TUTORIAL 2 QUESTION 3

A project X has been defined to contain the following list of activities along with
their required time for completion.

Activity Time (weeks) Immediate Predecessors

A 2 -

B 3 A

C 3 B

D 7 B

E 6 B

F 1 C,D

G 5 D,E

H 4 F,G

I 8 G

J 2 H,I
 Your team is required to construct A pert chart to
identify the critical path for project X. Assume that
your team is in its first week of the project and has
discovered that each of the activity duration
estimation is wrong. Activity B will take only two
weeks to complete. Activities D and G will each take
three times longer than anticipated. All other activities
will take twice as long to complete as previously
estimated. In addition, A new activity, K, has been
added. It will take one week to complete and its
immediate predecessors are activities J and I.
A. Update the table on each of the activity duration based on the
updated estimation and draw a PERT chart accordingly.
Calculate and show the Earliest Start, Earliest Finish, Latest
Start, and Latest Finish for the activities.

Activity Time (weeks) Immediate Predecessors

A 2*2= 4 -

B 3 2 A

C 3*2= 6 B

D 7*3= 21 B

E 6*2= 12 B

F 1*2= 2 C,D

G 5*3= 15 D,E

H 4*2= 8 F,G

I 8*2= 16 G

J 2*2= 4 H,I

K 1 J,I
PERT CHART C
6 12
6
42 48 F H J
27 29 42 50 58 62
2 8 4
A B D 48 50 50 58 58 62
0 4 4 6 6 27
4 2 21
0 4 4 6 6 27 G I K
27 42 42 58 62 63
E 15 16 1
6 18 27 42 42 58 62 63
12
15 27

B. Identify the critical path from the PERT chart drawn.

Critical path: A – B – D – G – I – J – K

C. Why is it important to identify the critical path of a
project in systems development?

Critical path is a series of tasks with no slack time. If

any task along the critical path falls behind schedule,
the entire project is delayed. Critical path is important
for project manager to monitor progress and make
prompt decision to keep the project on track.
D. Define the term “slack time”. What is the slack time for
activity H?

Slack time is the difference between a task’s EF and LF.

The amount difference between EF and LF is the time
that the task can be late without delaying the overall
project.

The slack time for activity H = 58–50 = 8 weeks