NETWORK CONSTRUCTION: AN OVERVIEW

Important Definitions

 Network: A network is a graphical representation of a project/operational plan,

showing the interrelationships of the various activities. This is also known as “Arrow
diagram”. When the results of time estimates and computations have been added to a
network, it may be used as a project schedule.

2
A B
1 C 4 D 5 E 6

F G H
3

Figure 1: Graph of a Network

 Activity: These are the portions of a project/operation that consume time or resources
and have definable start and end. Commonly used synonyms are “Task”, and “Job”.
Activities are graphically represented by arrows with arrow heads showing the direction.

Figure 2: Graph of an Activity

 Dummy Activity: A dummy carries merely a dependency of one activity upon

another (also known as “a dependency arrow).” It does not exist in reality. A dummy
carries a zero time estimate and is often represented by dashed line arrows.

Figure 3: Graph of a Dummy Activity

 Event: The beginning and ending points of activities are called events. Theoretically
any event is an instantaneous point in time. Commonly used synonyms are “Node”, and
“Connector”. Events are graphically represented by numbered circles, although any
geometric figure will serve the purpose.

4
3
Figure 4: Graph of an Event

 Merge and Burst Events: If an event represents the joint completion of more than
one activity, it is called a “merge” event. If an event represents the joint initiation of more
than one activity, it is called a “burst” event.
 4 4
3 3

Figure 5: Merge Events Figure 6: Burst Events

 Often Used Words: Preceding, Succeeding, Predecessor, Successor

Rules for Network Construction

1. Activities are represented by arrows with heads (showing the direction of movement)
and numbered circles represent events.
2. Activity names or event numbers must not be duplicated in a network.
3. There must be one start and one end event for any network
4. Before an activity may begin, all activities preceding it must be completed
5. Arrows imply logical precedence only. Neither the length of the arrow nor its
“compass” direction on the drawing has any significance (except in “time scaled
networks”).
6. No Dangling is allowed in a network; i.e., any activity cannot hang freely (head or
tail). It must be connected with another event. Figure 7 shows an example of a dangle
activity (C).

A B C

C A B

Figure 7: Activity C is Dangling

7. No Looping is allowed in a network since it will portray an impossible situation. If a

loop appears in a network the logic must be at fault and the diagram will have to be
reconstructed. In figure 8 activities A, B, and C formed a loop.

B C

Figure 8: Graph of a Loop

8. No two events must be directly connected by more than one activity. In such cases
help of dummies can be taken. This is required to preserve the unique identity of any
activity. In figure 9 both A and B is represented by 1 – 2 and could not be readily
differentiated. To avoid this a dummy activity (d) is introduced as shown in figure 10.
 A A 2
1
1 2
B
d B

Figure 9: Graph of Invalid Parallel activities 3

Figure 10: Graph of Valid Parallel activities

9. Use dummy as and when necessary to preserve the logic. In figure 11 activities 5-6 (C)
and 5-7 (D) may not begin until both activities 3-5 (A) and 4-5 (B) are completed. If,
however, 5-6 (C) can begin when 3-5 (A) is complete, even though 4-5 (B) is unfinished
and 5-7 (D) depends therefore on both 3-5 (A) and 4-5 (B) being completed. This
situation is represented by introducing the dummy (d) as shown in figure 12.

3 A C 6 A C
3 5 7

5 d
B D
4 B D
7 4 6 8

Figure 11: Network showing dependency Figure 12: Use of dummy to preserve logic

Steps for Network Construction

1. Scan the project situation/environment

2. Identify the component activities of the project at random (i.e., without any
order/sequence)
3. Find out immediate predecessors of each of the activities
4. Start construction keeping the rules in mind (mentioned above)
5. Make the network efficient (i.e., remove redundant dummies)

Example

Step 1:

The first step in network construction starts with scanning project scenario. This can be as
follows for a particular project.

The project will start by forecasting sales. Pricing and product scheduling can be started
immediately after. You cannot start costing products unless products are scheduled. Budget
preparation cannot be done unless pricing sales and costing of products are complete.

Step 2: Identification of Component Activities

If we closely look into the scenario we can identify the following activities.
1. Forecasting
2. Pricing
3. Product scheduling
4. Costing of Products
5. Budget preparation

Step 3: Finding out immediate predecessors of the activities

A close review of the scenario will help identify the immediate predecessors of the activities
identified in step 2. For this project the immediate predecessors are shown below.

Activities (Code Name) Immediate Predecessors

1. Forecasting (A) -
2. Pricing (B) A
3. Product scheduling (C) A
4. Costing of Products (D) C
5. Budget preparation (E) B, D

Step 4: Construction of the network

Step 4 is the construction of network. The following tips can be useful in the construction
process:

 Use pencil and eraser to draw the network.

 Identify start and end activities.
 Starting activities are those activities that have no predecessors.
 End activities are those activities, which are not listed in the immediate
predecessor list.
 Follow the activity-predecessor sequence.

The following is a rough sketch of the network drawn as per the table above.

B E

A d

C
D

Figure 13: A Logical Network but Not Efficient

Step 5: Make the network efficient

This step mainly looks for redundant dummy activities and eliminates them in the final
network. If we look into the above network it can be noted that the dummy d is redundant, so
this can be removed in the final network diagram, which follows.
 B
E
A
D
C

Figure 14: An Efficient Network

Activity on Arrow (AOA) Versus Activity on Node (AON) Method

The above-mentioned rules and steps mainly refer to a network construction technique known
as Activity-on-Arrow (AOA). There is another technique known as Activity-on-Node (AON).
The basic principles of the two techniques are same except in AON the activities are
represented by nodes rather than the arrows. The other differences are enumerated below:

Table 1: Activity on Arrow (AOA) Versus Activity on Node (AON) Method

Activity on Arrow (AOA)
 Easier to prepare and modify  Easier
 Events and activities are clearly
defined
 Non-experts have a better chance of 
understanding the network
 Milestone events are easily marked
 Where there are multiple predence
relationships, this is much more clearly 
illustrated
 Can be easily converted to a time
scale diagram showing clearly the slack
times
Activity on Node (AON)
to show complex
relationships, e.g., start to finish
precedence with time lag
No dummy activities (except two
psedu start and end activities) – keeps
the number of activities the same as in
the verbal statement
All the information about the
activities is contained within the box –
easier to ensure the right numbers are
associated with the right activity

Example

Draw the following network using both AOA and AON method

Activity Immediate predecessors

A -
B -
C A
D B
E A, D

A C
d
E
B D

Figure 14: Network Using AOA

 C
A
En
d
Start E

B
D

Figure 1: Network Using AON