Project Charter

TOPIC ONE

Introduction

Project Charter: this article provides a practical explanation of the Project Charter. After reading, you'll understand
the basics of this powerful project management tool. This article also includes a project charter template, allowing
you to directly get started with your own project.

What is a Project Charter?

• A Project Charter refers to a formal, short document that contains the objective statement of a project. This
statement describes key project goals, the roles of team members (including responsibilities), and the key
stakeholders and their interests.
• In addition, the document also includes milestones, budgets, the project timeline, and potential risks. Many
organizations consider the charter an essential part of project 08/2planning and use it as a way of
authorizing the project.
• However, it is not the same as a project plan. The latter elaborates on the details of individual tasks within
a project images, art, and videos.

Definition project charter

• A Project Charter refers to a formal, short document that contains the objective statement of a project. This
statement describes key project goals, the roles of team members (including responsibilities), and the key
stakeholders and their interests.
• In addition, the document also includes milestones, budgets, the project timeline, and potential risks. Many
organizations consider the charter an essential part of project planning and use it as a way of authorizing
the project.
• The importance of the project charter has increased in recent years. The most recent edition of A Guide to
the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) added a completely new process: 'develop project
charter'. This has made the document even more popular. PMBOK defines as follows:
• A project charter is a formally issued document by the project initiator or sponsor that formally authorizes
the existence of a project and empowers the project manager to apply organizational resources to project
activities.

A good project charter should

• Contain the essence of the project • Ensure all stakeholders and sponsors agree on matters.
• Ensure a shared understanding of the project.
• Act as a contract between the project team, the sponsor, and the main stakeholders
• Help get project sponsor approval when buy-in is yet to take place.

Important applications of a project charter

The three most important applications of a project charter are:

• To authorize a project. Project charters all have a similar format, making it possible to compare different
projects based on Return on Investment.
• The project charter acts as the primary sales document for the project.
• The project charter acts as a central focus point throughout the project (Scope Control).
Who is responsible for creating the project charter?

• A common misconception is that the sponsor of the project is wholly responsible for creating the charter.
However, sponsors rarely have time to work on one.
• For this reason, they often delegate this work to another person. This is most often the project manager.
Although it is ultimately the sponsor who authorizes the completed charter.
• In addition to the above matters, the project charter also establishes the project manager's responsibilities
and authority. This helps keep the team on the same page before the project even starts.

TOPIC 2

1. Project description

The first part of a project charter provides basic information such as:

• Project name
• Date on which the document was created.
• Author
• Project sponsors
• Project manager

In addition, the goal of the project is also explained. Usually, a reference is made to a business case or the contract
that forms the basis of the project.

Alternatively, a description may be made of why the implementation of the project is important to the organization.
Several questions the author of the document should consider include:

• Does this project solve an organizational problem?

• Is the project related to a new trend?
• Does the project support the overall strategy of the organization?
2. Project details

The second element of a project charter is a slightly more detailed project description that includes the mission and
scope of the project. The exact goal of the project will be addressed later, but includes at least the following in this
section:

List some of the project objectives. Use SMART goals for this.

• Outline the project's formal boundaries by describing how it can change the business.
• Describe all products have the project will eventually produce.
• Once these components have been included in the project charter, one can move on to the following.

S-SPECIFIC M – MEASURABLE A – ATTAINABLE R-REALISTIC T-TIME-BOUND

3. Organization project team

• In this section, explain who is working on the project, who is overseeing the project and group, and include
an overview of the roles of the different team members. Keep it short and sweet. Detailed job descriptions
will be included in the later project plan.
• Use a project organization chart that reflects the structure of an organization and the relationships between
everyone involved in the project.

4. Stakeholders

In addition to the team members, the project manager and sponsor, there are also other stakeholders. Stakeholder
management is an essential part of project planning. In this section, provide a list of people and departments involved
in the project. Do not go too deeply into the core of each task in the project, but instead address general roles and
involvements of others. When creating

the list, also consider:

• Customers
• Outsourced employees

5. Objectives

• This section answers the following question: 'How do we know when the project is ready?'
• This section includes the project expectations, and how the project team knows whether they have been
realized. Also note who will be responsible for authorizing that the project goal has been achieved. This
prevents problems at the end of the project if no one is willing to sign off the work as completed. Include
the following matters:
• Success criteria. Define the project successes and list the Critical Success Factors.
• Important requirements or deliverables. Describe key stakeholder requirements and key project results.

6. Budget

• At the time the project charter is created, not all details about the project may be known yet. In other words,
a complete and accurate project budget cannot be compiled yet. For this reason, use all the above
information to make a rough outline of how much it costs to complete the project within the agreed time.
The actual costs may vary. Take budget restrictions or an overview of the expected potential costs into
account.
7. Risks

• Even the most carefully planned project may end up in trouble. This part of the project charter includes an
early version of the risk log.
• In this log, document all risks currently identified, so that the management team and sponsors can see what
could potentially impact the project in the future.
• A risk is the probability of an event or condition that may affect the project. Not all risks are negative. If so,
they are more likely to be referred to as opportunities, however.

8. Milestones

• Include high-level milestones in this section of the project charter. It is possible that not all the information
may be known at present, but at least write down the estimated start and end date of the project. Also
include drop-dead dates and add the milestones to an organized Gantt chart.
• Instead of a Gantt chart, you may also use a timeline, calendar or other document that visualizes project
planning with details about each milestone or phase.

9. Project manager authority level

• Unless the project manager's powers are clearly established elsewhere, it is worth using this section of the
project charter to record what the project manager can do without a senior's approval. In general, this
section relates to established tolerance levels regarding the budget and time span.
• For example: the project manager has a tolerance of 15% regarding the budget, and a tolerance of 8%
regarding the time schedule. Any deviation outside of these limits must be reported to and approved by the
project sponsor/ senior.
• Furthermore, this section can be extended by specifying the powers that the project manager has over
hiring and firing the employees in the project team.

10. Approval section

The final part of the project charter is the approval section. The project manager and project sponsor must date and
sign the document. It does not matter whether this is done digitally or on paper. In both cases, keep a copy in case it
needs to be consulted again later.

TOPIC 3

The Project Charter is not always just a single document.

• Ideally, a Project Charter is a single document with references to other documents that address business
needs, planning, and other important aspects.
• If the sponsor has approved project-related documents, and permission has been granted, then the
collection of approved documents actually constitutes the charter.
• Even if these documents do not explicitly refer to each other, the collection can be considered a charter.
This makes it apparent that it very much depends on the goal of the project whether or not a standard
format charter should be created.
• For many companies that carry out projects, a work order is considered an important part of the charter.
This work order gives specific people authority over organizational resources to carry out the project.

Multiple charters for a single project

 • A typical project in the corporate world will have multiple charters. A good project manager understands
the scope of the current charter and has the ability to look ahead to create charters for subsequent stages.
• For example, according to PMBOK, each project goes through several phases, and each of these phases has
a charter.
• Many project managers struggle to establish the original charter, but identifying charters for each successive
stage is even more difficult. This is because the transition is often subtle.

Hierarchy

• Some projects go from phase to phase without this being noticed. The customer or sponsor has little insight into
the phases and activities of the project, so it is difficult to authorize each phase.

• However, the sponsor has given the project manager authority over the internal project activities, including the
transition from one phase to another. So, the project manager has been given the authority to authorize each phase
within the project itself.

Project Communication Plan (PCP)

• Although it is not a fixed part of the charter, project communication is a simple tool that can be used during
the first charter phase.
• A communication plan facilitates effective communication between the sponsor, customer, team and other
stakeholders. It contains clear guidelines for how information is shared, and who is responsible for
communication in all aspects thereof.
• A communication plan plays an important role in any project because:
• It provides a written overview that everyone can access.
• It sets clear expectations about how and when updates are shared with different parties.
• It increases the visibility of the project and its status.
• It increases the productivity of team meetings.
• It ensures that the project activities remain in line with the objectives.
 Decomposition

Why is decomposition important?

• If a problem is not decomposed, it is much harder to solve. Dealing with many different stages all at once is
much more difficult than breaking a problem down into a number of smaller problems and solving each one,
one at a time. Breaking the problem down into smaller parts means that each smaller problem can be examined
in more detail.

Similarly, trying to understand how a complex system works is easier using.

decomposition. For example, understanding how a bicycle works is more straightforward if the whole bike is
separated into smaller parts and each part is examined to see how it works in more detail.

What is project decomposition?

Decomposition is the process of ponents of a large project into e manageable portions, often enables. This
process helps assign tasks more easily and ne management and workflow. bers complete tasks associated
deliverables, they complete steps decomposed workflow, working eventual completion of an entire he
organization of such is often hierarchical and based tance of each task or required pletion.

ADVANTAGES OF PROJECT DECOMPOSITION

The following are some of the most common advantages associated with project decomposition:

Allows for more cost and time estimating.

By estimating the time and cost it takes to complete each deliverable within a project, managers can estimate
the cost and time of an entire project. Estimating parts of a project can be easier than estimating the entire
project due to the specificity of tasks involved with each step in the process. For example, estimating the time
and cost to build one room in one house may be more accurate than estimating the time and cost it takes to
build 50 houses.

Disadvantages of project decomposition

• Decreased independence

Offering team members independence during projects can help them take increased accountability for a
project's success and allow them to stay motivated. Project decomposition often limits the ability of team
members to independently work on projects. For instance, after finishing deliverables, team members may
check in with Their manager before receiving more tasks, instead of working on the next lask immediately.

• Requires extensive teamwork.

In order to be successful, project, decomposition requires a well-organized team. Each member of such teams
works simultaneously to complete deliverables, many of which they complete before the team can move on to
the next set of deliverables. For example, a team might finalize the design of a product before they can start
producing it, which can also result in potential delays or pauses in tasks for certain team members.
Tips for project decomposition

Depending on the type of project you want to complete, certain strategies may be more effective when
decomposing a project. Here are some tips that can help you with project

decomposition, regardless of your type of project.

• Define your scope

The scope of a project entails the required elements you and your team perform in order to complete an entire
project. Defining this scope allows you to better analyze and separate the parts of a project into more
manageable pieces. Without defining this scope, you may forget to complete essential parts of a project.

• Create visuals

Visual representations of individual and group workflows can help your teams remain organized and visualize
the progress toward the completion of a project. Visuals may include charts that sort deliverables by their
required order or by the phase of the project in which they belong. For example, you can draw a box around a
description of a deliverable and draw a line to show that upon completion of that deliverable, your team can
move on to the next step.

• Use a WBS

A WBS, or work breakdown strategy, is a strategy used to define the scope of a project and divide it into
manageable parts. A work breakdown strategy allows you to sort deliverables by their importance and create
visual representations of the steps required to complete an entire project. The most common types of work
breakdown strategies are verb-oriented WHSS, noun-oriented WBSs and time-phased WBSs. A verb oriented
WBS focuses on organizing deliverables based on specific actions. A noun-oriented WBS organizes deliverables
based on specific components of a project, and a time-phased WBS organizes deliverables into specific phases
or periods of time.

Remember:

IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN, YOU PLAN TO FAIL

Step One: Identify Project Deliverables

The very first thing to do, when decomposing a project, is to identify the project deliverables or milestones.
These deliverables will be the products that you will decompose and break down into tasks in order to produce
work packages.

Step Two: Deal With One Deliverable at at Time

When working on decomposing deliverables - at least in the initial stages, working in the traditional media of
pencil and paper creates the least amount of frustration. The best and least confusing method is to give each
deliverable or milestone its own piece of paper. This way, you will have enough room to/ work on your rough
draft. Write the deliverable at the top of the paper.

Step Three: Deal With Each Deliverable Individually

By dealing with deliverables one by one, you eliminate confusion. Take the first. deliverable and place the sheet
of paper in front of you. Ask yourself, “In order to produce this, what is the next smallest step that must be
taken?" For example, if you are preparing a large dinner for company, your deliverables would be each dish
being served, the guest list, etc. If your main dish was lasagna, you would break the steps of this dish into the
steps of the recipe. Note the dependent tasks. After breaking the recipe down into steps, you could further
break it down into ingredients.

Step Four: Know When to Stop

While the lasagna recipe has a straight-forward end, sometimes deliverables can be broken down for what
seems like forever. You know you have decomposed the deliverable sufficiently when you can accurately
estimate durations and cost, and you know exactly what must be done in every step. Once you complete the
first deliverable, repeat the process for the second, and so on, until every deliverable and milestone have been
broken down to sufficiently estimate duration and cost.

Step Five: Estimate Durations and Arrange Tasks into Work Packages

Once you have broken down your deliverables, your paper might look like a mess of boxes. Now, you want to
organize those boxes into work packages. The work package contains related action items that will be assigned
to resources for completion. Before doing this, estimate the amount of time each task will take, then group
together tasks according to type or resource required. A work package, according to Joseph Phillips in PMP
Project Management Professional Study Guide, should be no smaller than eight hours' worth of work and no
larger than eighty hours' worth of work.

Step Six: Estimate Costs

Finally, estimate the costs of each task. This step will allow the project manager to budget the project accurately.
Some tasks will have costs dependent upon the time, other tasks will require particular resources that have a
cost involved. Once this is done, then the decomposed deliverables are ready to arrange in a work breakdown
structure.
 Project Scope Management and Its Importance in 2022

Table of Contents

What is Project Scope?

Importance of Project Scope Management Project Scope Statement

Steps Involved in Project Scope Management

Steps for Defining the Scope of a Project

Project Scope Management Processes

Project Scope Management Tips

Why Project Managers Need Scope Management? Conclusion

What is Project Scope?

• Scope refers to the detailed set of deliverables or features of a project. These deliverables are
derived from a project's requirements. PMBOK® defines Project Scope as the "The work that needs
to be accomplished to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions."

Following are the three processes of Project Scope Management:

• Planning - The planning process is when an attempt is made to capture and define the work that
needs to be done.
• Controlling - The controlling and monitoring processes focus on documenting tracking. scope
creep, tracking, and disapproving/approving project changes.
• Closing - In the final process, the closing includes an audit of the project deliverables and an
assessment of the outcomes against the original plan.

Steps Involved in Project Scope Management

As a project manager, you'll need to define project scope no matter what methodology you choose. Here's
one example of a systematic process to capture, define, and monitor scope.

• Define Project Needs - Defining the needs of the project is the first step to establish a project
timeline, allocate project resources, and set project goals. Only with these defined steps, you will
be able to understand the work that needs to be done, meaning, the scope of the project needs to
be defined. Once that is done, team members can be allocated tasks and provided direction to
deliver a project in the given time and budget.
• Understand the Project Objectives - To define the project scope, it is important first to
establish the objectives of the project, which may include a new product, creating a new service
within the organization, or developing a new plece of software. There are several objectives that
could be central to a project; the project manager ensures the team delivers results according to
the specified features or functions.
 • Define the Project Scope - The resources and work that goes into the creation of a product or
service are essentially what defines the scope of the project. The scope generally outlines the goals
that will be met to achieve a satisfactory result.

Steps for Defining the Scope of a Project

• Project objectives
• Goals
• Sub-phases
• Tasks
• Resources
• Budget
• Schedule
• To define the scope of the project, identify the above parameters.

Once the parameters are established...

• Once these parameters are established, the limitations of the project need to be clarified, and the
aspects that are not to be included in the project identified. By doing this, the project scope will
make clear to stakeholders, senior management, and team members what will and will not be
included in the final product or service.
• Additionally, the scope of the project should have a tangible objective for the organization that is
undertaking the project. This is integral for the scope of the project since it will play a vital role in
how project methodologies are applied to complete it.

Project Scope Management Processes

1. Plan Scope Management

• It is the first process in the Project Scope Management process. The PMBOK® Guide, Fifth Edition,
added several processes to separate the initial planning activities from other activities. This process
 creates the Scope Management plan. The Scope Management plan describes the project scope and
documents how it will be further defined, validated, and controlled.
• The table next slide shows the Inputs. Tools and Techniques, and Outputs of the Plan Scope
Management Process.

PLAN SCOPE MANAGEMENT

• The Project Scope Management plan covers how the scope will be defined, validated, and
controlled. It also includes information on preventing or dealing with scope creep, handling change
requests, the escalation path for any disagreement on the scope elements between stakeholders,
the process for the creation of the scope statement, WBS, and how the deliverables will be
accepted.

2. Collect Requirements

• This process involves documenting stakeholders' needs with the stated intent of meeting the
project's objectives. In this process, managers use several techniques and tools for collecting
project requirements from stakeholders. The process attempts to leave no stone unturned,
resulting in an in-depth list of project requirements. If this process is performed thoroughly and
correctly, it can significantly reduce the possibility of unpleasant surprises as the project moves
toward completion.
• The table next slide shows the Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs of the Collect
Requirements process.
3. Define Scope

• This process involves the preparation of a detailed description of the project and its major
deliverables. The scope clearly states what the project is supposed to achieve and what it cannot
accomplish. The supporting documents are reviewed to ensure that the project will deliver work in
line with the stated goals. The scope that results states the stakeholders' needs and communicates
expectations for project performance.
• The table next slide shows the Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs of the Define Scope
Process.
4. Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

• The Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is an important element of the Scope Management process,
and the PMI places great emphasis on this aspect -many project managers often skip this step,
which leads to inaccurate planning. The WBS provides the project manager and the team with the
opportunity to break down a high-level scope statement into smaller, manageable units of work,
called work packages. The resulting WBS should provide a complete list of all work packages
required to complete the project.
• The table next slide shows the Inputs. Tools and Techniques, and Outputs of the Create Work
Breakdown Structure process.

5. Validate Scope

• The Validate Scope process focuses mainly on customer acceptance. It is when the project
customer formally accepts all the project deliverables. This process occurs at the end of each phase.
During the process, the customer gives feedback on the work that was performed.
• The table next slide shows the Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs of the Validate Scope
process.
6. Control Scope

• Control Scope is the last process group of project Scope Management. The Control Scope process
involves monitoring the status of the project and managing changes to the scope.
• The table next slide shows the Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs of the Scope Control
process.

CONTROL SCOPE PROCESS

• This process involves assessing additional requirements from the customer or proactively
overlooking the project scope. Managers measure the work product against the scope baseline to
ensure that the project stays on track, and all requested changes & recommended corrective or
preventive actions are processed through the integrated change control process.

Project Scope Management Tips

Some common issues with performing Project Scope Management can lead to problems once the project
has begun. We recommend reviewing all Scope Management documentation with an eye toward:

• Ambiguity - Ambiguity in scope often leads to unnecessary work and confusion. To avoid this.
the scope needs to be clearly defined and precise.
• Incomplete Definition - Incomplete scopes lead to schedule slips, which lead to cost overruns.
To avoid this, the scope needs to be complete and accurate.
• Transience - Transient scopes lead to scope creep-the primary cause of late deliveries and "never-
ending" projects. To avoid this, the scope document needs to be finalized and remain unaltered
for the duration of the project.
 • Uncollaborative Scope - A scope that is not collaboratively prepared causes misinterpretations
in requirements and designs. To avoid this. the scope document should be shared with all
stakeholders at every step of the scope definition process.

Understand the Project Scope Management Process

The first thing about scope management isn't the scope itself. There are five planning steps to scope
management. To even get started on your project, it's best to have a good idea of what it will be.

Your customer will want to know what processes you will use and how you will execute your project.
There's a difference between that and your project plan.

If you're not too sure about the five Project Scope Management Steps, make a note about them

now.

• Collect Requirements
• Define Scope
• Creating a Work Breakdown Structure
• Scope Verification
• Control Scope
• Having a good understanding of and paying attention to these steps when managing scope is
essential to getting the project completed effectively.

Methodically Collect Project Requirements

• So now that you know the steps, let's start with the basics. Clearly, this is an important idea and
should not be ignored. To start a project, you must understand the requirements. Knowledge of
project requirements is the key to delivering successful projects. And no one can deliver successful
projects without it. On the other hand, though, collecting project requirements can be a challenging
task. After working as a project manager for so long, I'm sure you already know this.
• Inquire as to exactly what they desire. Probe those burning questions that you have and take
ample notes. However, do not get disheartened if your first client meeting does not provide you
with all the information you need to go ahead with the project, because it is unlikely that it will.

Get Your Team to Research Project Requirements

• If you start off your project with a vague idea of what you're going to do, you'll be less likely to
make any concrete decisions, so take some time to plan out what you want to do before you say
anything to your client.
• When you're back at the office, take time to document what you know about the project. Once
you're done, share your thoughts with your co- workers and get feedback on your expectations
and goals for the project.
• To create your final project proposal, draft a rough sketch and make a list of your expectations.
Understandably, this is a lot of work so delegate as much as possible to your team and set them
tasks so they can research different tasks for you and share the answers with you.
Consult, Then Consult Some More

• A good first step for most any project is to include stakeholders from the start, even before you
finalize the project scope. The project scope sets the groundwork for your proposal and outlines
the expected output of your project.

Define Your Project Scope

• As soon as you feel confident in the specific needs of your project, the next step is to outline its
scope. This is the section where you should detail what your project will deliver. It should also
outline what will not be delivered, as well as the budget and schedule.

Always Check Project Scope With the Client

• When you are finished developing the project scope, present it to your client. Utilize this chance to
discuss your project's expected results and benchmarks. Share the expected budget and project
timeline.

Why Project Managers Need Scope Management?

• Effective Project Scope Management requires clear communication, to ensure that stakeholders
and team members alike understand the scope of the project while agreeing on how the project
goals will be met.
• Scope Management helps avoid the challenges that a project might face with bloating scope and
an unruly requirements list. Project scope clearly sets out what is or is not included in the project,
and controls what gets added or removed as the project is executed. Scope Management
establishes control mechanisms to address factors that may result in changes during the project
lifecycle.
• Without defining the project scope, the cost and time that the project will take cannot be estimated.
At times, due to a lack of communication, the scope may need to change. It directly affects the
cost and disturbs the schedule of the project, causing losses.

Conclusion

• Project Scope Management is not difficult to implement; however, it does require effort, time,
and patience. It's worth the investment because proper Scope Management will help you specify a
clear scope and deliver the project with minimal overruns.
• If you're studying for your PMP exam, consider online PMP Certification training from Simplilearn.
We offer a wide variety of project management courses like the Post Graduate Program in Project
Management taught by certified faculty with at least 10 years of industry experience.
 Pert – cpm

Definitions

• Pert - program evaluation and review technique

• Cpm - critical path method

Introduction

Pert vs cpm

• Pert & cpm were developed independently in the late part of the 1950’s. These two are networks.
They are techniques used for planning and coordinating large scale projects.

Pert

• Pert began in 1958 through the joint efforts of lockheed aircraft, the us navy special project office
and the consulting firm of booz, allen, & hamilton because of the so-called arms race. It was the
polaris missile project and time is of the essence. The soviet union must not win so the early
completion of the project was given top priority.

What happened?

• The polaris missile project is involving 5,000+ contractors and 11,000+ subcontractors and several
thousands of activities. The use of pert proved to be successful in shortening the length of the
project completion time.

Cpm

• In 1956, the cpm was developed by j. E. Kelly of the remington rand corporation and m. R. Walker
of dupont in an effort by the commercial industry to make an advanced scheduling and cost control
methods. By 1958 cpm in application was demonstrated a success.

Pert/cpm

• Pert/cpm is a control tool for defining the parts of a construction project and assembling them
together in a network form. It serves as an aid to the construction manager but it does not make
the decision for him nor does it guarantee absolute success. It only guarantees a systematic way
of doing management.

The gantt chart

• A gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart developed as a production control tool in 1917 by henry l.
Gantt, an american engineer and social scientist. Frequently used in project management, a gantt
chart provides a graphical illustration of a schedule that helps to plan, coordinate, and track specific
tasks in a project.
sample of gantt chart
Pert/cpm vs gantt chart

• Simply put, gantt charts only show when particular tasks start and finish but they don’t show how
tasks are related to each other in whatever manner. Knowing these relationships is essential
because they may be the cause of delays and eventual failure of the project.

Purposes of pert cpm the management will be able to:

1. To obtain a graphical display of the activities of the project and thus, be able to visualize its
entirety.
2. Determine the time when a particular part of activity of the project will start and finish.
3. Determine the critical paths (those that must not be delayed) of the project.
4. Monitor and control projects efficiently.
5. Use resources properly.

Three (3) basic phases of pm by pert-cpm

1. Planning
2. Scheduling
3. Controlling

Terminologies

 Network - a project in graphical form. It consists primarily of events and activities

 Activities - occur in time and present things that must be done to complete a project.

 Events - are points in time representing the start or completion of particular activities.

 Nodes - represent the sequence of events as they occur and each is numbered in logical order

 Dummy activities - are dotted arrows that indicate logical relationship between different events.

 Time estimate (te) - is the estimated duration required to accomplish an individual activity.

 Early start time (est) - is the earliest allowable point in time that any event may occur.

 Late start time (lst) - is the latest allowable point in time that any event may start without
delaying the project.

 Early finish time (eft) - is the earliest allowable point in time that any event may start without
delaying the project.

 Late finish time (lft) - is the latest allowable point in time that any event may finish without
delaying the project.

 Float - amount of spare time available to complete an event or activity.

 Merge point - is where more than one activity ends in an event.

Difference between pert and cpm (network diagrams)

Pert

• Pert was “event oriented”, i.e., it viewed the project in terms of milestones which had to take place.
 • Pert was geared for management reporting

Cpm

• Cpm was “activity oriented”, i.e., it broke the project down into activities which need to be
managed.
• Cpm having was designed to plan, schedule, and control work

Difference between pert and cpm (scheduling)

Pert

◼ Pert, dealing with research and development use statistical methods, used as an expected time
estimate based on three time estimates, deriving a formula based on beta distribution.

Cpm

◼ Cpm having been designed for construction work, used only one estimate because there was
enough historical data to generate fairly certain duration estimate.

Difference between pert and cpm (resource analysis)

Pert

• Pert did not extend beyond time since it dealt in terms of milestone which do not consume
resources

Cpm

• Cpm included a practical method for analyzing the effect on the cost varying project times,
including the ability to handle manpower and equipment resources

Difference between pert and cpm (hybrid pert – cpm)

As both systems gained widespread use, modifications were introduced to both systems.

• in 1961, pert were adopted the pert/cost system using single time estimate.
• cpm, on the other hand, had borrowed from pert such features as exceptional reporting and
computerized updating.
• What evolved was the hybrid technique now referred as the pert-cpm.

pert/cpm symbols & basic elements

Two types of network

• AON (activity-on-node)
• AOA (activity-on-arrow)

Common errors in networking

1. Dangling activity
2. Looping activities
3. Redundancy (wrong use of dummy)
4. Vertical arrows (networks read from left to right)

Schedulers

The most important scheduling dimension is time. Schedulers should possess the following abilities:

1. Personal and dedicated organizational ability.

2. Necessary academic and technical background.
3. Work experience.
4. Knowledge and expertise of scheduling techniques.
Determination and calculations of critical path

To achieve the success of the project, analysis of the network is important. The interaction of different
activities in the network leads to the determination of the start and completion time which need
computation. The calculations of the completion times are performed directly on the arrow diagram using
simple arithmetic.

Two methods of finding the critical path By complete enumeration

steps:

1. List all paths leading from the beginning of the project to its end.
2. The path with the largest duration is the critical path.

Sample problem (activity on arrow)

Two methods of finding the critical path

A. Time boundary method

steps:

1. Compute the earliest start/finish time of the project to its end.

2. Compute the slack time and determine the critical and non-critical activities. Critical activities
have zero slack time.
3. determine the critical path – path connecting all activities.
Time boundary method forward pass (ef=es+d) time boundary method backward pass (ls=lf-d)

Solving for the slack time (st= ls – es) or (st= lf – ef)

the computed critical path network

 Demand analysis lecture

Why do people want to build?

In different ways and reasons, they want to build. And because they can. They will find ways to realize
their wants and needs. We just have to read them and realize them logically.

Introduction

• The decision to build falls upon the shoulders of the person we call a ‘client’. A client could be an
individual or a collective. He/they have the privilege to instigate a project, demand professional
services, provide the resources, and watch their objectives get realized.

• The decision to build, however, is a spawn of many things, not least being the opportunity, the
reason and the resources that the client has. Combining these will prompt him to formulate goals
and move to achieve them.

Opportunity

It refers to the timing for example, a man is already financially stable and plans on settling down, this will
be a perfect reason to build. The opportunity is already there. Whereas, if he only plans on settling down,
the decision to build may take another chance. Timing also plays a role in history. Buildings are erected
because of their significance in the history of places and their being ‘markers of time’.

Reason.

• Building an edifice will take almost everything a client can give so it has to have a very big reason
why he should build. Reason could be a matter of choice, an unavoidable circumstance, a necessity
or a general program. Reason could either be a want or a need. It could be both or an amalgam
of both.

Resources.

We can say that having resources is an opportunity. However, having the resources doesn’t necessarily
translate to an opportunity. A congressman has resources (pork barrel) given to him but unless he cashes
in any opportunity that comes, his resources are nothing. Resources refer to anything measurable,
exhaustible and manageable such as material, time and services.

Where do our problems start?

In writing a project proposal, we simulate everything. It’s like painting a realistic picture. It should be three-
dimensional unlike animations. But simulation is never easy especially to a student. The concept of choosing
a project proposal starts with what a student can and want to design. Getting the reason to build is
secondary and almost trivial. It’s not absolutely wrong yet it’s never theoretically correct. For an example,
a student is always interested in designing a hospital. So, he proposes a hospital. Next he looks for a place
to build it into. Now, that won’t come easily. Hypothetically, he is a client and not an architect because he
is the one who decided to build! And finding a site does not necessarily fit with the watery reason to build.
Almost always, it’s like putting a square peg in a round hole.

Now, there’s the rub. Is it ‘project first then site next’ or vice versa? Perhaps the greatest fault we committed
is not being curious in the first place. Making it all fit (project, site, and aspirations) is a very tall order but
that is what will make a project proposal worthy of being called scholarly and stupendous.
As I said before, in a project proposal we simulate everything, even a client. So far students tend to confuse
a client with that of a user. The client is not always the user. He is always the one who gives the go-signal
to build. Let’s put it this way: a man realized the neighborhood needs a variety store within their vicinity.
The nearest one is outside the village. That need prompted him to consider; now could be the opportune
time to build a store, there was a need, and he knows how to get money.

What can the client stand to gain in the project proposal?

Justify why the client should pay for it - So what can the client stand to gain? Now for starters, it’s not
always money (although most proposals should consider that). It could be personal gratification, a reward,
or an heirloom in case of people asking you to build houses for them. For religions it could be the
perpetuation of their beliefs. For the government it could be the accomplishment of a national or local
program.

What will happen if no one pays for it? - In a project proposal, what could be gained can be explained
in graphical or prose form depending on the project. The bottom line is it should be clear, concise and
realistic.

To be realistic, it might be good to discuss what will happen if the project will not materialize? If the client
will not lose anything but will gain little, then it’s not a priority. On the other hand, if it will not materialize
and that will give him trouble the soonest possible time then the project is just a break-even venture. The
project may be initiated probably half-heartedly. Now, if the client will not lose anything but will gain a lot
out of it then it might be best to discuss it. It will be the best spark plug to start the economic engine
rolling.

DEFINITION OF TERMs

1. Economics – the social science concerned with the problem of using scarce resources so as to
attain maximum satisfaction of society’s unlimited wants
2. Producers – the people who are given the task of making use of resources to produce goods
and services.
3. Consumers – the people who buy goods and services to satisfy their needs and wants.
4. Demands – the willingness of consumers to buy goods and services at different price levels
5. Demand schedule – series of alternative possibilities of quantity demands for various price
levels which can be set in a tabular form
6. Price – the monetary value of goods and services that we want
7. Quantity – the number of units of goods and services which are available for consumption.
8. Equilibrium – the meeting point of demand and supply; the price and quantity at which
producers are willing to supply goods and services and consumers are willing to buy
9. Supply – willingness of producers to make goods and services available for consumption
10. Market – a situation where exchange of goods and/or services and payment occurs
11. Target market – clientele, group of people for whom certain goods and services are produced
Determinants of demand

The following will give much of the reason for you why there is a ‘call to build’.

POPULATION

a higher population necessarily increases demand and therefore, given an existing equilibrium, tends to
increase the price of the product.
INCOME

higher income level increases demand, increase in prices of basic commodities without any increase in
income decreases the demand for housing and repairs.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Filipinos are very much affected by the “gaya-gaya” syndrome. As architects, you have to explore the
possibilities, the impossibilities, and the practicality of what your clientele wants for the project. Like a
Jacuzzi in a 10-sq. meter garden area including a carport.

SUBSTITUTION EFFECT

–people tend to buy a cheaper substitute over the more expensive product given an almost similar quality.
You are in the position to tell your client to give your client options for his decision. For example, given a
200 sq. meter square lot, what shape of 100-sq. meter house would maximize space and utility at the
lowest cost? Would it be rectangular or square?

Opportunity cost

What will your client has to give up in order to build a project? Does he have to sell his car to repair his
garage? Does a farmer have to mortgage his farm to build a warehouse? Is the money to be used a ready
cash or a loan? Knowing these things will help you determine the kind of project that you will make and
the importance of the project to the client.

EXPECTATIONS

Urbanization plans for province increase the demand for construction. When the development of
CALABARCZON Area was planned, owners of agricultural lands began to put up villages and housing
projects knowing that in the near future, people from the congested Metro Manila will begin to establish
residence in this countryside. Now with post increasing population, the uptrend in Metro cities is (I think)
vertical expansion, so the growing demand for the construction of condominiums and multi-purpose, multi-
storey buildings.

Do you know what you’re doing? You’re thinking of what you wanna do before you think why that project
should have to be built. And you go on by dressing it up by adding “with biophilic whatever” or “biomimetic
whatever” with rainwater harvesting system.