Project Management Scheduling Techniques, Essay Example

PERT (project evaluation and review technique) is a project scheduling technique in which all activities are shown in a network in their precedence relationships by means of activity-on-arrow network construction. It relies on the various time estimates and other Probabilistic activity times. It is mainly applicable in managing projects with non-repetitive jobs like research and development, in which the estimates of time and cost are not clear.

While the PERT and CPM are considered different sides of the same coin as both tools usually lead to the similar ends: those critical path and critical activities whose slack time equal to zero, the two techniques have minor differences which are always overlooked by many project managers.

The major difference between the PERT and CPM is how the activity time is treated. In PERT the activity time is treated just as a random variable while in CPM a single deterministic time counts required for each and every activity in the project. Another difference arises in the way time is analyzed in projects; CPM Integrates an in-depth analysis of time/ cost trade off while the PERT tool focuses on the time variable. We can use the PERT technique to determine the project’s completion date in a probabilistic way by defining the optimistic time estimate, the most likely time estimate and the pessimistic time estimate.

The major advantages associated with the PERT are that the technique is more effective in determining the precedence relationships in robust projects. The CPM is also useful in monitoring the cost of the projects in addition to the provision of projects documentation. The main limitation of the CPM is its overemphasis of the critical path and the precedence relationship

Criticisms to the Network Techniques

Major Criticisms to the network techniques are as follows; the network technique assumes that all the resources required for the projects are available at the start of the projects. The techniques can easily lead to the huge resource fluctuation as they ignore the projects deadline and the project’s cost. The network methods uses the deterministic durations to determine the project’s lifetime without considering the fact that any change in the duration of an activity or change in the logical relationship of consecutive activities lead to a change in the overall projects duration, earliest start time and the latest start time which are useful in identifying critical and non critical activities

The Major Difference Between the Critical Part Method and the Gantt Charts

Critical-Path Method (CPM) is basically a systematic projects scheduling. the method involves four major steps:- A forward pass used to determine the early-start times for activities; the backward pass to determine the latest finish times; the float calculations  as well as the identification of the critical activities

The PDM is an extension of the CPM that includes the multiple relationships that exist beyond finish date to start date like the finish to start lag and lead time.

The Gantt chart is a timeline in which activities related to a specific project are plotted against a calendar. This tool is mainly used to plot the start and end dates of activities in addition to the duration of the activity. However, The Gantt charts don not show the dependencies that exist in projects. The main advantages of the Gantt charts are that it is very easy to use in huge projects as it provides the projects manager with the basis for planning the task that are supposed to be carried out in a particular projects as well as the scheduling the tasks the manner that they are supposed to be carried out. The Gantt charts also allows for planning the allocation of resources that are needed for the completion of the whole project. The tool is also very useful in the management of major dependencies between projects”” (“Gantt and PERT/CPM,”, 2004, p. 7)

The Gantts charts have an additional advantage as they can be used to manage the projects that are on course in terms of monitoring for any deviation that arises along the way as well as in the identification of project features that need special measures to enable timely completion of projects.  However, the Gantt charts also have short coming that can be solved by the use of the pert or the CPM. The pert uses a series of connected nodes to show clear dependencies between tasks in a project. The order of the tasks is usually given by direction of the arrows from left to right.

CPM

The CPM (Critical Path Management) is usually very similar to the PERT but it has an additional critical path that is shows the sequence of tasks defining the timeline for the projects The CPM can be used in complex and time critical projects to provide a clear clue on the task that are very vital for the projects timely completion.

The Benefit of Critical Path Analysis Techniques Over Gantt Charts

The CPA is more advantageous as compare to the Gantt charts, because the CPA can be used to formally show the all the tasks that were supposed to be completed  in time for  timely completion of the entire project. The CPA may also be used to identify all the tasks that can be delayed for some time due to resource constraints and still finish the projects within the required time However, the CPA also has a disadvantage in that it is not easy to determine the relation of the task to time for any complex projects as it is with the Gantt charts making the CA more difficult to understand for people who were not projects management oriented like new projects manager,

Another benefit that is associated with the critical path analysis is that it is easy to identify the minimum time duration that is needed to finish a particular project. CPA is also important when there is the need to accelerate a projects’ timeframe, this may be useful in minimizing the cost of the projects within the projects specified time.

The Gantts charts have an an added  advantage for they can be used to manage the projects that are on course in terms of monitoring for any deviation that arises along the way as well as in the identification of project features that need special measures to enable timely completion of projects.  However, the Gantt charts also have short coming that can be solved by the use of the pert or the CPM. The pert uses a series of connected nodes to show clear dependencies between tasks in a project. The order of the tasks is usually given by direction of the arrows from left to right.

CPM

The CPM (Critical Path Management) is usually very similar to the PERT but it has an additional critical path that is shows the sequence of tasks defining the timeline for the projects The CPM can be used in complex and time critical projects to provide a clear clue on the task that are very vital for the projects timely completion.

The Benefit of Critical Path Analysis Techniques Over Gantt Charts

The CPA is more advantageous as compare to the Gantt charts, because the CPA can be used to formally show the all the tasks that must be completed in time for the timely completion of the entire project. The CPA may also be used to identify all the tasks that can be delayed for some time due to resource constraints and still finish the projects within the required time However, the CPA also has a disadvantage in that it is not easy to determine the relation of the task to time for any complex projects as it is with the Gantt charts making the CA more difficult to understand for people who were not projects management oriented like new projects manager,

Another benefit that is associated with the critical path analysis is that it is easy to identify the minimum time duration that is needed to finish a particular project. CPA is also important when there is the need to accelerate a projects’ timeframe, this may be useful in minimizing the cost of the projects within the projects specified time.

References

Gantt and PERT/CPM, with good information on creating and analyzing PERT/CPM. (2004, February 12). Journal of project management, 2(20), 2200-2259. Retrieved July 31, 2011, from http://www.doc.mmu.ac.uk/online/SAD/T04/projman.htm

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