The Project Cycle Part 2

Session 8
The Project Cycle
 The Project Cycle

To Get to a Plan….You Need a Network Diagram

 The Project Cycle

Essentially the sequencing of activities

A tool for planning, scheduling and
monitoring project progress
Developed from the WBS
A chart that graphically depicts the
sequence, interdependencies, and start
and finish times of the project job plan of
activities that is the critical path through the
network

The Network Diagram

 The Project Cycle

Provides the basis for scheduling labor

and equipment
Enhances communication among project
participants
Provides an estimate of the project’s
duration
Provides a basis for budgeting cash flow
Highlights activities that are “critical”
and cannot be delayed
Help managers get and stay on plan.

The Network Diagram

The Project Cycle

The Network Diagram

The Project Cycle

Activity On Arrow
The Project Cycle

Activity On Node
The Project Cycle

Relationships/Dependencies
The Project Cycle

Relationships/Dependencies
 The Project Cycle

• Networks typically flow from left to right

• An activity cannot begin until all of its
preceding activities are complete
• Arrows indicate precedence and flow and
can cross over each other
• Identify each activity with a unique number this
number must be greater than its predecessors
• Looping is not allowed
• Conditional statements are not allowed
• Use common start and stop nodes.

Relationships/Dependencies
The Project Cycle

Network Diagram: Step 1

The Project Cycle

Network Diagram: Step 2

The Project Cycle

Network Diagram: Step 3

The Project Cycle

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Network Diagram: Step 4

 The Project Cycle

• A Forward Pass through the network

determines the earliest times each activity can
start and finish
• Forward Pass:
• How soon can the activity start? (early start—
ES)
• How soon can the activity finish? (early finish—
EF)

Network Diagram: Step 5

 The Project Cycle

• Add activity times along each path in the

network (ES + Duration = EF)
• Carry the early finish (EF) to the next
activity where it becomes its early
start (ES) unless…
• The next succeeding activity is a merge
activity, in which case the largest EF of
all preceding activities is selected.

Network Diagram: Step 5

The Project Cycle

Network Diagram: Step 5

 The Project Cycle

• A Backward Pass through the network

determines the latest times each
activity can start and finish without
delaying completion of the project
• Backward Pass :
• How late can the activity start? (late start
—LS)
• How late can the activity finish? (late
finish—LF)

Network Diagram: Step 6

 The Project Cycle

• Subtract activity durations along each

path in the network (LF - Duration =
LS)
• Carry the late start (LS) to the next
activity where it becomes its late
finish (LF) unless…
• The activity is a merger activity, in which
case the smallest LS of the previous
activities is selected.

Network Diagram: Step 6

The Project Cycle

Network Diagram: Step 6

 The Project Cycle

• Slack (or Float):

• The duration an activity can be delayed after
the start of a longer parallel activity or activities
• Total slack:
• The duration an activity can be delayed without
delaying the entire project
• The critical path is the network path(s)
that has (have) the least slack in common-
normally Zero.

Important Concepts
 The Project Cycle

• Utilization of Slack:
• If slack in an activity on a path is
used, the ES of all activities that follow
in that chain will be delayed and their
slack reduced. Use of total slack
should therefore be coordinated
with all participants in the
activities that follow in that chain

Important Concepts
 The Project Cycle

• Free slack:
• Free slack, however is unique because the
activity can be delayed without delaying the ES
of activities following it. Free slack is defined as
the difference between the EF of an activity and
the ES of the activity that follows. Only activities
where that occur at the end of a chain of
activities (usually where you have a merge
activity) can have free slack – Free slack does
not affect the activities following it.

Important Concepts
 The Project Cycle

The Network Diagram In MS Project

 FINAL DELIVERABLE

JANUARY 2007
SUB DELIVERABLES
The Project Cycle

Schedule Bar Chart (Gantt)

 The Project Cycle

r responsibility

a assignment

m matrix

Responsibility Matrix
 The Project Cycle

Person 1 Person 2 Person 3 Person 4

Task 1
Task 2
Task 3
Task 4
Task 5
Task 6

Responsibility Matrix
The Project Cycle

Responsibility Matrix
One and only one person can be accountable. Multiple people
can be responsible and certainly others can be informed and
consulted.
Source: Glen B Alleman, (2007) Responsibility Assignment Matrix, Herding Cats
http://herdingcats.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/02/responsibility_.html retrieved 2/8/08
The Project Cycle

Responsibility Matrix