Project Management

(CoE 422)
4th Year – Department of Computer Engineering

By
Dr. Ali Haddad
6. Scope, Schedule, and Resource
Management
6.1 Work Breakdown Structure
 A work breakdown structure (WBS) is a deliverable-oriented grouping of the work involved in a project
that defines its total scope.
 The WBS provides the basis for planning and managing project schedules, costs, resources, and changes.
 Decomposition is a technique used for dividing and subdividing the project scope and project
deliverables into smaller, more manageable parts.
 A work package is the lowest level of the WBS that the project manager monitors and controls. It also is
a level of work for which cost and duration can be estimated more easily and accurately. Work packages
can be thought of in terms of accountability and reporting.
 The WBS can be represented using either a chart or a table.

Scope, Schedule, and Resource Management | 3

6.1.1 WBS Organized by Main Deliverables:
 The top entry represents the entire project, and is called Level 1 of the WBS.
 The main deliverables of the project constitute Level 2.
 The components of the main deliverables constitute Level 3.

Intranet
1 Website design
1.1 Site map
1.2 Graphic design
1.3 Programs
2 Home page design
2.1 Text
2.2 Images
2.3 Hyperlinks
3 Marketing pages
3.1 Text
3.2 Images
3.3 Hyperlinks
4 Sales pages
4.1 Text
4.2 Images
4.3 Hyperlinks

Scope, Schedule, and Resource Management | 4

6.1.2 WBS Organized by Project Phases:
 The WBS can use the project life cycle phases as Level 2 and the deliverables of each phase as Level 3.

Software Product Release 5.0

1 Project Management
1.1 Planning
1.2 Meetings
1.3 Administration
2 Product Requirements
2.1 Software
2.2 User Documentation
2.3 Training Program Materials
3 Detail Design
3.1 Software
3.2 User Documentation
3.3 Training Program Materials
4 Construct
4.1 Software
4.2 User Documentation
4.3 Training Program Materials
5 Integration and Test
5.1 Software
5.2 User Documentation
5.3 Training Program Materials

Scope, Schedule, and Resource Management | 5

6.2 Project Schedule Network Diagram
 A project schedule network diagram, or simply a network diagram, is a schematic display of the logical
relationships among project activities and their sequencing.
 Defining activities involves identifying the specific actions that will produce the project deliverables in
enough detail to determine resource and schedule estimates.
 The activity attributes provide
schedule-related information about
each activity, such as predecessors,
successors, logical relationships, leads
and lags, resource requirements,
constraints, imposed dates, and
assumptions.
 A project milestone is a significant
event that normally has no duration. It
often takes several activities and a lot
of work to complete, but the milestone
itself is a marker to help in identifying
necessary activities, setting schedule
goals, and monitoring progress.

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6.2.1 Dependency:
 Dependency pertains to the sequencing of project activities or tasks. Dependency can be:
 Mandatory: Legally or contractually required
or inherent in the nature of the work. For
example, it is impossible to start the structure
of a building until the foundation is finished.
 Discretionary: Based on best practices in an
application. For example, during construction,
the electrical work is usually started after
finishing the plumbing work.
 External: Involving relationships between
project and non-project activities, and are
outside the project team’s control. An example
is the dependency of software testing on the
delivery of hardware by an external supplier.
 Internal: Involving a precedence relationship
between project activities, and are generally
within the project team’s control. An internal
mandatory dependency may arise, for
example, when the team need to wait to test a
+

machine until after they have assembled it.

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6.2.2 Critical Path Method:
 Critical path method (CPM) is a network diagramming technique used to predict total project duration.
 A project is not finished until all tasks have been finished.
 Normally, several tasks are done in parallel on projects.
 Most projects have multiple paths through a network diagram.
 A critical path is the series of
activities that determine the
earliest time by which the project
can be completed.
 The critical path is the longest path
through the network diagram and
has the least amount of slack or
float.
 Slack or float is the amount of time
an activity may be delayed without
delaying a succeeding activity or
the project finish date.

Scope, Schedule, and Resource Management | 8

6.2.3 Alternate Network Diagramming Approach:
 A network diagram can also be represented using the activity-on-arrow (AOA) approach.
 AOA is a network diagramming technique in which activities are represented by arrows and connected at
points called nodes to illustrate the sequence of activities.
 In AOA, a node is simply the
starting and ending point of an
activity.
 The first node signifies the start of a
project and the last node represents
the end.

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6.3 Program Evaluation and Review Technique
 The program evaluation and review technique (PERT) is used to estimate the duration of project
activities when there is a high degree of uncertainty and/or risk.
 PERT uses the following 3-point weighted average:

𝑤𝑤𝑜𝑜 ∗ 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 + 𝑤𝑤𝑚𝑚 ∗ 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 + 𝑤𝑤𝑝𝑝 ∗ 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡
𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃𝑃 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 =
𝑤𝑤𝑜𝑜 + 𝑤𝑤𝑚𝑚 + 𝑤𝑤𝑝𝑝

 For example, using the normal distribution, the weights are as follows:

𝑤𝑤𝑜𝑜 = 1, 𝑤𝑤𝑚𝑚 = 4, 𝑤𝑤𝑝𝑝 = 1

 Using a uniform distribution, the weights are as follows:

𝑤𝑤𝑜𝑜 = 1, 𝑤𝑤𝑚𝑚 = 1, 𝑤𝑤𝑝𝑝 = 1

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6.3.1 An Example on PERT:
 When a project manager inquired about the expected duration of a given project activity, the team
members gave three different opinions:
 8 workdays, based on some physical limitations that characterize the activity,
 10 workdays, based on their pervious experience with this particular activity,
 24 workdays, based on worst-case scenarios.
Using the normal distribution-based, weighted average PERT:

𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 + 4 ∗ 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 + 𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝𝑝 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡

𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒𝑒 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 =
6

8 + 4 ∗ 10 + 24
= = 12 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤
6

Scope, Schedule, and Resource Management | 11

6.4 Resource Optimization
 Schedules tend to focus primarily on time rather than on both time and resources.
 Resource loading is the
amount of resources that a
schedule requires during
specific time periods.
 Resource histograms show
period-by-period variations
in resource loading.
 Overallocation occurs
when not enough resources
are available to perform
the assigned work during a
given time period.

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6.4.1 Resource Leveling:
 Resource leveling is a technique for
resolving resource conflicts by
adjusting the start and finish dates of
activities.
 Resource leveling can be used when
shared or critical resources are
available only at certain times or in
limited quantities, or are overallocated
in order to balance the demand for
resources with the available supply.
 Resource leveling can often change
the original critical path and schedule.
 Float may be used to level resources
to cancel or minimize such changes.
 For example, when a worker has been
assigned to two activities during the
same time period, one of these tasks
would have to be delayed.
Scope, Schedule, and Resource Management | 13
6.4.2 Another Example on Resource Leveling:

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