Week 7 Plan

• Review
• Resources
• Resource loading
• Resource levelling
 Review

• Definition
• Strategic fit
• Scope
• Milestone
• WBS
• Estimating
• Scheduling
 Review Continued
Scheduling
• Logic – Networks:
– Activity on Arrow
– Activity on Node
• Durations
• Calculations:
– Forward pass – Earliest times
– Backward pass – Latest times
– Critical Path, Float
• Gantt chart
• Lag Link
• PERT
Resources
 Network Types

Generally networks are either:

Time constrained

or

Resource constrained
 Resources

• It is important to ensure that all the

required resources are available in the
correct quantity, to the specified quality
and at the correct time.

• To date we have assumed that the

required resources will be available as
required
 Resources (cont.)

• When we determined the duration of each

activity we made an implicit assumption about
the resources available for this activity.

• The duration of an activity however varies

depending on the available resources.

• Assume initially the ‘normal’ resources that

would be used for the activity.
 Constraints on a Project
• Technical or Logic:
– Pour floor
– Build frame
– Cover roof
• Physical:
– Size of an area may constrain the number of people
working there
• Time
• Resources:
– Consider the difference between having 1 person
available for a project to having several people - it
generally changes the project from a series of
activities to a set of parallel activities
Examples of constraints
 Types of Resources

• Human
• Plant and equipment
• Materials
• Working Capital
• Technology
• Information
Scheduling Assumptions Worksheet
 Worksheet
ID Task Predecessor Duration Early Late Who is $ Resources
Number Name Start/Finish Start/Finish Responsible
 Availability of resources

The availability of resources will determine

if activities can be carried out in parallel or
in series
 Resource Loading

• It is important to understand the resource

requirements for your project.

• This is achieved through ‘resource loading’

your network.

• Insufficient resources may dictate the

network relationships
 Resource Levelling

• Once the resources have been plotted

you are able to determine what resources
are required when

• If you have a resource constraint you are

now able to ‘resource level’ to
accommodate this resource constraint
Resource Load Example (Gray and
Larson ed3 p246)
Resource Load Example (cont.)
 In Class Exercise
Activity Precedence Time Weekly Total ($K)
Name (wks) Cost ($K)
A 1-2 4 3 12
B 1-3 6 4 24
C 2-4 3 5 15
D 3-5 4 5 20
E 3-6 8 3 24
F 4-6 3 4 12
G 5-6 2 2 4

1. Draw the network diagram represented by the following logic

2. Calculate the earliest and latest times for each activity
3. Plot a gantt chart (using earliest times)
4. Construct weekly and cumulative histograms to show project expenses
 In Class Exercise

A
F
B
D G

E
 In Class Exercise Discussion

• In this Exercise we have generated a ‘S’ Curve

• This becomes the baseline for monitoring and

controlling $ throughout a project.

• In ‘Earned Value’ this is considered the

Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled (BCWS)

• We will discuss this later in the lecture series

Resource Load Example (Gray and
Larson ed3 p246)
Resource Load Example (cont.)
Resource Leveling Example
Example (Nicholas p324)
Resource Load Example
Resource Level Example
Resource Constrained Example
 In Class Exercise

Install a new office system.

Draw the network diagram and produce the labour histogram
for the following project:
Activity Description Staff Duration Predecessor
A Prep.Office 2 12 -

B Procure Equip. 2 8 -

C Design tests 1 5 -

D Install equip. 4 10 A,B

E Test system 3 10 C,D

F Train users 1 5 A,B

 In Class Exercise
Same example as before however now the staff is limited to 4
people.

Activity Description Staff Duration Predecessor

A Prep.Office 2 12 -

B Procure Equip. 2 8 -

C Design tests 1 5 -

D Install equip. 4 10 A,B

E Test system 3 10 C,D

F Train users 1 5 A,B

Gray and Larson Example
Resource-Constrained Schedule
through Period 2–3

FIGURE 8.4
 Resource-Constrained Schedule
through Period 2–3
ES resource load chart

FIGURE 8.4 (cont’d)

 Resource-Constrained Schedule
through Period 2–3
Resource-constrained schedule through period 2–3

FIGURE 8.4 (cont’d)

 Resource-Constrained Schedule
through Period 5–6
Resource-constrained schedule through period 5–6

FIGURE 8.5
 Resource-Constrained Schedule
through Period 5–6

Final resource-constrained schedule

FIGURE 8.5 (cont’d)

 Resource-Constrained Schedule
through Period 5–6

FIGURE 8.5 (cont’d)

New, resource-constrained network
 Alternatives

• Delaying activities is one method of

resource utilisation
• You may also:
– Split activities – where there are low start-
up and shutdown costs
– Eliminate some work
– Substitute less resource consuming activities
– Substitute resources ( next week crashing)
 In Class Exercise

Compute the early, late, and slack times for the activities
in the network that follows, assuming a time-constrained
network. Which activities are critical? What is the time-
constrained project duration?
 Summary

• Availability of resources is a major

problem for project managers

• Resource loading can highlight bottlenecks

• The results of resource loading and

levelling may give a different result from
the standard Critical Path Method
The End