CHAPTER 4
DEVELOPING A PROJECT
PLAN
DKV 40072 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After completing the unit, students should be able to:
1. Apply the network computation
2. Compute the critical path
Network Planning
A technique in developing project plan
that is useful in planning, scheduling and
controlling that consist interrelated WBS
PROJECT NETWORK
Developing Project Network
The tool used for planning, scheduling, and monitoring project progress
The network is developed from the information collected for
the WBS and is a graphic flow chart of the project job plan
Depicts the project activities that must be completed, the logical
sequences, the interdependencies of the activities to be completed and
in most cases the times for the activities to start and finish along with
the longest path(s) through the network; THE CRITICAL PATH
The network is the framework for the project information
system that will be used by the project managers to make
decisions concerning project time, cost and performance
PROJECT NETWORK
Constructing Project Network - Terminologies
ACTIVITY An element of the project that requires time, may or may not
require resources
MERGE An activity that has more than one activity immediately
preceding it (more than one dependency arrow flowing to it),
ACTIVITY
parallel activities and can take place at the same time
PATH A sequence of connected, dependent activities
The path with the longest duration through the network; if
CRITICAL
an activity on the path is delayed, the project is delayed
PATH the same amount of time
PROJECT NETWORK
Constructing Project Network - Terminologies
EVENT Represent a point in time when an activity is started or
completed and does not consume time
BURST Activity has more than one activity immediately following it
ACTIVITY (more than one dependency arrow flowing from it)
TWO Develop project networks are known as activity-on-node (AON)
APPROACHES and activity-on-arrow (AOA)
PROJECT NETWORK
Constructing Project Network - Terminologies
PROJECT NETWORK
Constructing Project Network - Terminologies
PROJECT NETWORK
Constructing Project Network - Terminologies
PROJECT NETWORK
Basic Rules to Follow in Developing Project Networks
1. Networks flow typically from left to right
2. An activity cannot begin until all preceding connected activities have been completed
3. Arrows on networks indicate precedence and flow; arrows can cross over each other
4. Each activity should have a unique identification number
5. An activity identification number must be larger than that of any activities that precede it
6. Looping is not allowed (in other words, recycling through a set of activities cannot take place)
7. Conditional statements are not allowed (that is, this type of statement should not appear,
if successful, do something; if not, do nothing)
8. When there are multiple starts, a common start node can be used to indicate a clear project
beginning on the network
ACTIVITY-ON-NODE (AON)
Precedence diagramming method which uses boxes to denote schedule
activities
These various boxes or “nodes” are connected from beginning to end with
arrows to depict a logical progression of the dependencies between the
schedule activities
ACTIVITY-ON-NODE (AON)
Basic relationships that must be established for activities included in a
project network:
Which activities must be completed immediately before this activity? - Predecessor Activities
Which activities must immediately follow this activity? - Successor Activities
Which activities can occur while this activity is taking place? - Concurrent or Parallel Relationship
ACTIVITY-ON-NODE (AON) - Example
NETWORK COMPUTATION PROCESS
Forward Pass – Earliest Time
How soon can the activity start - Early Start (ES)
How soon can the activity finish - Early Finish (EF)
How soon can the project be finished - Expected Time (TE)
NETWORK COMPUTATION PROCESS
Backward Pass – Latest Time
How soon can the project be finished - Late Start (LS)
How late can the activity finish - Late Finish (LF)
How long can the activity be delayed - Slack or Float (SL)
Which activities represent the critical path - Critical Path (CP)
(The longest path in the network which, when delayed, will delay the project)
ACTIVITY-ON-NODE (AON) - Example
Forward Pass – Earliest Time
The forward pass requires three things when computing early activity times:
1. Add activity times along each path in the network (ES + DUR = EF)
2. Carry the early finish (EF) to the next activity where it becomes its early start (ES),
unless
3. The next succeeding activity is a merge activity. In this case select the largest early
finish number (EF) of all its immediate predecessor activities.
Backward Pass – Latest Time
The backward pass requires three (3) things:
1. Subtract activity times along each path starting with the project end activity
(LF — DUR = LS)
2. Carry the LS to the next preceding activity to establish its LF, unless 3
3. The next preceding activity is a burst activity; in this case select the smallest LS of all
its immediate successor activities to establish its LF
Slack / Float
Total slack tells the amount of time an activity can be delayed and not delay the project
The amount of time an activity can exceed its early finish date without affecting the
project end date or an imposed completion date
TOTAL SLACK / FLOAT (SL) = LS – ES or LF - EF
What is the Critical Path?
The critical path is the longest sequence of activities in a project plan which must be completed on
time for the project to complete on due date
An activity on the critical path cannot be started until its predecessor activity is complete; if it is
delayed for a day, the entire project will be delayed for a day unless the activity following the delayed
activity is completed a day earlier
The critical path is very useful in helping to manage any project. When the critical path has been
identified, it can clearly be seen where effort cannot be compromised. If any of the activities on the
critical path change, the end date of the project will be affected
