Project Management

Madda Walabu university

College of Business and Economics
department of management
MBA program
 Contents

Course content/focus
1. Project Management Concepts
2. Project plan
3. Resource Scheduling
4. Project Quality Management
5. Project performance Measurement and
Control
1. Overview of Project
Management
 Introduction

 Projects exist in every sphere of business, markets, and

industry.

 They come in a myriad of types, sizes and complexity –

 from small initiatives such as weddings, parties, fundraising
to medium-size initiatives such as advertising campaigns,
capital acquisitions, business re-engineering, restructuring,
information systems; through to mega-projects such as NASA
space station, hydro-electric dams and military campaigns.
 A project is a temporary endeavor with a
defined beginning and end (usually time-
constrained, and often constrained by funding
or deliverables), undertaken to meet unique
goals and objectives, typically to bring about
beneficial change or added value
A temporary endeavor involving a connected
sequence of activities and a range of
resources, which is designed to achieve a
specific and unique outcome, which operates
within time, scope, cost and quality constraints
and which is often used to introduce change
 Key concepts:
Purpose-the basic reason for the existence of a
project- to solve a problem, address a need or take
the advantage of opportunity.

Temporary: means that a project is something

that has a specific start date and a specific end date.
 The end is reached when the project’s objectives have been
achieved and effectively handed over to the business
Sequences of Activities: the works and the steps
we perform and the methods and knowledge we use
to achieve the project objective.
Unique Outcome:

 The product or service is different in some distinguishing way

from all other products or services within an organization
 Projects are a means to respond to those requests that cannot be
addressed within the organization’s normal operational limits.

 Identifying and focusing on uniqueness is important to project

management.
 It helps identify new organization risk areas, enabling
management to develop and implement timely risk
management strategies.
Resources: A project utilizes a variety of
resources [human, financial, material, information, etc] to
carry out the activities or tasks.

Scope- the extent of the problem or opportunity

that the project needs to address.

Organization: is vital to coordinate resources

to achieve the project objectives- organizations
can be public, private or NGOs.
Time: any project should be time bounded-it
has a start and end time

Cost: activities consume human, financial and

material resources.

 Quality: the project needs to produce quality

products to maximize the satisfaction of the
users.

Introduce change: A project is often used as

an instrument for change - change for the
betterment of the society.
 1.2. Characteristics of project

 Has a unique purpose.

 Is temporary.
 Is developed using progressive elaboration.
 Requires resources, often from various areas.
 Should have a primary customer or sponsor.
 The project sponsor usually provides the direction and
funding for the project.
 Involves uncertainty.
 Characteristics of project-Cont’d

Uniqueness
 Projects involve doing something that has not been done
before.

 The presence of repetitive elements does not change the

fundamental uniqueness of the project work.

 For example, many thousands of office buildings have been

developed, but each individual facility is unique-different owner,
different design, different location, different contractors, and so on.

 Example 2: A development project (ex. Water and sanitation) may be

implemented in five geographical areas.
 Characteristics of project-Cont’d

Uniqueness-cont’d
The objectives of projects and operations
are fundamentally different
 The purpose of a project is to attain the objective and close
the project
 Project ceases when it declared objectives have been attained

 The objective of an ongoing non-projectized operation is

normally to sustain the business.
 Non-project undertakings adopt a new set of objectives
and continue to work.
 Characteristics of project-Cont’d

 A temporary nature
 The duration of a project is finite; they are not ongoing
efforts
 Temporary does not necessarily mean short in duration;
many projects last for several years
 Temporary does not generally apply to product or service
created by the project
 Most projects are undertaken to create a lasting result.
 Ex: Grand Renaissance dam will create a result expected
to last centuries.
 Characteristics of project-Cont’d

Progressive elaboration
 Due to the uniqueness of project results, the precise details
in terms of the deliverables contributing to the results are
not known from the outset.

 At the start of a project, the characteristics of its deliverables

and the project parameters of scope, time, cost and
performance will be broadly defined.

 During the development of the project plans, and as the

early stages of the project progress, a better understanding
of the project will be obtained – it will be progressively
elaborated.
 Characteristics of project-Cont’d

Progressive elaboration-Cont’d
The following example illustrates progressive elaboration:
 The product of an economic development project may
initially be defined as:
i. ‘Improve the quality of life of the lowest income residents of
community X’
ii. As the project proceeds, the products may be described more
specifically as, for example: ‘ provide access to food and water
to 500 low income residents in community X’
iii. The next round of progressive elaboration might focus
exclusively on increasing agriculture production and
marketing, with provision of water deemed to be secondary
priority to be initiated once the agriculture component is well
under way.
 1.3. Classification of project

Projects range in size, scope, cost

and time from mega
international projects costing
millions of dollars over many years
to….
 small domestic projects with a
low budget taking just a few hours
to complete.
 Classification of project-Cont’d

i. On the basis of time: short vs. long-duration

ii. On the basis of type of products (project

producing goods-sugar factory project;
services-telecommunication projects;
knowledge & info research projects

iii. Scope-project catering for regional, national or

international
 Classification of project-Cont’d

i. Size (large, medium & small-scale

projects)

ii. Technology (labor intensive, capital,

energy)
iii. Ownership (private, public, joint-
venture, cooperative, NGOs)
 Classification of project-Cont’d

With examples:

Project Categories: Examples

Each having similar life cycle phases
and a unique project management
process

1. Aerospace/Defense Projects
1.1 .Space Satellite development/launch
1.2. Military operations Task force invasion

2. Business & Organization Change

Projects
2.1. Acquisition/Merger Acquire and integrate competing company.
2.2. New business venture Form and launch new company.
2.3. Organization re-structuring Consolidate divisions and downsize company.

3. Event Projects
3.1 International events 2018 World Cup Match
3.2 National events
 Classification of project-Cont’d

With examples:

Project Categories: Examples

Each having similar life cycle phases and a
unique project management process
4. International Development projects
4.1 Agriculture/rural development People and process intensive
4.2 Education projects
4.3 Health in developing countries funded by
4.4 Nutrition The World Bank, regional
4.5 Population development banks, USAID,
4.6 Small-scale enterprise UNIDO, other UN, and
government agencies.
5. Product and Service Development
Projects New desk-top computer.
5.1 Information technology hardware New earth-moving machine.
5.2 Industrial product/process New automobile, new food
5.3 Consumer product/process product.
5.4 Pharmaceutical product/process New cholesterol-lowering drug.
5.5 Service (financial, other) New life insurance.
 Classification of project-Cont’d

With examples:

Project Categories: Examples

Each having similar life cycle phases
and a unique project management
process
6. Research and Development
Projects Measure changes in the ozone layer.
6.1. Environmental How to reduce pollutant emission.
6.2. Industrial Determine best crop for sub-Sahara
6.3. Economic development Africa.
6.4. Medical Test new treatment for breast cancer.
6.5. Scientific Determine the possibility of life on Mars.
 1.4. Project Vs program

“project” – a group of activities to produce a Project Purpose

in a fixed time frame/

A “program” – a series of projects whose objectives together

contribute to a common Overall Objective, at sector, country
or even multi-country level.

A program is an assortment of related/associated projects

that are managed together to achieve a number of objectives.

Programs may also contain elements of ongoing operations.

Since programs comprise multiple projects, they are larger in
scope than a single project.
projects:

 Support the a given country's policy objectives

 Support the national strategies
 Addresses relevant problems recipients
 Have feasible, achievable objectives
 Benefits are likely to be sustainable

See figure next slide

Policies, programmes and projects

National & sector wise

policies

Government
programmes Priorities and
programmes of
non-state actors

Project Project Project

 Project Program
Narrow in scope Wide in scope; can comprise
many projects as components.

Specific and detail Comprehensive and general

Differences

More precise and accurate in Broader goal related to

its objectives and features sectoral policy

Possible to calculate the Difficult to calculate costs

costs and returns and returns
• Have purpose/ objectives
Similarities

• Require input (financial, manpower, material)

• Generate output (goods and/or services)
• Operate over space and time
 Examples
Water sector programs:
 Water supply & Sanitation program

 Irrigation

 Hydroelectric Development programs

 Project: Dam Construction (Great Renascence
Dam project)
 Projects Vs operations
Organizations perform two types of work:
project work and operational work
Operations are ongoing and repetitive while
projects are temporary and unique.

The purpose of a project is to attain its

objective and then terminate whereas the
objective of an ongoing operation is to
sustain the business. 
 Project Management

is the discipline of
Planning;
Organizing;
Securing; and
Managing resources to achieve project goals.
 What is Project Management?

The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques

to project activities to meet project requirements and
objectives
Key features include:
 Identifying what is needed or to be achieved
(requirements)
 Addressing needs, concerns, and expectations
 Balancing competing constraints [scope, quality,
schedule, budget, resources, and risks]
1.5. An overview of Project Life Cycle
is the stages through which the
project passes from inception to its
completion.
Is a continuous process made up of
 separate stages each with its own
characteristics and
 complementary stages (phases) and each
setting a ground for the next one.
 The project cycle
1.Identification

5. Evaluation 2. Preparation &

& closure Appraisal

Proposal
Appraisal development

4. Implementation
Financing
decision
3. Project
planning
Identification  Potential projects emerge from specialists, local leaders and national development strategies.
 Identification of potential stakeholders, particularly primary stakeholders.
 Carry out problem assessment and decide upon key objectives.
 Assess alternative strategies for meeting objective.

Preparation  The technical, institutional, economic, environmental, and financial issues facing the
project studied and addressed —including whether there are alternative methods for
and Appraisal
achieving the same objectives.
 Assessing feasibility as to whether and determining whether to carry out more advanced
planning.
 Evaluation of all of the feasibility studies to determine the ability of the project to succeed

Detailed  The project solution is further developed in as much as detail as possible

Planning

Implementation  The project plan is implemented over a specified time period.

and  Monitoring of project performance with a management information
monitoring system to enable correction of implementation problems as they arise.

Evaluation  On-going and final assessment of the success of the project against
& closure original objectives, to learn lessons to help improve future projects.
 Roles and Responsibilities in Project
1. The Sponsor is the owner of the Project or any party who
provides funds to the project.

2. A Project Manager is responsible for meeting the client's

requirements such that the project's outputs are fit for
purpose and are delivered within the agreed timeframe and
cost.

3. A Business Analyst is the conduit between those

requesting the outputs of a project (the project sponsor and
clients) and those who are required to create the outputs (the
project team).

4. A Business Expert provides business expertise, the

business rules and guidance on how the business operates to
the project
 Roles and Responsibilities in Project..

5. Key Stakeholders are any people who have an

interest in the project. They may be individuals or
groups.

6. The Steering Committee is responsible for

ensuring the outcomes of the project are met in
accordance with the Project Definition.

7. Project Team Members are made up of a number

of technical and administrative personnel and may not
fall into the category of a business expert or business
analyst.
2. PROJECT plan
 Project Planning

“ If you don’t plan for the

project, you are planning for
failure”
 PM Process Summary
Define Project
g State need, problem or opportunity
g Define project objectives Monitor & Control Progress
g Identify success criteria g Establish progress reporting system
g List assumptions, risks and g Set up change control process
obstacles g Define problem escalation process
g Define project scope and work g Monitor progress vs. plan
breakdown structure g Revise project plan
Feedback

Develop Detailed Plan

g Identify project activities
g Estimate activity duration
g Determine resource requirements
g Construct / analyze project network
g Prepare project schedule
Close Out Project
g Obtain client acceptance
g Install project deliverables
g Complete project documentation
Launch Plan g Complete post-implementation audit
g Recruit and organize project team
g Issue final project report
g Establish team operating rules
g Level project resources
g Assign work
 PM Process Summary

Define Project
g State need, problem or opportunity

g Define project objectives

g Identify success criteria

g List assumptions, risks and obstacles

g Define project scope and work

breakdown structure
 PM Process Summary

Develop Detailed Plan

g Identify project activities

g Estimate activity duration

g Determine resource requirements

g Construct / analyze project network

g Prepare project schedule

 PM Process Summary

Launch Plan

g Recruit and organize project team

g Establish team operating rules

g Level project resources

g Assign work
 PM Process Summary

Monitor & Control Progress

g Establish progress reporting system

g Set up change control process

g Define problem escalation process

g Monitor progress vs. plan

g Revise project plan

 PM Process Summary

Close Out Project

g Obtain client acceptance

g Install project deliverables

g Complete project documentation

g Complete post-implementation audit

g Issue final project report

 The project plan

The project plan sets out:

1. The work breakdown
 Breaks down the project into activities, identifies
milestones, deliverables

2. A schedule for the work

 Activity dependencies, estimated milestone time,
people allocation

 The resources available to the project

 The project plan-Cont’d
Project planning answers some questions:
1. “What must be done?”
2. “How long will it take?” and
3. “How much will it cost?”

 This is usually done by WBS

 A complicated task is subdivided into
several smaller tasks.

 until the task can no longer be subdivided,


Then it easier to estimate how long each small task will take and how
much it will cost to perform.
 The project plan-Cont’d

Once the work is broken

down, you can estimate
TIME,

COSTS,
AND
RESOURCES
Project Planning and Scheduling

Three Basic Steps to a Project Plan

 Tools of project planning

 Work-breakdown
structure
 Gantt chart
 Network Techniques
 Work breakdown structure (WBS)
A work breakdown structure describes the
components and subcomponents of the
project’s various work products as a “family tree.”
 It represents a systematic and logical breakdown of the project
into its component parts.

It is constructed by dividing the project in to its

major parts, with each of these being further
divided in to sub parts.

This is continued till a breakdown is done in terms of

manageable units of work for which
responsibility can be defined.
 
 Work breakdown structure (WBS)-Cont’d
 Example: A work breakdown structure for a Five-Star Hotel Building
project:

A Hotel Building
project

Financial Construction Services Furnishings

Down payment External Finishing Gas line Living room

Mortgage Plumbing Electric line Bed room

 Gantt Chart
is a graphic display of schedule-related
information.
In the typical Gantt chart,
 activities are listed down the left side of the chart,
 dates are shown across the top or bottom, and
 planned activity durations are shown as horizontal bars,
placed according to the dates.

Ac tiv ities
Tim e in week s f rom project s t art
10 20 30 40

Desig n

Pur chase of
par ts

Fabr ication

Assembl y
 Example

DEVELOP A WBS & GANTT CHART FOR A

‘CONSUMER MARKET STUDY’ PROJECT
 Example: A WBS for ‘a consumer market study’ project

Consumer market study

1. 0 2. 0
Q uest io n na ire R epo rt
[A ] [D]

• Print
• Identify Target Consumers •Input Response Data
Questionnaire
Develop
• Develop Draft Software • Analyze Results
• Prepare
Questionnaire Mailing Labels • Prepare Report
• Mail
• Pilot-Test Questionnaire
Questionnaire
• Finalize Questionnaire
& Get
Responses
 A Gantt Chart for a consumer market study
Activity Person 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140
Responsible
Identify Target A
Consumers
Develop Draft A
Questionnaire

Pilot-Test A
Questionnaire
Finalize A
Questionnaire
Print B
Questionnaire
Prepare Mailing B
Labels
Mail B
Questionnaire
& Get
Responses

Develop Data C
Analysis
Software
Input Response D
Data
Analyze Results D

Prepare Report D

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140

Days
 Exercise
Following is a list of tasks involved in a project to prepare for a camping trip.
Draw a WBS that places the tasks in their proper relationship to each other.
 Arrange for supplies and equipment.
 Select camp site.

 Make site preparations.

 Make site reservation.

 Arrange time off from work.

 Select route to site.

 Prepare menu for meals.

 Identify source of supplies and equipment.

 Load car.

 Pack suitcases.

 Purchase supplies.

 Arrange Camping Trip (project).

The advantages of the a Gantt chart are:
 It is simple to understand
 It can be used to show progress
 It can be used for manpower
planning

 A Gantt chart is a useful tool for

planning, scheduling and monitoring
projects.
The disadvantages of A Gantt chart
are:
 It cannot show interrelationship
among activities on large , complex
projects;
 There may be a physical limit to the
size of the bar chart, which may
limit the size of the project; and
 It cannot easily cope with frequent
changes or updating.
 DEVELOPING A PROJECT
NETWORK

The WBS is generally considered to be the “cornerstone of

project planning” and provides the basis for network
scheduling and the development of network diagrams.

The network diagram is a way to visualize the interrelationships of project

activities.

Network diagrams provide a graphical view of the tasks and how they relate
to one another.

The network is developed from the information collected for the WBS
 Network Techniques
In this technique, the
 activities,
 events, and
 their relationships

are presented by a network diagram, also

called an arrow diagram.  
 Project network diagram
Project network diagrams are also based on the
WBS, but also show more info on task
sequence or dependencies
 They also show:
 when tasks must start or
 stop in order not to affect project
completion date.
 Activity Identification
Short description: example, Lay
foundation, erect frame, etc.

Alphabetic or numeric code: example,

A, B, C, etc., or 100, 101, 108 etc.

Using tail and head event numbers:

example, 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 3-6, etc------this is
for ‘Activity on arrow’
 Approaches of network

Activity on node (AON)

Activity on arrow (AOA)
 Activity On Node (Activity in the box) Network
Technique

Activity-on-Node (AON)
This is the form of Network diagrams most commonly
used
An activity is represented by a node , [a
rectangular box/ a circular].
 The activities are connected by arrows between these boxes.
The arrows represent the dependencies between
the different activities and the specific sequence in
which the estimated tasks must be accomplished.

 The length and the slope of these arrows do not provide

any information about operational hours, workload etc.,
 Activity On Node Network Technique
define the relationships of each activity in the project
context.

 Which activities must be finished before starting this one?

 Which activities can directly start after finishing this one?

 Which activities can be done in parallel to this one?

 predecessor, successor and parallel relationships for

each task
 Activity On Node Network Technique
Examples

 Task A is the predecessor activity for task B and activity A and B are
the predecessor tasks for activity C

 activities Y and Z have to wait until the task X is ready. In this case
activity Y and activity Z can be done in parallel (to save time).

 The activity X is called burst activity because more than one arrow
bursts from its node.
 Activity On Node Network Techniques

Task J, K and L can be done in parallel if enough

resources are available and no other constraints are existing.

Activity M has to wait for task J, K and L to be done until it

can be started.

In this case, activity M is called a merge activity because

more than one task must be completed before it can
start.
 Example
Four activities/tasks: A, B, K, L
 Activity K is dependent on activity A
 Activity L is dependent on activities A and B

Task A Task K

Task B Task L
Errors in Logic
Errors in Logic
Dummy activity: an activity that
does not consume time or resources.

It shows merely the dependencies

or proper relationship between
activities.

A dotted arrow represents dummy.  

AON Network Activity Data Boxes

Suggested display of key data

 Importance of Network diagram

To answer:
 What is the total time to complete the project?

 What are the scheduled start and finish dates for each
specific activity?

 Which activities are critical and must be completed

exactly as scheduled to keep the project on schedule?

 How long can noncritical activities be delayed before

they cause an increase in the project completion time?
 AON Diagrams
Order & relationships are shown as arrows

Any activity may either:

Succeed (follow) – task B succeeds task A
Precede (go before) – task A precedes task B

TASK A TASK B
 AON Diagrams
Any activity may:
Be performed concurrently – Task C can be
performed at the same time as Task D

TASK C

TASK D TASK E
 AON Diagrams –Rules
Direction
Arrows should always go forward
 The flow of work is from left to right

TASK C
 TASK C 

TASK D TASK E TASK D TASK E

 AON Diagrams –Rules
Arrows should only go from one node to another
node

TASK C
 TASK C 

TASK D TASK E TASK D TASK E

 AON Diagrams –Rules
Avoid overlapping arrows


TASK C

TASK C TASK F

TASK D TASK F

TASK D TASK E

TASK E
 AON Diagrams –Rules
If overlapping can not be avoided use bridges

TASK C

TASK D TASK E

TASK D
 AON Diagrams –Rules
There should be one starting node (Start
Project) and one finishing node (Project
Complete)

TASK C TASK D

TASK Start TASK Finish

TASK D TASK E
 AON Diagrams –Rules

An AON diagram should not

contain more than 50 nodes

For large projects break the

project into subprojects to make
it easier to manage
 Preparing AON

Using the WBS, identify the order that tasks must be done

Prepare AON on scrap paper

Check your diagram

Revise your diagram to remove overlapping arrows

Check your diagram

Revise your diagram to reflect resource restrictions and preferable

task order
Example: Building a House (Dependency Graph)
Install Install Install
Interior Interior Wallboard
The activity Plumbing Electrical

„Buy Material“ must

Paint
Precede the activity Interior

„Lay foundation“
Install
Interior
Install Doors
Flooring

Lay Build
START Survey Excava Buy FINISH
Founda Outside
ing tion Material
tion Wall Install
Roofing
Install
Exterior
Doors

Request
Paint
Exterior

Install Install Install

Exterior Exterior Exterior
Plumbing Electrical Siding
 Basic steps in Network diagram----CPM &PERT
Step 1: Define activities
 The project & all of its significant activities or tasks
 Efficient tool: WBS
 The WBS represents a logical decomposition of the work to be
performed
(Example: What are the activities that are needed to
build a house? to conduct a research?)
 Finding these activities is a brainstorming activity

Step 2: Define Activity interdependencies

 The relationship among activities
 Decide which activities must precede and follow others
 It demands the understanding of the whole project and the
knowledge of applied technologies.
 Result: preceding or succeeding activity list
 Basic steps in CPM &PERT—Cont’d
Step 3: Draw the Network
• Network connecting all of the activities

Result: the network itself

Step 4: Assign time and /or resource
• Activity by activity
Time estimation methods:
 CPM: the use of normal duration: only one activity
duration
PERT estimation: three activity duration times a
• For each task, estimate the lowest (optimistic), most
likely, and highest (pessimistic) durations, then use:
The weighted average activity time is computed by the
following formula:
= (low + high + 4*likely)/6
steps 1 to 4 are also known as the planning phase
 Basic steps in CPM &PERT—Cont’d
Step 5: compute the longest time path through
the network
• this is called the critical path

Key questions:
 what is the expected duration of the project?
What are the earliest start and finish dates for each activity?
What are the latest start and finish dates for each activity that
does not interfere with the project completion time?

 Analyzing these times in order to find the critical

activities & the amount of float in the non-critical
ones.
This step is scheduling
Step 6: use the network to help plan, schedule,
monitor, and control the project.
 Critical path analysis
The path with the longest duration is
the critical path (and the project duration)
 Ifany tasks on the critical path are delayed, the
overall project completion will be delayed
 Tasks not on the critical path may have a non-
zero amount of slack or float, which is the
amount of duration they can slip without
affecting the project
 Critical path analysis

A manager might add resources to tasks on the

critical path, if that will actually help finish them
sooner
 This technique can be called expediting or crashing the
project
 Critical Path

· Critical Path –
– The series of activities all of which must
finish on time for the whole project to finish
on time
– Sometimes described as the longest path
through a network, hence the shortest
project time
 Computing Critical Path
· Calculate the Forward Pass by adding the
durations along each path in your network:
 to establish the earliest start (ES) and finish (EF) dates
for each activity

• A backward pass is made through the network to

compute the latest start and latest finish times for each activity
in the network.
• To do this, we must decide how late the project can finish.
• to stretch it out longer would be inefficient.
 Computing Critical path-Cont’d
· If you examine the values of (ES-LS) and (EF-LF) you will
note that

– The sequence of activities where these values are

zero is the longest path through the network

– This is known as the Critical Path

– the shortest time in which the whole project can be
completed;

– Where the values are positive indicates that there is

Float/slack for those activities.
 Importance of PERT/CPM

Project managers rely on Program Evaluation &

Review Technique [PERT]/ Critical Path Method
[CPM] to help them answer questions such as:

 What is the total time to complete the project?

 What are the scheduled start and finish dates for each specific
activity?
 Which activities are critical and must be completed exactly as
scheduled to keep the project on schedule?
 How long can noncritical activities be delayed before they cause
an increase in the project completion time?
 Example 1: AON Network Diagrams: Installation of
air-pollution control equipment @ M Company
Consider the following table of activities; immediate
predecessor(s) (I.P.); and duration (week) for each activity

 Immediate Duration
 Activity Description Predecessor (week)
 A build internal components ___
2
 B modify roof and floor ___
3
 C construct collection stack A2
 D pour concrete and install frame B4
 E build hi-temp burner 4
C
 F install control system 3
C
 G install air-pollution control device D,E
5
 H inspect and test F,G
2
 Find the project completion time
 Feedback

1. Forward pass
EF = ES + duration
ES= EF- Duration

2. Backward pass
LS= LF – duration
 LF = LS +duration
 18
Feedback
• E(arly) S(tarts)/ F(inishes) and L(ate) S(tarts)/F(inishes) for the project.

4 F 7
0 A 2 2 C 4 EF
10 3 13
0 2 2 2 2 4
ES

13 H 15
4 E 8
B 13 2 15
0 3 3 D 7 4 4 8
1 LS
3 4 4 4 8
LF
8 G 13

critical path 8 5 13
 AON-Example 2: simplified activities that have to be done to install a new
suspension bridge.
Activity Description Preceding Duration (in
activity days)

A To apply for approval none 5

B Installation of fundaments A 10
C Fabricate steel elements A 10
D Fabricate tower elements A 20
E Fabricate steel ropes A 15
F Fabricate supporting elements A 10
G Transport “all together” from plants to C,D,E,F 5
building site

H Erection of the suspension bridge B,G 10

I Fine tuning H 5
J Testing I 5
Construct the network and determine project completion time using
ANO-CONT’D
 ANO-CONT’D
A project manager only needs to make some easy to
handle computations to create the so called forward
pass – earliest times and backward pass – latest
times.
The forward pass questions to be answered are:
I. How soon can the activity be started? (Early Start –
ES)

II. How soon can the activity be finished? (Early Finish –

EF)

III. How soon can the project be finished? (Expected

Time – ET)
 ANO-CONT’D
The backward pass questions to be answered
are:
I. How late can the activity be started? (late start – LS)

II. How late can the activity be finished? ( late finish –

LF)

III. Which activities represent the critical path (CP)?

(This is the longest path in the network which, !when
delayed, will delay the project.)

IV. How long can the activity be delayed? (slack or

float – SL)
 ANO-CONT’D
 For the suspension bridge example, the times for each activity
are taken from the list as shown in example 2 and were put into
the field “duration” (Dur) for each activity.

 For example, activity A has a duration time of 5 days and

activity H of 10 days.

 To start with the forward pass computation a start time has to be

defined. In this case the start time is 0.

 In “real life” developing a project network is certainly dependant

upon calendar dates with weekends and holiday etc.

 The suspension bridge example is simplified to support the

placement of the principles of AON- networks.
 ANO-CONT’D
The early start (ES) for the first activity, A, is zero. This
time is found in the upper left corner of the activity A-node
in the figure.

The early finish (EF) for activity A is 5, because (ES + Dur

= EF; 0 + 5 = 5). Activity A is the predecessor to activities
B, C, D, E, F.

 The earliest start date for these activities is 5, because all

of them are directly following on from activity A and hence
they have to wait until activity A is finished.

To compute the early finish (EF) for activity B, C, D, E and

F the formula ES + Dur = EF is used.
 ANO-CONT’D
- EF(B) = 5 + 10 = 15
- EF(C) = 5 + 10 = 15
- EF(D) = 5 + 20 = 25
- EF(E) = 5 + 15 = 20
 EF(F) = 5 + 10 = 15

 !Now it is important to choose the right earliest start for

activity G, because activities C, D, E and F are preceding
this activity.

 There are three possible answers but only one is correct.

 ANO-CONT’D
 The calculations of the early finish of activity C, D, E
and F produced three different results: 15, 20 and 25.

 Because all activities immediately preceding activity G

must be completed before G can begin, the only
possible choice is 25 days.

 Because activity D will take longest to complete, it

controls the early start of activity G.
 ANO-CONT’D
 Now activities B and G are preceding the next, activity
H.

 Looking to the largest early finish of both leads to the

right solution for the early start date of activity H.

 As calculated before, the early finish of B is 15 and the

early finish of G is 30, so the early start of activity H is
30. The next activity I has only one preceding activity.

 After calculating the early finish of H by using

following formula: ES + Dur = EF (30 + 10 = 40) it can
be carried to I, where it becomes its early start.
 ANO-CONT’D
 The same procedure is used to compute the early start
for the last activity J.

 So the EF of activity I (40 + 5 = 45) becomes the early

start of I.

 Now the early finish of J (45 + 5 = 50) shows the

earliest possible time the whole project can be
completed under normal conditions.
 ANO-CONT’D
Rules for forward pass computation:

I. Activity times along each path in the network (ES +

Dur = EF) are added

II. The early finish (EF) is carried to the next activity

where it becomes its early start (ES), unless

III. The next succeeding activity is a merge activity.

In this case the largest early finish number

(EF) !of all its immediate predecessor activities
is selected
 ANO-CONT’D
 The backward pass calculation starts with the last
project activity on the network. Each path is traced
backwards and activity times are subtracted to find the
(LS) and finish times (LF) for each activity.

 Before the backward pass can be computed, the

late finish for the last project activity must be
selected.

 In early planning stages, this time is usually set equal to

the early finish (EF) of the last project activity

 (or in the case of multiple finish activities, the

activity with the largest EF).
 ANO-CONT’D
 In some cases an imposed project duration deadline exists, and
this date will be used.

 In the suspension bridge example the 50 days of early finish of

the whole project are accepted also as the latest finish of the
project and hence the EF of activity J is carried to its LF.

 To compute the backward pass only three rules, analog to the

forward pass, are needed.

I. Activity times are subtracted along each path starting with the
project end activity (LF – Dur = LS)

II. The LS is carried to the next preceding activity to establish its

LF, unless
 ANO-CONT’D
These rules are used to compute the backward pass of
the wind energy example.

First the LF of activity J (50 workdays as mentioned

above) is subtracted with its duration (LF – Dur = LS;
50 – 5 = 45).

 The thereby calculated LS of J is directly carried to

activity I where it becomes its LF.

 The LS of activity I (45 – 5 = 40) is again directly

transferred to activity H (LF). The LS of activity H (40 –
10 = 30) may directly affect the two activities G and B.
 ANO-CONT’D
 In the case of activity G it is clear that the LS of activity
H is directly transferred to the LF of G, because
activity H is its only immediate following activity.

 The LF of activity B is controlled by the LS of activity

H.

 The latest activity B can be finish is 30 days. The LFs

of activities C, D, E and F are only depending on
activity G so their LF becomes 25.

 The LS dates of activities B, C, D, E and F which are

all affecting the LF of the first activity A are computed.
 ANO-CONT’D
 IDENTIFICATION OF SLACK

 When the forward and backward passes have been computed, it

is possible to determine which activities can be delayed by
computing “slack” or “float”.

 Total slack or float for an activity is simply the difference

between the LS and ES (LS – ES = SL) or between LF and EF
(LF – EF = SL).

 The previous figure shows different examples, slack for activity

B is 15 days, for activity E 5 days and for I 0 days.

 The slack gives information about the amount of time an

activity can be delayed without delaying the whole project.
 ANO-CONT’D
 If slack of one activity in a path is used, the ES for all
activities that follow in the chain will be delayed and
their slack reduced.

 Use of total slack must be coordinated with all

participants in the activities that follow the chain.

 After slack for each activity is computed, the critical

path(s) is (are) easily identified.
 ANO-CONT’D
When the LF = EF for the end project activity, the
critical path can be identified as those activities that
have LF = EF or a slack of zero (LF – EF=0 or LS – ES
= 0).

 The critical path in the suspension bridge example is

represented by activities A, D, G, H, I and J.

A delay in one or more of these activities

would delay the whole project.
 Exercise: Cables By M company is bringing a new product on line to be
manufactured in their current facility in some existing space. The owners have
identified 11 activities and their precedence relationships. Develop an AON for
the project & determine project completion time

Immediate Duration
Activity Description
Predecessor (weeks)
A Develop product specifications None 4
B Design manufacturing process A 6
C Source & purchase materials A 3
D Source & purchase tooling & equipment B 6
E Receive & install tooling & equipment D 14
F Receive materials C 5
G Pilot production run E&F 2
H Evaluate product design G 2
I Evaluate process performance G 3
J Write documentation report H&I 4
K Transition to manufacturing J 2
Feedback
 Calculate the Path Completion
Times
Paths Path duration
ABDEGHJK 40
ABDEGIJK 41
ACFGHJK 22
ACFGIJK 23
The longest path (ABDEGIJK) limits the project’s
duration (project cannot finish in less time than its
longest path)
ABDEGIJK is the project’s critical path
The advantages of network
technique:
It can effectively handle inter relationships
among project activities
It identify the activities which are critical to the
completion of the project on time ad indicate
the float (spare time ) for other activities
It can handle very large and complex projects
and
It can be easily computerized and updated
 Drawbacks of network technique
Being more complicated than the
traditional bar chart it is not easily
understood by the project
personnel, and
It does not define an operational
schedule which tells who does what
and when.