METHODS AND TECHNIQUES OF PROJECT PLANNING-part Sent To Students On 13th Nov 2020

AMOUD UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES & RESEARCH

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:
1
charleswachira62@gmail.com
METHODS AND TECHNIQUES
OF PROJECT PLANNING &
MANAGEMENT
Course Code: PPM 8115
Presented by:
Charles W. Gathano
Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email: charleswachira62@gmail.com 2

Introduction
• Definition of Planning
• In general management, planning is the vital management function,
which involves deciding in advance, what is to be done, when, how
and by whom.
• It is a logical process that sets the organisation’s objectives and
develops various ways of action (strategies), for the organisation to
achieve the set objectives.
• It exactly shows how to realize a specific goal.

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Project Planning
• Definition
• Project Planning is a set of activities in the project design within which the
management sets how how to complete a project within a certain timeframe and
with allocated resources.
• In the planning phase project plans are documented, the project deliverables and
requirements are defined, and the project schedule is created.
• It involves creating a set of plans to guide the project team throughout the
implementation and closure phases of the project.
• These plans help to:
• manage time, cost, quality, changes, risk and related issues.
• help to control staff and suppliers to deliver the project on time, within budget,
and within schedule.
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Project Planning continued
• Project planning phase is the most challenging phase in that:

• management needs to make an refined guess about the staff,
resources and equipment needed to complete the project.
• there is need to plan for communication and procurement activities,
• there is need to select and contract third-party suppliers.

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The Purpose of the Planning Phase
• Establish project activities
• Establish project requirements
• Establish cost, schedule, deliverables and delivery dates
• Establish resource plans
• Obtain management approval and progress to the next phase

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Project Planning Process
Step 1: Identify & Meet with Stakeholders
• Identify all stakeholders and take care of their interests when creating the
project plan.
• Stakeholders include those affected by the results of the project plan.
• e.g. customers and end users.
• Meet with the project sponsors and key stakeholders to:
• discuss their needs and expectations
• establish baselines for project scope, budget, and timeline.
• Create a Scope Statement so as:
• to finalize and record project scope details,
• get everyone well informed and
• reduce the probability of lack of communication.
• Enhance Cost control
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Project Planning Process continued
Step 2: Set & Prioritize Goals
• Having a list of stakeholder needs,
• prioritize them and set specific project goals.
• These goals should detail
• project objectives, the measurements and benefits expected
to be achieved.
• Write the goals and the stakeholder needs they address in
your project plan so it is clearly communicated and easily
shareable.
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Step 3: Define Deliverables

• Identify the deliverables and steps required to meet the project's
goals.
• Deliverables are the specific outputs that are expected to be
produced
• Estimate due dates for each deliverable in the project plan.
• Set realistic milestones for essential deadlines and deliverables.
• Realistic milestones enables the team to track progress when work
begins to complete tasks on time and keep stakeholders happy.

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Step 4: Create the Project Schedule
• Define the series of tasks to be completed to accomplish each deliverable.
• also determine the amount of time and other resources necessary for each deliverable
and
• who will be responsible for execution-primary and secondary responsibilities.
• Then identify any dependencies-logical sequence of activities.
• Some tasks must complete before others can begin.
• Include the sequence in a Gantt chart.
• Also familiarize with ways to write a for a summary of the current status of the project.
• Involve all team members in the planning process.
• They need to know how tasks need to be done, how long they should take and who is
the best person to do them.
• Let them also agree with the project schedule and set expectations for work to be done
as planned.
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Project Planning Process ….continued
Step 5: Identify Issues and Complete a Risk Assessment
• All projects are prone to risk.
• Identify issues that are expected to affect the project planning process.
• Identify unexpected events/uncertainties that could create problems.
• e.g. a key team member's imminent annual leave.
• NB:
• When developing a project plan, the team should know how to manage risk in a
project and consider the steps to take to either prevent certain risks from
happening or to reduce their negative impact.
• Develop risk assessment procedures and a risk management
strategy/framework for preparedness.
• Prioritize and work high-risk items early in your project schedule.
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Step 6: Present the Project Plan to Stakeholders

• Explain how your plan addresses stakeholders' expectations and
present your solutions to any conflicts. Make sure your presentation is
not one-sided-Have an open discussion with stakeholders instead.
• Next, determine roles: Who needs to see which reports, and how
often. Which decisions will need to be approved and by whom.
• Make your project plan clear and accessible to all stakeholders so
they do not have to chase you down for simple updates. Make it easy
to track progress, share updates, and make edits without filling your
calendar with meetings.
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• Communicate clearly. Make sure stakeholders know exactly what's

expected of them, and what actions they need to take.
• If the plan or schedule does not align with stakeholders' original
expectations, communicate that now to avoid any nasty surprises or
tense conversations down the line.
• After You Create Your Project Plan,
• Schedule a project kickoff meeting.

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Terminologies associated with
Project Planning
• Dummy activity:
• A dummy activity is a simulated activity, one that has zero duration
• Created for the sole purpose of demonstrating a specific relationship and
path of action on the arrow diagramming method.
• In activity-on-arrow diagrams, dummy activities show logical relationships
between activities.
• They are not actual activities themselves
• Dummy activity arrows are drawn with broken lines to differentiate them
from regular activity arrows.
• Dummy activities are a useful tool to implement when the specific logical
relationship between two activities on the arrow diagram cannot be linked
or conceptualized through simple use of arrows going from one activity to
another.
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Project Planning Continued
Activity:
• Activity is a component of work, performed during the course of
a project.
• It is the smallest unit of project work.
• An activity is often associated as part of a task and forms the basis of a
project.
Status:
• Current position on the project cost, budget, scope, and other relevant
information including what has been completed and next steps.

15
• Event/node/state/milestone:
• Is a key point during the life of a project, completing project
deliverables or other key achievements.
• Are often used to track whether or not a project is on schedule.

16
Critical activities:
• Activities that must be completed on time for the entire project to be
completed on schedule.
• If an activity on the critical path is delayed by one day, the entire
project will be delayed by one day unless another activity on the
critical path can be finished a day earlier than planned.
Floats:
• The amount of time that a schedule activity can be delayed without
delaying the early start of the following schedule activity or activities.

17
Total float: Project Planning Continued
• Is the difference between the finish date of the last activity on the critical path and the
project completion date.
• Any delay in an activity on the critical path would reduce the amount of total float available
on the project.
• A project can also have negative float, which means the calculated completion date of the
last activity is later than the targeted completion date established at the beginning of the
project.
• Objective:
• A project objective refers to the desired results of a project
• These are the results that the project should accomplish.
• Project's objectives must be stated clearly as these will affect every decision in the project
lifecycle.
• They usually include tangible items.
• An objective is specific and measurable, and must meet time, budget, and quality
constraints.
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What is PERT in Project Management?
• PERT is a project management planning tool used to calculate the
amount of time it would take to realistically finish a project.
• PERT serves as a management tool to analyze, define and integrate
events. PERT also illustrates the activities and interdependencies in a
project.
• The main goal of PERT is to reduce the cost and time needed to
complete a project.
• PERT-Program Evaluation Review Technique charts are tools used to plan
tasks within a project
• - making it easier to schedule and coordinate team members
accomplishing the work.

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• PERT charts were created in the 1950s to help manage the creation of weapons
and defense projects for the US Navy.
• Was formulated by Booz Allen Hamilton
• While PERT was being introduced in the Navy, the private sector simultaneously
formulated Critical Path Method.
• PERT is similar to critical path in that they are both used to visualize the timeline
and the work that must be done for a project.
• However PERT uses three different time estimates for the project: you estimate
the shortest possible amount time each task will take, the most probable amount
of time, and the longest amount of time tasks might take if things do not go as
planned.

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Example of a PERT Diagram

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PERT Planning Procedure
• Identifying Tasks and Milestones: Every project involves a series of required tasks.
These tasks are listed in a table allowing additional information on sequence and
timing to be added later.
• Placing the Tasks in a Proper Sequence: The tasks are analyzed and placed in a
sequence to get the desired results.
• Network Diagramming: A network diagram is drawn using the activity sequence
data showing the sequence of serial and parallel activities.
• Time Estimating: This is the time required to carry out each activity, in three parts:
1. Optimistic time (O): The shortest time to complete an activity
2. Most likely time (M): The completion time having the highest probability
3. Pessimistic time (P): The longest time to complete an activity
• Critical Path Estimating: This determines the total time required to complete a
project.

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Time Calculation Formula in PERT
• Time Formula is: (P+4M+O)/6

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Critical Path Method (CPM)
Definition:
• It is a procedure for using network analysis to identify those tasks which
are on the critical path.
• These are the activities which should not be delayed
• Any delay would lengthen the project time unless action is taken
• It was formulated in 1957 by Morgan R. Kelley and James E. Kelley
Why use CPM?
• It identifies tasks which must be completed on time for the whole project
to be completed on time.
• Identifies tasks which can be delayed for a while without affecting the
project completion time
• Identifies the minimum amount of time needed to complete a project
• Identifies both the Early Start and the Early finish of each activity.
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Critical Path Procedure
• List all activities and their relationships
• Establish the sequence of the activities
• Create the start node
• Draw arrows from one activity to the other following the relationships
• Calculate Early Start, Early Finish, Late Start and Late Finish times for
each activity
• Calculate the Float/slack time
• Determine the Critical Path

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Critical Path Method Calculations
We calculate:
• Early Start time (ES), Late Start time (LS), Early Finish time (EF), Late
Finish time (LF) and Floats-Total Float (TF) and Free Float (FF)
• NB:
• FF = ES (successor)-ES (activity)-Duration (activity).
• Refer to our calculations in class.

26
Differences Between PERT and CPM
• The two scheduling methods use a common approach for designing
the network and for ascertaining its critical path.
• They are used in the successful completion of a project and hence
used in conjunction with each other.
• However, they are different techniques
• CPM concentrates on time while the former stresses on the time-cost
trade-off. In the same manner, there are many differences between
PERT and CPM, which we are going to discuss in this article.

27
Main Differences Between PERT and CPM continued
• PERT is a project management technique, whereby planning,
scheduling, organizing, coordinating and controlling uncertain
activities are done. CPM is a statistical technique of project
management in which planning, scheduling, organizing, coordination
and control of well-defined activities take place.
• PERT is a technique of planning and control of time. Unlike CPM,
which is a method to control costs and time.
• While PERT is evolved as a research and development project, CPM
evolved as a construction project.
• PERT is set according to events while CPM is aligned towards
activities.
• A deterministic model is used in CPM. Conversely, PERT uses a
probabilistic model. Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:
28
• There are three times estimates in PERT, i.e. optimistic time (to), most
likely time (tm), pessimistic time (tp). On the other hand, there is only
one estimate in CPM.
• PERT deals with unpredictable activities, but CPM deals with
predictable activities.
• PERT is used where the nature of the job is non-repetitive. In contrast
to, CPM involves the job of repetitive nature.
• There is a demarcation between critical and non-critical activities in
CPM, which is not in the case of PERT.

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• PERT is best for research and development projects, but CPM is for
non-research projects like construction projects.
• Crashing is a compression technique applied to CPM, to shorten the
project duration, along with the least additional cost. The crashing
concept is not applicable to PERT.
NB:
• The difference between these two project management tools is getting
faint as the techniques are merged almost everyday. Then most
projects are using them as one.
• The main distinction is that PERT gives the more importance to time,
• i.e. if the time is minimized, consequently the cost will also be reduced.
• Cost optimization is the basic element, in CPM.
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AMOUD UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES & RESEARCH

Course Code: PPM 8115

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email: charleswachira62@gmail.com 2

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

• Project planning phase is the most challenging phase in that:

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Step 3: Define Deliverables

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Step 6: Present the Project Plan to Stakeholders

• Communicate clearly. Make sure stakeholders know exactly what's

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

• Time Formula is: (P+4M+O)/6

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

• Refer to our calculations in class.

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

Instructor: Charles W. Gathano, Email:

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