Operations Notes – Project Management

1. Determine activities, time, estimates and precedence relationships
2. Draw the network diagram – activities are nodes, precedences are arrows
3. Perform a Forward Path Analysis (ES=0 for activities with no predecessor)
4. Perform a Backward Path Analysis (LF=EF for activities with no successor)
5. Establish slacks and the critical path

Construct using a chart like that used for line balancing:

Critical path – the path of activities such that a delay in any of the associated activities necessarily implies a delay in the entire project
Crashing the project – adding resources to the critical path

PERT – modifies critical path method to deal with uncertainty
Uses 3 time estimates:
a – optimistic times (1% chance of being earlier)
m – most likely time (best guess)
b – pessimistic time (1% chance of being later)

Uses a Beta Distribution:

1. Determine activities, time estimates, and precedence relationships
2. Calculate expected time and variance for each activity using a, m, b
3. Draw the network diagram
4. Do Forward and Backward Path Analysis
5. Establish slacks and the critical path
6. Calculate: expected duration = Σ expected activity times on critical path

Calculate: variance of duration = Σ variances on critical path