DECISION SCIENCE

TUTORIAL WORKSHEET
PERT/CPM

1. What are some questions that can be answered with PERT and CPM?

2. Briefly discuss what is meant by critical path analysis. What are critical path activities, and
why are they important?

3. Construct a Gantt chart for the following set of activities and indicate the project
completion time:

Activity Activity Predecessor Time (weeks)

1 ___ 3

2 ___ 7

3 1 2

4 2 5

5 2 6

6 4 1

7 5 4

4. Sam Spade is the Director of Gum Shoe Ltd a Private Eye (Investigator) Firm. He has just
hired some UTech graduates and needs to put them through a special training program
before sending them out on any job. Sam has listed a number of activities that must be
completed before a training program of this nature could be conducted. The activities,
immediate predecessors and activity times appear in the following table:

ACTIVITY IMMEDIATE TIME

PREDECESSOR (DAYS)

A __ 2

B __ 5

C ___ 1

D B 10

E A, D 3

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 F C 6

G E,F 8

a. Develop a network for this problem

b. Determine the total project completion time and the critical path.

5. The Utech Student Union Event Planner is planning the Freshers’ Fete for next weekend in
Negril. In applying techniques she learnt in Decision Sciences class, she has identified the
activities that are necessary to prepare for her trip down to Negril. The following table lists the
activities, the immediate predecessors, and the activity times for the project.

Activity Immediate Time (days)

Predecessors

A -------- 3

B -------- 7

C A 4

D B 2

E C,D 5

F A 6

G E 3

A. Draw the network for this project

B. Find the earliest, latest, and slack times for each activity. Then find the critical path.

C. What is project completion time?

6. Consider the following project network and activity times (in weeks)

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 Activity A B C D E F G H

Activity Times (weeks) 6 8 9 9 7 3 15 11

a. Identify the critical path.

b. How much time will be needed to complete this project?
c. Can activity D be delayed without delaying the entire project? If so, by how many weeks?
d. Can activity C be delayed without delaying the entire project? If so, by how many weeks?
e. What is the schedule for activity E?

7. Colonial State College is considering building a new multipurpose athletic complex on

campus. The complex would provide a new gymnasium for intercollegiate basketball games,
expanded office space, classrooms, and intramural facilities. The following activities would
have to be undertaken before construction can begin.
Immediate Time
Activity Description Predecessor (weeks)
A Survey building site — 6
B Develop initial design — 8
C Obtain board approval A, B 12
D Select architect C 9
E Establish budget C 8
F Finalize design D,E 15
G Obtain financing E 12
H Hire contractor F, G 10

a. Draw a project network.

b. Identify the critical path.

c. Develop the activity schedule for the project.

d. What is the expected completion time for the project?

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8. Based on the table below:

a. What is the critical path?.

b. What is the expected completion time?

The following represents a project with four activities. All times are in weeks.
Activity Immediate Optimistic Most Pessimistic

Predecessor Time Likely Time

Time

A - 2 8 14

B - 8 8 8

C A 6 9 18

D B 5 11 17

9. The manager of the Oak Hills Swimming Club is planning the club’s swimming
team program. The first team practice is scheduled for May 1. The activities,
their immediate predecessors, and the activity time estimates (in weeks) are as
follows.
Immediate Time (weeks)
Activity Description Predecessor Optimistic Most Probable Pessimistic
A Meet the Board - 1 1 2
B Hire Coaches A 4 6 8
C Reserve pool A 2 4 6
D Announce Program B,C 1 2 3
E Meet with coaches B 2 3 4
F Order team suits A 1 2 3
G Register swimmers D 1 2 3
H Collect Fees G 1 2 3
I Plan first practice E,H 1 1 2
a. Draw the project network.
b. Develop an activity schedule
c. What are the critical activities?
d. What is the expected completion time for the project?
10. A small software development project has nine major activities. The times are
estimated and provided in the table below.

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 Activity Immediate m

Predecessor

A −

B Α

C A 10

D B 14

E D

F C 10

G E, F

H C 10 14

I G, H

(a) What is the expected completion time for this project?

(b) What are the critical activities?

© Which activity can be delayed the longest? And for how long?
D. What is the probability of completing the project by the 28th week?

11.
Activity Immediate Optimis Most Pessimistic
tic
Predecessor Likel
y

A - 2 3 4

B - 2 5 8

C A 1 2 9

D A 5 5 5

E B, C 6 7 8

F B 12 12 12

G D, E 1 5 9

H G, F 1 4 8

a. Draw the project network.

b. Develop an activity schedule

c. What are the critical activities?

d. What is the expected completion time for the project?

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