Network analysis Project

Project :
Combination of interrelated activities
which must be executed in a certain order
before the completion of entire task.
Project management :
Project planning
Manpower, financial, material etc
Project scheduling Start and finish time, allocation of
resources etc

Project controlling
measures

Setting standards, Reviewing &

updating and corrective

Tools and techniques

Bar charts, pie charts, milestone
charts and velocity diagrams
Network techniques
Symbolic representation of the
essential requirements of a project.
CPM Critical Path Method
PERT Programme Evaluation and Review
Technique

History

Developed in 1950s
CPM by DuPont for chemical plants
PERT by U.S. Navy for Polaris missile

CPM developed by Du Pont and the emphasis was on the tradeoff between the cost of the project and its overall completion
time (e.g. for certain activities it may be possible to decrease
their completion times by spending more money - how does this
affect the overall completion time of the project?)

PERT was developed by the US Navy for the planning and control of
the Polaris missile program and the emphasis was on completing the
program in the shortest possible time. In addition PERT had the
ability to cope with uncertain activity completion times (e.g. for a
particular activity the most likely completion time is 4 weeks but it
could be anywhere between 3 weeks and 8 weeks).

The Project Network

Use of nodes and arrows
Arrows

: An arrow leads from tail to head

directionally
Indicate ACTIVITY, a time consuming effort that is
required to perform a part of the work.

Nodes

: A node is represented by a circle

Indicate EVENT, a point in time where one or more
activities start and/or finish.

AON and AOA network

Activity on Node
(AON)
-

A completion of an
activity is represented by
a node
AON network diagrams
place the activities within
the nodes
Arrows are used to
indicate the sequence
requirements

Activity on Arrow (AOA)

-

An arrow represents a
task, while a node is the
completion of a task
Arrows represent order
of events

Activities
Represent project operations (task) to be conducted
An arrow is commonly used to represent an activity
with its head indicating the direction of progress in
the project
Types
Predecessor Activity Activities must be completed
before other activities start.
Successor Activity - Activities must starts immediately
after other activities are completed.
Dummy Activity Activities which doesnt consume
either any resource or time.
The main purpose of introducing
the DA is to establish logic relationship between networks

Rules for drawing network

Each activity is represented by only one arrow.
No two activities can be identified by the same
head and tail events.
Each activity must have atleast one activity
preceding it and atleast one activity following it
except for the nodes at the very beginning and
at the very end of the network.
All the arrows pointed in one direction only.
Time due follows from left to right.
Arrows should not cross each other.

Errors in network
Looping (Cycling)

Drawing an endless

loop in a network

Dangling

To disconnect an activity before

completion of all the activities in a network
diagram.

Redundancy
dummy activity

Introducing excess (unwanted)

Representation
1

A
3 days

The activity A starts at node 1

and finishes at node 2 and it will
takes three days

Numbering the events

Fulkersons rule :
Initial event which has all outgoing arrows with no incoming arrow
is numbered 1.
Delete all the arrows coming out from node 1. This will convert
some more nodes (at least one) into initial events. Number these
events 2, 3.
Delete all the arrows going out from these numbered events to
create more initial events. Assign next numbers to these events.
Continue until the final (or) terminal node, which has all arrows
coming in with no arrow going out, is numbered.

Formative assessment 1
1. In the project network, activities and events are represented by
a)line and circle
b)circle and line
c)line and arrow
d)dotted line and arrow

2. Dummies are usually represented by

e)a line
f)a dotted line arrows
g)a circle
h)an arc

3. The chain that connects the initial event to adjacent event is called
i)path
j)event
k)activity
l)node

Problem
Draw a network diagram for the following
set of activities and number the events
A < C, B
B < D, E
C<F
E<G
F < I, J
J<K
G<L
K,L < M

Problem
Draw a network for the simple project of creating a
steelwork for a shed. The various activities of the project
are as follows.
Activit
y

Job description

Preceeded by

Erect site
workshop

Fence site

Bend
reinforcement

Dig foundation

Fabricate
steelwork

Install concrete
pillars

Place
reinforcement

C,D

Concrete

G,F

Formative assessment 2
1. In the project network, > symbol indicates
a)left side activity is carried out first
b)right side activity is carried out first
c)left side activity is completed before starting the activity
given on right side
d)right side activity is completed before starting the activity
given on left side

2. Dummies are used

e)when an activity is following two activities
f)when two activities end with same node
g)when two activities start at same time
h)when start and end of two activities have same events

History of CPM
1956 at the EI Pont Nemours and
Company, USA
Schedule their routine plant
overhaul, maintenance and
construction work

CPM - Critical Path Method

In CPM, the activities are shown as a network of
precedence relationships using AOA/AON network
construction
Single estimate of activity time
Repetitive projects
Deterministic activity (Known time & cost)
Cost oriented Activity oriented

Applications
Production management - for the
jobs of repetitive in nature where the
activity time estimates can be
predicted with considerable certainty
due to the existence of past
experience.
Construction of building, Road &
Bridge
Physical verification of store
Yearly closing of accounts by

Critical Path
The path connecting the first initial node to the very
last terminal node of longest duration in any project network.
The series of tasks (or even a single task) that dictates
the calculated finish date of the project (i.e., when the last task
in the critical path is completed, the project is completed).
The "longest" path (in terms of time) to the completion
of a project. If shortened, it would shorten the time it takes to
complete the project. Activities of the critical path would not
affect completion time even if they were done more quickly.

18

Contd
Finding the critical path is a major part of controlling
a project.
The activities on the critical path represent tasks that
will delay the entire project if they are delayed.
Manager gain flexibility by identifying noncritical
activities and replanning, rescheduling, and
reallocating resources such as personnel and finances

Time calculations
Earliest Start Time : Time at which
the event is expected to occur at
earliest (EST)
Earliest Finish Time (EFT) : EST +
duration
Latest Finish Time : Time at which
the activity can be completed by
latest
without
affecting
the
completion of project (LFT)
Latest Start Time (LST) : LFT -

Forward and Backward Pass

Forward pass is a technique to move forward through a
diagram to calculate activity duration. Backward pass is its
opposite.
Early Start (ES) and Early Finish (EF) use the forward pass
technique.

Late Start (LS) and Late Finish(LF) use the backward pass
technique.
MEMORY TRIGGER: if the float of the activity is zero, the
two starts (ES and LS) and the two finish (EF and LF) are the
same. Hence, If float of activity is zero, ES = LS and EF = LF.
21

Slack Time
The amount of time a task can be delayed before the
project finish date is delayed.
Total slack can be positive or negative.
If total slack is a positive it indicates the amount of time
that the task can be delayed without delaying the project
finish date. If negative, it indicates the amount of time that
must be saved so that the project finish date is not delayed.
Total Slack = Latest Start - Earliest Start.
By default and by definition, a task with 0 slack is
considered a critical task. If a critical task is delayed, the
project finish date is also delayed. (Also known as float
time)
22

Total float (or) slack

Total Float positive (or) negative
Positive : Concerned activities have a
certain amount of spare time and can be
delayed without effecting project duration.
(Resources are more than adequate).
Subcritical activity
Zero : Critical path activities (Just adequate)
Negative : Concerned activities are a short
of
time (Resources are inadequate)
Supercritical activity

Floats
Total
Free
Independent

Consider the following project:

Immediate
Activity
Predecessor
time (days)
A
-6
B
-4
C
A
3
D
A
5
E
A
1
F
B,C
4
G
B,C
2
H
E,F
6
I
E,F
5
J
D,H
3
K
G,I
5

Problem

Consider the following activities with time

duration, find
Activity

A minimum total project time to complete it

Critical path
1-2
Floats
1-3

Time
(days)
10
8

1-4

2-5

3-7

16

4-6

5-7

5-8

6-7

6-9

7-10

12

8-10

13

9-10

15

Problem

Consider the following activities with time

Activity
duration, find
A minimum total project time to complete it
1-2
Critical path
1-3
Floats

Time
(days)
6
3

1-4

2-5

2-8

3-6

4-6

4-7

5-8

6-8

6-9

7-9

8-10

9-10