Planning & Scheduling

Using
Primavera Enterprise
Project
Management (P6)
Muhammad Hasnain
Lecturer, CE&M
NIT-SCEE-NUST
Hasnain.civil82@gmail.com
+92-51-9085 4169
Activity on Node (AON)
Introduction
• Suppose you decide with your friend to go in hunting trip.

• You must do specific activity such that the trip well be at the right
way. The following activity must be done.
Introduction
• From chart you can see that the 3rd activity (preparing the jeep)
have the longest period of time any delay with this activity leads to
delay in the trip this activity is a “critical activity”

Critical activity : An activity on the critical path any delay on the start
or finish of a critical activity will result in a delay in the entire
project

Critical path : The longest path in a network from start to finish

Definitions
Activity, or task: A basic unit of work as part of the total project that is easily measured and
controlled. It is time- and resource consuming.

Forward pass: The process of navigating through a network from start to end and calculating the
completion date for the project and the early dates for each activity

Backward pass: The process of navigating through a network from end to start and calculating the
late dates for each activity. The late dates (along with the early dates) determine the critical
activities, the critical path, and the amount of float each activity has.

Critical activity: An activity on the critical path. Any delay in the start or finish of a critical activity
will result in a delay in the entire project.

Critical path: The longest path in a network, from start to finish, including lags and constraints.
Definitions
Early dates: The early start date and early finish date of an activity.

Early finish (EF): The earliest date on which an activity can finish within project constraints.

Early start (ES): The earliest date on which an activity can start within project constraints.

Event: A point in time marking a start or an end of an activity. In contrast to an activity, an event
does not consume time or resources.

Forward pass: The process of navigating through a network from start to end and calculating the
completion date for the project and the early dates for each activity.
Definitions
Late dates: The late start date and late finish date of an activity.

Late finish (LF): The latest date on which an activity can finish without extending the project
duration.

Late start (LS): The latest date on which an activity can start without extending the project duration.

Total Float (TF): The amount of time the activity can be delayed without delaying the project finish
date.

Free Float (FF): The amount of time the activity can be delayed without delaying the early start of
successor activity.
 Example

• Draw the logic network and perform the CPM calculations for the
schedule shown next
Duration IPA Activity
5 - A
8 A B
6 A C
9 B D
6 B,C E
3 C F
1 D,E,F G
 Forward Pass Calculation
In mathematical terms, the ES for activity j is as follows :

ESj =max( EFi )

where (EFi) represents the EF for all preceding activities.

Likewise, the EF time for activity j is as follows :

EF j= ESj + Dur j

where Dur j is the duration of activity j

Forward pass: The process of navigating through a network from start to end and calculating the
completion date for the project and the early dates for each activity
Forward Pass Solution
 Backward Pass Calculation
In mathematical terms, the late finish LF for activity j is as follows :

LFj =min(LSk(

where (LSk) represents the late start date for all succeeding activities.

Likewise, the LS time for activity j (LS j) is as follows :

LS j= LFj - Dur j

where Dur j is the duration of activity

Backward pass: The process of navigating through a network from end to start and calculating the late dates for
each activity. The late dates (along with the early dates) determine the critical activities, the critical path, and the
amount of float each activity has.
Backward Pass Solution
 FF TF LF LS EF ES Duration Activity

0 0 5 0 5 0 5 A
0 0 13 5 13 5 8 B
0 5 16 10 11 5 6 C
0 0 22 13 22 13 9 D
3 3 22 16 19 13 6 E
8 8 22 19 14 11 3 F
0 0 23 22 23 22 1 G

▪ Critical activity
▪ Note : We must always realize that FF ≤ TF
Drill
Draw a Node Network Diagram and perform CPM computations for the
schedule