Critical Path Method (CPM) in Project Management

Problem 1

The following details are available regarding a project:

Path I has the maximum time of 22 weeks. Therefore, path I is the critical path. The critical activities
are A, B, D and F. The project completion time is 22 weeks.
Problem 2

Find out the completion time and the critical activities for the following project:

Compare the times for the four paths. Maximum of {42, 43, 45, 47} = 47. We see that the
following path has the maximum time and so it is the critical path: The critical activities are
C, F, J and L.
Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT)

PERT:
Example 1:
A small project consisting of eight activities has the following characteristics:

(i) Draw the PERT network for the project.

(ii) Prepare the activity schedule for the project.

(iii) Determine the critical path.

(ii) Calculation activity duration and scheduling times.

(iii) The critical path of the project is 1-2-4-5 -6, critical activities being A, D, G and H.

The expected project length is the sum of duration of each critical activity. Expected
project length = 5 + 15 + 4 + 5 = 29 weeks.

Variance project length is obtained by summing variance of each critical activity.

Example 2:
A small project consisting of ten activities has the following characteristics:

Network for the given project is drawn below:

Critical path is 1-2-3-6-7-8

Expected length of critical path is = 6 + 3 + 4 + 2 + 2 = 17 weeks

Example 3:
Learning Curve Problems

Problem 1:
The initial cargo access doors for Boeing’s 787 took 400 hours of labor to produce. The
learning rate is 80%. How long will the twentieth door take? How much should the cost. The
labor cost is $40 per hour. Learning curve coefficient C = .381

Problem 2:
The learning rate for a particular operation is 80%, and the first unit of production took 100
hours. The hours required to produce the third unit.

Problem 3:
An operation has a 90% learning curve and the first unit produced took 28 minutes. The labor
cost is $20 per hour. (a) How long will the second unit take? (b) How much should the second
unit cost?