IS333: Project Management Tutorial 03 Questions Semester I 2020

IS333
Project Management
Tutorial 03
Semester I 2020

Tutorial 03 (F2F (Online - 1%))

Project Scheduling (Networks, Duration Estimations, and Critical Path

1. List three methods for deriving duration estimates for project activities. What are the strengths and
weaknesses associated with each method?

2. In your opinion, what are the chief benefits and drawbacks of using beta distribution calculations
(based on PERT techniques) to derive activity duration estimates?

3. “The shortest total length of a project is determined by the longest path through the network.”
Explain the concept behind this statement. Why does the longest path determine the shortest project
length?

4. The float associated with each project task can only be derived following the completion of the
forward and backward passes. Explain why this is true.

5. What is the time estimate of an activity in which the optimistic estimate is 4 days, pessimistic is 12
days, and most likely is 5 days? Show your calculations.

6. Using the following information about Project A, its activities and predecessor activities below:

Activity Predecessors
A -
B A
C B
D B
E C, D
F C
G E, F
H D, G

a. Create the Activity Network Diagram using the (AoN) technique.

b. Label all the nodes appropriately

c. Identify the merge activities

d. Identify the burst activities

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IS333: Project Management Tutorial 03 Questions Semester I 2020

The following table contains the pessimistic, likely, and optimistic estimates for how long activities
are estimated to take for Project A.

Activity Pessimistic Likely Optimistic

A 7
B 5
C 14
D 20
E 8
F 10
G 12
H 16
5 2
3 2
8 6
10 6
3 3
5 3
6 4
6 5

e. Calculate the time estimates (TE)

f. Calculate the variance (s2)
g. Convert the TE to whole integers and place them in the network diagram for each activity.
h. Identify the critical path.
i. Do the forward pass and calculate ES and EF.
j. Do the backward pass and calculate LS and LF.
k. Determine the Slack or Float for each activity.
l. Is the critical path the same as in (h)?
m. What is the project’s standard deviation?
n. What is the probability of project completion?

7. Using the following information about Project B, its activities and predecessor activities below:

Activity Predecessors
A -
B A
C A
D B
E C
F C
G D, E
H F, G

a. Create the Activity Network Diagram using the (AoN) technique.

b. Label all the nodes appropriately (as above)
c. Identify the merge activities (Merge activities are G and H)
d. Identify the burst activities (Burst activities are A and C)

The following table contains the pessimistic, likely, and optimistic estimates for how long activities
are estimated to take for Project B.

Activity Pessimistic Likely Optimistic

A 9 7 4
B 7 5 4
C 16 10 8
D 22 12 8
E 10 5 5
F 12 7 5
G 14 8 6
H 18 8 7

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IS333: Project Management Tutorial 03 Questions Semester I 2020

e. Calculate the time estimates (TE)

f. Calculate the variance (s2)
g. Convert the TE to whole integers and place them in the network diagram for each activity.
h. Identify the critical path.
i. Do the forward pass and calculate ES and EF.
j. Do the backward pass and calculate LS and LF.
k. Determine the Slack or Float for each activity.
l. Is the critical path the same as in (h)?
m. What is the project’s standard deviation?
n. What is the probability of project completion?

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