Chapter 8: Scheduling

Learning Objectives

1. Explain some scheduling techniques that have been found to be useful

in project management.
2. Identify critical activities and events through the use of a network
diagram.
3. Define activity, event, and path as used in network construction.
4. Differentiate activity-on-node and activity-on-arrow.
5. Describe the PERT, the Critical Path Method, and Gantt-charts.

Chapter Outline
8.0 The Introduction
 Examine some scheduling techniques that have been found to be useful in
project management.
 Risk analysis and management will be considered as an inherent feature of
all scheduling methods, and a simulation of a project schedule will be
demonstrated.
8.1 Background

 A schedule is the conversion of a project action plan into an operating

timetable.
 It serves as the basis for monitoring and controlling project activity and,
taken together with the plan and budget, is probably the major tool for the
management of projects.
 Project scheduling is so important that a detailed schedule is sometimes a
customer-specified requirement.
 Not all the project activities need to be scheduled at the same level of detail.
There may be several schedules example:
o master schedules
o the development
o testing schedule
o the assembly schedule

 The basic approach of all scheduling techniques is to form a network of

activity and event relationships that graphically portrays the sequential
relations between the tasks in a project.
 Such a network is a powerful tool for planning and controlling a project, and
has the following benefits:

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 i. It is a consistent framework for planning, scheduling, monitoring,
and controlling the project.
ii. It illustrates the interdependence of all tasks, work packages, and
work elements.
iii. It denotes the times when specific individuals and resources must
be available for work on a given task.
iv. It aids in ensuring that the proper communications take place
between departments and functions.
v. It determines an expected project completion date.
vi. It identifies so-called critical activities that, if delayed, will delay
the project completion time.
vii. It also identifies activities with slack that can be delayed for
specified periods without penalty, or from which resources may
be temporarily borrowed without harm.
viii. It determines the dates on which tasks may be started—or must
be started if the project is to stay on schedule.
ix. It illustrates which tasks must be coordinated to avoid resource
or timing conflicts.
x. It also illustrates which tasks may be run, or must be run, in
parallel to achieve the predetermined project completion date.
xi. It relieves some interpersonal conflict by clearly showing task
dependencies.
xii. It may, depending on the information used, allow an estimate of
the probability of project completion by various dates, or the date
corresponding to a particular a priori probability.

8.2 Network Techniques: PERT (ADM) AND CPM (PDM)

 The most common approach to project scheduling is the use of network

techniques such as PERT and CPM.
 PERT was strictly oriented to the time element of projects and used
probabilistic activity time estimates to aid in determining the probability that
a project could be completed by some given dates.
 CPM used deterministic activity time estimates and was designated to
control both time and cost aspects of a project time or cost trade-offs.

I. Terminology
A. Activity- A specific task or set of tasks that are required
by the project, use up resources, and take time to
complete.
B. Event- The result of completing one or more activities.

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 C. Network- The arrangement of all activities in a project
arrayed in their logical sequence and represented the arcs
and models.
D. Path- The series of connected activities between any two
events in a network.
E. Critical- Activities, events, or paths which, if delayed, will
delayed the completion of the project.

II. Constructing the Network, AON Version

A. It uses nodes to represent activities with arrows to show
precedence relationship.
B. AON is typically used in the most popular PC-based
commercially available computer software
C. AON networks are easily to draw.

III. Constructing the Network, AOA Version

A. Activity-On-Arrow networks use arrows to represent
activities while nodes stand for events.
B. AOA networks are slightly difficult to draw because they
sometimes use of dummy activities to aid in indicating a
particular precedence.

IV. Gantt Chart and Microsoft Project (MSP)

A. The oldest and most useful methods of presenting
schedule in formation.
B. It shows the planned and actual progress for a number of
task and displayed as bars against the horizontal time
scale.
C. It is effective and easy-to-read method.
D. Gantt Chart is helpful at expediting sequencing and
relocating resources of task.
E. It is easy to construct using network and before using MSP
or other software to draw complex networks.

V. Calculating Activity Times

A. The next step is to calculate the expected activity
completion times.
B. The ‘most likely’ time, m, of the activity is the mode of
distribution.
C. I theory, times will be selected such that actual time. It will
require by the activity will be or greater 99 percent of the
time.

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8.3 Risk Analysis Using Simulation with Crystal Ball

 Life with project is characterized by uncertainty

 Things that can upset a carefully planned and managed project:
o Time required to carry out an activity
o Cost and availability of resources
o Success of a research experiment
o Wishes of the client
o Action of a competitor
o Vagaries of the weather
o Ups and down of the interest rates
o Dyspepsia of a senior manager
 One method of uncertainty is to perform risk analysis.
 Crystal ball (CB) are used to simulate a decision process.
 CB can use the beta distribution to generate random numbers.
 The CB applied the correct formula and properly changed the cell
accordingly.

I. Traditional Statistic or Simulation?

 The subject of project scheduling brings the problem of choosing the
method used to perform quantitative risk analysis into focus.
 Simulation is as a way of accomplishing essentially the same
analysis.
 Using statistic, TE and variance must be easily being found for each
path again, easily done by computer
 Statistical method requires one to analyze potential path merged by
hand that increased difficulty to extraordinary levels.
 Excel can also use to simulate projects schedules with its own built
program.
 CB allows user to interact with the software by responding
immediately to changes in the parameters of a simulation.
8.4 Using These Tools

 User-friendly software such as Microsoft Project, Crystal Ball, and Excel that
do similar jobs has made the use of tools.
 Gathering the input data for the software is usually more difficult than
entering and processing it, but it is doable.

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Chapter Summary
 Schedule is the conversion of a project action plan into an operating
timetable. It serves as the basis for monitoring and controlling project
activity and taken together with the plan and budget, it is probably the major
tool for the management of projects.
 The most common approach to project scheduling is the use of network
techniques such as Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
and Critical Path Method (CPM).
 One of the oldest but still one of the most useful methods of presenting
project schedule information is the Gantt chart. It shows planned and actual
progress for a number of tasks displayed as bars against a horizontal time
scale.
 Gantt chart was developed around 1917 by Henry L. Gantt, a pioneer in the
field of scientific management.
 Networks are usually constructed from left to right, indicating activity
precedence and event times as the network is constructed. Through use of
the network, critical activities and events are identified, early and late activity
start times are found, available slacks for each activity are determined, and
probabilities of project completion by various times are calculated.
 Precedence Diagramming consists of the following; Finish to Start, Start to
Start, Finish to Finish and Start to Finish. Precedence Diagramming is an
AON network method that easily allows for these leads and lags within the
network.
 The model's output is used to build a statistical model of all the results. This
distribution indicates the decision's risk profile. The risk profile is addressed
together with the strategies and policies of the holding company, the
customer's preferences, and a few other considerations when making the
decision.
 Risk Analysis using Simulation with Crystal ball means is that life with
projects is characterized by uncertainty like the time required, the cost and
availability, the success of the research, the wishes of the client, the
competitor’s actions as well as the vagaries of the weather.
 Crystal Ball is an outstanding software program that enables simulation
relatively convenient tool for simulating a project. It is also possible to use
Excel to simulate tasks schedules with constructed services of their own.
 They choose Crystal ball because it is a bit better user-friendly, but mostly
because it can display its outcome in a variety of ways about formats. By
reacting immediately to changes in the parameters of a simulation, Crystal
ball also enables the customers to connect with the software.

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Assessment
A. Identify the following.
1. The two ways of illustrating a network: placing the activities on the arcs or on
the nodes.
2. It used deterministic activity time estimates and was designated to control both
the time and cost aspects of a project. In particular, time/cost trade-offs.
3. Originally, it was strictly oriented to the time element of projects and used
probabilistic activity time estimates to aid in determining the probability that a
project could be completed by some given date.
4. A manner of illustrating multiple, time-based activities on a horizontal time
scale.
5. A combination of interrelated activities and events depicted with arcs and
nodes.

B. Write T if the statement is True and F if the statement is False.

1. The network approach to scheduling is a good technique to gain advantages
for social value on projects.
2. Activity on Node (AON) is a network that uses node to represent activities with
arrows to show preceding relationship.
3. Gantt chart is not related with diagrams and difficult to determine and
understood.
4. One of the network benefits is to identify critical activities that delay the project.
5. Scheduling is essential to project because of the complex coordination of
problem.

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