1. Project Management in Practice Fourth Edition
Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, and Sutton
Prepared by
Scott M. Shafer,
Updated by
William E. Matthews and
Thomas G. Roberts,
William Paterson University
John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

2. Introduction to Allocation
Projects compete with one another for resources
consumed (e.g., materials)
non-consumed (e.g., equipment)
Goal of resource allocation is to optimize use of limited supply
Allocations requires making trade-offs
time constrained … completion by a fixed time
resource constrained … limited budget or resource
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3. The Critical Path Method
Normal duration estimates
Normal costs
Crash duration estimates
Crash costs
Crash cost per day
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4. Activity Slope The activity slope or cost per day is:
Crash Cost - Normal Cost _______________________________________________________________________________________
Normal Duration – Crash Duration
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5. Crashing a Project Two key principles:
Focus on the critical path(s) when trying to shorten the duration of a project
When shortening a project’s duration, select the least expensive way to do it
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6-5

6. An Example of a Normal/Crash Project
* Partial crashing allowed
** Partial crashing not allowed
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7. A PERT/CPM Example of Crashing a Project, AOA Network
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8. CPM Crash Cost-duration History
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9. Fast-Tracking a Project
Fast Tracking - an expediting technique in which one phase of the project is started before preceding phases are completed
Used in the construction industry when the building phase is started before the design and planning phases are complete
This technique is particularly appropriate when large proportion of work is routine
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

10. Resource Loading
Resource loading refers to the amounts of specific resources that are scheduled for use on specific activities or projects at specific time
It is usually presented in the form of a list or table
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11. Project Plan and Gantt Chart for Production of a Short Documentary Film
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12. Gantt Chart for DVD Project, Adjusted for Client Availability
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13. Resource Loading Chart for DVD Production
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14. Dealing with the Charismatic VP Problem
Subordinates have a hard time saying "no" to a well liked boss which can lead to overcommitted subordinates.
Problem further compounded because more experienced workers tend to be most over worked.
One solution is to set specific limits on amount of overscheduling permitted.
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15. Resource Overallocation Report for Scriptwriter Showing All Activities
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16. Graphic Resource Allocation Report for Scriptwriter
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17. Resource Leveled Report for Scriptwriter Showing All Activities
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18. Graphic Resource Leveled Report for Scriptwriter
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19. Daily Resource Loading Chart for DVD Project, Scriptwriter Leveled
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20. Final DVD Project Gantt Chart Schedule, with Two Scriptwriters and Producer Leveled
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21. Resource Loading/Leveling and Uncertainty
28,282 Hours Needed
Group Capacity
21 (people)  40 (hours/week)  34 weeks = 28,560 labor hours
Correction for Holidays
21 (people)  3 (days)  8 (hours) = 504 labor hours
Vacations
11 (people)  2 (weeks)  40 (hours) = 880 labor hours
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

22. Resource Loading/Leveling and Uncertainty continued
Hours Available
28, = 27,176
about 1100 less than needed
28,282/27176 = 1.04
Additional Problems
Workers getting sick
Task not ready when worker is ready
Change orders
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23. Thirty-Four-Week Resource Loading Chart for a Software Engineering Group
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24. Use of Project Software
Begin with PERT/CPM Schedule
Examine activities period by period and resource by resource
If the demand for a resource exceeds supply, the software consider the tasks one by one ….. resources assigned to these tasks according to the priority rule selected by the project manager
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25. Allocation Priority Rules
As soon as possible
As late as possible
Shortest task duration first
Minimum slack first
Most critical followers
Most successors
Most resources first
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

26. Criteria of Priority Rules
Schedule slippage
amount project or set of projects delayed by application of a leveling rule
Resource utilization
extent to which resources are over or underworked
In-process inventory
amount of unfinished work in the system
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

27. Pseudoactivities
Pseudoactivities are those which have duration but require no resources
The use of pseudoactivities allows a set of projects to be linked and dealt with as though it were a single project
use of MSP’s resource loading and leveling charts and tables
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28. Multiple Projects Connected with Pseudoactivities Shown on a Time Line
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29. Impact of Resource Allocation on the Two Types of Project Life Cycles
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30. Project Issues/Problems
Issues that trouble people about working on projects regardless of type of project
unrealistic due dates
too many changes
unrealistic budget
These issues/problems relate to the need to make trade-offs
To what extent are these problems caused by human decisions and practices?
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31. Three Project Scenarios
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32. Project Completion Time Statistics Based on Simulating Three Projects 200 Times
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33. Key Observations Average completion times
Implications of assuming known activity times
Shape of the distribution
Worker time estimates
Impact of inflated time estimates
Student syndrome
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34. Multitasking – Two Small Projects
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35. Alternative Gantt Charts for Projects A and B
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36. Common Chain of Events
Assuming that activity times are known and that the paths are independent leading to underestimating the time needed to complete the project
Project team members inflate time estimates
Work fills available time
student syndrome
early completions not reported
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37. Common Chain of Events continued
Misused safety time results in missed deadlines
Hidden safety time complicates task of prioritizing project activities
Lack of clear priorities results in poor multitasking
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38. Common Chain of Events concluded
Poor multitasking increases task durations
Uneven demand on resources may also occur as a result of poor multitasking
More projects undertaken to ensure all resources are fully utilized
Adding more projects further increases poor multitasking
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39. Reversing the Cycle
Reduce number of projects assigned to each individual
Schedule start of new projects based on availability of bottleneck resources
Reduce amount of safety time added to individual tasks and then add some fraction back for the entire project, called the project buffer
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

40. The Critical Chain
Think in terms of the longest chain of consecutively dependent events
consider both precedence relationships and resource dependencies
Project buffer
added safety time for the entire project
Feeding buffer
safety time added to chains other than the critical chain because the network’s paths often lead into or merge with the critical chain
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41. Project and Feeder Buffers
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42. Copyright
Copyright 2011John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted in Section 117 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without express permission of the copyright owner is unlawful. Request for further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The purchaser may make back-up copies for his/her own use only and not for distribution or resale. The Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages, caused by the use of these programs or from the use of the information herein.
Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.