MODULE 5

Project Management

SESSION TOPIC 5: Scheduling the Project

LEARNING OUTCOME:
The specific learning objective is expected to be realized at the end of the session:
1. Define and differentiate between Pert and CPM networks.

KEY POINTS

CPM PERT

CORE CONTENT
PERT and CPM Networks
In the late 1950s, the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and the Critical Path Method (CPM) were
independently developed. PERT was developed by the U.S. Navy, Booz‐Allen Hamilton (a business consulting firm), and
Lockheed Aircraft (now Lockheed Martin Corp.); and CPM was developed by Dupont De Nemours Inc. When they were
developed, there were significant differences in the methods. For example, PERT used probabilistic (or uncertain)
estimates of activity durations and CPM used deterministic (or certain) estimates but included both time and cost
estimates to allow time/cost trade‐offs to be used. Both methods employed networks to schedule and display task
sequences.

The Language of PERT/CPM

 Activity—A task or set of tasks required by the project.
 Event—An identifiable state resulting from the completion of one or more activities.
 Milestones—Identifiable and noteworthy events marking significant progress on the project.
 Network—A diagram of nodes (may represent activities or events) connected by directional that defines the
project and illustrates the technological relationships of all activities.
 Networks are usually drawn with a “Start” node on the left and a “Finish” node on the right. Arcs are always tipped
with an arrowhead to show the direction of precedence, that is, from predecessors to successors.
 Path—A series of connected activities (or intermediate events) between any two events in a network.
 Critical path—The set of activities on a path from the project’s start event to its finish event that, if delayed, will
delay the completion date of the project.
 Critical time—The time required to complete all activities on the critical path.

Building the Network

There are two ways of displaying a project network. In one we depict the activities as arrows and events as nodes. This
gives an activity‐on‐arrow (AOA) network, usually associated with PERT. Alternatively, we can create an activity ‐on‐node
(AON) network by showing each task as a node and linking the nodes with arrows that show their technological
relationship. The AON network is often associated with CPM.

OPMN03B Project Management

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OPMN03B Project Management
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IN-TEXT ACTIVITY
CPM
CPM or Critical Path Method is appropriate for the projects which are reappearing (recurring) in nature.

PERT
Program or Project Management and Review Technique (PERT) is apt for those projects where the time required to
accomplish different activities is not known.

SESSION SUMMARY
The project plan implies a schedule just as a schedule implies a plan. It is useful to begin study of these interdependent,
partial descriptions of a project with an examination of the planning process because this process is the foundation of all
that follows. The project schedule is simply the project plan in an altered format. It is a convenient form for monitoring and
controlling project activities.

REFERENCES
Refer to the references listed in the syllabus of the subject.

OPMN03B Project Management

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