SCHEDULING and
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
Useful Abbreviations
CPM - Critical Path Method
PERT - Program Evaluation and Review
Technique
Background
Schedule is the conversion of a project action
plan into an operating timetable
Basis for monitoring a project
One of the major project management tools
Work changes daily, so a detailed plan is
essential
Not all project activities need to be scheduled at
the same level of detail
Background Continued
Most of the scheduling is at the
WBS(Breaking work into smaller tasks is a common productivity
technique used to make the work more manageable and approachable.
For projects, the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is the tool that
utilizes this technique and is one of the most important project
management documents. It singlehandedly integrates scope, cost and
schedule baselines ensuring that project plans are in alignment. level, not
the work package level)
Only the most critical work packages may
be shown on the schedule
Most of the scheduling is based on
network drawings
Network Scheduling Advantage
Consistent framework
Shows interdependences
Shows when resources are needed
Ensures proper communication
Determines expected completion date
Identifies critical activities
Network Scheduling Advantage
Continued
Shows which of the activities can be
delayed
Determines start dates
Shows which task must be coordinated
Shows which task can be run parallel
Relieves some conflict
Allows probabilistic estimates
Network Scheduling Techniques: PERT
(ADM) and CPM (PDM)
PERT was developed for the Polaris
missile/submarine project in 1958
CPM developed by DuPont during the same
time
Initially, CPM and PERT were two different
approaches
– CPM used deterministic time estimates and allowed
project crunching
– PERT used probabilistic time estimates
Microsoft
Project (and others) have blended
CPM and PERT into one approach
Terminology
Activity - A specific task or set of tasks
that are required by the project, use up
resources, and take time to complete
Event - The result of completing one or
more activities
Network - The combination of all
activities and events that define a project
– Drawn left-to-right
– Connections represent predecessors
Terminology Continued
Path - A series of connected activities
Critical - An activity, event, or path
which, if delayed, will delay the
completion of the project
Critical Path - The path through the
project where, if any activity is delayed,
the project is delayed
– There is always a critical path
– There can be more than one critical path
Terminology Continued
Sequential Activities - One activity must
be completed before the next one can
begin
Parallel Activities - The activities can
take place at the same time
Immediate Predecessor - That activity
that must be completed just before a
particular activity can begin
Terminology Continued
Activity on Arrow - Arrows represent
activities while nodes stand for events
Activity on Node - Nodes stand for
events and arrows show precedence
AON and AOA Format
Figure 8-2
Figure 8-3
Constructing the Network
Begin with START activity
Add activities without precedences as
nodes
– There will always be one
– May be more
Add activities that have those activities as
precedences
Continue
Gantt (Bar) Charts
Developed by Henry L. Gantt
Shows planned and actual progress
Easy-to-read method to know the current
status
Advantages and Disadvantage
Advantages
– Easily understood
– Provide a picture of the current state of a
project
Disadvantage
– Difficult to follow complex projects
RESOURCE ALLOCATION
Critical Path Method—Crashing a
Project
Time and costs are interrelated
Faster an activity is completed, more is
the cost
Change the schedule and you change the
budget
Thus many activities can be speeded up
by spending more money
What is Crashing / Crunching?
To speed up, or expedite, a project
Of course, the resources to do this must be
available
Crunching a project changes the schedule for
all activities
This will have an impact on schedules for all the
subcontractors
Crunching a project often introduces
unanticipated problems
Fast-Tracking
Fast-tracking is another way to expedite a
project
– Mostly used for construction projects
– Can be used in other projects
Refers to overlapping design and build
phases
Increases number of change orders
Increase is not that large
The Resource Allocation Problem
CPM/PERT ignore resource utilization
and availability
With external resources, this may not be
a problem
It is, however, a concern with internal
resources
Schedules need to be evaluated in terms
of both time and resources
Time Use and Resource Use
Time limited: A project must be finished
by a certain time
Resource limited: A project must be
finished without exceeding some specific
level of resource usage
System-constrained: A project has fixed
amount of time and resources
Resource Loading
Resource loading describes the amount
of resources an existing schedule
requires
Gives an understanding of the demands a
project will make of a firm’s resources
Resource A
Resource B
Resource Leveling
Less hands-on management is required
May be able to use just-in-time inventory
Improves morale
Fewer personnel problems
When an activity has slack, we can move
that activity to shift its resource usage
Common Priority Rules
As soon as possible
As late as possible
Shortest task first
Most resources first
Minimum slack first
Most critical followers
Most successors
Arbitrary
Optimization Methods
Finds the one best solution
Uses either linear programming or
enumeration
Not all projects can be optimized
Multi-Project Scheduling and Resource
Allocation
Scheduling and resource allocation
problems increase with more than one
project
The greater the number of projects, the
greater the problems
One way is to consider each project as
the part of a much larger project
Multi-Project Scheduling and Resource
Allocation Continued
However, different projects have different
goals so combining may not make sense
Must also tell us if there are resources to
tackle the new projects we are
considering
Resource Utilization
The percentage of a resource that is
actually used
We want a schedule that smoothes out
the dips and peaks of resource utilization
This is especially true of labor, where
hiring and firing is expensive
