Scheduling

Terminology
Activity/task - Smallest unit of work
definite duration logic relationships with other activities in the project resource consumption an associated cost

Event a moment in time start/finish, arrival/departure

Interface event Milestone event

Milestone end of a phase

Terminology (contd.)
Work package
Inputs
Predecessors Preconditions Resources Requirements/specifications

Task
Statement of work Time Cost Responsibility Quality assurance Risk

Outcomes
Deliverables results

Terminology (contd.)
Responsibility matrix
Matrix with task/activity, person, type of responsibility

Schedule
Project schedule used by management to plan and review the project Task schedule specific activities necessary to complete

Planning and scheduling charts Gantt chart

Planning and scheduling charts Expense chart

Week Activities Resource requirements Weekly costs Cumulative costs

Disadvantages of Gantt charts

Relationships amongst work elements are not shown Impact of delays on project not shown

Network Diagrams
Describes projects in terms of sequences of activities and events AON or Precedence Diagramming Method (CPM) AOA (PERT)

Predecessor-Successor Relationships
Mandatory cannot be reversed Discretionary External an activity must follow some event/activity not in the network

Activities and immediate predecessors

Activity A B C D E F Immediate Predecessor A A B,C B,C D,E

Activity list for ERP Project selection

Activity A. Select consultant for choosing system B. Meet the consultant to discuss ERP C. Meet the Board of Directors to explain the concept D. Develop rough estimate to solicit proposals Duration(Wk) 2 4 2 1 Predecessors None A A B, C

E. Obtain vendor proposals

F. Design alternatives for consideration G. Develop cost accounting analysis of alternative designs H. Present proposals with estimated costs to Board I. Redo estimates in light of Board requests for changes J. Obtain Board approval

4
3 8 1 3 1

D
E F G H I

Example Early Start Schedule

Activity A B Duration (Weeks) 2 4 Predecessors None A Early Start 0 2 Early Finish 2 6 Consequence Rel. B,C B&C must be done to start D

C
D E F G H

2
1 4 3 8 1

A
B,C D E F G

2
6 7 11 14 22

4
7 11 14 22 23

B&C must be done to start D

Rel. E Rel. F Rel. G Rel. H Rel. I

I
J

3
1

H
I

23
26

26
27

Rel. J
Finish

Early finish = early start + duration

Example Late Start Schedule

Activity J I H G F E D B C A Duration (Weeks) 1 3 1 8 3 4 1 4 2 2 Followers None J I H G D E D D B,C Early Finish (Week) 27 26 23 22 14 11 7 6 6 2 ES=EF-duration Early Start 26 23 22 14 11 7 6 2 4 0 Consequence Releases I Releases H Releases G Releases F Releases E Releases D Releases B, C Releases A Must start before A can finish Late start schedule done

LF = start with deadline or EF,

Slack
Total slack the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project Difference between late start and early start or late finish and early finish schedules Critical activities: those with 0 slack Free slack the amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of a successor activity Free slack = ES EF -1 There can be more than one CP for a project

Slack Calculation
Activity Early Start Early Finish Late Start Late Finish Slack Critical?

A
B C D E F G H I j

0
2 2 6 7 11 14 22 23 26

2
6 4 7 11 14 22 23 26 27

0
2 4 6 7 11 14 22 23 26

2
6 6 7 11 14 22 23 26 27

0
0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Yes
Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Slack = Late start Early Start Critical path A-B-D-E-F-G-H-I-J

Critical path
Longest path from the project start node to end node

Other notations
Box type notation EF = ES +duration - 1 LS = LF duration + 1

Buffers
A means to ensure that critical activities are completed on time It is the time included in the schedule to protect against unanticipated delays and to allow early starts Buffer is different from slack Types of buffers
Project buffers Feeding buffers placed at each point where a non-critical activity is related to a critical activity Resource buffers Strategic resource buffers

Resource Leveling
Involves extending schedules so that particular resources are not over-scheduled CP assumes that unlimited resources are available Quality of project management is measured by the proportion of waste time encountered but Crashing Resource smoothing

Precedence Relationships
Finish-to-start (FS): Start only when the predecessor finished Lags are indicated as FS=n Start-to-start (SS): Start only when the predecessor started Finish-to-finish (FF): Finish only when the predecessor finished Start-to-finish (SF): Finish only when the predecessor started

Precedence Relationships (contd.)

Precedence Relationship Diagramming Method (PDM) A=10, B-15, FS=0 A=10, B=15, SS=5 A=15, B=10, FF=5 A=15, B=15, SF=25

Precedence Relationships (contd.)

Multiple PDM relationships A=15, B=15, SS=5, FF=10

Resource Constraints
Resource Allocation Resource Workload Resource Loading

Resource Levelling

 Splitting Multi-tasking Hand-over points

Multiple Resource Levelling

Issues with networks

Activities cannot be defined upfront Durations cannot be exactly defined Demarcation between activities is not always clear

Time-Cost Relationship
Cost slope = (Cc-Cn)/(Tc-Tn) Reduce Project Duration
Select the activity with smallest cost slope

PERT
A technique to estimate the likelihood of project completion te=(a+4m+b)/6 V= 2 =((b-a)/6)^2 Expected duration of the project is the sum of expected activity durations along the critical path Variance in project duration is the sum of the variances of the activity durations along the CP, that is Vp= V
cp

Distribution of Project Durations

Normal Distribution Z = (Ts-Te)/SQRT(Vp) Where Ts =probability of meeting any specified project target completion date Te= expected time Vp= variance in project duration

Issues in PERT
Ignores human behavior Activity durations are independent The three estimates are guesses unless supported by historical data

Monte Carlo Simulation