Ldp 604 mappm Project pD&I

TOPIC 4: PROJECT PLANNING

 PART 1:The Concept of Project Planning
 Planning Process
 Functions of Project Planning
 Factors to consider when Planning
 Models of Project Planning
 The Traditional Approach
 Critical Chain Project Management
 Event chain model
 PART 2: Planning for the components of project/ Dimensions of Planning
 Planning for Quality Component of the Project
 Project Work Breakdown Structure
 The importance of Work Breakdown Levels
 Planning for Time Component
 Gantt Charts as a Planning Tool
 Other functions of Gantt chart
 Programme Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT Analysis)
 Planning the Cost Dimensions
 PART 3: Project Proposal (Project Document )

The Concept of Project Planning

According to Cleland and Ireland, (2007) Project planning is a rational determination of how to
initiate, sustain, and terminate a project. It prescribes the path followed in executing the project.
Project planning addresses work to be accomplished during a project to meet the defined goals
and objective. It also identifies those activities and strategies that are detrimental to a project’s
successful completion.
Singh and Nyandemo, (2004); project planning means an endeavor in which human, material and
financial resources are organized in a better way to undertake a unique scope of work of a given
specification within constraints of time, cost and quality so as to achieve some intended goals/
objectives. It is an institutionalized activity comprising of a series of predetermined and
coordinated action and processes for carrying out operations for the identified preparations,
appraisal and implementation of projects. It is a process involving the listing in details what is
required to successfully complete a given project along the three critical dimensions of time, cost
and quality within a prevailing environment.

Planning Process
The following steps are critical in the planning process of any project
1. Establish the project objectives

2. Choose the basic strategy for achieving the objectives

3. Break the project into sub-units

4. Determine the performance standards for each unit

5. Determine the required time to accomplish the project

6. Determine the project sequence of completing the sub-units and the aggregate project.

7. Design the cost of the project

8. Establish the required resources

9. Assign duties/ responsibilities

10. Develop the necessary policies and procedures

11. Determine the yardsticks for evaluating the outcome.

The above process may differ from one organization to another. It is common to find other
organization summarizing the above steps into: Establishing goals and objectives of the project;
Establishing the alternative ways of achieving the objectives; Selecting the best strategies for
achieving the objectives; Deciding on the conditions that may compromise the achievement of
the objectives; Implementing the selected strategies; Monitoring and evaluating.
You will realize that no matter which approach that you will use, the key aspects still remain:
project activity selection and planning; implementation of the activities and; monitoring and
evaluation.

Functions of Project Planning

i. It provides a basis for organizing the work of project and allocating responsibilities. It is during
project planning that activities to achieve the objectives are decided on. The activities are broken
into specific work which can be assigned to various individuals comprising project teams.

ii. It is a means of communication and coordination between all those involved in the project.
Project plan provides various communications to project stakeholders. It communicates various
demands such as how much time, cost and human resources are required.

iii. It induces people to look ahead

iv. It instills a sense of urgency and time consciousness

v. Establishes the basis for monitoring and evaluation

Factors to Consider when planning

1. Contribution of plan to project Objectives
2. Efficiency of Plan
This stresses on economical use of resources to achieve the desired objectives.
3. Policy Framework
This should be clearly understood by the project manager e.g. Government policies and
existing legal framework.
4. Timing. Plans should be structured to provide an appropriately timed network of
supporting programmes.
5. Existing alternatives
The best alternative should be that which contributes most efficiently and effectively to
the accomplishment of the desired goal.
6. Limiting Factors
Focus on those factors which are critical to the attainment of the desired goal.
7. Flexibility/Ability to change
The risk of loss due to unexpected events can be reduced by building flexibility into the
plans.
8. Competitive Strategies
A project manager should take into account the plans of rivals or competitors.
Planning Models and Approaches
Just like project life cycle, Project planning models can be considered as phases of the project
that a project planner must consider planning for. In this section we are going to discuss some
models that a planner must think through rationally when designing the project.

1. The Traditional Approach A traditional phased approach identifies a sequence of steps

to be completed. In the "traditional approach", we can distinguish 5 components of a
project (4 stages plus control) in the development of a project that must be completed.
Look at the figure below that demonstrates the components of project planning:

Fig. 1 Traditional approach to planning

In this model there are five components of a project which include: Project initiation stage;
Project planning or design stage; Project execution or production stage; Project
monitoring and controlling systems; Project completion stage.

We can conclusively say that the model represented by the figure shows a simplistic way of
approaching project planning. First and foremost, project planners adopting the model are guided
on what aspect the entire project requires to be tackled first. The model also helps the planners
prioritize the activities. The Model also provides a snapshot of the entire project at the planning
stage. Project initiation stage issues that are main concern to the project planner include
exploring the problem the project is seeking to solve, identify priority needs, consider project
solutions and evaluate organizational capacity. At the project planning or design stage planners
will seek to establish the project scope; clarify goals and objectives; choose the most appropriate
course of action; identify the inputs and resources required in terms of: people, materials, time
and money; develop a budget and draft a project plan. Project execution or production stage will
call on planners to think about work-plan for implementing the project and completion of pre-
determined tasks and activities and how progress will be monitored and adjustment made where
necessary. Project monitoring and controlling systems at this stage the planner will be concerned
with designing an efficient and effective M&E system while at Project completion stage the
planner will be concerned with suitable methods of project terminations.

2. Critical Chain Project Management

Critical Chain Project Management (CCPM) is a method of planning and managing projects that
puts more emphasis on the resources (physical and human) needed in order to execute project
tasks.
It is an application of the Theory of Constraints (TOC) to projects. The goal is to increase the
rate of throughput (or completion rates) of projects in an organization. Applying the first three of
the five focusing steps of TOC, the system constraint for all projects is identified as are the
resources. To exploit the constraint, tasks on the critical chain are given priority over all other
activities. Finally, projects are planned and managed to ensure that the resources are ready when
the critical chain tasks must start, subordinating all other resources to the critical chain.

Event Chain Model

Event chain methodology is another method that complements critical path method and critical
chain project management methodologies. Event chain methodology is an uncertainty modeling
and schedule network analysis technique that is focused on identifying and managing events and
event chains that affect project schedules. Event chain methodology helps to mitigate the
negative impact of psychological heuristics and biases, as well as to allow for easy modeling of
uncertainties in the project schedules. Event chain methodology is based on the following
principles.
 Probabilistic moment of risk: An activity (task) in most real life processes is not a
continuous uniform process. Tasks are affected by external events, which can occur at
some point in the middle of the task.

 Event chains: Events can cause other events, which will create event chains. These event
chains can significantly affect the course of the project. Quantitative analysis is used to
determine a cumulative effect of these event chains on the project schedule.
  Critical events or event chains: The single events or the event chains that have the most
potential to affect the projects are the “critical events” or “critical chains of events.” They
can be determined by the analysis.

 Project tracking with events: Even if a project is partially completed and data about the
project duration, cost, and events occurred is available, it is still possible to refine
information about future potential events and helps to forecast future project
performance.

 Event chain visualization: Events and event chains can be visualized using event chain
diagrams on a Gantt chart that will be discussed later.

Planning for the components of project

There are three key issues or parameters that one needs to consider while planning. These
includes project quality, cost and time. According to Singh and Nyandemo (2004), a successfully
managed project is one that complete at specified level of quality on or before the deadline, and
within the budget. Project quality, cost and time must be spelled out clearly during planning
phase.
The parameters can be conceptualized as per the figure below.
 PROJECT PARAMETERS

QUALITY COST TIME

SCHEDULES
SPECIFICATION BUDGET

Planning parameters
Source: Singh and Nyandemo (2004), Aspects of Project Planning, Monitoring Evaluation and
Implementation

It is important to note that one cannot focus on only one component while planning. For instance
as you plan for quality aspect of time and scheduling comes in automatically

The above parameters play a role in the project scope definition. According to Kohli and
Chitkara (2007), the project scope statement is a document that covers the justification for
undertaking the project. It lists the project purpose, highlights the broad scope of the work and
defines the project time, cost and quality objectives. It also includes project constraints,
assumptions and risks. In order to define the project scope, the project scope statement is
supplemented with supporting documents. These documents include but are not limited to the
following:
 Breaking down of the project scope into deliverables. The project deliverables (or tasks)
define the work scope building blocks.
  Development of supporting designs, drawings and specifications. They provide the
characteristic features and mode of realization of the deliverables. The design, drawings
and specifications define the scope of work in the project

 Estimation and structuring of quantities of work. The bill-of quantities (BOQ) coupled
with the statement-of-costs (SOC) becomes the project scope dictionary

Planning for Quality Component of the Project

The goal of quality planning is to assure that the output of the project will perform – that it will
do what it is supposed to do. The quality aspect also establishes the criteria of performance by
which the project output will be measured when it is completed. In planning the quality
dimension include specifications for the quality and types of materials to be used, the
performance standards to be met, and the means of verifying quality such as testing and
inspection.

Two techniques facilitate planning for quality: a work breakdown structure; a project
specification.

Project Work Breakdown Structure

We can say that, work means a specific job, process, function or assignment that consumes
physical resources and/or mental effort to achieve an objective. Breakdown implies dividing the
work processes into manageable categories, arranged in a hierarchical order, till the desired level
is reached. A structure is an arrangement pattern.

A work breakdown structure is an organized hierarchical grouping of project elements that

define the total scope of the project. Structuring the project work breakdown involves breaking
down of the project work into manageable deliverable elements arranged in a descending
hierarchical order. These are arranged according to levels of task groups (sub-projects), tasks
(deliverables), work packages and activities. Each descending level signifies an increasingly
detailed description of the project elements. An activity is the lowest level element of work,
which is usually a part of work package. In a major project, the work breakdown levels can be
broadly categorized into five levels. These levels arranged in descending hierarchy are
designated as in the Table below:

Typical classification of project work breakdown levels Sub-project level

Level Description Main Criteria

1 Sub-project level An independent, large volume, task group

2 Task level An identifiable and deliverable major work

3 Work package level A sizeable, identifiable, measure, cost-able and

4 Activity level
5 Operations level
controllable work item/package of activities.
Identifiable lower level job, operation, or process,
which consumes time and possibly resources
A lowest level operation, or process, which is part of
an activity.

Sub-projects are derived by decomposing the scope of project work into independent large-
volume mini-projects or task groups, which can be progressed in a systematic manner, without
interference from other work groups. In a major project, each of these sub-projects can be headed
by a senior manager.

Tasks level The project or sub-project work can be split up into various tasks. A task is an
identifiable and deliverable major work. It is an entity in itself and can be performed without
much interference from other tasks. Each task is generally assigned quality, time and cost
objectives and is provided with planned resources for accomplishing the task objectives. Task
level is generally used in the project summary plan and the design preparation plan.

Work packages level A project task can be further sub-divided into one or more work packages.
Each work package contains a sizeable, identifiable, measurable, cost-able, and controllable
package of work. In a project a master plan, each work package is assigned its performance
objectives. These are generally stated in terms of quality specifications, completion period,
standard cost, resource productivity -10-lards and the standard sale price. The measure of
performance is thus closely linked with the execution of its work packages. Work packages form
a common base for linking the key functions in project management.
Activity level A work package can further be broken down into various identifiable jobs,
Operations and processes, which consume time and possibly resources and are necessary for its
completion. Each one of this is called an activity.
Operations level An activity comprises of one or more operations. Each operation contains a
part of the work content of the activity. It generally has a particular type or a fixed group of
resource associated with it. Some operations may start with the commencement of the activity,
while others may take place during its time duration. In some situation, performance periods of
operations may overlap. Operations are not considered during the network modeling and analysis
stage except to ensure that the sum of the cost of operations equals the activity cost. They form
the basis for allocation and scheduling of resources of each activity. The work breakdown
structure of a project, down to work package level is commonly called project work breakdown
structure (PWBS) or just WBS. The work breakdown structure can also be developed to include
departmental functions, temporary works and other project requirements, but it is advisable to
restrict WBS decomposition down to deliverables, which form part of the project scope.
Deliverables are tangible, measurable parts of the project.

The importance of Work Breakdown Levels

Work breakdown serves the following purpose:
1. The projects are best organized by tasks, best controlled by the work packages, best planned
and monitored by the activities and best programmed for day-to-day work by using operational
levels.

2. The project organizational structure, which shows assignment of responsibilities, generally

follows the work breakdown structure levels of sub-projects/ tasks/ work packages.
3. Work packages form a common base for linking the key functions in project management. In
the project master plan or the contracted works control plan, each work package is assigned its
performance objectives. These are generally stated in terms of its completion period, standard
cost, resource-productivity standards and the standard sale price. The measure of performance is
thus closely linked with the execution of its work packages. The work package concept leads to
the simple management theory of managing, designing, estimating, planning, organizing,
directing, communicating and controlling, using these work packages as the base lines.
4. A project planner uses activity as the common database for project planning. The activity
duration forms the basis for time planning and scheduling of project work. Detailed information
about resources such as men, materials and machinery needed for execution of each activity
enables the preparation of a resource database and forecasts. The activity value (sale price) is
used to determine the income and cash flow forecasts. The activity base is vital for planning,
scheduling and monitoring the project work.

Planning for Time Component

The objective when planning for time component is to determine the shortest time necessary to
complete the project. One needs here to begin with the work breakdown structure and determine
the time required to complete each sub-unit. Next determine in what sequence sub-units must be
completed and which ones may be under way at the same time. There are various approaches
planners use to plan and display time relationships of the steps in a project. Gantt Charts and
Critical Path Approach are structured approaches in Project Planning which are designed to meet
these needs. There are other tools that can be used for planning and scheduling large projects
such as PRINCE 2 (Projects in Controlled Environments) and PERT Charts (Programme
Evaluation and Review Technique). For the purpose of this lecture, we will attempt to discuss
the two approaches; Gantt chart and Network analysis (CPA) as tools for project planning.

1. GANTT CHART AS A PLANNING TOOL

A Gantt chart can be described as a management tool that shows the progress of activities in
relation to a timescale, it is often used in planning and tracking of a project. It is named after
Henry Gantt, the industrial engineer who introduced the procedure in the early 1900s. It can
also be described as a chart that shows the duration of tasks against the project timeframe,
usually it highlights milestones, dependencies and associated resources. The chart consists of
horizontal bars representing time scale which is expressed either in relative time or absolute
time. The time unit typically is in weeks or months, the rows in the bars show the beginning
and ending dates of individual tasks in the project.

Activity 1: Consider this; think of at least three or four activities in a project e.g. House
construction. Roughly estimate time required for each activities. Then list the steps or activities
down the left side of the chart and time intervals along the bottom. Draw a line across the chart
for each activity, starting at the planned beginning date and ending on the completion date of the
activities. Compare your chart with one drawn below:

The activities we can identify for our example are;

1. Clearing of the bushes at the site which we can estimate to take 10 days

2. Digging the foundation estimated to take 5 days

3. Actual construction estimated to take 62 days

4. Roofing estimated to take 16 days

5. Plumbing estimated to take 20 days

The above activities can be represented in a Gantt chart as follows:

Activity Ja Feb Marc April May

n h
1. clearing the
site
2.Digging the
foundation
3.Construction

4. Roofing

5.Plumbing work

Types of Gantt Charts

Gantt charts are created based on the nature of complexity of tasks in a project. As such there are
various types of Gantt charts, these include:
1. Basic Gantt charts -These are simple charts used to depict the start and finish date of a
task. The example below shows tasks in a security and access control project. Tasks are
 outlined in two sections. Each task uses a triangle to indicate the start date of the task and
a down triangle to indicate the finish date of the task.
2. Daily Gantt -This is a type of chart that can be applied to a one day time frame. This
example shows how the Gantt chart format can be applied to a one-day time frame. In
this case, the Gantt chart format is used to display schedules for college courses.
Different colour bars are used to represent different departments
3. Baseline Gantt chart- This is a chart that depicts the projects original plan against the
current plan. In project management the baseline is the original plan. On the example, the
baseline plan is highlighted (yellow) so that it is easily distinguishable from the current
plan. Some Gantt chart software and project management software offer the feature of
highlighting the baseline plan. Some project management software will let the user lock
the baseline plan so that it is not changed when the schedule is edited
4. Timeline Gantt charts -These are charts that depict timelines; they represent significant
events in history, for example timeline of American presidents. The Gantt chart format
can also be applied to timelines. Timelines are often similar to very detailed milestone
charts. They might include bars, similar to those found on a Gantt chart, but often they
will include milestone markers, representing significant events in history.

Other functions of Gantt chart

Planning and scheduling- A Gantt chart can be used to plan how long a project should take, it
lays out the order in which the tasks need to be carried out and it establishes a precedence
network that determines priority levels of different tasks. In feasibility studies they are employed
in schedule feasibility to give a timeframe and deadline for activities.

Monitoring a project -A Gantt chart gives a full immediate view of what has been achieved at
any point in time and lets you see remedial action that may put the project back on course. Gantt
chart is a type of bar chart that is used to illustrate a projects schedule. The start and finish dates
of the terminal elements and summary of the project. These elements comprise the work break
down structure.

The chart is often used as a reporting tool- They can be used in status reporting to show how
much of the plan has been completed by displaying the progress of an activity in the same or
parallel bar or using colour. It gives a clear view of progress made in a project in brief summary
that can be read at a glance.
The Gantt chart evaluates the dependency relations of each task in a project -It shows the
relationships between different tasks that need to be accomplished to bring the project to
completion. It indicates related tasks and their dependency levels, showing which tasks should be
accomplished before others can start.

PROGRAMME EVALUATION AND REVIEW TECHNIQUE (PERT Analysis) AS A

PLANNING TOOL
This technique is more sophisticated than Gantt charts and is suitable for projects with many
interactive steps. Using this approach the planners can be able to identify Critical Path. This is
commonly referred to as Critical Path Analysis (CPA). Critical Path Analysis models activities
and events of a project as a network. Activities are depicted as nodes on the network and events
that signify the beginning or ending of activities are depicted as arcs or lines between the nodes.
Activities that lie on the critical path cannot be delayed without delaying the finish time for the
entire project. If an activity on the critical path is delayed by one day, then the entire project will
be delayed by one day, unless another activity on the critical path is accelerated by one day.
Therefore the total time along the Critical Path is the minimum time in which the whole project
can be completed.
The Major steps in Critical Path Analysis Include:
1. Listing or specifying major activities; list all known or expected activities to be undertaken in
planning and managing the project. From the work breakdown structure a listing can be made of
all activities in the project. This listing can be used as the basis for adding sequence and duration
information in later steps. The process requires a thorough analysis of the steps involved in
initiating, implementing and bringing to culmination a successful project

2. Determining the sequence of major activities – some activities are dependent on the
completion of others. Listing of the immediate predecessors of each activity is useful for
constructing the CPA network diagram.
3. Draw a network diagram/construct an activity flow diagram; once the activities and their
sequencing have been defined, the CPA diagram can be drawn. It was originally developed as an
activity on node network (AON) but some project planners prefer to specify the activities on the
arcs.

4. Estimate the completion time for each activity; the time required to complete each activity can
be estimated using past experience of the estimates of knowledgeable persons, CPA is a
deterministic model that does not take into account variation in completion time so only 1
number is used for an activity’s time estimate. Using an estimation of the time required for each
activity calculate totals or the earliest possible time that each event can be reached

5. Identify the Critical Path (Longest path through the network); the critical path is the longest
duration path through the network. The significance of the CP is that the activities that lie on it
can‟t be delayed without delaying the project. Because of its impact on the entire project, CPA is
an important aspect of the project planning. The CP can be identified by determining the
following 4 parameters for each activity:
ES- Earliest start time, the earliest time at which the activity can start given that its precedent
activities must be completed first,
EF – earliest Finish time, equal to the earliest start time for activity plus time required to start
activity,
LF – Late finish time, latest time at which activity can be completed without delaying the
project,
LS – latest start time, equals the latest finish time, time required to complete the activity. The
slack time for an activity is the time between its earliest and latest finish time. Slack is the
amount of time that an activity can be delayed past its earliest start or earliest finish without
delaying the project.
The CP is the path through the project network in which none of the activities have slack i.e. the
path for which ES=LS and EF=LF for all activities in the path. A delay in the CP delays the
project, similarly to accelerate the project its necessary to reduce the total time required for the
activities in the CP.
6. Update the CPA diagram as project progresses. That is to say as the project progresses the
actual task completion times will be known and the network diagram can be updated to include
this information. A new CP may emerge and structural changes may be made in the network if
the project requires change.(Virine eta l 2007).

Key rules of a CPA

Nodes are numbered to identify each one and show the Earliest Start Time (EST) of the activities
that immediately follow the node, and the Latest Finish Time (LFT) of the immediately
preceding activities
 The CPA must begin and end on one ‘node’

 There must be no crossing activities in the CPA

 The activity is labeled with its name or it may be given a label, such as ‘D’

 The activities on the critical path are usually marked with a ‘//’

Take Note
 The Node is number 3
 The EST for the following activities is 14 days
 The LFT for the preceding activities is 16 days
 There is 2 days‟ float in this case (difference between EST and LFT)
 The activity that follows the node is labelled ‘D’ and will take 6 days
 EST ACTIVITY

3
D
14
6 ELAPSED TIME OF ACTIVITY
160

NODE NO. LFT

Examples of CPA diagrams and determining the Critical path

EXERCISE

Activity Predecessor Duration

A - 13

B - 12

C B 8

D A 2

E A 15

F C,D 2

Example 1. CPA DIAGRAM

Activity Description Required Predecessor Duration

A Product design (None) 5 months

B Market research (None) 1

C Production analysis A 2

D Product model A 3
E Sales brochure A 2

F Cost analysis C 3

G Product testing D 4

H Sales training B, E 2

I Pricing H 1

J Project report F, G, I 1
Fig 2 CPA Diagram D
5 8
3
2
A 5 G

5 C 4

2
1 0
4
E 2 F 7 J 8
7
12 13
B 3 1

1 I

H 1
3 7 6
9

A-D-G-J = 13 Months

A-C-F-J = 11 Months

A-E-H-I-J = 11 Months

B-H-I-J = 5 Months

The Critical path is A-D-G-J (13 Months)

2. Earliest Start Time (EST) is the first time an activity can start immediately after the preceding
activity.

3. Latest Start Time (LST) is the last time that an event can be completed on time without
delaying subsequent activities.
Forward Pass Method This is the Method of computing starting time of events. The steps
included are:-
i) Start by assigning EST=0 (Start the network at time 0) and add the duration of activities
cumulatively.

ii) Where time is more than one activity leading to an event there will be two or more cumulative
sums.

iii) Use the bigger sum in such cases.

Backward Pass Method This is the method of computation of finishing time of events. Steps
involved are:
i) Start from the final events and proceed backwards through the events in the decreasing
(finding difference). End at the initial event.

ii) Where there is more than one possible path to an event, the smaller of the difference is used.
Floats and Slacks
i) Slack of events in a network is the difference between the latest event time and earliest event
time. e.g. from the diagram below:-
ii) The slack for event 3 is 10 -7 = 3 weeks
ii) Floats refer to spare time in a network. Activities on the critical path have no floats

DUMMY ACTIVITIES

A dummy activity is an imaginary activity which can be accomplished in zero time and which
does not consume resources. It is represented by a dashed arrow. To ensure that each activity is
uniquely numbered it may be necessary sometimes to introduce dummy activities.

A dummy activity may also be used to represent a constraint, necessary to show the proper
relationship between activities.
Example
3

1
2

Connect events 2 & 3 with a dashed arrow

TIME ESTIMATION

Once the logic and detail of the network have been established, time estimates must be assigned
to each activity. Generally, three time values are obtained for each activity:

1. Optimistic time (to) – time required if no hurdles or complications arise.

2. Most Likely time (tm) - time in which the activity is most likely to be completed. It takes
into account normal circumstances, making allowance for some unforeseen delays.

3. Pessimistic time (tp) - time required if unusual complications and /or unforeseen
difficulties arise.

Once the 3 estimates for each activity are obtained, the expected value of activity
durations is calculated. The expected value, (te), is usually obtained b the formula:

(te) = to + 4tm + tp

Where te = weighted arithmetic average time

Example

Calculate time estimates for the activities in the following project.

Activity Optimistic time Most likely Pessimistic time Average/

time expected time

A 9 12 21 13
 B 6 12 18 12

C 1 1.5 5 2

D 4 8.5 10 8

E 10 14 24 15

F 1 2 3 2

Types of Floats

There are three types of floats:-

i) Total Float:-
This is the amount of time by which an activity can be delayed without delaying the project
completion date.
Total Float = Latest Start Time – Earliest Starting Time – Activity Duration
i.e TF=LST-EST-D

ii) Free Float: -

This is the amount o time an activity can be delayed without affecting the commencement of
subsequent activities at their earliest start time. Free Float = Earliest Head Time- Earliest Tail
Time- Activity Duration FF=EFT –EST – D For activity G, FF= 9-2-4 = 3 Weeks.

iii) Independent Float:-

This is the amount of time an activity can be delayed without affecting any other activity of the
project.
Independent Float =Earliest Head Time – Latest Tail Time – Activity Duration
IF = EFT – LST – D
For activity G, IF = 9 – 5 – 4 = 0
Advantages of CPA
i. Provides a graphical view of a project

ii. Predicts the time required to complete the project

iii. Shows which activities are critical to maintaining the scheduled and which are not

iv. Facilitates identification of early start, late start and slack for each activity

v. It ensures a project is completed as quickly as possible and resources used as efficiently as

possible

vi. Provides effective management procedures and streamlines all aspects of a projects processes
and how management is undertaken.

vii. Managers can use the CP to increase the productivity of an individual activity by crashing
the critical path, by adding more resources to shorten the duration of the activity.

viii. It has the ability to determine the pace of the project; it can speed up or slow down the
processes of a project

ix. It provides a better understanding of dependencies leading to improved overlapping of

activities and tasks where feasible

x. It helps determine when to start a project, how fast portions need to be completed and when
the project should be completed, this prevents resource bottlenecks there by helping in resource
leveling.

Disadvantages of CPA
i. CPA was developed for complex but fairly routine projects with minimal uncertainty in the
completion times. For less routine projects there is more uncertainty in the completion time and
this uncertainty limits the usefulness of the deterministic CPA model. An alternative to CPA is
the PERT project planning tool which allows a range of durations to be specified for each
activity.
ii. Just drawing up of a CPA will not itself ensure a project runs as planned.

iii. Where the network chart tends to be large and unwieldy it requires several pages to print and
requires special size papers

iv. The lack of timeframe on most CPA charts makes it harder to show status.

Planning the Cost Dimensions

In the previous discussion we have seen how one can plan for project quality and time. In this
section we are going to examine the last aspect of project parameter of the project which requires
to be planned for. This is cost. It is important for the project planner to start the estimation of
project cost from the work breakdown structure and project schedule as the starting point for
developing project budgets.

As one plans for the cost of the project, a lot of attention must be focused on the labour,
overheads, materials that will be needed by the project, supplies, equipment rented and
generals administrative cost. The labour cost will include the wages and salaries paid to all
staff directly working on the project for the gestation period of the project. Overheads will
include the cost of payroll taxes and fringe benefits for everyone directly working on the project
for the time spent on it, usually calculated as a percent of direct labour cost. Materials will
involve cost of items purchased for use in the project, includes such things as lumber, cement,
steel e.t.c. Cost dealing with general administrative is very important to be made clear. One
needs to estimate cost of management and support services such as purchasing, accounting,
secretarial e.tc., for the time dedicated to the project usually calculated as a percentage of project
cost.