Project
 Select File, Close to close the existing project file.

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Task Entry and Linking
Entering Tasks
This is the main activity in setting up a new project. The tasks which have been
identified at the Design Stage must be entered.

The system will hold task information in a task database, which we cannot access directly
but is used by the system whenever we view task data. This is one of two databases the
system uses the other being the resource database.

It is important to understand that the system checks the data that it holds and where the
data does not cross check then the system will generally update the database to make it
right. It is important to keep an eye on this process; this will be discussed in a later
section.

As each entry is made the system will update the appropriate data and views to reflect the
entries.

The order of entry should be in the logical progression but this is not essential as it can be
changed.

Normal Task entry will be by using the standard Task Sheet. The Gantt View shows the
Gantt Chart in the right part of the window with the Task Sheet in the left part.

The Task Information box/Task Sheet

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The Task sheet is a view of the selected task with information shown in the columns as
follows: -

ID: The Task Identification number.

Name: The Name of the Task.

Duration: The time the Task will take including the time units.

Start Date: This is the current Scheduled Start date for the
Task. Not the Planned or Actual Start.

Finish Date: The Scheduled Finish date.

Predecessors: The ID numbers for the preceding Tasks that are

linked to this Task.

Resources: The names of the resources performing or used

in the Task.

The Task Entry Form

It is possible to select the Task Entry view to see the Gantt Chart in the upper pane and
the Task Form in the lower pane. To do this choose View, More Views, Task Entry.
From the Task Sheet the following entries can be made.

ID: The Task Identification number.

Task Name: The Name of the Task.

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Duration: The time the Task will take including the time units.

As the entries are made, the Gantt Chart will automatically be updated to display the
tasks.

If using the Task Form it will be possible to enter and/or view the following.

Name: The name of the task

Duration: The length of time the task will take and the units of time.

Fixed: A check box to specify the start date to be fixed.

Start: The scheduled start date, if this is not entered the system will calculate
it from the data entered and the relationships defined.

Finish: The scheduled finish date, entered or calculated as above.

% Complete: A measure of the completion of the Task if it has been started.

Tables and descriptions

Resource Table

ID: The identification number of the Resource

Resource Name: The name of the resource.

Units The number of units available for the resource.

Work The amount of work currently assigned to the resource.

Predecessor Table
ID The identification number of the Predecessor.

Predecessor Name: The name of the Predecessor. If this is not entered the system
will look it up using the ID number.

Type: The relationship with the current Task which will be FS, or SS,
or FF.

Lag The time delay between the end of the Predecessor the start of
the Successor.

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It is not necessary to complete all the fields at entry time, as more information is added so
the system will update the boxes. It is only necessary to enter the data that has been
determined in the design stage.

☞ To enter task descriptions and durations one cell

at a time:

 In the Task Name column, select the first available cell and type the
name of the task.

 Press TAB

 In the Duration column, type the value of the duration. If the

duration is anything other than days, type m for minutes, h for hours,
or w for weeks.

 Press ENTER

 Press LEFT ARROW to return to the Task Name column and

repeat steps 1 through 4 as required.

☞ To enter task descriptions and durations by

selecting a range:

 Select the first cell (the numbered cell) of the desired range.

 Drag the mouse through the range of cells you want to include.

 In the first cell, type the desired information.

 Press TAB

 In the Duration column, type the appropriate information.

 Repeat steps 4 and 5 as required.

Note: Pressing SHIFT+TAB moves to the previous cell without deselecting the
range. Clicking your mouse inside or outside the range will deselect the
range.

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 Other Methods of Adding Tasks
As a general rule Tasks can be added in any view where the tasks are displayed. The
most obvious methods in addition to using the normal Task Entry view are as follows: -

In the Gantt Chart or the Task Sheet

An additional task can be added at the end of the list using the Insert, New Task
command.

Where additional information is required to be entered then this can be done by using the
Task Information form which is opened by simply double-clicking a task in the task list.

Using the Task Information Form

It is possible to enter additional tasks using this form but it does not have all the possible
entry points. The details of this form are included in the description of the Task Entry
View above.

Using The Network Diagram Chart

Additional tasks can be placed within the chart by drawing a box and then entering the
information within the fields. The relationship can be also be entered graphically by
pointing to the Predecessor and dragging a line to the Successor.

Where a relationship needs to be removed, a double click on it will display a box which
has a delete button in it.

Further time will be spent on this view later.

Note: When you try to make a link that is not logical or possible, Project will warn
you about this (see illustration below).

Add Tasks
The following tasks can be used as a practical in MS Project.

[This column is for Task Duration

your info only]
Milestone task Course Development 0d
Summary task Preparation 1d

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 Sub tasks Install Software 2h
  Studies and Specifications 1d
Summary task Section Development
Sub tasks Section 1
  Section 2
  Section 3
  Section 4
  Section 5
  Section 6
  Section 7
  Section 8

 Enter the tasks as above. As you enter them Project will enter 1d as
the default duration. Change this for Install Software.

Note: By simply setting the Course Development task to zero days. It is given
Milestone status.

Linking Tasks
In order that the system is able to display the overall time aspects of the project, each
Task must be defined in terms of the Tasks on which it is dependent and in turn those
Tasks that are dependent on it. It is also possible to define in what way these
dependencies exist.

Most associated Tasks will have a straightforward linear relationship. That is, the
preceding task must finish before the next task can start. This is the Finish to Start
relationship.

This is not true for all situations, for example if bricks are being made to build a house,
the building cannot start until some bricks are available but it is not necessary for all the
bricks to be made before the building can start. The relationship between making the
bricks and building the house can be described as Start to Start but with a time lag to
allow for the first batch of bricks to be ready.

An alternative relationship can be Finish to Finish which is true where two tasks must be
ready at the same time. For example in the preparation of a banquet, the elements of each
course must be completed at the same time in order that they are at their best.
To summarise the main three relationships that can happen are as follows: -

 Finish to Start (FS)

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  Start to Start (SS)

 Finish to Finish (FF)

We can also fine tune these relationships by specifying Lag or Lead times as required.

Linking of Tasks can be achieved by making the appropriate entry in any of the task
views or highlighting the tasks and using the link button on the Tool Bar, or by using the
Edit, Link Tasks command

Note: You need to highlight the tasks you want to link before trying to link them.
Use the mouse while holding down the [Ctrl] and/or [Shift] button(s) to do
this

☞ Links are most clearly shown in the Network

Diagram
 Enter some of the links by completing the Predecessor ID in the
lower pane.

 Add some of the links by selecting them and using the linking
button.

Defining the Summary Tasks

Microsoft Project provides the ability to structure the tasks by setting different levels of
tasks and grouping tasks under a summary task. This can be useful where the project has
a considerable number of tasks; management can be made easier by only viewing and
reporting on the summary tasks.

There are five buttons on the far left of the Formatting Toolbar which can be used on a
single task or group of highlighted tasks.

 Promote the selection to the next higher level

 Demote the selection to the next lower level

 Expands a summary task to show its subordinate tasks

 Collapse a summary task to hide the subordinate tasks

 Hide assignments

 Show all subtasks, or those of a particular outline level.

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 ☞ Create Summary Tasks and Link Tasks
 Select the sub tasks Install Software and Studies and Specification.

 Indent the tasks to make them sub tasks.

 While they are still selected link them (chain button or Edit menu).

 Make Sections 1 to 8 sub tasks and link them.

☞ Insert Tasks
If you miss a task from your list you can insert a blank line and type the information.

 Click on Studies and Specifications.

 Right-click and choose New Task to insert a blank row.

 Type Backup Installation as the task and set the time to 1h.

☞ Add New Tasks

Having added tasks you can continue adding tasks at the end of your project.

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  Move to the line below Section 8 and type Slide Development.

 Set the Duration to 5d.

 Outdent the task by clicking on the Outdent button.

 Link it to Section 8.

 Save your project as Training Course.

 Save with a baseline.

☞ Change Duration
The default duration is 1day. To change this you can simply overtype with the new value.

 Change the durations for

each Module to 2d.

 When the Wizard appears

READ THE
INFORMATION then
click on the OK button.

 Select all the remaining

tasks.

 Open the Task information box.

 Set the duration to 1.5d

☞ Multiple Links
Tasks can be linked to more than one predecessor.

 Select the task Slide Development, hold down the Ctrl key
and select the task Module 1.

 Click on the Link Tasks button.

 When you get a warning, try to figure out why the link is illogical.
Look at the Gantt chart if it makes it easier to think.

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☞ Save a Baseline
 Select Tools, Tracking, Save Baseline from the menus.

 Click on the Save baseline radio button.

 Click on the OK button.

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