CPM/PERT/Crashing By Prof Girish Phatak

Sixth Topic CPM/PERT Problems discussed in the class

Q.1 An established company has decided to add a new product to its line. It will but the product from a
manufacturing concern , package it, and sell it to a number of distributors selected on a geographical basis. Marker
research has indicated the volume expected and the size of the sales force required . The steps shown in the
following table are to be planned.

Activity Description Predecessors Duration( Days)

A Organize sales office ---- 6
B Hire salesman A 4
C Train salesman B 7
D Select advertising agency A 2
E Plan advertising campaign D 4
F Conduct advertising campaign E 10
G Design package ---- 2
H Set-up packaging facilities G 10
I Package initial stocks J, H 6
J Order stock from manufacturer ---- 13
K Select distributors A 9
L Sell to distributors C, K 3
M Ship stocks to distributors I, L 5

(a) draw a network diagram for this project and find the critical path, project duration, EST, EFT, LFT, LST.
(b) For each non-critical activity , find the total float, free float and independent float.

Q.2 Please see below details regarding the sw project to be executed by the company
Activity Description Immediate Predecessors
A System Analysis and Design -
B Finalizing Programme Specifications -
C System Development A
D White box testing B
E System Testing C
F Preparation of user manual C
G Customer Acceptance Testing D, E
H System Installation F, G
Also three time estimates in weeks for each activity are as given below
Activity Optimistic Most probable Pessimistic
time time time
A 1 2 3
B 2 3 4
C 1 2 3
D 2 4 6
E 1 4 7
F 1 2 9
G 3 4 11
H 1 2 3
Construct the network and find out the critical path and project duration.
Also calculate EST, EFT, LST, LFT .
Compute project variance and project standard deviation.
Compute the probability of completing project on or before 16 week deadline.

Q.3 A project consists of activities A,B<C,…,H,I, x < y means that the activity x must be completed before y
can start and x,y < w means that w will start only after the completion of activities x and y. With the notation
construct the network diagram for the following constraints.
A < D; A < E; B < F; C < G; D < H; E,F < I

The project has the following time schedules of the above activities:

Task : A B C D E F G H I
Optimistic time, t0 : 5 18 26 16 15 6 7 7 3
Pessimistic time, tp 10 22 40 20 25 12 12 9 5
Most likely time, tm 8 20 33 18 20 9 10 8 4

Determine the following :

(a) Draw the network diagram of activities and determine the critical path.
(b) The probability of an event occurring at the expected completion date if the original scheduled time of
completing the project is 41.5 weeks.
(c) The duration of the project that will have 95 percent chance of being completed.

Q.4 Please see below details regarding the sw project to be executed by the
company

Activity Description Immediate Predecessors

A System Analysis and Design -

B Finalizing Programme Specifications -
C System Development A
D White box testing B
E System Testing C
F Preparation of user manual C
G Customer Acceptance Testing D, E
H System Installation F, G

Activity Normal Crash Normal Crash Crash cost

Time Time Cost Cost per week
A 2 1 22000 23000 1000
B 3 1 30000 34000 2000
C 2 1 26000 27000 1000
D 4 3 48000 49000 1000
E 4 2 56000 58000 1000
F 3 2 30000 30500 500
G 5 2 80000 86000 2000
H 2 1 16000 19000 3000

All time estimates are in weeks and costs in Rs.

Construct the network and find out the critical path and project duration.

Also calculate EST, EFT, LST, LFT

If the project should be completed in 12 weeks, compute how crashing should be

done with least additional cost?

Q.5 The following is a table showing details of a project:

________________________________________________________________________
Activity immediate Normal Crash
________________________ ________________________
predecessor Time(weeks) cost(Rs ‘000) Time(weeks) cost(Rs 000)
________________________________________________________________________
A - 10 20 7 30
B - 8 15 6 20
C B 5 8 4 14
D B 6 11 4 15
E B 8 9 5 15
F E 5 5 4 8
G A,D,C 12 3 8 4
___________________________________________________________________________
indirect cost is 400 per day. Find the optimum duration and the associated minimum project cost.

Sixth Topic CPM/PERT Problems for Practice

Q.1 An insurance company has decide to modernize and refit one of its branch offices. Some of the existing
equipments will be disposed of but the remaining will be returned to the branch after completion of the renovation
work. Tenders are invited from a number of selected contractors. The contractors will be responsible for all the
activities in connection with the renovation work excepting the prior removal of the old equipment and its
subsequent replacement.

Activity Description Duration (weeks) Immediate Predecessors

A Design new premises 14 ---
B Obtain tenders from the contractors 4 A
C Select the contractor 2 B
D Arrange the details with the selected contractor 1 C
E Decide which equipment is to be used 2 A
F Arrange storage of equipment 3 E
G Arrange disposal of other equipment 2 E
H Order new equipment 4 E
I Take delivery of new equipment 3 H,L
J Renovations take place 12 K
K Remove old equipment for storage or disposal 4 D,F,G
L Cleaning after the contractor has finished 2 J
M Return old equipment for storage 2 H,L

(a) Draw the network diagram showing the inter-relations between the various activities of the project.
(b) Calculate the minimum time that the renovation can take from the design stage.
(c) Find the effect on the overall duration of the project if the estimates or tenders can be obtained in two
weeks from the contractors by reducing their numbers.
(d) Calculate the “independent float” that is associated with the non-critical activities in the network diagram.

Q.2 A small project is composed of 7 activities whose time estimates are listed in the table
below.

Activity Predecessors Estimated Duration (weeks)

_________________________________
Optimistic Most likely Pessimistic

A --- 1 1 7
B --- 1 4 7
C --- 2 2 8
D A 1 1 1
E B 2 5 14
F C 2 5 8
G D,E 3 6 15
H F, G 1 2 3

(a) Draw the project network and determine the expected project completion time.
(b) What duration will have 95 percent confidence of project completion ?
(c) If the average duration for activity F increases to 14 weeks , what will be its effect on the
expected project completion time which will have 95 percent confidence.

Q.3 the normal and crash duration with cost for various activities involved in a repair work is given below . the
direct cost for supervision of the work is also indicated.

Time(days) Cost(Rs) Expediting

Activity Normal Crash Normal Crash Cost per day (Rs)

1-2 6 2 4000 12000 2000

1-3 8 3 3000 6000 600
2-4 7 4 2800 4000 400
3-4 12 8 9000 11000 500
4-6 3 1 10000 13000 1500
5-6 5 2 4900 7000 700
3-5 7 3 1800 5000 800
5-7 11 5 6600 12000 900
6-7 10 6 4000 8400 1100

the indirect cost of the project is 2000 per day.

a) draw a network diagram for activities indicating the earliest start and latest finishing time at each node.
b) What is the normal and ultimate crash duration of the project?
c) Considering the direct and indirect cost , find the optimum cost for a duration of 10 days.