Project Management – Part 1
Overview What is a project? Project management techniques Activity lists Network diagrams Critical path analysis Gant charts
Definition Project a series of jobs usually directed toward some major output and requiring a significant period of time to perform Over the next few days we’ll cover some project management techniques…
Activity Lists Breakdown of all activities/tasks in a project Precedence constraints One task can’t be started until another is finished Duration of activities
Activity List for Example Problem Activity Description Immediate Predecessors Required Activity Time (weeks) A B C D E F G H I J Select office site Create organization and financial plan Determine personnel requirements Design facility Construct the interior Select personnel to move Hire new employees Move records, key personnel, etc. Make financial arrangements Train new personnel - - B A,C D C F F B H,E,G
Network Diagrams Show the sequence of activities in a project Consists of nodes and arrows Nodes show activities (AON: activity on node) Arrows show precedence We won’t cover AOA (activity-on-arrow) So don’t worry about p
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A B
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Critical Path Analysis Find all paths and compute expected length ADEJ BCDEJ BCFGJ BCFHJ BI Longest path is duration of the project Delays in activities on the critical path will delay the project = 18 = 23 = 17 = 15 = 10 Critical Path
Early Start/Early Finish (ES/EF) The earliest an activity can be started and finished (without delaying the project). ES = 0 if no predecessors ES = maximum EF of the predecessors EF = ES + activity duration Work forward through time
A B D C E F G H I J ES = 0 because no predecessors EF = 3 since = 3 ESEF
A B D C E F G H I J ESEF 0
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A B D C E F G H I J Remember: ES is always the largest of the predecessors’ Early Finishes ESEF
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Late Start/Late Finish (LS/LF) The latest an activity can start and finish (without delaying the project) If last activity, LF = EF of last activity on critical path LF = minimum LS of successors LS = LF – activity duration Work backwards through time
A B D C E F G H I J Remember: at the last activity, LF = EF of last activity on Critical Path LF ESEF
A B D C E F G H I J LFLS
A B D C E F G H I J LFLS
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A B D C E F G H I J Recall, LF is equal to the smallest LS of the activity’s successors LFLS 16 18
A B D C E F G H I J LFLS
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A B D C E F G H I J LFLS ESEF
Slack The most you can delay an activity without delaying the project Slack = LS - ES = LF - EF Critical activities have zero slack Helps to set priorities, scrutiny of management
A B D C E F G H I J LFLS ESEF Critical activities have zero slack
A B D C E F G H I J LFLS ESEF Critical activities have zero slack
Gantt Chart: Early Start/Finish A B C D E F G H I J Early Start of Activity F Late Finish of Activity F Scheduled Time of Activity F 0
Gantt Chart: Late Start/Finish A B C D E F G H I J
For next time Finish reading the project management chapter