Project Management

BMFP 4413
Prof. Ir. Dr. Puvanasvaran A/L A. Perumal

© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc.

WBS/Work Package to Network (cont’d)

FIGURE 6.1 (cont’d)

6–2
Network Information

TABLE 6.1

6–3
Koll Business Center—Complete Network

FIGURE 6.4

6–4
Koll Business Center—Partial Network

FIGURE 6.3

6–5
 Network Computation Process

1- Forward Pass—Earliest Times

– How soon can the activity start? (early start—ES)
– How soon can the activity finish? (early finish—EF)
– How soon can the project finish? (expected time—ET)

6–6
 Network Computation Process

2- Backward Pass—Latest Times

– How late can the activity start? (late start—LS)
– How late can the activity finish? (late finish—LF)
– Which activities represent the critical path?
– How long can activity be delayed? (slack or float—SL)

6–7
 Label of AON

Early Start, Identifier no. Early Finish,

ES ES

Activity float Activity descriptor

Late Start, Activity Late Finish,

LS duration LF

6–8
 Example of AON
- Network Information -

TABLE 6.2

6–9
AON Network

FIGURE 6.5

6–10
 AON Network Forward Pass

End

Start

FIGURE 6.6

6–11
 Forward Pass Computation

• Add activity times along each path in the network

(ES + Duration = EF).
• Carry the early finish (EF) to the next activity where
it becomes its early start (ES) unless…
• The next succeeding activity is a merge activity, in
which case the largest EF of all preceding activities
is selected.

6–12
Backward Pass Computation

6–13
AON Network Backward Pass

Start

FIGURE 6.7

6–14
 Backward Pass Computation

• Use result of Forward pass.

• Subtract activity times along each path in the
network (LF - Duration = LS). Begin with the final
path.
• Carry the late start (LS) to the next activity where it
becomes its late finish (LF) unless
• The next succeeding activity is a burst activity, in
which case the smallest LF of all preceding activities
is selected.
6–15
 Determining Free Slack (or Float)

• Free Slack (or Float), SL

– Is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without
delaying any successor (next process)..
– Is how long an activity can exceed its early finish date
without affecting early start dates of any successor(s).
– Allows flexibility in scheduling scarce resources.

- SL determined by difference between ES and LS.

6–16
AON Network with Slack

FIGURE 6.8

6–17
Free Slack Example

FIGURE 6.9

6–18
 Determining Critical Path

• Sensitivity
– The likelihood the original critical path(s) will change once
the project is initiated.
– The critical path is the network path(s) that has (have) the
least slack in common.

6–19
 Determining Critical Path

• Critical path determined by SL = 0.

• Normally, critical path/activities present up to 10%
of total activities of a project.

6–20
AON Network with Slack

FIGURE 6.8

6–21